Tobias beamed at them with an air of muddled benevolence, blinking every so often. Soon, Dora brought him tea in a large mug, which Tobias sipped in appreciation.
‘Bless you, my child,’ he said softly. ‘What happened to your hand?’
‘A small accident, Father. Nothing serious.’
Michelle came up and chatted with the priest, as did Jilsy. Everyone other than Richie and Abbas seemed to be on good terms with him. As soon as Tobias finished his tea, he sought out the two younger men and greeted them.
Soon, the party had regained its momentum, the disconcerting interruption forgotten. Ganesh got progressively drunk as he downed peg after peg of dark rum. He buttonholed Varadan, and held forth on superheroes and supervillains. Jilsy drifted away from them and began chatting with the four cousins and Abbas.
Athreya found himself with Sebastian, who turned out to be a pleasant man to talk to. Both of them were partaking of the same whisky from Bhaskar’s liquor cupboard. It turned out that Sebastian had spent a good part of the day at the site of the landslide.
‘It’s going to take at least two days to clear the road,’ he said. ‘And perhaps a day or two more to make it motorable. But we have nothing to worry about. We have enough supplies for this three-day party, and at least for another week after that. You must enjoy yourself to the hilt, Mr Athreya. That’s what Mr Fernandez would want.’
‘A generous man, Mr Fernandez,’ Athreya said softly, thinking about the conversation he had overheard outside the study window.
‘Oh, yes!’ Sebastian agreed emphatically. ‘Very large-hearted. I’ve been with him since I was an unlettered teenager, you know. From before the accident that smashed his legs. He educated me, and taught me so many things. I owe everything to him.’
‘Did he take the family quarrel badly? From the way he spoke about it, the challenge his brother mounted in court seems to have cut deeply.’
‘Yes, it did. A very sad affair. It achieved nothing but delay and bad blood. Mr Fernandez was very fond of his sister, Sarah. It broke his heart when she joined Mathew in the challenge.’
‘But Mr Fernandez is a strong man, isn’t he? He came out of all of this unscathed. Despite the bad blood, he is doing everything he can for his nieces and nephew.’
‘I wouldn’t say he came out unscathed, Mr Athreya. The scars are there, but below the surface. He doesn’t let them show. But yes, he is doing everything he can for Manu’s cousins. Even for Richie, despite the young man’s impudence. Mr Fernandez is very fond of the girls.’
‘Of course, I’ve not been here for long, but Dora seems devoted to him.’
‘She is! So is Manu. Being a girl, Dora demonstrates it openly. Her affection is very visible. Manu, on the other hand, is a reserved person. He doesn’t show much emotion outwardly. But he is devoted to his father. He won’t go against his father’s word. Mr Fernandez, on his part, doesn’t make Manu do anything he doesn’t want to do. He never imposes anything on him.’
‘Mr Fernandez seems to be a pretty hard-nosed man. Very practical and clued-in. Thoroughly grounded in reality, he is.’
Sebastian nodded agreement, and Athreya went on.
‘Yet, he believes that eleven is an inauspicious number for the family.’
‘We all have our beliefs, Mr Athreya. His father and mother also held the same belief against the number eleven. It’s a family thing.’
‘I guess so,’ said Athreya, nodding. ‘I saw Michelle and Dora agreeing with him.’
‘I don’t know if you have realized it yet, but we have a bigger problem now, Mr Athreya,’ Sebastian said softly.
‘What problem?’
‘With Father Tobias joining us, we are now thirteen.’
If Bhaskar was uncomfortable that thirteen people were at dinner, he didn’t show it. Cheery and voluble, he invited his guests to sample all the dishes, and talked at length about his preference for British authors over American when it came to crime fiction. Sebastian, Athreya, Dora and Manu joined in enthusiastically, even as Varadan poked logical and legal holes in the plots, trying to demonstrate that fiction was not as credible as readers liked to believe. Phillip shot wry one-liners that had Dora, Michelle and Jilsy in splits.
Richie and Abbas were in a conversation of their own, as a drunken Ganesh concentrated on transporting food from his plate to his mouth without mishap. Father Tobias blinked and smiled at anyone who looked his way, and held desultory conversations with his neighbours at the dining table.
At a little past eleven, the satiated diners rose and stood talking, before they split up into smaller groups and continued chatting. Richie and Jilsy escorted a wobbling Ganesh through the mist to the annex. After chatting with the others for a little while, Manu and Dora went away to the rose garden, and Michelle and Abbas sauntered away to Sunset Deck.
Sebastian had a room prepared in the annex for Father Tobias, and escorted the cleric to it once Bhaskar had retired for the night. Varadan and Phillip sat chatting in the drawing room. Left alone, Athreya decided to take a stroll along the walkways before going into his room. He went around in a circle, enjoying the novelty of being near sightless in the fog. When he began his second round and passed the rose garden, he heard Dora talking softly.
‘Uncle said he is willing to help me with twenty-five lakh,’ she said. ‘But instead of giving me the money, he wants to set up the business himself, with him and me as co-promoters. Upon his death, the entire business will become mine. He said he would talk to you about it. This is crazy, Manu. Why is he tying everything to his death?’
‘Did he say why he wants to take this approach?’ Manu asked.
‘I am too fond
