" Sooni, I love you." " and, I admire you." "Lend me your wife, just for an evening." "The cost of running a fine house." "This really is very good of you, Charlie." "Tell me where my wife goes, who she speaks to." "Your husband is a proper so and so, isn't he?" "Why do we put up with them all?" " I can't lose you again." " You won't." "Go!" "No!" "Get back!" "Get back!" "Come on!" "Enough, enough!" "Friend, you go back in there," "I'm not going in after you." "You understand me?" " Did you see?" " Who?" "Who do you see?" "Jaya." "Jaya!" "What do you know of that woman?" "What's your name?" "Ah!" "Wait!" "No, wait!" "Wait!" "I have to go, big day." "Oh, come on." "They're all big days." "Two minutes." "Do as you're told." "All right." "Hey." "Come." "Alice!" " Do you know what happened today?" " What happened today?" "It was Tony's last morning at the bank." "Then we'll be off home before too long and this adventure will come crashing to a halt and I woke up in the night and I got to thinking of the day I sailed to India..." "I stood on the deck looking back at Tilbury, my son in my arms, a few pounds in my pocket, bitterly cold..." "I was so happy." "I'd done something, you see." " I decided what I wanted to do..." " Alice." " .. and I'd bloody well done it." " Alice." "There's a train that leaves for the plains tomorrow morning." "I'm taking Percy with me." " You can't just leave." " Why not?" " You need to have a plan." " No, no." "All you need is the will to do it." " Where will you even go?" " We'll get as far as Bombay, then we'll get on a boat..." "We'll plough on." "No, he'll find you again, he'll come after you." " You can't just go!" " Why not?" "I did it before." "Come with me, if you like." "We can leave the past behind." "You, too." "Aafrin?" "I mean, you don't... have to." "I have my family to think of." "Aafrin?" "There's never any time, is there?" "Go on." "Run along." "You should get out to the club." " Sir?" " We'll talk when we're up." "Did you hear the latest?" "No, I don't think so." "This morning, Cynthia awoke to the most frightful shock." "Some local hero has hoisted the Indian flag in the middle of Cynthia's lawn." "Aren't you going to take it down?" "No, I want to see it, I want them to know what we're up against." "Yes, that's very noble, Cynthia, but I think everyone is unsettled enough." "I almost prefer it to our own." "Don't you?" "No?" "Get it down, Kaiser." "It's all right, it's coming down." "It'll be all right, dear." "I can't imagine what my husband would have said." " He was always the beating heart of this place." " Of course he was." " He always had such fun here." " Yes, but..." " What is it, dear?" "Well, how did he actually die?" " No-one seems to be able to explain it." " It was an accident." " Yes, it was a tragic accident." " He died saving a boy's life." "Chota Matthew, named after you." " Now cheerfully alive and working in the plains." " Because of your daddy." "But it was a bomb." " Well..." " An explosion, if you like." "Then why does everyone keep calling it an accident?" " That's quite enough of that." " I mean, someone must have made it." "Someone must have meant for it to go off." " Just like they put up that flag." " There are..." "There are some things in this world, young fella, better left unsaid." "Nobody knows why that thing went off, Matthew, or who put it there." "Whoever it was, we will find them." "And when we do... we'll show them we're not afraid." "You know, it still does something to me." "Think of you, all these years, plotting against us." "Me." "What you say, Aafrin?" "Can a man ever change?" "I'd like to think it's possible." "I have to know that you are with me." "I want to try it." "Why?" " Excuse me?" " Duty?" "Or self-preservation?" "What about friendship?" "Friendship." "Well, I can hardly argue with that, can I?" "Tie on or tie off?" "Mrs Kumar, tie on or tie off?" "I know, I know, it has a life of its own, I'm afraid." "It has a life of its own." "Mr Ian." "Oh, my..." "God!" "She's here, she's here!" "She's here." "Welcome." "My dear Miss