Chapter 111

Rabba Ve, everyone!!!

Back with a quick update. Special thank you to all those who love my tale, letting me narrate the tale the way I see it, in all its perfection. You already know I cannot and will not focus on ArShi alone. All characters are essential and when one is willing to embrace every single character, you show how your heart is willing to notice everything in life (the good, the ugly and the bad) and not just those you like. Welcome to the new readers and greetings to the regular readers and silent likers. I've edited the Comrades' Parchment and I thank all those who have taken the sweet oath to be part of this precious circle of readership. I've read all your comments and though I cannot reply to each, I have "liked" each comment. I have said it many times how each of my "likes" are hugs and kisses of gratitude to those who appreciate my chapters in big and small ways. Every reader is dear to me. No one is little. That is why I love the sight of my readers huddling around me, beside the warm fireplace. It's an image of warmth, of togetherness, of love...

Though the following is addressed to the persons named, what I write is easily an address to everyone who comes to read my tale:

Gmsk: You know, dear, how much I love your comments, your excitement and your love...I am always overjoyed to get your responses to a chapter I wrote, or an expression I made. But the reason I am addressing you here is also for the others to take note: Gmsk had mentioned in one of her comments that Mami's certain comment in the dining hall was not that important. Remember for future, gmsk, that Linny never writes anything for the sake of writing. *wink* Every word has value. Every look, nod and expression is a part of the thread that is among the many threads that create this story as one whole epic. Every character has a colour and each colour has different shades. Everything a character says or does is a way to reveal the shades of that character's colour...you will know more as the story proceeds, ofcourse. Again, love hearing from you, dear! Thanks so much for cherishing my tale so much.

March: Thank you dear march for your concern and your prayers for my father. And now to the request you made, I am certain I did tell you this once before: If you need your name on the Comrades' Parchment, you know you need to take the oath that's mentioned in the First Thread.

Alrighty, I know you've had enough of hearing me lecture. But here's the chapter that follows the last night that fluttered many hearts in the reader folk. As I advised once before, I suggest again that it would be good to brush up your memories and acquaint yourself with what is happening and what is the equation between each character by reading the previous four to five chapters and then coming to read the following...I mean, listen to the following chapter as I narrate. SO without much delay, here's the next chapter.

Chapter 185: Just Another Day at the Castle

When the morning birds chirped outside the window, Kushi rose to find herself alone in Lord Arnav's bed, the curtains draped around the bed as though to protect her from alien view. She sat up and tried to recollect what had happened and blushed at the memory of how they'd slept.

He must have lifted me up on his bed when he woke up, Kushi realized as she scrambled out of bed and made for the wardrobe.

She saw that the foodstuff she'd brought from the pantry in the night were still lying scattered on the floor.

Of course, Lordy and his haughtiness would never bend down to pick them up and dispose them off! She smiled, deciding to clear them away as soon as she was washed.

But when she returned to the room from freshening up in the bath chamber, she found the sheets on the bed changed, the curtains of the balcony and the bed drawn apart and the edibles vanished from the floor.

Kushi raised her eyebrows in surprise at the sight of the sun-lit room, That maid is real quick.

In a few minutes, she had changed into a new gown and her hair combed into a bun with tiny flowers in it. She stepped out of the room and almost danced down the stairs to the dining hall. She saw that the entire family was seated, breakfasting, and some heads looked up when she walked in.

"Ah, how pretty you look this morning, Kushibitiya," remarked Lord Manohar, a cup of tea in his hand.

Kushi smiled at him gratefully and greeted Nani.

Nani directed Kushi to seat herself beside her husband, who was completely engrossed in his breakfast and hadn't looked up when she appeared at the doorway.

Kushi slid into her chair, also eluding to look at her husband. Instead, she turned to Lady Anjali who sat at her right.

"Here, Kushiji," Lady Anjali smiled, handing her a jar of honey to go with her bread, "We wanted to call you down before we commenced the breakfast but Chotey insisted that you not be disturbed in your sleep."

