ETRETR SS: A Royal Affair C47 P122 21ST SEP 2016 CONCLUDE - Page 35

Originally posted by: LillyBlanc

You write so well.
I feel like I am reading those historic romance novels with the dark, brooding hero and the naive, innocent, chirpy damsels.

Originally posted by: zelja89

Just read the whole story in a go really loved it 😊

Originally posted by: Angel-33

Superb update

I eagerly wait for your updates

I visit this forum only to see if you have updated

Thanks for writing this story it is very interesting

Originally posted by: saakha

when r u going to update back again. ur ss is my new addiction n i have reread it so many times. plz update fast this love story is certain relief since the etretr leap.love ur work. waiting

Chapter 25

Ram Singh was giving Gayatri her first ever-proper driving lesson in her new car gifted to her by Ranaji. The car was a vintage black with the a number plate that read the name "Gayatri."

Although Gayatri loved the idea of driving and was quite ambitious too as many usually did she found getting the hang of it a little troubling but more so when Ranaji had walked out into the lawn for a spot of golf that was Gayatri's biggest fear and distraction too. Still stalled the car, not once, not twice but three times in the space of seeing ranaji who was only going about his own sport.

As Ramsingh put face to palm and Gayatri blamed it all on the King.. Ranaji laughed from a distance whilst Gayatri found it not at all amusing but the fact that he was kind enough to see the humorous side of the situation rather than look upon it as failure Gayatri appreciated.

...

The day had flown by and when Gayatri walked towards Ranaji's chambers late that evening the palace as expected was quiet and Gayatri that little more vigilant not to disturb those who had retired to their room for the night or crossed paths with anyone especially Rani Subharna, it was one of those awkward things Gayatri was never going to get used to and never quite truly understand about this Royal life style.

But much to gayatri's efforts she only crossed paths with the king himself and not only him but Rajmata too who were sat in conversation in one of the many communal seating areas in the palace. Both seem to be engrossed in some conversation or the other as Gayatri walked past trying not overhear and be deemed rude but the dialogue between the two was not to her understanding anyway. They were talking in English.. Ranaji sat back in an armchair the way that was habbit to him and Rajmata was as ever elegant and royal.

Not expecting to be noticed Gayatri simply went about her way but was in fact noticed by the king himself and when the king put eyes to Gayatri ... Rajmata would too. As Gayatri lowered her eyes in acknowledgement of him and he gave a look of acknowledgment, there was unspoken conversation between the two of them, a little like one would greet each other on a passing encounter but a little more subtle here to be in tune with the tone of the ways of the raj mehel and the presence of royalty.

Soon Rajmata had also become aware of Gayatri too and they exchanged a smile and "

"Good night" greeting.

...

When Gayatri walked into Ranaji's quarters It was a chance for her to be in that space for a moment and feel his presence without him even being there which was somewhat special in its own way. She admired everything that spoke of the king to her in the room, from the stray cup of coffee and the aroma still lingering the air to his blazer that hung at the back of his armchair.. his bits of paper and every other little thing in the room that belonged to its master and hers.

When gayatri walked a little more into the room she accidentally knocked off a book from Ranaji's coffee table and in doing so scattered a series of photographs over the floor. She'd always been a little clumpsy she thought talking to herself innocently about the blunder. It was only when Gayatri got to floor level did she realize that what she had knocked over were pictures of herself. Pictures of her in the not so distant past but some of when she was a child to. They surprised her of course but soon she began to look a them one by one a feel comforted for she hadn't seen these in years. The memories bought a smile to her face. So that's how Ranaji knew about those things, the car she once dreamed of having, her trusty cycle.. he had gone to lengths to find out about her and that's why he had such a good understanding of her. Every little thing he did only seemed to make Gayatri fall in love with him that little more.

As she looked upon a more recent picture of herself before marriage gayatri was just about to flick past it but stopped when hearing a distinguished tone of voice.

"You would have been my wife long ago had I see this sooner .". he said as he crept up behind her. She did look incredibly beautiful in that photograph and god knew that Indravarden Singh Deo did not make false claims.

Forgetting that his young wife did not understand a word of what he had just said it was when she turned to look at him with those innocent, hazel eyes did he realize that he needed to rephrase himself but he wasn't going to let such a perfect moment pass him by. Gayatri didn't understand.

He did translate his words but just that little more flirtatiously..taking hold of his Queen by the waist stepping that little closer he whispered into her ear those words once again this time so she could understand. His touch, his closeness all left Gayatri with a nervous rush.

How was she supposed to respond to something like that? Or how was she supposed to respond to anything else that followed because Ranaji's lips soon began linger over her neckline and his proximity take over but she managed to reply to him and it vaguely translated to(" there wasn't a day that I didn't wait for you..")at first unsure if he had heard her but later as he paused made her look into his eye for a split second before his love became more vivid it was obvious that he had heard her.