Sooni." " Mr Ian." " I hope you're hungry." "Thank you." "I like to do things for you." " Do you mind?" " Not at all." "So... .. have you had a chance to consider my proposal?" "Mr Ian..." "You're my friend, Mr Ian." "My very, very fine friend." "And it is the duty of friends to raise each other up, no?" "But... .. it is also my duty to be honest." "Oh?" "And I have to be honest and say... .. thank you..." " .. but..." " No." "I am so sorry." "Truly, I am." "It's all right." "You cannae wish it into life if it's no there." "Will you excuse me?" "Come on, everyone, we're going to raise the flag." "Come and stand with us." " So happy you're back." " Me, too." "Very proud of you, my boy." "Very proud." "Thank you, Papi." "Kaiser!" "And did those feet in ancient times" "Walk among England's mountains green?" "And was the holy love of God..." "So?" "When shall we leave?" "What about Canada?" "I'm afraid Indians are not warmly welcomed in Canada." " Australia." " Really?" "I could apply for a travel permit." "We could get the boat from Bombay." "Imagine." "What will we do for money?" "Because I can't leave my father high and dry," "I have to leave them something to live on, you understand?" "It's all right." "Look." " Where did you get all this?" " Doesn't matter, don't ask." "It should be enough for our passage." " All right." " I still can't believe we're finally going to do this." "Madam?" "Coo-ee!" "Somebody overdo it on Cynthia's punch last night?" "Yes, somebody did." " The beast fights back." "Where are you off to?" " The bazaar." "Ah, the bazaar, she says, hmm..." "I've seen a wooden trike for Percy's birthday." "And who, er, who's paying for the wooden trike?" "Sorry, I didn't quite hear you." " Shall we start again?" " Bit bloody late for that, isn't it?" "What?" "Please may I buy our son a present?" "Mmm-mm-mm-mm... no." " No, I don't think so." " I'll buy the bloody trike." "Oh, er, a word, mine host." "What is it?" "The thing is... .. I've been rather protecting you, old boy." "My present to the bank, sort of... guarantee, if you like." "But now that I'm leaving, much as I hate to mention figures," "Wilson-Hutchinson has asked that you settle your account." "It's well in the region of four lakhs of rupees." "It's... it's 400,000." "I don't have that kind of money." "What a pickle." "You might want to consider selling the house before the bank steps in." "They do tend to, chhh, slash the price, rather, to push through the sale." "I'm not selling Chotipool." "I'll see what I can do." "Can't promise anything, but, er, maybe buy you a few more days, eh?" "Thank you, Charlie." " Namaste." " Namaste, sir." "Mr Khan." "You seem great." " Do I?" "Well, I'm generally quite cheerful around lunchtime." " Yeah." " Well, I'm a little busy, er..." " I know, I know, I know." " Aren't you going to ask me how I am?" " How are you, Mr McLeod?" " She turned me down." " Who turned you down?" "Who?" "Sooni!" "My Sooni!" "My heart's delight." "Now, don't you despair, Mr Ian." "You will love again, you wait and see." "Jesus suffering..." "Man, you're a journalist." "You work with words." "Is that honestly the best you can come up with?" " There's plenty more fish in the sea." " Oh, just don't speak." "You know what you need?" "Some fresh air, blow away the cobwebs." "A good stiff walk!" "Come!" "Is Mr Khan in his...?" "Oh, no need, I will just go in." "Am I late?" "Sooni." "Mr Ian!" "What are you...?" "Oh..." "No, no, please, God." "With him?" " I'm so sorry." " We are very sorry." "You hurt me." "And you, YOU..." "Right from under my nose, you sneaky, ink-stained Lothario!" "Oh!" "No..." "It was quite an accidental thing." "Although, in my case, I have loved her all along." "That is really not helping." "Well..." "My congratulations to you both." "Sincerely." "I'm sorry to have caused you any embarrassment." "There was something you wanted to tell me." "Do you know, according to my spies in the travel bureau, an application was made not one hour ago for a pair of tickets from Bombay to Sydney, Australia." "I was going to tell