"Allen, Grant - Miss Cayley's Adventures 09 - The Adenture of the Magnificent Maharajah" - читать интересную книгу автора (Allen Grant)

'Gracious heavens!' I exclaimed. 'Our reception,
Maharajah? I think you misunderstand. We are two
ordinary English ladies of the proletariat,
accustomed to the level plain of professional
society. We expect no reception.'

He bowed again, with stately Eastern deference.
'Friends of Tillington's,' he said shortly, 'are
persons of distinction. Besides, I have heard of
you from Lady Georgina Fawley.'

'Lady Georgina is too good,' I answered, though
inwardly I raged against her. Why couldn't she
leave us alone, to feed in peace on dak-bungalow
chicken, instead of sending this regal-mannered
heathen to bother us?

'So I have come down to Bombay to make sure that
you are met in the style that befits your
importance in society,' he went on, waving his
suite away with one careless hand, for he saw it
fussed us. 'I mentioned you to His Honour the
Acting-Governor, who had not heard you were coming.
His Honour's aide-de-camp will follow shortly with
an invitation to Government House while you remain
in Bombay--which will not be many days, I don't
doubt, for there is nothing in this city of plague
to stop for. Later on, during your progress up
country, I do myself the honour to hope that you
will stay as my guests for as long as you choose at
Moozuffernuggar.'

My first impulse was to answer: 'Impossible,
Maharajah; we couldn't dream of accepting your kind
invitation.' But on second thoughts, I remembered
my duty to my proprietor. Journalism first;
inclination afterwards! My letter from Egypt on
the rescue of the Englishwoman who escaped from
Khartoum had brought me great йclat as a
special correspondent, and the Daily
Telephone now billed my name in big letters on
its placards, so Mr. Elworthy wrote me. Here was
another noble chance; must I not strive to rise to
it? Two English ladies at a native court in
Rajputana! that ought to afford scope for some
rattling journalism!

'It is extremely kind of you,' I said,
hesitating, 'and it would give us great pleasure,