...

A new Day in the Raj Mehel

Gayatri had been watching Rani Subharna's prayer ritual for some days now. She was the perfect queen one would imagine. Elegant and regal in her ways, her attire, her behaviour, everything about her was so perfect only something Gayatri could dream of being. She was Patrani (Chief Queen) to Rana Indravarden singh Deo, his trust, his confidence, his respect she had earned, and is riches she was in charge of not to mention years of what one would imagine as married bliss shared with him what would a lady like that have to ask from god gayatri thought every time she crossed paths with the queen in the mornings. Surely she had "everything" one could possibly dream of?

Gayatri saw Rani Subharna go about her ritual on many occasions, at first she would do her prayers before god the way one did with, incense, candle light, rice and flowers and later she would walk to a portraite of the King and bow her head before it.

Gayatri wondered why Rani subharna chose to take blessing from a portrait of the king rather than the king himself.

When queen stopped as she crossed passed with Gayatri to offer her some prashad from her morning Prayer there was an exchange of smiles between the two women.

"Kya ham aap se kuch puch sakte hai." (May I ask you something?, she said as she took the Prasad from the more elder queen.

"Agar aap javab na dena chahe to ham bura nahin mane ge ..par aap bhagvan se kya mangti hai .."? (If you don't want to say then I wont be offended but what do you ask god for?)

Rani Subharna smiled because what people said about Rani Gayatri was indeed true she was a very simple and innocent soul and that to had been her experience of gayatri till date.

"Itna hein ke Hamare dil mein hamesha maharaj ke prati samarpan aur prem bana rahe." (That I remain devoted to and In love with the king forver and always no matter what.)

Gayatri expected nothing less from the lady who in her eyes was in every way so much more perfect in the role of a queen then she could ever be.

...

The blossoming relationship between the king and Gayatri had begun to show in Ranaji's frequent calls for his younger queen, the way their eyes accidentally would meet even before others in the raj mehel or just pure apt from the king towards his new found love in her. He was happier, content, and the difference It made was substantial.

The king was in talks to Deewan but Gayatri waited quietly at a distance for the king to finish his conversation and once he had done it was just the two of them in the room. Ranaji wished to tell her that he had appointed an English teacher for his wife he would dine with the family this afternoon and if Gayatri deemed him fit then he would be hired.

Gayatri nodded in understanding but Ranaji couldn't help but notice something not quite right about her. Draped over one of her shoulders was a shawl, Ranaji wondered if his queen was unwell for her look was unusual of the norm.

He stepped closer ..put the back of his palm over gayatris forehead to check for a temperature... "aap theekh hai Gayatri.?" (Are you okay Gayatri..)

She smiled telling him she was fine but she seemed conscious especially when Ranaji cupped her shoulders as he tried to make out what was strange about her behavior.

He soon uncovered what it was when his finger tips carefully very slightly pulled away her shawl from over her shoulder. Reminders of their night were left on Gayatris upper shoulder close enough to be visible to all without that shawl.

This was a reminder to him about how fragile, how sensitive, how innocent his young queen was. Different from the likes Sulkashana who wouldn't have a care in the world and would have proudly carried such marks with pride and was probably more tolerant and a lot more bold then Gayatri was.

He gently ran the back of his fingertips over Gayatris bruises ..she didn't seem to flinch yet she certainly looked a little uncomfortable Ranaji wasn't sure if it was embarrassment on the matter or pain.

"Takleef ho rahin hai.." (They hurt .. ?)

She nodded a no..but he wasn't convinced.

"Agar hamari nazdikya aap ko dard de rahin thi toh aap ne kaha kyun nahin?" (why did you not speak up if I was hurting you??) There was concern but also a tone of telling off from the king but Gayatri corrected him.

Nahin ..aisa nahin hai..ham bas nahin chahte they aur koi inhe dekhe .. ("its not that I didn't want others to see that was all".) Still not sure.. ranaji promised non the less to be more vigulant from now on.

Swana had come to collect Gayatri from her room it was fast approaching time for lunch with the guest Englishman. Gayatri changed into a more summery white to go with the dcor of the afternoon and chose to keep her shawl for the purpose it served her today.

She looked pretty as ever but lost.

"Kya soch rahin ho gayatri chalo.. bohot se kaam abhi baaki hai." Swarna said as she tired to hurry Gayatri into leaving her dressing table.

Looking into the mirror Gayatri mentioned something in contemplation "Kash ham Rani Subharna jaise hote swarna " (I wish I was more like Rani Subharna ..)

Swarna looked confused at the random comment..

"Gayatri ab is vakt yey sab bate sochne ka vakt nahin hai..chale" (its not really the time for thinking about this kind of thing is it .. )

But Gayatri didn't seem to care..

"Woh shahin maino mein ek Rani hai Swarna" (Shes the perfect queen Swarna)

Maybe it was admiration talking Swarnlekha thought and it was true there were so many things about Rani subharna one could admire of be jelous of but that wasn't always the real truth of the matter.

