Chapter 146

Sorry for the delay. Connection issues after heavy rains in my town. Now, coming to the chapter, among all the 224 chapters I have written so far, this one, the 224^th one was the most hardest. I spend WEEKS trying to get it right! The scenes, the emotions, the words... Almost to the point where I had to be hospitalized because of drained energy and mad chatterings! (Just kidding!) But really, my brother kept calling me weird because of how I was always mumbling about what to do with the chapter... my first full-fledged blank. Do tell me if any part of the chapter doesn't make sense because this is one chapter that threw me off and left me lost with no hint to proceed.

Chapter 224: The Find of the Father

The towel was so huge it covered Lord Arnav's entire head, thankfully permitting no eye to see the flabbergasted expression on his face. That was how rattling an experience it was of Mistress Madhumati's brawny hands drying his rain-wet hair with the offending towel. The endurance made him feel so disconnected that he was certain his brain had broken free of their nerves and was tossing about inside his cranium.

He couldn't even hear what she was saying because there was a strange ringing sound in his ears and he could only pick out (and his rattled brain could so far as only register) words like "higgledy-piggledy twosome," and "wet brains" that deserved to be "remunerated with fever."

"I am certain, Jiji, this is what comes to be for wedding your Mistress of Mischief to the First Lord," said Garima from the other side of the room where she was ferociously drying away at Kushi's hair.

"Hai Re Nandakishore," Madhumati said, "I wonder, Garima -- in fact, I fear-- that if the nincompoop has messed with the First Lord's sane senses, what the fate of Arhasia will be?"

When the rattling ordeal was over and the towels were extracted, Lord Arnav blinked around the room and then politely offered Buaji a nod and a grateful smile.

If she Kushi had been there when his drying was done, she would have laughed on sighting him with his semi-dried hair sticking out at every end!

But strangely, Lord Arnav realized, she had vanished from the room. He was certain he hadn't heard her go up the stairs.

Patting his hair neatly around his lordly head, Lord Arnav stood up, his gaze glancing towards the kitchen where Garima and Madhumati readied dinner and then to the adjacent door.

For a moment, he stared at it and with each passing second, he was confirmed of his doubt. Kushi was in there. And so was the mysteriously missing Master Shashi.

Without waiting to give a warning to anyone, he strode across the dining hall and standing before the door, knocked lightly upon it.

There was no response from within but his keen ear caught the soft trickling sound of water dripping from a cloth that had been dipped in water.

His hand grasped at the handle and opening it, stepped into a dark candlelit room.

As the door opened and light from the dining hall poured into the dim room, Kushi looked up but stilled on sighting the dark silhouette of her husband at the doorway.

In slow strides, he stepped into the room and made for the bed across the room, on which lay the ill father and to his side, on the edge of the bed, sat his daughter administering him care.

Lord Arnav's gaze fell on Master Shashi's pale face and he looked at Kushi, "What happened to him?"

Kushi's eyes were filled with tears but she whispered in reluctant reply, "He was... making swords in the rain..."

Lord Arnav realized suddenly why Kushi had gone into a frenzy a few minutes ago.

He watched as Kushi removed the wad of wet cloth from her father's forehead.

"Master Shashi...?" Lord Arnav leaned closer to the bed.

Kushi stared at her husband but then looked at her father when she heard him moan groggily as though answering to a call in his dreams.

Lord Arnav placed his hand over Master Shashi's wet forehead which burned with the intensity of a fireplace wood.

A shadow appeared at the doorway, blocking the light from coming. It was the huge form of Mistress Madhumati.

"Babua...?" She seemed to be anxious.

Lord Arnav straightened up and the hand he had placed on Master Shashi's forehead was now fisted to his side, "What is the meaning of all this? How could you keep this from my knowledge?"

Desperately, Madhumati tried to explain, "Babua, we didn't want to worry you. We are doing what we can and he might get better after a sleep. Come away and let him be."

"LET HIM BE?" Lord Arnav strode towards the door, "He is running a damned temperature!!"

Madhumati winced visibly but recovered enough to advise, "Babua, you needn't-"

"Babua...?" Garima stood stone-faced in the dining room, staring at the scene.

A secretive look of urgency passed between the women but Lord Arnav was already thundering across the living room.

"Babua..." Garima called out to him.

He stopped before the front door and looked over his shoulder at her entreating expression, "We don't want you to worry over this. Do come away, won't you?"

Lord Arnav's hand was already on the handle of the door and his eyes flashed determinedly, "Forgive me, but I must be allowed to interfere."

And with that, he yanked open the door and stepped out into the rain again, rushing through the darkness to Master Happy's cottage that stood on the other side of the fence.

"This is a strange fever indeed," commented the herbalist, peering down at Master Shashi's face upon which the candlelight let shadows flicker, "Just like the one he had last time."

"It is the rain, sir," affirmed Madhumati woefully, "He had no reason to work when it was raining so."

