Chapter 155

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Chapter 233: Fights and Falls

An hour after breakfast, there was a knock on the door and Kushi opened it to find an eager-faced Ram at the doorstep with his coveted kite held in hand.

Kushi signed him to wait and rushed to the kitchen to ask her mother and aunt if she could venture on a picnic with Ram so he could try his new kite out.

On hearing her, Mistress Madhumati frowned, "You're a married woman now! It's your husband you must ask if you need go anywhere, not us!"

This reply didn't do well with Kushi but nevertheless, she turned and marched up the stairs to the bedroom where Lord Arnav sat in a chair, reading a book.

She stood at the open doorway and waited a moment before grudgingly putting across the words, "Ram has a kite he wants to try flying. I was wondering if I could join him for a little picnic down by the river."

Lord Arnav didn't answer or look up, but continued reading uninterrupted.

Kushi frowned, knowing well that he had heard her and probably expected her to reach the level of getting on her knees and begging he let her go.

She tapped her foot impatiently as she considered how best to rivet the uncompromising situation when Lord Arnav shut his book, stood up and looked at her, "Let's go."

Kushi's mouth fell open in surprise and, though a snide bit of suspicion crept in her mind as she watched her husband pick up his hat and coat, she was secretly delighted by the knowledge that he desired to go for a picnic with them.

In a few minutes, bidding farewell to the Guptas and Master Happy, the three of them headed for the open grasslands outside the Village: Lord Arnav striding majestically in the lead, followed by little Ram with his kite and rolled-up string, after whom paraded Kushi in her hat. Around her neck was tied a long scarf that kept blowing in the breeze as she lunged along the basket of snacks that her mother had packed for the picnickers.

They had walked quite a long way across the grassland and then stopped at a favourably grassy plot, quite a distance from the river.

Extracting from the basket the huge picnic quilt on which she and Payal had picnicked many a memory, Kushi spread the quilt over the grassy ground and placed the food basket at one corner of the quilt. Dropping her hat beside the basket, she rushed to join Ram in readying his kite for flight.

Lord Arnav looked around as though to ensure they were alone and then, removing his hat and coat, he lay prostrate on the quilt, the first two buttons of his white shirt undone and his arms crossed behind his head.

For a while, he remained thus until his ears caught sounds of Ram and Kushi playing with the kite.

Turning to his side, he propped up on his elbow and watched them play.

Ram's soundless giggles and Kushi's singing laughter rang in the merry air and Lord Arnav found himself smiling at the sight.

Soon, the two appeared exhausted and returned back to their picnic spot, whereupon reaching, Kushi opened the food basket much to little Ram's delight and handed him and Lord Arnav cookies, fruitcakes, and a drink of the Guptas' cider punch.

Famished by the sweet meal, the three of them lay down on the quilt, little Ram betwixt them. Kushi and Ram watched the clouds and designated shapes and names to each passing fluff while Lord Arnav listened to them and silently amused himself in that.

A little later, tired of watching clouds, Ram stood up to play with his kite a while more.

Kushi sat up, intending to follow after him, when a warm hand reached out and held her by her wrist.

Kushi looked at Lord Arnav who had reached for her from he was still lying on the quilt.

"Stay with me a while, won't you?" Lord Arnav's eyes yearned to her.

Kushi felt her heart flutter with excitement. He wanted her to stay with him...

Wanting so very much to lie beside him and fulfil his wish, Kushi was surprised when her pride took over and she withdrew her hand from his hold and stood up.

"Ram is a little boy, I need to be sure he doesn't get lost in the excitement of his game."

And then she moved away, making way over the grassland towards where Ram was flying his kite in the distance.

Halt, Kushi, her inner voice beckoned her mind, Halt yourself and run back to him! He wants you...

Kushi felt her heartstrings tug, make her want to go back and be with her husband, but her feet were obstinate and they kept making distances widen from the man she loved.

Lord Arnav was dismayed and then he lay back and glared in annoyance at the clouds.

In the past few days, he had done everything a First Lord would never imagine to do so he could win her affection but there appeared to be nothing she would stoop to, to fulfil his desire to be with her. She seemed to want nothing to do with him but everything to do with everyone else.

He had hoped that befriending Ram would win him a place in Kushi's attention but she was only the more removed from him now than he had come closer to wanting her.

Lord Arnav closed his eyes and he found himself lost in the memory of last night that kept recurring in his thoughts ever since it happened. Even when he had sat to read his book, he kept seeing it over and over again... Kushi leaning towards him in the darkness, planting a gentle kiss on his cheek and the echo of her soft whisper, my precious husband...

A warm swirling feeling erupted in his insides and he groaned with longing.

Lord Arnav sat up. If she can admit such desires when I am asleep, why cannot she when I am awake?

He looked around, determined to find her and force her to confess what she did last night.

But she was nowhere to be found. Nor was the boy.

Suddenly, in a panic, he stood up and looked about, calling, "Kushi? Ram?"

There was no response and he looked in the direction of the distant river, worrying the improbable possibility.

Just then, to his extreme relief, he heard Ram's little hands clapping from somewhere in the expanse behind him.

Looking over his shoulder, he saw Ram rushing towards him, clapping his hands to attract his attention.

Reading the fear in Ram's face, Lord Arnav turned on his heels and rushed towards the boy before he reached him.

