Chapter 90

Chapter One Hundred Fifty Eight: The Unavoidable Challenge

Back at the Castle, after Lord Akash had left the ballroom, Payal had also had her ritual bath and she emerged out of the ballroom looking immaculate, in her gifted blue gown.

It was soon time for the family feast and all of them gathered in the living room around the massive dining table.

Kushi appeared just then earning a stare from everyone on how wet her hair looked though she had attempted to furiously dry it.

"Where have you been?" asked her mother as Kushi came to sit beside her, and Buaji, who was sitting on her other side, questioned accusingly, "Why are you all wet, young lady? Not upto one of your mischiefs again, I hope!"

"She fell in the lake when she was on her way to the stable," said Lady Anjali with a twinkle in her eyes as she smiled at Kushi. Before anyone could further the topic, Lady Anjali called out to the attendants waiting in the room to serve them.

The lunch being served was exquisite and the Gupta family felt much out of place when they saw that they were to eat from gold-plated cutlery and from crystal glasses. Nevertheless, they smiled and warmly indulged in polite feasting and there was an air of pleasantness in their conversations into which Lady Manorama alone preferred to not participate.

When they were being served, Lord Arnav climbed down the stairs, wearing a dry blue shirt, and headed for the dining hall, but he paused on seeing that the Gupta family was seated at the table as well.

Reluctantly, he slid into the head chair at one end and his uncle, Lord Manohar, smiled at him from where he sat in the head chair at the other end.

Lord Arnav was being administered by servants when he looked across the table and noticed that Kushi was sitting quite far away from him.

She was not even sparing him a glance.

He frowned and looked away only to find himself staring at the cleverly-grinning face of his sister who was sitting beside him. He looked around, "Where is brother-in-law? I haven't seen him since I came back from my morning ride."

"I met him a few minutes ago when he was dressing up to leave for the market," said Lady Anjali, smiling, "he said he had gotten an urgent message to meet someone at the Market. He promised he will be back before the feast. He should be here anytime soon."

The feasting commenced and the conversations at the table moved from casual matters to the event at hand.

"What about the arrangements for the marriage?" Nani asked.

Lord Akash answered, looking at Master Shashi, "The groom's family will take care of it. We have asked a few workers at the Industry to help in the arrangements."

Lord Arnav nodded in support and then he looked at Kushi but she was too engrossed in a conversation with Payal and seemed to ignore the fact that he even existed in that room.

Lord Arnav had a hasty meal, and he was out of the room sooner than he had come.

"Chotey, wait!" called out Nani but he was already gone. She looked at her granddaughter, "Why was he in such a hurry? He didn't even have the ritualistic sweetened milk which is an important part of this feast."

"I will ask OmPrakash to hand it to him in his room," said Lady Anjali when Kushi suddenly volunteered, "I will convey the message to OmPrakash, my lady. Please do not bother to rise when you are having your meal."

"You are having your meal too, Miss Kushi," said Lady Anjali, "I will send one to the servants here."

"No," Kushi stood up hastily, "I need to go to the kitchen to…...get something. So I can convey the message myself without you having to send a servant just for that."

And before Nani and Lady Anjali could talk sense to her and stop her, she had already placed her fork and knife into the plate, bowed to them, and headed for the kitchen. Her prolonged stay at the Castle for Lady Lavanya's sake had earned her the knowledge of where everything in the kitchen was placed.

On conveying the message to OmPrakash, Kushi stalled for some time in the kitchen, watching Om Prakash pour the milk into a crystal glass and then when Om Prakash had gone to the storeroom to fetch the sugar, Kushi hastily cut red hot chilies and dropped their seeds into the glass. She looked around hastily to see if anyone was watching and thankfully, everyone was busy serving the Raizada and Gupta family in the dining hall.

Just when she had moved away, OmPrakash appeared with the jar of sugar and he smiled at Kushi, oblivious of what she had done and then when he had put a little sugar into the milk and mixed it well, he proceeded to take the ritualistic sweetened milk to his Master who was in his room.

Kushi happily joined the family in their meal and resumed her feasting with redoubled joy.

A few minutes later, Lord Arnav emerged out of his room, down the stairs and into the dining hall, frowning and grunting, his eyes watery with too much coughing and his sister stood up worriedly, "Chotey? What happened?" her gaze fell on the glass of milk he held and she voiced, "Is it something you drank?"

He was about to answer her when he saw Kushi's triumphant grin as the girl spooned her lunch while keeping her gaze only on the plate.

"No, it's not something I drank," he said looking at his sister, but Kushi looked up, startled at his answer, "I drank a little too fast and it caught on my throat."

He coughed again and his sister handed him a glass of water. As he let it wash down his throat, no one noticed how he looked at Kushi over the rim of the glass and Kushi paled on realizing that he knew.

He handed the glass to his sister and, after nodding politely to the elders at the table, he left for his room again, his glass of sweetened milk still in his hand.