Kushi stole a glance at Lord Arnav but he was intensely frowning at the soup as though he found it extremely distasteful.

A few minutes later, Lord Arnav and Lord Akash were standing before the central doors, putting their coats on before stepping out of the Castle to leave for the Industry.

Payal and Kushi had followed after them to bid them farewell, as per the Castle protocol, but Kushi stood aimlessly behind her sister and Lord Arnav was giving a supposedly urgent message to Rahim Chacha.

Lord Arnav turned to look at Lord Akash to tell him something when he paused, stunned by the sight he met with.

Lord Akash had bent down to kiss his wife before he left for the Industry.

Kushi went red in the face and looked away, and to her most unpleasant luck, she caught Lord Arnav's gaze. They stared at each other for a baffling second before hastily looking away, Kushi blushing deeper and Lord Arnav's mind ravaged by a confusing tumult of emotions.

Driven by an unwonted escapist urgency, Lord Arnav stepped out of the Castle, not pausing to nod at the butler or call out to his brother like how he usually did when leaving for the Industry.

Kushi too raced back to the dining hall, leaving her sister alone at the entrance of the Castle.

Kushi doused herself in her breakfast, chewing hurriedly, her mind straining to focus on the meal and not on the memory that kept imposing itself in her mind. The way he had looked at her...would he have done it? Kushi blushed unconsciously and looked to her side to find Lady Anjali watching her with utmost curiosity but the kind woman did not ask the beleaguered girl anything, knowing well what sort of thoughts might have instigated her to such disorders.

Trying to amuse herself that morning after breakfast, Kushi ambled into the kitchen, and at the doorway of the third kitchen, she stood watching her sister who was occupied in giving out suggestions to the cooks and maids for that day's meals.

Inspecting those dishes that were presently being cooked, Payal also made certain that no servant remained idle.

Kushi giggled at the unusual sight of Payal, looking flustered and nervous, as she moved about through the three kitchens doing things she had never done in her entire life. Of course, cooking at home was different from cooking five-course feasts in a Castle.

"It would be good if the gravy has a little more salt," Payal said to a cook, and then turned to find Kushi standing behind her. Her face on lit on seeing her little sister, "Kushi, when did you come?"

Kushi sighed, "I've been here for nearly an hour, Jiji. I can't believe you didn't notice me!"

Payal looked around distractedly, "I never thought I'd find myself nervous in a kitchen. How calm and controlled my nerves have always been when cooking with Amma and Buaji..."

"Jiji," Kushi placed a hand on Payal's shoulder, "You are just nervous because you've never monitored other people at work. You would benefited a little if you came with me when I went with Babuji to the mill every morning."

"Nonsense, Kushi!" Payal frowned at her, "A woman's place is at perfecting her house and concerning herself in such matters. Not loitering about to mills! You should have stayed back with me and Amma and learnt some housekeeping skills." Payal leaned forward and added in a whisper, "Not that we need it here. Every work is done by a servant in this Castle which is quite...unnerving!"

"True!" Kushi was amazed that her sister felt the same way too, "When I get out of the bed, there is warm water waiting in the bath tub. When I return from the bath chamber, the curtains have been drawn, the bed clothes changed and the gowns of last day stolen away! Sometimes I am certain it's a ghost afoot and not a Castle maid!"

Payal laughed, "A ghost! How you think up such crankiness, Kushi, I simply cannot imagine!" She smiled at her little sister, "Oh I feel so relived at heart already! What would I have done without you here, Kushi?"

Kushi lifted her head proudly, "That's right. Everything would be so drastically dissimilar in the Castle without Kushi."

"And the Prakash brothers!" added a voice behind them. All the cooks turned in astonishment and the two ladies looked over their shoulders in amusement to find JayPrakash walking in, hugging a crate full of firewood.

"Yes, and the Prakash brothers," Kushi winked at JayPrakash and then she turned to Payal, "Jiji, you know JayPrakash, don't you?"

