She's into it

“Do you think some of those captured young women might have been from American ships trading with the subcontinent for tea and spices?”

“I'm sure there were.” Riya pauses to take a sip of her tea, “I'm afraid, Alison, that the hordes of native warriors sweeping over the vanquished cities might not have the sophistication needed to distinguish between British and American citizens.” Alison's coy smile was all I needed to see to know where this was heading.

“OK, I know what my role is going to be,” she turns to scrutinize me as I'm finishing the last of my brunch, “but what about Mr. P? He can hardly be a young Hindu warrior. Nor does he look like a great Raj, he's just too white.” Riya nods thoughtfully and brings her fingertips together in a little steeple as she ponders the possibilities.

“What if he is the reason the British Army was defeated?” She asks, with a playful grin on her face. “He could have made a deal with one of the Hindu maharajah's to help them defeat the British forces in exchange for a fiefdom of his own.”

“What if he passed on critical information to the Maharajah's generals that allowed the local forces to outmaneuver the Western armies?”

“Oh, I see!” Alison jumps on the idea with enthusiasm, “and in exchange for betraying his own people he is given his choice of the luscious prizes in addition to his new palace.” I must have gotten a silly grin on my face at the idea of having my pick of the scores of chained young women standing in shock as I look over the possible choices. Alison knew I'd like this particular scenario, in the year or so that she lived upstairs from me we had played out several variations of this theme.

Riya wags her delicate finger at me playfully, “You, Mr. Patterson are a very wicked man. Not only are you a traitor, but an old lecher too who is willing to take advantage of the chaos of war to create a harem of collared slaves.”

“And what about you?” I turn the tables on the pretty exchange student. “A prideful Hindi princess who delights in tormenting the lovely fair-skinned beauty who has fallen into this terrible fate?”