Reluctantly, Mira walked towards the servants’ entrance accompanied by Bikram, leaving Kate and Ashok facing each other on the steaming pavement. At that moment the monsoon rain began to pour from a leaden sky.

‘Come with me, Ash.’ Kate hurried up the path and stepped into the shelter of the portico.

‘I had to see you, Kate.’

She tugged at his sleeve. ‘You’re soaked to the skin, Ash. I can’t ask you into the house but you must take shelter.’

‘Why didn’t you make yourself known to me when you were in Thana?’ Ash demanded angrily. ‘I thought we meant something to each other.’

Kate was suddenly breathless. She had imagined coming face to face with Ashok so many times in the past, but the reality was different and she was suddenly tongue-tied. ‘How could I spoil your special day?’

‘You can’t say that. You have no idea how I might feel about you now. We swore to love each other for ever.’

‘I remember that,’ Kate said mistily. ‘But it’s different now.’

‘I haven’t changed. I still love you, Kate.’

‘You’re a married man. You have to forget me, Ash.’

‘As you have forgotten me,’ he said bitterly. ‘Your words meant nothing.’

‘That isn’t fair,’ Kate protested. ‘I didn’t know if you were alive or dead. I had no alternative but to return to my own country and make a life for myself, but that doesn’t mean that I forgot you.’

He bowed his head. ‘That man who stayed with my family while he was sick – is he your lover?’

‘This is ridiculous, Ash. I’m glad that you survived the fighting, but why did you come here today?’

‘I had to see you. I wanted to know if there was anything still between us.’

‘Your brother should not have told you about me.’

‘I knew there was something he was keeping from me. I dragged it out of him. Perhaps I sensed that you had been there that day. My marriage was arranged by her parents and mine.’

‘Then I hope you will be happy, Ash. I really mean that.’

‘You came all the way to Bombay to find that man? You didn’t think to come looking for me?’

‘Ash, this is getting us nowhere. You are a married man and I am spoken for. At least I think I am.’

‘You are not certain? You wish to marry that sick man?’

‘Ash, I loved you very much, but it was a long time ago now – it was another life. We are not the same people we were then.’

‘I still love you, Kate.’

Kate hesitated, gazing into his tragic, dark eyes. ‘The girl I was then still has a place in her heart for you, but the rebellion changed our lives for ever.’

He dashed the rain from his eyes. ‘In my heart I am still the same.’