Chapter 200

Chapter 283: Break of a New Dawn

When morning crept bright upon the horizon of the Arhasian sky, the sunbeams pouring in from the open balcony urged Kushi's eyes open.

Reluctant to open them, she pulled the blanket closer to her and breathed in snuggly.

The faint scent of grass and dew from last night still lingered in the chamber air.

Yawning, she stirred awake and turned to find herself embraced in her husband's strong arms, her head conveniently positioned close to the nook of his neck. Pressing her hand upon his bronze chest, she listened to the faint rhythm of his peaceful heartbeat.

Smiling to herself, she cuddled deeper into his warm embrace.

The movement awoke him.

She felt one of his hands move, its heated palm sweeping across the curve of her hip until it slid to rest at the small of her back.

Her eyes impulsively closed on receiving his warm morning kiss on her forehead.

"Good morn, my adorable," murmured the sleepy First Lord, wrapping his arms tighter around her.

Kushi kissed the Adam's apple jutting deliciously in his throat, "Good morning, Lordy dear."

Her roguish address of him earned her a nibble on the ear which she responded to with a surprised yelp. He proceeded to bless her face with punishing kisses, disregarding her breathless protests, until there was heard a knock on the door.

It was Om Prakash with the timely basin of warm water for his Master and Mistress. Fortunately, as always, the curtains surrounding the bed concealed the couple from being seen and the servant was spared the sight that would certainly make him faint with excitement.

The First Lord commanded that he leave the basin at the doorway, and the servant complied, suspicious of the rarity of the request for the Master always insisted that the water be poured into the tub in the bath chamber. He couldn't imagine his Master volunteering to pick the heavy basin off the floor, cross the distance of the room to the bath chamber, and then endure the labour of pouring the watery contents of the basin into the tub all by himself!

Om Prakash's suspicions became more entrenched when he later obtained a newer account from a maid.

Few minutes after Om Prakash had visited the chamber, the said maid knocked upon their door for she was bringing them their routine tray of morning coffee. Under Lord Arnav's orders, the maid religiously poured the scalding coffee into the two cups and, bowing respectfully to the drapes around the bed, she diligently departed without a word. But before closing the door shut, she had distinctly noticed the clothes strewn on the floor by the bed and among them - this the maid swore in the name of her great grandmother's grandmother - was a veil.

As doubts upon doubts built in the enthusiastic minds of the speculating servants, the climactic hint arrived when, an hour later, Lord Arnav descended to the dining hall, dressed in his dashing suit and primed for work. His family and servants eyed him with suspicion and wonder for, quite distinctly, the change in him was vivid.

His countenance was a note happier, his hard lips prone to thoughtful smiles now and then, and he even nodded appreciatively at the dining hall servants whom he had earlier made a habit of ignoring like the walls of one's house.

What was more intriguing: as he rose to depart for the Industry, Lord Arnav requested his family to let his wife sleep in and not to disturb her or invade the room in prospects of cleaning it, until she emerged from the chamber of her own accord.

The undulant thrill in the minds of the others, forced to be corked by his words, knew no bounds.

It was nearly two hours after Lord Arnav and Lord Akash had left for the Industry that an embarrassed Kushi awoke to remember that her husband had let her sleep subsequent to the intimacy that followed their morning coffee in bed.

How could he have done this! What would the family think?!!

But a minute later, as every ache in her body recalled itself, she was grateful for the permitted repose.

Stretching out her exhausted arms, she tried to slide her legs from underneath the twisted mess of the blanket while also shaking her head as though to ward off the fog of oversleep. But in the course of these multiple intentions, her tangle of hair swept across her face, blinding her at the very moment that her legs caught in the blanket, tripping her. She fell over the edge of the bed, hands flaying, and slid headfirst onto the soft rug, her hair obscuring her vision and her legs above her, still entrapped in the blanket. Fidgeting with the blanket, she finally climbed out of it and then, feeling too sleepy to stand, she crawled on her knees to the bath chamber.

The water that filled the bathtub had now become a weak lukewarm. She yawned as she sat in it and, at one point, would have dozed off too, if the bar of soap in her hand hadn't slipped into the water. She lurched awake to find it and began a drowsy gamble of inspecting the foamy water. Often, her sluggish feet gave way and she would slip into the water to surface utterly wet.

Ultimately, she succeeded in not only finding the bar of soap, but thanks to the soap's sudden decision to play tag, Kushi had thoroughly gotten herself wet and, hence, quite restored from oversleep.

The Kushi that emerged from the bath, was a woman in every sense, awakened in mind and mettle, and renewed in a manifold ways that were soon to be realized. Being her first day as the true wife of the First Lord, she chose a beautiful white gown with an intricate design of red flowers on it. Tying her hair in a bun and pressing pearls into its plaited crest, she appeared downstairs to the stares and gasps of everyone who beheld her.