He held him by his shoulders, "What happened? Where is Kushi?"

Panting from his run and trembling all over, Ram pointed his little finger towards the distance where the dark line of the fringe of forest began.

Waiting to know no more, Lord Arnav took off on his heels and raced over the grasslands as swift as his long legs could dash.

A slight fear crept in his mind that it might have something to do with the General.

When he reached the fringe of the forest, sweating and panting from his mad race, he paused and looked around, "Kushi? KUSHI?"

The sound of leaves and branches creaking made him look up, and he blinked at the vision of Kushi perched on the topmost branch of an immense flowering tree.

"What the!" Lord Arnav gritted his teeth, "What are you doing up there!!! Don't you know you could-"

"Ram's kite got stuck in the tree!" Kushi interrupted angrily, "I was only getting it."

Lord Arnav scowled, "Couldn't you have had the brains to ask ME to get it? Why do YOU always have to go and get yourself in things like this!"

Kushi ignored him and resumed her labour of reaching her hand up to the kite that was caught in the branches over her head. Her fingers were still inches away from it; she had to reach higher.

"Kushi, get down this instant!" Lord Arnav stepped towards the tree.

Kushi frowned down at him, "I won't come down until I've got what I climbed to get!"

Lord Arnav sighed in frustration and his words came out slow in lieu of his growing impatience, "Kushi, get down and I will get the kite for you!"

Kushi's fingers continued their struggle to touch the kite overhead.

"KUSHI!" Lord Arnav was furious, "Can't you obey a single thing your husband tells you to-"

"Stop barking up the tree!" Kushi retorted at him, "You are making me lose my focus!"

"Like you ever had it in the first place," derided the annoyed First Lord.

Disregarding her husband, Kushi's mind was preoccupied in the calculation that she had to pull at the branch where the kite was wedged if she needed to get it. She gripped at the branch in the intention of bending it downward but in the force she was applying, the branch broke and, with it, broke the branch on which she was perched.

Turning pale, Kushi shrieked as she hurtled down but Lord Arnav moved just in time with his arms stretched to catch her.

Only she didn't fall into his arms, but ONTO him and both husband and wife tumbled to the ground, Lord Arnav's back breaking the fall on the forest floor.

A yelp of pain escaped his mouth but his arms were around Kushi, wanting to assure that she was unharmed.

Trembling from the height of the fall to near-death, she pressed her face against his chest, breathing hard against him as her heartbeat raced in the frantic aftermath of the fall.

Slowly, as her heart calmed itself and her breathing slowed to its pace, she lifted her head to look at the one on whose chest she was lying.

Kushi's little adventure had exasperated her so much that she didn't realize her hair had come open from their bun.

Lord Arnav stared up at her face, the two of them framed in the shadow of her long dark hair.

Overhead, shaken from Kushi's little exercise, the tree's branches released its gentle shower of yellow flowers upon the two lying sprawled underneath it.

Kushi looked into his eyes and found herself blindly drowning in their brown desire for her. Lord Arnav's eyes danced over her face, finding her flushed cheeks and her trembling lips more beautiful than ever and he reached up to kiss her lips when something fell on Kushi's head, knocking her forehead with his.

Lord Arnav's hand reached behind her extracted the offending object from above her and they saw that it was little Ram's kite, dirtied with leaves and yellow flowers sprouting out from its torn slits.

The shuffle of leaves a little distance away brought their heads turning in the other direction to find the owner of the kite standing awkwardly, wanting to look elsewhere but too embarrassed by what he had seen to move.

Distracted of her spell, Kushi suddenly rolled off Lord Arnav while he stared in surprise at her.

Kushi stood up, brushing the dust off her gown and, after confiscating the few flowers discovered in her hair, began wounding her hair up in a bun.

Pressing his lips together in a hard line to not let any involuntary sound of pain escape, Lord Arnav gathered his arms and legs and slowly rose to his feet.

Pain shot up his back and he bent low, his hands pressed upon his thighs to hold himself steadily standing.

But no sound did he let issue from his mouth.

Gradually, he straightened himself up and looked at Kushi, who appeared unbothered by all that had happened and gave no hint of concern with regard to his state.

Angered by her response, Lord Arnav gritted his teeth at her, "Who told you to fly the kite so close to forest!! Were you mad to climb that tree?! You could have got killed!!"

Kushi shot him a look, "Did you invite yourself to this picnic so you could fire your wrath at me in front of the boy? I suppose you fancied a little rebuke after all these days of gentlemanly conduct."

Lord Arnav's hands were already fisting, both in anger and from the unbearable pain from his back, "My gentlemanly conduct had nothing to do with you but with my polished personality. Unlike your disposition that reeks of ingratitude and pigheadedness!"

Kushi marched up to Ram and took his hand, "Have you no shame to speak thus in front of the child!"

"What do you think YOU are doing then?" Lord Arnav retorted angrily.

"Come away, Ram," said Kushi, "We don't need you learning any lessons from this man's crude tongue!"

And with that she strolled off, dragging an indecisive Ram along, his torn kite lying forgotten on the forest floor while Lord Arnav watched his wife with a mixture of growing desperation and discontent.

Sometimes we do things we wish we hadn't. Sometimes one crude reaction masks a calculated reason for a transforming rejoinder.