"Of course," Payal said, "Everyone knows the Prakash brothers of the Raizada Castle."

JayPrakash stared at Payal, his eyes filling with unspeakable emotion. He looked around, "Did you hear that all ya lot: EVERYONE knows the Prakash brothers!" He dropped the heavy crate to the floor, rushed to Payal and knelt before her with his head bowed, "My lady, I'm indebted to you for the esteemed regard you have for us Prakashs. Ask of anything and JayPrakash will fulfill it for you."

He placed a hand to his heart to epitomize the sincerity in his words.

Payal stared at JayPrakash and then at Kushi and the sisters broke into laughter.

Payal beckoned JayParkash to stand, "I shall remember your offer for a later day, JayPrakash, and mind you, don't you go against your word when I ask your aid in the future."

"I never shall, my lady," Jay Prakash patted his gallant hand to his heart, and dipped his head, "My word is my life. That is the Prakash policy. It shall not be broken or death shall be mine."

"Very well," Payal winked at Kushi, and then she turned to the cooks, "That's enough entertainment for this hour. Let's get the lunch ready. It must be served on the table in less than two hours."

JayPrakash had gone to find his brothers and tell them the Prakash brothers had a wide following in Arhasia. Payal resumed the lunch preparations and Kushi decided to take her allotted responsibility to consideration. She left the kitchen to see to the servants in the garden, that is, if any were to be found at work.

Stepping into the garden, she was greeted by a bout of gentle breeze.

She stood still with her eyes closed, letting the light wind brush against her cheeks and put to dance the strand of hair down the side of her face.

Forgetting everything, she moved to the grove of trees and sank to the ground, lying stretched on her back, the tips of the grass gently pricking through her gown.

She smiled to herself and gazed at the sky smiling down into her beautiful brown eyes. The breeze kept blowing about her, this time drawing in a fragrant wisp of the wild flowers that grew in the garden. A swallow twittered from somewhere in the boughs of the nearest tree.

"Good day to you too," Kushi addressed the unseen bird, as her eyes tried to make out the shapes in the floating clouds.

She stared at a certain cloud for a long time, knowing its shape reminded her of something. Her smile faded suddenly when she realized that it looked a lot like how Lord Arnav had looked on the night he made her feed him chocolate liquor in the Village. She frowned the memory away and tried to focus on the next cloud. This one had the drenched appearance of Lord Arnav when he had lifted her in his arms in the forced and forced her to dry his wet hair. Kushi shook her head, driving away the image from her mind and studied the next cloud floating by. It was shaped like how spellbound Lord Arnav had looked when he had walked into Lord Akash's office room where Kushi lay on the ottoman near the window, dressed in a red silk robe, for Master Hari's painting.

Jerking up, Kushi sat on the grass and frowned at the bush before her, "What is wrong with me? In place of cupcakes, boats and horses that I always saw in the clouds, today every cloud in the sky is that outrageous Lordy's face!"

She stood up in a huff and brushed away the tufts of grass sticking to her gown, "I've had enough of clouds for the day."

She turned about but stopped when she saw five to six servants approaching her.

Their expressions seemed eager and the eldest among them, an old man with little hair on his head, bowed to her before humbly requesting, "My lady, if you love to lie on the grass and watch the clouds, we ask you to kindly wait a while and we'll mow the grass softer for you."

"Oh," Kushi recollected, "Are you the servants who work in the garden?"

"Yes, my lady," bowed an elderly woman, leaning on the rake she held for support, "We used to be quite diligent in our work until Lady Anjali stopped coming here. When there was none to appreciate our work, the younger workers turned lazy and we old...how much can we toil in the vastness of the Castle grounds, my lady?"

Kushi nodded understandingly. The old woman continued, "We do the front gardens alone now, for no one cares to regard the sides and back of the Castle. No family, no guest, no servant..."

"But you, my lady," the old man said hopefully, "We see your love for the garden. If there is anyone willing to love the garden, we will make it beautiful for them."