"Is ka matlab yey toh nahin unki zindangi aap ki zindagi se behtar hai.."

(But that doesn't mean she lives the perfect life .. )

Swarna's comment caught Gayatris attention why did it sound like she meant much more than what was being said.

She looked at her very questioningly but Swarna was quick to change the topic of conversation and drag Gayatri out of her room.

...

A grand table was laid in the Garden of Amerkot palace for lunch. The dcor as expected was lavish. The cutlery and the food as lavish as the setting and as Gayatri always liked to do she helped the servants lay the table and Swarna helped too..the finishing touches were being added but Gayatri got the feeling that she was being talked about or the significance of what she was covering up behind her draped shawl was being speculated on by the likes of Kuwar chachi and chacha ji. Maybe whilst going about her tasks her shawl had slipped and they had seen?? Or maybe she was just being parinoid because as soon as she adjusted her shawl to make sure it was in place Rani Subharna had walked over to help. God was the moment an awkward one for her, she just prayed to god not to put her in a situation that would hurt Rani Subharna in any shape or form because she would hate that.

But the older queen merely smiled at Gayatri helping the women put together the last of the places at the table.

...

The atmosphere at the table was lovely, everyone was in their best outfits, Ranaji wore and English tweed that suited him incredibly, the ladies in their summer saari's and Kuwar chacha and looking as ever rich in his outfit.

The Englishman was Mr Thomas Fitzgerald, he was a man Rajmata seemed to have known for years. Tall dark handsome, late 30's maybe 40's with very distinguished blue eyes, a gentleman who looked wise his attire very English but not to be rude he spoke in Hindi tainted with an English accent. His personality seemed to be very attractive, wise and polite the way one would think a teacher to be.

Whilst Ranaji and the teacher semed to find a lot of common ground, Rajamata seemed already fond of him and others were just as charmed by him there was something very particular about Rani subharana's behavoiour with the man.

From across the table glances seemed to be stolen.. the man seemed to look at Rani Sunharna with familiarity whilst Rani Subharna seemed to be very intent on just being poliet and avoiding the man.

Gayatri who was sat beside Swarnlekha at the table, whispered at the observation she had made.

Kya Rani subharana.. aur Shikshak ek dusre ko jante hai Swarna.

(Does Rani Subharana know the English teacher?)

Swarna had heard that Mr Fitzgerald was also at one time Rani Subharana's English tutor.

...

Keeping away from him is what Subharna intended to do the minuite she lay eyes on him. She had no idea the English teacher would be him. She avoided all interaction at the table, every glance or attempt of conversation she brushed off but now as she walked the garden post lunch time she didn't expect him to come find her here also.

"You haven't changed a bit .. he said when he stopped beside her. "You're as beautiful as you were when I last saw you."

She may not have been great at English but she understood what he had to say, without even looking at him she managed to convey her disapporaval.

"Ham nahin jante ke aap Angrez shuhagano ke saath kaise pesh ate hai aap ke desh mein par Hindustan mein aisi bate nahin hoti Mr Fitgeraland."

(I don't know how English men treat others wifes but that's not how it is here Mr Fitzgerald.)

"Ranaji akhir lot ayey par aap abhi khush nahin lagti Raniji .." (You have your husband after all now but you still don't look unhappy .)

Subharna turned to look at Fitzgerald there was a certain sadness in her eyes he was able to understand.

He knew her a lot more than maybe anyone in the palace did, he had seen her dispare as she waited for Indravarden for years.. he had been a friend a companion and that wasn't a bad thing until that turned to something more ..

It would be a lie to say Subharna at one time did not feel attracted to the man, the attention he gave her, his kindness and how he made her feel. Maybe that's why she feared looking at him, or talking to him now..

He was as handsome as genuine and as affectionate as he was then and it took a lot for Subharna to stand before him without breaking down for he was probably one person who understood her pain over any other. She stayed quite..

"I hear he has many queens it's not as you hoped it would be is it Subharna .?"

his words left her with a lump in her throat .. why was he able to even now have such an effect on her but her mind resented whilst her heart told her otherwise.

"You know I still hold feelings for you that's why I am here . .. I asked you then .. and I'll ask you now... come with me .. "

When he stepped that little closer .. took her hand into his and put it over the chest of his English blazer where won would say the heart resided.. Subharna. Closed her eyes painfully before she could snatch her hand away Ranaji's voice startled Shubharna.

"LEAVE MR FITZGERALD BEFORE I HAVE YOU THROWN OUT!!!"

To what extent Ranaji had heard or overseen was something Subharna didn't know but all she knew is that in years of marriage this was the first time she had openly shamed her husband. His eyes carried colossal anger Subharna had no idea how to tend to.

Originally posted by: Drashtilove

Waiting