Kushi resolved to stay away from him all day and never to present herself before him even accidently.

But things turned against her when Nani insisted that she was tired and needed to go to her room and asked if Kushi could accompany her. Kushi readily said she would love to, and it was only when she was following Nani up the stairs that she realized she was making herself more vulnerable to meeting him by this volunteering.

Nevertheless, she didn't meet him when she headed to Nani's room and both his room and the door of the Library were shut. Kushi stayed sometime with Nani talking about a lot of things while feeding the parrot some biscuits and then it was late afternoon and Nani was fast asleep for she was often too quickly tired owing to her age.

Kushi bid farewell to Fortune and then sneaked out of the room, closing the door noiselessly behind her. She had barely tiptoed it to the stairs when the door behind her opened and Lord Arnav stood there, frowning at her, "Inside. Now."

She paled and shook her head, and turned to make for the stairs, but his hands were pulling at her wrist and because she could not scream for fear of catching her parents' attention to the scene, she was pulled into the room and he pressed her to the door, shutting it with her back.

His hands still held her wrist and she winced, "Stop it! You're hurting me!"

"Feel the pain, then!" he said, his eyes cold, and she frowned at his blue shirt, "That is nothing new for I feel nothing but pain every time I am around you!"

"Oh, is it?" he said curtly, and then pressed her wrists harder and she hissed, "Stop it!"

"Why did you do it?"

"I didn't."

"Don't lie to me, Kushi."

She glared at him, "Yes, I did it."

"Why?"

"Because of how you torture me," she said crudely, "It was your turn to be punished."

He smirked, "Punishments are given so that the offender will learn to never repeat a committed wrongdoing. Neither was I wrong in my deed, nor did I learn anything from this punishment you think you have smartly levied upon me. In fact, Kushi Kumari Gupta," he neared her face and whispered, "you've just made matters worse for yourself."

She looked away, and frowned at the wall beside them, "I hate you."

"Good," he said, "Because that hatred will help you bear the punishment I am going to give you now."

She stared at him, panicked, "What punishment? You gave me too much already!"

"And yet you seem to learn nothing of respecting the Lord of your land," said Lord Arnav hotly, pulling at her hand and leading her to the window of his room.

The sun was beginning to set and the golden rays cast itself over the land. The two of them near the window, one struggling against the other, were silhouetted against the golden light and a cold breeze blew through the window, fluttering the curtains between which they stood.

"What are you going to do?" she whimpered, trying to pull her hands off his pinning hold.

He took the half-drunk glass of sweetened milk from the table nearby and shoved it before her, "Drink this."

She shook her head, "No, I can't."

"I said drink it!" he ordered sternly and he pressed harder on her wrists.

Tears sprang in her eyes from the pain with which he gripped her but she shook her head stubbornly, "No, I won't!"

He brought the glass towards her lips and titled its tip, but he was so engrossed in making her drink it that he didn't see her foot move to kick him under his knees. He winced visibly but his hold on her did not slacken.

His gaze was fierce upon her but before he could react, she thrust her captivated wrists against his hand that held the glass and the glass slipped out of his hold and tumbled out of the window.

He looked down to where it fell from the great height and then his cold gaze slid back to her face and she knew she had made matters far worse this time.

"I could not drink it. I had no choice," she said as though trying to reason so as to get merciful exemption from what doom was to befall her in the next minute.

"And yet you made ME drink it!" said Lord Arnav angrily, pulling her to him.

"Please, let me go," she whispered feebly against his chest where he kept her crushed.

"Not until you pay for your idiocy," he grunted, and then he held her by her shoulders and forced her to look at him, "Do it."

"What?" Kushi blinked confusedly, staring at him with stilled tears in her eyes.

"What you refrain yourself from doing," he said cuttingly, "Do what I did to you that night."

"I cannot," she paled, "It's an indecent challenge. I'm an unmarried woman."

"And I'm an unmarried man."

She was flabbergasted, "So?"

"So it makes us equals and rightful competitors in this challenge," he replied cleverly, his gaze turning from cold to roguish.

She stared at him as though he was a madman, "That is an utterly stupid reasoning! You really are out of your mind!"

She writhed in his hold trying to get free but he held her easily by her shoulders and threatened in a low voice, "If you don't do it…..."

She glared at him angrily, "What will you do? Throw me out of the window again?"

A mischievous glint flashed in his eyes and he smirked, weakening Kushi's courage, "No, Kushi Kumari Gupta," he said in a low whisper, "If you don't do it, I will do it for you."

And then before she could push him away, he was pulling her towards him and she gasped.

"No, don't!" she breathed out, "No please! I'll……….I'll do it."

He smirked and she felt a shiver run down her spine at the thought of what she had just admitted to do. She wished she could take it back but she knew she was trapped and there was no way out of this mess.

He straightened up and looked at her expectantly.

