Eventually he was posted as a junior to one of the larger Rajput states. To the dismay of the Paramount Power the maharajah had a taste for the sexually bizarre, and a series of rape claims had been brought against him. Privett-Clampe immediately found himself embroiled in the details of the maharajah's private life, in which Argentinian tango dancers, Borzoi dogs, and a ceratin regimental harness-maker in Jaipur all featured. Gus was shocked. The farther he delved, the worse it got. English women. English breeds of dog. He had to keep a French dictionary at his elbow just to decipher the reports. When he found out it was his job, not to give the fellow a sound thrashing but actually to smooth things over, he had a fit of despair and embarked on a mammoth drinking binge.

Hari Kunzru, The Impressionist (126-27)