you." "Yeah, no, no need to explain." "Naturally I explained it was a bungle, and had them cancelled right away." " You can't do that." " Think!" "You know what you have to do but you can't buy tickets in your own name, not here in Simla, where everybody knows everybody." "Well, everybody knows me and I know everybody." " But we have to go, we've made a decision." " Don't panic." "I know an agent in Bombay and he will get you your tickets quietly, so it's just between ourselves." " Do you understand?" " Thank you." "You do know that if you go through with this, there's no coming back." "Yes, I understand." "Your poor brother." "When do we leave?" "Tomorrow night." "See?" "The princes have condemned the India Bill, they'll play no part in any federation." "No, no." " This is wrong." " Oh, come on, dear chap, it's hardly a surprise." "Everybody said the bill was doomed to fail from the off." "I'm afraid the princes are simply the final nail in the coffin." "What about Amritpur?" "He swore to me he would support it!" "Your pet Maharajah?" "He wasn't even there." "Last heard of taking the waters in Baden-Baden." "It's all right for some." "What?" ".. sleazy, conniving bastard!" " I warn you, baking is not my strong suit, Mr Khan." " Naseem." "Naseem." "If you made it, I assure you I'll want to eat it." "But have you ever tried Parsi food?" "Do you have a sweet tooth, because...?" "No." "I like it." " Really?" " Mm." "It's very light and moist." "What's wrong?" "Just a dull pain in my tooth." "I expect it was there before." "Yes, that must be it." " What is that?" " A small stone." "Peppercorn?" " Well, I didn't put it there." " No?" "Mm..." "Go on." "Right..." " Better?" " Mm!" " Yes." " Hm?" "Hm?" " The answer is yes, monkey!" " Yes what?" "Yes, I will marry you." "I'm the happiest man alive!" "I'll have a drink if I may, fine lady." " Everybody empty your pockets." " What on earth is going on in here?" "You remember my necklace?" " What necklace?" " The one I got from the... that man." " The one I showed you, do you remember, Alice?" " Yes, of course." "Well, I looked just now and it's gone." " Are you sure?" " Absolutely." "I remember distinctly it was on my dressing table when I went to bed last night." " Bhupi?" " I don't know where it is, Sahib." "Find out." " Is this necessary?" " Yes, it's absolutely necessary." "Right, castor oil." "One spoon each, and we keep it up until we have our culprit." "Off we go." "Very good, Sahib." " Apana muhan kholo." " Stop it, this is Medieval." "Hypocrite." "You used to love all this when we were small." "Madeleine..." " We heard from the Prince's Chamber." " And?" "No luck, I'm afraid." "What?" "They've washed their hands of our India Bill." "But what about our prince?" "He was here in this house." " We had a deal, we made an agreement." " Yes." " Jesus Christ!" " For what it's worth, he fought every inch of the way." " Oh, you liar." " I swear to God." " He hated us." "He hated you." " That's not true, that's not true!" " He was screwing with you for kicks!" "Well, maybe if you put your back into it, tried a bit harder!" "What about the job?" " Any advice or is that it?" "Is it over?" " Not at all." "The job still very much hangs in the balance." " I don't believe a word..." " For Christ's sake, Mads." "I love you." "Thank you." "Thank you for saying that." "Do you know, I think I left my necklace back at the club." "What?" "Are you sure?" "I just said so, didn't I?" "Chocolate icing, shape of a train." "Choo-choo!" "Do you understand?" " Yes, anything possible, ma'am." " All right, thank you very much." "What are you planning?" "A cake for Percy." "Oh?" "!" "Look." "I saw your purse was stuffed with cash." "And I know Charlie doesn't give you a dime." "So, I think we both know you stole my necklace." " Which, by the way, I don't give a damn about." " All right!" "I'm right here." "Talk to me." "I need the money." "For what?" "Can you keep a secret?" "Australia." "Australia?" "Christ, Ralph will be devastated." "You mustn't tell him." "Not yet." "But I have to leave Charlie." "You must