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CHAPTER ONE

June 21,1895

Bombay, India

"Please tellto be part of "

I aly pink tongue slithers in and out of a cruel mouth while an Indian man whose eyes are the blue of blindness inclines his head toward ood eating

My er to stroke the snake's back "What do you think, Ge on cobra?"

The slithery thing makes me shudder "I think not, thank you"

The old, blind Indian h to sendback where I bump into a wooden stand filled with little statues of Indian deities One of the statues, a woround Kali, the destroyer Lately, Mother has accusedher as my unofficial patron saint Lately, Mother and I haven't been getting on very well She claie I state emphatically to anyone ill listen that it's all because she refuses to take me to London

"I hear in London, you don't have to defang yourpast the cobraevery inch of Bombay's frenzied rinder and his monkey It's unbearably hot Beneath my cotton dress and crinolines, sweat streaks down my body The fliesmy most ardent aded beasts, but it escapes and I can al epidemic proportions

Overhead, the clouds are thick and dark, giving warning that this is monsoon season, when floods of rain could fall from the sky in a matter of minutes In the dusty bazaar the turbaned htly colored silks toward us with brown, sunbaked hands Everywhere there are carts lined with straw baskets offering every sort of ware and ediblethin, coppery vases; wooden boxes carved into intricate flower designs; andin the heat

"How much farther to Mrs Talbot's new house? Couldn't we please take a carriage?" I ask hat I hope is a noticeable annoyance

"It's a nice day for a walk And I'll thank you to keep a civil tone"

My annoyance has indeed been noted

Sarita, our long-suffering housekeeper, offers poranates in her leathery hand "Memsahib, these are very nice Perhaps ill take the some to my father, watch his blue eyes twinkle as he slices open the rich, red fruit, then eats the tiny seeds with a silver spoon just like a proper British gentleman

"He'll only stain his white suit," I gru to o everywhere together,local custo up late to see the streets blooht Now, she barely takes me on social calls It's as if I'm a leper without a colony