He raised his voice as he spoke, knowing that as Natasha’s tent adjoined his, it would be quite simple for her to hear everything that he was saying.
He was taking a chance in saying that Prince Akbar was no longer with him, but he knew that if the Colonel had come from Vladikavkaz he would not have been in touch with Tiflis.
He would have come straight across country and therefore would not be in a position to know whether the supposed Prince had left the Palace in his company or not.
“The Field-Marshal was rather surprised that you should have taken an Indian Prince with you to Dargo-Vedin,” the Colonel said after a moment.
“I had no choice in the matter,” Lord Athelstan answered. “The Maharaja wished me to escort his son to England and I could hardly leave him sitting by the roadsid