"Insensible of him. Rather quite unlike him," cited Master Happy, who had come to stay with the womenfolk in the cottage while his loaned carriage was driven by Ram and Lord Arnav to fetch the herbalist.

"What is done cannot be undone," concluded the herbalist, adding more leaves into his bowl.

With his hair still slightly wet, the little boy Ram curiously watched as the herbalist mashed and churned the leaves into a thick green paste that smelled of the forest in the rain.

"A dash of water," directed the herbalist to Kushi who stood beside him with another bowl of water.

Ram watched as Kushi tilted the bowl and poured a little water into the bowl of green in the herbalist's hand. The trickle of water was steady but the little boy noticed that the bowl of water was trembling. And the hands that held it were pale.

A single footstep behind him made him look away from the bowl and he turned his head upwards to find the towering First Lord standing flank behind him.

Feeling the little boy's eyes on him, Lord Arnav looked down and, quite instinctively, the hardline of his mouth curved in a slight smile of affinity.

For the most part of the night, while the herbalist and the womenfolk and Ram remained in the room where Master Shashi was, Master Happy and Lord Arnav removed themselves to the living room where Master Happy sat glumly by the fireplace, occasionally dozing off because it was two hours to midnight and well past his regular naptime, while the impatient Lord Arnav silently kept walking to and fro, his hands in his pockets.

When Master Shashi's temperature had moderately quelled, the herbalist assured them that the worst had passed and that he should be waking up any moment. He advised them to keep him to the bed and not let him work for a week.

Garima was fumbling through the shelves in the kitchen until she found the little glass jar she had been looking for. Taking it down, she undid the rusty lid and turning it over, emptied the few jingling contents into her trembling hand.

Placing the jar and its lid on the counter, she inspected the coins in her hand.

It is not much but it should suffice, for the herbalist is kind and knows the family well.

She stepped around the kitchen counter and had barely crossed the dining hall when she halted on seeing Lord Arnav with the herbalist in the living room.

Sliding to the side, Garima leaned against the shadowed wall and clutched the coins-filled fist to her heart.

I simply cannot have him see me give this. He must not know...

But the very next moment, she froze on hearing the sound of jingling coins issue from the room.

Peering from her shadowy corner, Garima watched in astonishment as Lord Arnav dropped a little sack-purse into the waiting hands of the herbalist whose head was bowed low before the First Lord.

The weight of the purse must have surprised him for the herbalist stared at the purse in his hands and then looked up at the young man, "Master, it doesn't amount to this. This is too much to take for-"

"I do not permit less for people I value," stated Lord Arnav, "Keep in mind that when you take care of this family, you are doing me direct service."

"Master Shashi is a good friend of mine, sire," assured the herbalist, pocketing the purse, "But in especial regard to your orders, I will see that this family will be in need for nothing."

Lord Arnav nodded and directed him to the open front door where Ram and Master Happy waited with the carriage.

Lord Arnav looked at the herbalist, "Goodnight, sir."

"Goodnight, Master," bowed the herbalist, "Thankfully the rain has stopped and the night will fare well for all."

Lord Arnav offered no reply but silently remained standing at the doorway, watching as the carriage rode away into the cold moist darkness.

Garima pressed her back against the wall and a relieved tear rolled down her cheek. She put her fist into the pocket of her apron and slowly released the coins to not let them make a sound.

An hour later, Master Shashi regained consciousness and the first thing he saw on opening his eyes was not his wife or his sister or his daughter but his son-in-law.

Master Shashi blinked confusedly up at the concerned face of Lord Arnav.

"Are you alright, sir?" asked Lord Arnav, leaning forward, from where he sat on the chair facing the bed.

Master Shashi looked around and then asked him in a low voice, "Are we... Are we alone?"

"Yes," said Lord Arnav, rising up and leaning closer to the bed, "The rest of them are in the kitchen warming porridge and teas for you. I will call-"

Suddenly Babuji's hand shot out and, with unexplainable strength, grasped at Lord Arnav's wrist; it had happened so suddenly that the young man stumbled forward and came to be bending over the bed.

"Sir?" he stared down at the elderly man.

"There is danger," whispered Master Shashi as though from a strange trance for his voice seemed to be not focused, "There is danger. I sense it."

"What sort of danger?" Interested, Lord Arnav slowly sat down on the edge of the bed, his hand still held in Master Shashi's.

"I am not certain. I cannot be certain..." Master Shashi said, his gaze straying and his words slow as though he was straining to get them out.

Lord Arnav sensed something wrong, "Did something happen to you in the day, sir? At the Market, perhaps?"

"Nothing in the Market. Just an ordinary day. Went there, came home. Came home..." His voice trailed.

"Yes?" Lord Arnav was alert.

Master Shashi's gaze that had been on ceiling dropped to rest on Lord Arnav's face, "I saw him."