see that, don't you?" "Come here." "One more." "You!" "Who are you?" "Somebody will tell me." "Who is this man?" "Who is this man?" "My name is Bhupinder, sahib." "For who do you work, Bhupinder?" "Who?" "!" "Ralph Whelan." "Of course you do." "Darling!" "Matthew?" "Matthew!" "Are you there?" "Matthew!" "Matthew!" "If you want to talk, I need to know the truth, Mother." "The truth." "Did you even love each other?" "Yes!" "Yes." "Well, I loved him." "And he loved me too, yes, he did." "But, being here in India... .. I wasn't happy." "He wanted to be a good husband, but he wasn't perfect." "And, my God, nor was I." "We tried as hard as we could but we made mistakes." "Your father was a good man, Matthew." "But he stopped loving me." "He fell in love with Leena." "But I'll make it right, Matthew, just as soon as I can." " Get you home, I'll get you back to school." " No, no!" " I'm not going back, I hate it there." " But your letters!" "Well, how could I have told you what it was really like?" "The hateful long terms, and constantly ragged trying to fit in." "Raworth, the pauper from India, the bursary boy." "Matthew, come here." "Oh, I'm so sorry, my darling." "All I wanted was to be in a happy family." "So did I." "'My darling." "Cynthia knows, but there's no need to be afraid." "'She's arranged a vehicle to take us down tomorrow night." "Be ready.'" "Tomorrow night?" " How many times shall I say it?" " As many times as you want." " Because it changes nothing." " So, you're just going to force me?" "What's happening here?" "I've fallen in love." " Sooni, please, not now." " Oh?" "I'm sorry!" "Is it somehow inconvenient for you?" "It's a small matter, I expect, Aafrin, we will visit him, sort it all out." " Who is he?" " What does it matter?" "Sooni, who is he?" " Who is he?" " Mr Khan!" " From the Simla Times?" " But he is a Muslim." " Yes!" "Well done" " Get out." "Get out of my house, now!" " Calm down." " Calm down?" "Oh, my good God!" "This stupid, stupid little girl..." "Because he's a Muslim?" "Don't you know how they treat their women?" "Keeping them in purdah, hidden away." "Eating their stupid food." "And then starving for a whole month." "Control yourself." " Do you wish to dig your mother's grave?" " No, Bapi." "Then forget this foolishness." " You will marry a Parsi or..." " Or what?" "Or you will break all our hearts." "I said I'd never seen anything like that in my life, honestly." "Oh!" "Here they are." "I was just about to send Kaiser out with a search party." "Sorry." "No need to make a lot of fuss." "How's Ernest?" "Oh, tot of brandy, good as gold." "Um." "So, er..." "Is everything all better now?" " Yes." " Good." "So, when are you leaving?" "Oh..." "Change of plan." "We're so comfortable at the club." "I wonder if we might stay on for a few days?" "He's lovely, darling, isn't he?" "Go on." "No, go on, he loves this." "Don't you, darling?" "Loves it." "Oh, dear." "How is she?" "I feel so very selfish." ""No, Sooni." "You are not being selfish."" "If you truly love Mr Khan... .. then you must follow your heart." "Even if it breaks theirs?" "Aafrin?" "Yes." "Even so." "How much do I love you?" "I'll tell you no lie" "How deep is the ocean?" "How high is the sky?" "How many times a day do I think of you?" "Shake a leg?" ".. And how many roses are sprinkled with dew?" "How far would I travel to be where you are?" "How far is the journey from here to a star?" "And if I ever lost you" "How much would I cry?" "How deep is the ocean?" "How high is the sky?" "Four years ago, you shouted down the stairs," ""Darling, it's time, call the doctor!"" " Do you remember?" " Of course." "We were so excited." "Oh, hello." " For you, Miss Alice." " Thank you." "'Rickshaw booked." "The room. 8pm.'" " What is it?" " Oh, erm..." "From, er, Cynthia, for Percy." " Ah." "How far would I travel just to be where you are?" "How jolly." "How far is the journey from here to the nearest star?" "And if I ever lost you..." "Look, Percy, what is in here?" " Nathan" " Bhupi!" "Come on, old crumb." "Try it out." "What are fathers for