London, India House, May 15th, 1949
The door to Arjun's private study closed with a soft click, shutting out the noise of London and the lingering tension from Number 10.
For a few seconds, neither man spoke.
Krishna Menon loosened his collar and walked to the sideboard, pouring himself a glass of water and downing it in one go like he desperately needed it. Only then did he turn around.
Arjun stood by the window with one hand resting on the sill, staring out at the low, colorless London sky. His shoulders were still, but there was a tension in the way he stood that had not been there during the meeting. Like he was holding something back.
"Well," Menon said carefully, testing the waters. "We got the gold. That's one achievement. That too on a timetable they cannot easily wriggle out of."
Arjun nodded but did not turn. "Yes."
Menon hesitated. "On the sterling balance though, they shut every door. Slammed them shut, actually."
Arjun sighed, turning away from the window and walked to the desk, sitting down like the movement itself took effort.
"For months," he said, "I suspected that machinery deal was an anomaly. Something that should not have happened, at least not as easily as it did. And today, they confirmed it."
Menon sat across from him. "Still, you handled it well in there, Prime Minister."
Arjun gave a thin, humorless smile. "That's because I realized there is nothing else I can do which could lead to a better outcome."
There was a short silence, it felt a bit heavier.
"Krishna ji," Arjun said, "you were probably wondering why I did not cut them off at the beginning, and not fight back when they resisted so strongly to sterling debts, right? Why I let Attlee talk about reconciliation and reforms and all that theater."
Menon hesitated a bit before nodded slightly.
"Because part of me still wanted to be wrong," Arjun admitted, and there was something raw in his voice. "I wanted to see if there was even a crack left in that wall. Some opening, some flexibility, anything at all."
He looked down at the papers on his desk, untouched since they had returned. "Alas, there was not."
He exhaled slowly, then continued more composed. "If I had countered them down immediately, it would have turned into a confrontation about pride and wounded egos.
They would have postured, hardened their positions, and would have made a public show of resistance. That helps no one, least of all us."
He looked up at Menon. "So, I let them continue. I let them pretend this was still a discussion, that they still had some control over it. And in doing so, I got what actually matters. Our gold, on track to be returned back to India, before upcoming pound devaluation does something unfortunate."
Menon nodded slowly.
He stood again and walked a few steps, restless energy needing somewhere to go, then stopped.
"The important thing we learned today is not that Britain refused us," he said. "It is why they could refuse us."
"Indeed. Brits aren't the real gatekeepers anymore," Menon agreed, his voice carrying a strange feeling.
He wondered how London felt about being on the receiving end of the situation where they can't independently make their own decisions.
Arjun chuckled. "Heh, they have not been for some time now, Krishna-ji. It's the Washington who has the ultimate say."
He paused, thinking. "It's not a total surrender though. What happened was a one time exception. London still has enough imperial pride left to not agree with every suggestion others might give, even if it is the US making those suggestions."
His expression darkened. "Not to mention, given how paranoid the Americans can be about security, they might be less keen to tell Britain to give us any leeway on sterling debts after the Balochistan incident.
That whole mess probably made Washington nervous about how much power we are accumulating."
He looked tired for the first time that day, genuinely tired.
Menon said softly, "On the bright side, it also means we were right to cultivate the Americans first."
"Hmm," Arjun agreed. "But it also means we are not yet strong enough to ignore them. We still need to play their game to some extent."
That hung in the air for a moment, uncomfortable but true.
Then Arjun straightened, the weight on his shoulders settling back into something usable. Something he could work with.
"Still," he said, his voice firmer now, "we secured one of the objective. That alone changes our position more than most people in Delhi will ever understand. Real wealth, and not just paper promises."
Menon allowed himself a small nod.
After a brief silence, he spoke. "Since we have already wrapped things up here, I take it we will leave for Delhi tomorrow morning?"
"Yes."
Menon smiled faintly. "You are as hardworking as ever, huh."
Arjun looked at the grey sky again, his expression unreadable. "Such are the times, Krishna ji. Such are the times."
He turned back from the window. "Somethings does not wait for currencies or conferences," he said. "And unlike London, the issue of North-East is a problem we can actually solve with our own hands. No begging or negotiating, just action."
The door to the private study closed softly as Menon retired his own room. Arjun stood near the window, lost in his own thoughts.
India House, London – Later that Night
Arjun's room was dim. The only light came from the lamp on his study desk. He was working through stacks of paper when someone knocked on the door. Krishna Menon stepped inside.
"Prime Minister," Menon said quietly. "We received a message from our Ambassador to the USA a few minutes ago. The Americans have agreed to the bilateral meeting. Last week of this month."
Arjun leaned back in his chair. He let out a slow breath and some of the tension seemed to leave his shoulders.
'Finally. It would have been troublesome if they had rejected it. But it looks like the China angle did its work.'
Menon stood there for a few moments without saying anything. Then he frowned slightly.
"Prime Minister, do you think they saw through the request?"
Arjun let out a short laugh. There was no humor in it. "Of course they would have. Any halfway competent State Department analyst would have caught it.
They probably sat around a table somewhere in Washington and said, Mehra is cutting himself loose from Britain and making sure we do not misread it as a pivot against the West. They would have understood the reassurance for exactly what it was."
He glanced outside of window as he processed the news again. His jaw tightened a little.
"They probably think I want to talk about the Kuomintang. Or containment strategies. And that is perfectly fine. Let them think that. It gives them a reason to say yes without admitting they are reacting to what London might think."
He paused and rubbed his eyes briefly. He was a bit tired mentally.
"Besides, our main motive is discussions regarding the dollar peg. If I had mentioned anything even remotely more financial in that cable, the tone of their reply would have been completely different. They would have delayed the meeting. Started snooping around to figure out why we seem desperate."
He exhaled slowly. The sound was heavy.
"And that is something we cannot afford right now. I want to ensure we cut the pound from our financial ecosystem completely and safely. That will need at least a month of preparation time. So, we need to move as quickly as possible."
Menon nodded slowly. His expression was thoughtful. "Let us hope we get what we want in this upcoming meeting."
"Yes," Arjun said. He straightened in his chair a little, like he was physically trying to shake off the weight of everything they had just discussed. "Let us hope."