Her initial visit was to the kitchen. In one's sleep, the drowsed mind is unaware of hunger, but as soon as she'd come out of her bath, Kushi realized in agonizing desperation of how absolutely starved she was! Her insides groaned and her famished appetite felt utterly parched. Food was the only aim of her life now and her soul would not be at peace until she had filled herself in plenteous.

The servants in the kitchen stopped their noisy chatter and the loud clanging and bustling of their everyday work to stare speechlessly as Kushi strolled across the floor. Blind with hunger though she internally was, her outward demeanour spoke every inch of her worth as First Lady.

"My lady," Rahim Chacha stepped before her, the first to find voice among the lot who still stared with open mouths, "May I be permitted to say, you look exquisite this morning."

"Chachaji!" Kushi greeted him in her usual cheer, remembering to be kind even though her empty stomach was grumbling with temper, "You look exceptionally young today."

"I believe I would if I were to glimpse such radiance as this that shines from your being," remarked the butler with pride.

Kushi laughed lightly and then shook her head, "On the contrary, Chachaji, I think your youthfulness has its reasons in the company of a little boy whose warden you presently are..."

"Indeed, that would be an added reason," smiled the compassionate butler, and then, without warning, he turned and snapped his fingers to the servants at his side, "Quick, bring the First Lady's breakfast!"

As the dazed servants jumped in a start from their dreamy study of their mistress and scampered this way and that to get a tray and its contents, the butler turned his calm attention to the surprised Kushi, who was also greatly relieved that she wouldn't have to tolerate the agony of her restless stomach any longer.

"My lady, if you will allow me," he held out his hand so she would take it, "It would be an honour to escort you to the dinning chamber."

Kushi chuckled, amused by his offer, but happily allowed him to lead her to the unpeopled dinning chamber.

Once she was decorously helped into the grand chair at the table and the anticipated tray was brought to her, all her recourse to ladyship was abandoned.

The excitement and exhaustion of last night had left her so famished that she threw all etiquette aside and eagerly wolfed down the contents of her breakfast tray. Nothing had ever tasted so heavenly before. Every bite and every sip was impeccable, unlike tastes her tongue had been accustomed to before. She even found herself humming in pleased relish of the divinely delectable brunch.

Halfway through, another reason developed for Kushi to be hasty with her meal. She was quite unnerved by the way the dining hall servants were staring at her, in a manner they had never done before. They had certainly had varied occasions in the past to witness her voracious gorging of edibles in an even more ravenous manner than she had now. Yet somehow, today, they seemed to find it entirely impossible to extract their gazes off her face. Their absorbed study of her didn't do well with her appetite.

While Kushi was breakfasting in the dinning chamber, the butler had gone to alert the other ladies about Kushi's awaited presence out of her prohibited chamber. Kushi had just finished with her meal, when Lady Anjali, Lady Manorama, Lady Deviyani and Payal arrived.

As she wiped her lips on the napkin, pushed aside her emptied breakfast tray and arose from the chair, she turned about and halted in astonishment of the sight before her.

There stood the rest of the ladies and they too, stared at her, as though in dumb admiration of some alien splendour.

"Good morning, everyone, forgive me for being late to breakfast- " Kushi had commenced her salutation, trying to overlook their studying glances, but a helpless blush crept across her radiant cheeks, reading the realization that had passed in every woman's gaze.

Lady Anjali beamed and Nani's eyes filled with proud tears as she held her arms wide open to receive Kushi in an embrace. As Kushi was held in Lady Deviyani's motherly hug, Payal leaned forward and kissed her young sister's cheek, "How beautiful you look today, my little one!"

Ram, who had been standing beside Lady Anjali, could also not stop staring at Kushi. There was something extremely peculiar about the way his friend looked that morning. Was it the gown, he wondered, his timid little fingers touching the flowers of her skirt.

Just then, Kushi, released from Lady Deviyani's embrace, crouched down to Ram's height.

Ram blinked at her, dispelled by the glow of her lovely face. Had his friend always been this beautiful? He had never noticed it to be so, until now. And how her face sparkled! Lifting his hand, his curious fingers brushed upon her cheek, wondering it some of the light would come off onto his fingers.

His attempt made Kushi laugh, the happy sound ringing through the hall, and Ram smiled innocently in return.

Lady Manorama shrugged, "Bye bye Mischief and Madness, Hello hi to the new wife in town!"

"Finally!" exclaimed Lady Anjali, holding a cheerful Anarkali in her arms, "Kushiji is, in every sense, the First Lady Kushi Singh Raizada!"

P. S. Thanks Mavykins for alerting me to the missing C.