‘It wasn’t like that, sir,’ Dodd said evenly. ‘It was, as my colonel says, a mishap. The man had wronged me. I had been drinking. He refused to repay me and there was an argument. I lost my temper. I reached for the nearest thing to hand. It happened to be a mallet. After that, things were something of a blur. I had no idea the man was badly injured when I left his shop.’ Dodd shrugged. ‘That’s all there is to it, sir. Naturally I regret that the man died.’

‘Naturally,’ Arthur repeated with heavy irony. ‘Murder is murder, Lieutenant Dodd.’

‘But he was only a native, sir,’ Dodd protested.

‘What of it? He was a man, and you were responsible for his death by your own admission. And you will face the consequences.’

‘Sir?’ Colonel Sanderson interrupted. ‘You go too far! This is not the first incident of its kind.With good reason.These natives need to be ruled with a firm hand. Once in a while it is a useful thing to set an example.’

Arthur stared at him with open contempt before he continued. ‘That is precisely the kind of example that can only win us the eternal emnity of the people of this continent. That is the kind of example set by the very tyrants with whom we are at war. That is why we have to set a better example. One that will win the respect and loyalty of these people. There are too few Europeans in India to rule by coercion. So we must rule by consent. And that means setting the right example. You, Lieutenant Dodd, will be made an example of.’ Arthur leaned back in his chair and gestured to Fitzroy to take dictation as he concluded in a formal tone. ‘It is the decision of the military governor to overrule the disciplinary process of Colonel Sanderson with respect to the case of Lieutenant Dodd. With immediate effect, Lieutenant Dodd is dishonourably dismissed from the service of the Honourable East India Company. Subsequent to his dismissal, proceedings will commence to try William Dodd for murder in a civil court. By order of the Governor.’

As he finished Arthur turned back to the two Company officers whose faces expressed anger and disbelief. Sanderson recovered first.

‘This is an outrage, sir!’

‘I’m aware of that,’ Arthur replied coolly. ‘Which was why I had to act.’

‘Sir, I pray you, do not dissemble.You know what I mean. It is not justice to weigh the life of a native against the life of a Company officer, not to mention a British subject. I shall of course be forced to appeal to a higher authority.’

‘As military governor, I am the highest authority. My decision stands, and you two gentlemen are dismissed.’