if not to spoil their little darlings?" "Madeleine, I need to talk to you now." "Miss Alice, is something wrong?" "Sumitra, I need your help." "I'm leaving Charlie." "I'm leaving here this evening." "I need to pack a bag." "I have been praying for you." "I'm so happy." " I wish I could take you with me." " No." "We will always be together." "In our minds." "Time, it's all we need." "To change your sister's mind?" "For you and Ma to accept all this." "And you will." " You want your children to be happy, don't you?" " Of course, yes!" "But how can anyone be happy if we are all to be broken up?" "First you, and that Englishwoman." "Now your sister has taken your lead." " I'm still here!" " Good." "Good." "Because you would kill your poor mother for sure." "Yes." "Bhupi, what's the matter?" "Ralphy bhai." "Shut the door." "Sit down." "I... have done something very bad." " Gimlet, anyone?" " Yes, please." "I'm not sure you should." "You're terribly pink." " He's been acting up all day." " I'm hot, that's..." " I'll get them." "Gosh, look at that." "It's almost seven o'clock." "Percy, bedtime." "Spoilsport!" "All right, five more minutes." "I'm going away with Alice Havistock." "Alice..." "Havistock?" "We are going overseas tonight." "Where?" "Australia." "Australia?" "And when are you coming back?" "I don't know." "I don't know if I ever will." "What?" "That doesn't make any sense." "Does Daddy know?" "No, there's no time." "What will we do?" "I don't know." " You can't just leave." " I have to!" "And I think you know why." "You would do the same yourself." "No." "I don't have your courage." "You think we are so different, you and I." "But we are the same, Sooni." "Peas in a pod." "I have to follow my heart." "I hate you so much." "I hate you too." "All right, Percy." "Time's up." " I'll come up after his bath and kiss him goodnight." " What?" " You don't have to do that." " Of course I will." " Birthday treat." " Right." "I'll call you when he's in bed." " Brother." " Yes?" "Thank you." "Oh, what have I done now?" " That suit looks nice on you." " It's as old as the hills." " You need to get your eyes examined." " Yes, I expect I do." "Will you be all right?" "When I'm gone." "Let's not think about all that now." "You and Charlie won't be off for a few weeks yet." "Sorry, I've got to run." "Will I see you up at the club later?" "I don't think so." "It's a secret adventure, but Daddy will be coming soon so we have to be quiet." "We'll go down the back stairs." "Sumitra will look after your trike until we get back." "It's all right." "Memsahib, you need to go." "Are you ready?" "Please do take care." "Thank you." "Alice!" "Where is my wife?" "Where is she?" "Where is my son?" "I don't know, Sahib." "That's not true, is it?" " Yes, Sahib." " Where is she?" "Tell me where she is." "Has she taken Percy somewhere?" "I don't know, Sahib." "I paid you to watch her." "And you will tell me where she is." "Hand." "HAND!" "Where are they?" "Where are they?" "Where is she?" "Where's my son?" "Where's my son?" "Where's my son?" "This is your fault." "You're doing it to yourself." "Nearly there." "Here we are." " We have to go." " The rickshaw hasn't arrived yet." "We can pick one up on the street." "Cynthia's already paid for it." "I am not that poor!" "It'll only be five minutes." "Let our first row not be about rickshaws." "We're going to go on a big adventure." "Daddy, you found us!" "Here we all are." " Not late, am I?" " Darling." " Get out of our way." " It's not quite as simple as that." "Would you mind terribly sitting tight?" "Come on, Percy." "Off we go." " Come on." " Are we going home?" " Come along." " Alice." "Alice?" " There we go." " What are you doing?" " Alice!" " Off you run." " Alice!" "There we go, there we go." "Aafrin!" "Aafrin!" " There we are." " Get your hands off me!" " Get off me!" " Alice!" "Stop it!" "Get off!" " Alice!" " Get off!" "And if I ever lost you..." "Did you lock the rear exit?" "That a boy." " How much would I cry..." " Off we trot!" "Off we trot." "How deep is the ocean?" "How high is the sky?"