DURANCE Sit down, that’s an order.

Durance, who has been standing, swings himself aboard one of the gymnasium horses.

FLORA Oh dear, you’re not going to be masterful, are you?

DURANCE (Laughs) Do you like polo?

FLORA Well, I don’t play a lot.

DURANCE Measure your swing, you see … (He swings the polo mallet.) How’s your whisky?

FLORA Excellent. All the better for being forbidden. My God, where did that moon come from?

DURANCE Better. I love this country, don’t you?

FLORA What’s going to happen to it? The riot in town this morning … does that happen often?

DURANCE Not here, no. The jails are filling up in British India.

FLORA Well, then.

DURANCE It wasn’t against us, it was Hindu and Moslem. Gandhi’s salt march reached the sea today, did you hear?

FLORA No. I want to know.

DURANCE Our Congress Hindus closed their shops in sympathy, and the Moslems wouldn’t join in, that’s all it was about.

FLORA My cook came home minus two chickens.

DURANCE The Indian National Congress is all very well, but to the Moslems, Congress means Gandhi … a Hindu party in all but name.

FLORA Will Gandhi be arrested?

DURANCE No, no. The salt tax is a lot of nonsense actually. It works out at about four annas a year. Most Indians didn’t even know there was a salt tax.

FLORA Well, they do now.

DURANCE Yes. They do now.

FLORA Let me have a go. (There is a solar topee on the second horse. She puts the topee on her head, and puts her foot in the stirrup. Durance, laughing, helps Flora to heave herself on board the second horse.) Oh yes, nothing to it. Yes, I can see the point of this, what fun, polo and knives-and-forks. Is that all you need to govern India?

DURANCE (Laughs) Oh yes. There’s about four of our chaps for every million Indians.

FLORA Why do the Indians let us?

DURANCE Why not? We’re better at it.

FLORA Are we?

DURANCE Ask them.

FLORA Who?

DURANCE The natives. Ask them. We’ve pulled this country together. It’s taken a couple of hundred years with a hiccup or two but the place now works.

FLORA That’s what you love, then? What you created?

DURANCE Oh no—it’s India I love. I’ll show you.

The horses whinny. Flora’s horse lurches just enough to almost throw her. She squeals, quite happily.

The scene becomes exterior. The actors remain astride the gym horses. Ground mist. The horses whinny, the riders shift and rebalance themselves, Flora whooping with alarm, and birds are crying out, distancing rapidly.

DURANCE Sand grouse! Are you all right?

FLORA They startled me.

DURANCE Time to trot.

FLORA Oops—David—I’ll have to tell you—stop! It’s my first time on a horse, you see.

DURANCE Yes, I could tell.

FLORA (Miffed) Could you? Even walking? I felt so proud when we were walking.

DURANCE No, no good, I’m afraid.

FLORA Oh, damn you. I’m going to get off.