“We have not been exposed to either typhoid or cholera here at Ruvensford within my memory,” Jacina told him.
“Long may it remain so,” declared the Earl.
He asked Jacina about the local families, those who were tenants on his land. Jacina knew many of them from accompanying her father on his rounds. She described their lives and their troubles to the Earl. He was struck by her compassion for those less fortunate than herself.
The Earl gradually began to confide more and more in Jacina.
He never talked about his experience of the mutiny, but he described other aspects of his life in India. She enjoyed hearing about the landscape and the customs of the people.
“The men are dark and handsome,” he said. “The women wear bright colours and are like exotic birds.”
Jacina felt a pang of jeal