She closed her eyes and, taking a deep breath while mumbling some prayers, she craned her neck up towards him and pressed her lips lightly on his cheek. Something shone inside his darkness. He smiled and whispered, "Again." Grudgingly, she moved her face towards his other cheek and pressed her lips to his hard stubble.

"Again," he whispered, feeling affected, and she kissed him on his chin.

"Again," he whispered, with a slight moan.

But she shook her head and, stepping back, said weakly, "Please, no more……..."

He frowned at her, and then before she knew it, he had lifted her up by her knees and hoisted her up like how he had in the darkness of the forest.

"Again!" he demanded, his eyes hungrily looking up at her face while her hands pressed down on his shoulders, wanting him to put her down.

"Please," she tried again but he interrupted, "If you don't then you will stay in my arms like this until someone in your family comes searching for you."

Kushi paled, No! She could not let her family see her like this.

So she bent down and he closed his eyes as her hair long hair fell around them, curtaining them within her scent, and enveloping him with all her loveliness. Her lips pressed on his forehead and then on his eyelids and then again on his cheeks and he was so lost in her soft timid kisses that it was only when he felt a drop of wetness fall onto his cheek that he opened his eyes, breaking from the spell of her innocent kisses.

She was crying as she kissed his face and something pricked inside of him.

He put her back down, letting her feet touch the floor slowly, and then he cupped her face in his hands, "Kushi?" he asked worriedly.

She closed her eyes as the tears silently fell down her cheeks.

"Why?" he asked her, his hands caressing her cheeks, wiping away her tears.

She looked at him, astonished that he had just wiped her tears…..was this the same man?

She breathed in, before looking at the collar of his blue shirt and saying, "This deed that I have let myself do is a blow upon my soul. It is not right."

"Take it away then, take it all away," there was a yearning look in his eyes when he said this and Kushi was astonished to find it there. This is definitely not Lord Arnav.

"I cannot," she said, "What has been done, has been done."

And then the memory of what she had done came into her mind. Shame and guilt hammered in her insides and brought new tears.

"I shouldn't have…..." she whispered to herself remorsefully.

Something had risen in Lord Arnav's throat, a word that he had difficulty in surfacing and it lay jammed in his throat unable to brave itself to his mouth. He opened his mouth and tried to utter it but failed. He closed his mouth, his hands still cupping her face.

One tear slid from her eye and down her cheek, and the word in his throat broke free in an awkward whisper, "Sorry."

She looked up, wide-eyed and her mouth opened in astonishment. Did he just-? Had he-?

He slid his hands to her shoulders and looked at her apologetically, "I'm sorry."

Her head reeled. He had said it. He really had! To her!!!!

Fresh tears sprang in her eyes. Blissful tears and her heart swayed as though drunk. How can one word from his mouth make her feel so happy? Like her entire life depended on it now...

"He…...he said it," she said to no one in particular.

He frowned, and looked down at her, "What?" and then the realization hit him, "Oh."

He stepped away from her as though he had been struck by lightning but suddenly he paused on seeing her expression.

She was smiling. Looking at him. And her eyes……they were so full of gratitude. For him? He couldn't believe this.

With a lot of effort, he pushed his hands into his pockets and frowned at the window, trying to bring back his hard demeanor, "What I actually meant was…..you should try and erase the memory from your mind if you are pained by the deed."

She couldn't stop herself from smiling, and then to her surprise and his, she whispered uncertainly, "I believe I don't want to."

He looked at her, stunned, "Why not?"

Her tear-stained face appeared golden in the sunlight from the window, "I do not know, my lord."

My Lord. The way she said it……he felt all strangely warm inside.

She realized this too, that her address of him didn't sound the way it did when she addressed Lord Akash and Lord Manohar by it.

Desperate to mend the moment and trying hard to not be weakened by the warm look in his eyes, she placed her hands on her hips and looked at him proudly through the dried tears, "At least I was daring enough to win the challenge!"

He smirked but remained where he was, not wanting to risk nearing her with all the things he was feeling inside, "I will admit you are clever, beggar."

She gasped. "I am not a beggar!" she flared angrily.

He smirked, "I won't call you any other name."

"You are horrid," she said, "I hate you!"

"And I look forward to making you hate me more," he said with that wicked glint in his eyes.

Hurt and angered, Kushi frowned at him and without a word, stormed out of his room in a fury.

But outside his room, she paused to let the red of her blushing cheeks gentle down and she had to frown hard to stop the stupid smile from creeping on her face.

Within his room, Lord Arnav leaned his back against the window sill, his arms crossed before his chest and the curtains fluttering around him as he smiled at the closed door through which she had gone.

She had kissed him.

Though forced, yet she had kissed him.

And her smile…..the way she addressed him 'my lord'……

He grinned satisfactorily.

He felt different inside.

He had never felt this way before and he didn't know what it was.

But he liked feeling this way.