Lord Arnav was confused, "Who?"

"Your brother-in-law, babua."

Lord Arnav paled and disgust raged in his insides. HIM!

Frowning, he asked, "Where did you come upon him?"

"By the riverside," said Master Shashi simply, "He is a good man."

Lord Arnav gritted his teeth in refute.

"But strange..." Master Shashi whispered vaguely.

Lord Arnav stared at him, "Why do you find him strange? Has he given any reason for you to think so?"

Master Shashi shook his head, "No, babua, he is a good man. It is only my fault that I find him strange."

"You are a wise man, Master Shashi," Lord Arnav fortified warmly, "You can never be at fault."

"Ah, but you are mistaken there, babua," said the elder man sadly, "Lately, I have been confused about many things. I am always not certain if what I think to be right is right..."

Lord Arnav frowned suspiciously, "Since when did you begin to feel this way?"

"I suppose, a few months back. I am not certain of that either..."

Lord Arnav only remained silent for he knew why Master Shashi felt his head all muddled up.

He was certain of one thing: That foul General is up to something sinister. But he is clever. He won't transform before him again. He is not that stupid to undo what he let happen...

Master Shashi had let go of Lord Arnav's hand and the young man was rubbing at his wrist when he asked, "Did he give you anything?"

"No," Master Shashi said, "We only talked."

"About what?"

"This and that," said Master Shashi, "He said Lady Anjali was missing you."

Lord Arnav sighed: not the sigh of sadness but the sigh of guilt-ridden agony that he had left his sister untended. He wasn't there to protect her... Once again, Lord Arnav hated being in the Village.

"He did tell one thing though," Master Shashi said as though remembering something.

Lord Arnav looked at him, "What was it?"

Master Shashi looked at him, "I am not certain what he quite meant but he told me to tell you that the moon was not all white."

"The moon-?" Lord Arnav frowned confusedly, "Is that all he said?"

"Yes, that is all," said Master Shashi, "He said you would know what it meant."

Suddenly, the door opened and Garima walked in, her face lit with relief, "Ah, my Shashi! I thought I was dreaming when I heard your voice!!"

As the aunt and daughter joined in the jubilation of the awakened elder Gupta, Lord Arnav politely excused himself from the room, his hands in his pockets as he frowned at the floor in thought.

The moon is not all white...

He knew the words were a warning. But what did they mean?

A few minutes before midnight, leaning back in the armchair of the living room, Lord Arnav watched the firelight dance golden on the surface of the red wine in the glass he was holding.

Bringing it close to his mouth, he sipped it and watched the gold and red slide towards his waiting lips, parted to receive.

A movement in the distance caught his eye and withdrawing the cup, he looked up to see Garima walk out of her room, dressed in her motherly night robe.

She saw him seated in the living room and approached him, "Are you still here, babua?"

"Yes," answered Lord Arnav, rising to stand and placing the wine glass on the tiny table beside him, "How is he?"

"The heat has left him and he has begun teasing me," said Garima with a smile, "Signs that he is back to being his everyday self."

Lord Arnav nodded and smiled.

Garima looked at him, "Kushibitiya is there beside him."

"Won't she come away to sleep?" enquired Lord Arnav.

Garima smiled, "I will send her after you, babua."

She was about to leave when she paused and turned to look at him again, "You must forgive me for keeping it from you. We didn't want to worry you unwontedly-"

"It was unwise of you to be silent of your husband's situation," reminded Lord Arnav in a firm voice though his eyes had a kind light, "How do you expect me to acquaint myself as your family if you only see me a guest not to be bothered?"

Garima's eyes filled with tears at his words and, lifting her hands, she cupped his face.

Lord Arnav felt week in the knees and he blinked down at the elderly woman and her kind face.

She smiled up at him, "Babua. How much more can my motherly heart love you... like the son I never had."

Quick as a flash, Lord Arnav forced a respectful smiled, wanting not to emotional attach himself to her words, but the next moment, tears choked in his throat when she leaned up and kissed him lightly on his forehead. A kiss of acceptance, of motherly blessing...

"We are happy you are here, Babua," whispered a heartened Garima, "We are blessed to have you as part of our family..."

And with that Garima withdrew and turned to leave for her bedroom.

As though the very air had suddenly the potency to stifle him and expose his defenselessness, Lord Arnav abandoned his unfinished wine and rushed for his bedroom where the darkness awaited for new thoughts to creep and torment.

For the next few months: There is frequent possibility that I may not be able to update on the date mentioned in the Index. Sometimes I might be forced to take week-long or month-long breaks without warning, depending on the home front. In such situations, do not panic. I will not abandon. I will return when I can and make the promised update. Hopefully, within the next two chapters I will be able to end this Rainy Night set of chapters and begin a brighter day. Sorry for the delay and for all the delays the future will bring. But remember: I will always come back. For this story. For you.