‘Mr Athreya!’ Bhaskar boomed in a gravelly baritone as he yanked the joystick to stop the missile he was riding. ‘Welcome! Welcome to Greybrooke Manor.’ He thrust out a long arm and shook Athreya’s hand heartily. ‘I hope you had a good journey?’
‘Thank you,’ Athreya replied with a wide smile. ‘Yes, the journey was fine, and I’m delighted to be here. Thank you for inviting me. A quaint place you have here.’
‘Wonderful, wonderful!’ Bhaskar exclaimed, still shaking Athreya’s hand. ‘Dora look after you well, eh?’
‘Very well! She and Manu have been entertaining me from the moment they picked me up. I think I know every spot worth knowing between here and Crown Bakery. And she insisted on giving me a drink as soon as we got here.’
‘Wonderful, wonderful!’ Bhaskar repeated and let go of Athreya’s hand. He wrinkled his nose theatrically. ‘From this bar?’ he queried.
‘We went to the hilltop too,’ Dora piped in quickly, avoiding the last question. ‘Mr Athreya loved it.’
‘He did, eh?’ Bhaskar’s brilliant eyes were studying Athreya, assessing him. ‘Did it touch him?’
‘It did! See, I’m not the only one who senses things there. He did too.’
‘I know, girl. Your aunt used to feel it too … every time. She and I used to go up there every so often. There were times it touched me too.’ He turned to his niece and continued in a more serious tone. ‘Sebastian tells me that you escaped a landslide by a whisker. Thank goodness! How bad is it?’
‘I didn’t see it, Uncle. I was driving, and the landslide happened behind us. Manu was sitting at the back and saw the whole thing. He should be able to tell you.’
‘Can’t seem to find him,’ Bhaskar grumbled. ‘Anyway, he’ll soon be here.’
‘I saw a bit of it,’ Athreya chimed in. ‘Manu shone a torch at the landslide. It actually happened in two parts, less than a minute apart. The first slide was smaller, the mass of earth that was dislodged being twice the length of this room and twenty-thirty yards wide.
‘Then came the second, which was far larger. This one covered the entire road and spilt over downhill. Two big trees came crashing down a dozen yards behind us, accompanied by a lot more rocks and soil. The noise was deafening. That’s when Dora rushed us away from there. I’m not sure how much more came down, but I looked back as we took the curve in the road. The mass seemed much wider than it first was–perhaps a hundred yards wide. It was difficult to make out much in the dark, but the dust cloud was massive.’
‘A hundred yards, eh?’ Bhaskar’s eyes glazed over in contemplation. ‘That’s going to take a few days to clear–’
He broke off as Manu and Sebastian walked into the room. At a touch of the console and with a reflexive twist of the joystick, Bhaskar turned the wheelchair to face the newcomers.
‘There you are, Manu,’ he said. ‘Mr Athreya tells me that the landslide might have been as much as a hundred yards wide.’
‘That’s right,’ Manu nodded. ‘It was a big one.’
He went on to narrate what he had seen.
‘Hmm,’ Bhaskar rumbled. ‘It’ll take a few days to clear it. I hope the road isn’t too damaged. Are we stocked adequately, Sebastian? Nobody can come or leave here, except the others down the vale.’ He threw a quick glance at Athreya, and said, as if to clarify, ‘The valley is cut off.’
‘We are well stocked, Mr Fernandez,’ Sebastian confirmed. ‘We can easily last for a couple of weeks. But we may have to be careful with the diesel for the generator.’
‘Do what it takes, Sebastian. Don’t get bullied into switching on more lights than necessary. And make sure that the generator doesn’t run for more than twelve hours a day.’ He turned to Athreya with an apology. ‘I’m sorry about this, Mr Athreya. I hope it won’t inconvenience you too much. I don’t think it will affect your comfort. We can light an old-fashioned fire in your fireplace if your room gets too cold. There is no shortage of wood.’
Before Athreya could respond, Bhaskar turned back to Sebastian and went on, ‘Go there in the morning and make a first-hand assessment. See what the Roads Department has to say about how long it’ll take to fix it. In any case, from what Manu and Mr Athreya say, it’s going to take a few days …’
Bhaskar lapsed into silence, frowning like a grumpy bear, sinking his chin into his chest. Such was the presence and personality of the man that none of the others, including Athreya, spoke for a long time. Bhaskar was thinking; he would soon have something more to add. Instinctively, they waited. Athreya took the opportunity to study the man.
White and black shared his mane in equal measure, while white had gained ascendency in his beard. However, it had not yet touched his arched eyebrows. He had a large head, larger than that of his son and niece. In the few minutes Athreya had shared with him, it had become apparent that Bhaskar was an intelligent man who knew his mind and got his way. His swarthy skin was tough and lined beyond his sixty-five years. Athreya guessed that he had seen a lot of the outdoors in his earlier years.
Strong shoulders extended into long, powerful arms that must have developed their taut muscles over years of manipulating and propelling wheelchairs. Perhaps he had not had the benefit of an electric wheelchair for a long time.
At length, Bhaskar looked up and spoke to Sebastian.
‘We must ask Enrico to delay his visit,’ he said. ‘He was contemplating coming the day after tomorrow. Now, with the landslide, that is not going to be possible. See if you can talk to him now. I’ll call him tomorrow, after we get a clearer picture from the Roads