"Then let's make it so," said Kushi, "Not for me but for the child to come. I promise you that, unlike the others in the Raizada clan, Lady Anjali's child will spend her days in the sunshine and the grass, surrounded by trees, birds, butterflies and flowers and not within the walls of the Castle."

The servants were astonished by this declaration and the old woman bowed gratefully, "It is an honour to prepare the garden if the most awaited and prayed for child in Arhasia will be kind enough to step into our world."

"Begin the preparations, then," Kushi directed, "You have just about two months by the end of which we need this garden regalized and perfected! When that child is out, we need soft grass for bed and worm-free bushes to give shade and company."

"Certainly, my lady," cheered a younger worker, who gripped the spade in his hand in the excitement to get to work instantly, "And we'll plant new flowers too. Flowers whose fragrances are gentle and not too strong for the tender senses of the little one to come."

"A compelling idea, I say," Kushi commended and she pointed out to three young men, "You three can go to Market and see what seeds are new. If you see anything good, purchase it and tell the shopkeeper it is for the Castle. I am certain they will have a book to record the purchase accounts of the Castle."

"Right away, my lady," said the servant, who with two of his companions, set off for the market immediately.

Kushi watched as the other servants gathered and began their fervent work in the gardens surrounding the Castle. The First Lady herself helped them out, digging with them, smelling the flowers to see if they were ailing in something and pulling out weeds that threatened to choke the good plants.

In the midst of the toiling, Kushi broke into song. The song was a popular village song and those who knew it joined with her singing and those who were unfamiliar with the song, listened and learnt, and when she repeated the song again, they enthusiastically sang with her as they worked.

By lunchtime, the servant's spirits were rejuvenated and Kushi fetched them each a piece of cold cake from the pantry and they were grateful for her appreciation in their efforts.

After washing herself up again and joining the family for a pleasant lunch, Kushi spent the afternoon with Nani and Fortune in the elder one's room, talking about all the things she did in the garden and how the servants worked dedicatedly when they felt they had something to look forward to.

"It is good Manorama had the mind to give you the garden duty," Nani smiled, "Only good will come of it for I sense a divine purpose in this."

"Honeybee!" yelled Fortune, cheerfully nibbling on the ripe cherry Nani held out for the bird.

Kushi looked at Nani, remembering suddenly Fortune's similar address to Lord Arnav in the forest when he had gone to fetch the hermit.

"It's Lord Arnav, isn't it?"

Nani looked at her, "What is?"

"The honeybee in your story," Kushi said, her eyes instantly looking at the cloth wrapped around Nani's hand.

Nani seemed restless, "There are things that one wishes to not remember. Not because it is a hurtful memory but because it makes one guilty." Nani looked at her, "Kushibitiya, you do not discern even now how much more fitting you are in my grandson's life than his sister and his grandmother."

"Nani!" Kushi was astonished, "What is making you talk thus?"

"Ah, my Kushibitiya," Nani exclaimed sadly, "Anjalibitya and I withdraw ourselves from him not just because we fear him or a certain side of him, but because our love submits to his every demand. But I realize that it is not to his every want but to his every NEED that we should have paid heed. And surprisingly enough, you have ben fulfilling that insentiently the moment you walked into his life."

"Fell, actually," Kushi muttered, lost in a memory.

"Fell?" Nani was all ears, "Whatever do you mean, child?"

Kushi looked up at the elderly woman, "Oh, Nani, do you not know? The first time we saw each other was when I fell into his arms."

"This is an enticing story, indeed," Nani leaned forward, interested, "How did you come to fall in the first place, Kushibitiya?"

"Well, I was inspecting his rosebush," Kushi began apologetically, "I didn't know it was forbidden. I'd always been fascinated by roses and it was the first time I'd seen a rosebush as tall as the one in our Castle ground."

"And?" Nani was persistent, "You were inspecting it..."

"On a ladder," Kushi continued, "And then he came. I slipped somehow and I am certain it was out of the shook of his monstrous voice."

"You slipped and fell into his arms?"

"Yes."

"From the rosebush?"

"Yes."

"Interesting," Nani whispered, suddenly thoughtful as she leaned back in her armchair. Kushi stared at the elderly woman who seemed to be so immersed in her thoughts that she refused to rouse herself until a good three minutes had passed.

On recovering from her trance, Nani looked at Fortune, who was perched at the head of the armchair, looking passively at the old woman as though the sight of a dreamy Lady Mother was a regular happening, "That's something to think on for today, Fortune. You keep that in mind."

Just then a servant came to announce that the Second Lady had requested the First Lady's presence in the second kitchen.

Kushi bid Nani temporary farewell and went downstairs to find Payal preparing tea with Surabhi, the head cook (whom you will remember from the chapters in which Kushi was handmaid to Lady Lavanya at the Castle).

"My lady," Surabhi looked at Kushi, extending a plate to her, "You've always been a good judge of my confectionary. What do you think of this cake?"

Kushi took a tiny slice and bit it, "It's exceptional as always, Miss Surabhi. Is this to go with today's tea?"

"Yes," said Surabhi, "It was Lady Payal who suggested I put the new batch of currants into the cake."

"I found the currants too sweet to make a jam out of them," Payal explained, "I decided hence that it was best to put it into a cake."

Kushi rolled her eyes, "Jiji and her jam-making! It's a disease she contracted from Amma! Watch out for its frequency, Miss Surabhi." Kushi winked at the head cook.

Surabhi chuckled and Payal pouted at Kushi.

The head cook came to the defense of Payal, "Well, I think I can tolerate Lady Payal's jam-making in comparison to Lady Kushi's shocking chocolate-liquor-making moods!"

Kushi gaped at Surabhi and frowned at Payal who was laughing away.

"This is not fair!" Kushi pronounced, "I've always had the residents of the Castle on my side. But ever since Jiji married to this place, she's been stealing my admirers!"

On hearing this Payal broke into a second round of laughter, "Oh, I am evil, am I not, Kushi?"

"Now, now ladies!" Surabhi tried to appease them though she had to strain to keep herself from laughing for Kushi's dejected expression was an amusing sight indeed, "we don't want any war over aficionado in the kitchen, do we? Be at peace for we love you two just the same. We servants were just talking among ourselves how relieved we are that the garden and the kitchen were given under your monitoring for you two make us feel more like family."

"That doesn't resolve the matter at hand," Kushi said, scowling at her sister, "Jinxing Jiji!"

Surabhi shook her head, "I say, Lady Payal, would a large slice of cake suffice Lady Kushi?"

Payal smiled, "We don't need to offer her a large slice, she's already gone off with the whole cake!"

And sure enough, right before the head cook's nose, Kushi took the plate of cake and paraded off with it to the dining hall to share it will the rest of the family and none for her Jiji.

Payal couldn't stop laughing, "Oh, Kushi. What would I have done without you, really!"

"It is strange isn't it, Lady Payal," Surabhi mused, "That this little laughter-inducing girl is wedded to a man who, far from laughing, never even smiles!"

Payal winked at Surabhi from the corner of her eye, "I know my little sister well so make note of this: Arhasia will witness the rare sight of a laughing Lord Arnav not too long in the future."

"I'll be blinded by shock at such a sight if it dares to occur."

"Oh it will occur alright," said Payal, "Only I hope we can get to witness it, for it is one of those rare delights that may be exclusively Kushi's rewards."

P. S. Yes, I know. I know. You wanted to know what Lordy's reaction was to the sight of her in his room last night. That's a thought that flooded all the comments to the previous chapter. This story runs like a camera shot. There is way to swivel' the camera about. So if you are patient, the next swiveling will show you Lord Arnav's side of the equation...Thank you for being patient in advance. Dad's still here, his appointment being on 12^th, so I can't give you a date of my next Inn-coming. But I will. And you know I will. Till then, Rabba Ve and enjoy life!