FF: Forces of Love - IMP NOTE ON PG 2 (10/12/2011)

Hey Guys,
I kno its been a long tym and I'm really sorry 4 d delay bt u c I was n treatment 4 leaukemia 4 d past yr & God knows y bt I Can't access my previous link so I'm planning on continuing the FF from this link, for the past chapters go to : http://www.india-forums.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1315519

Chapters 1 to 5 --- http://www.india-forums.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1315519

Chapter 6 - pg 1, Ch 7 -pg2

Hey Shysta,
Hope you are feeling good now...
Read the story...it is amazing...
will be waiting for you to continue...
😊

hello, r u well now?...i had read the ff and was sorry when it was discontinued...really loved the way u wrote it...but now i will wait for ur update...

Wow! So glad you decided to continue!

I hope you're feeling much better now, and as always health should defintiely take the first priority over all else. Good luck with everyything!

-Naina

RECAP:

'Are you a Canadian?' she asked.

'No. I'm British born and I was reared in Shimla like Sahil. But I lived in Canada for the best part of nine years. Does it show?'

'A little. Sometimes in your speech, the expressions you use, and you have a slight accent.'

'And sometimes in my manners, perhaps,' he put in dryly. 'Life on a construction site in the wilds can be pretty rough.'

'Why did you come back?'

'My father was ill. I came back to help him in the family business.'

'What sort of business?'

'Do you mean to say you don't know, that you've never heard of Walia Civil Engineering or my grandfather Uday Walia who designed the Kawali Dam and the Fraser Bridge?' His voice shook with incredulous laughter.

'No, never. Should I have done?' asked Bani innocently. Now she understood his association with Chetan Uncle, whose company supplied equipment to construction companies.

'Oh, this is priceless,' he was still chuckling. 'Maa is going to love you.'

'Maa?'

'My mother. She's a sort of elderly hippy. She's always scorned big business and money-grubbing. She lives in a perpetual day-dream and prefers the simple life as long as someone is willing to foot the bill. She writes ' romantic thrillers, I think they are called. Perhaps you've heard of her even if you haven't heard of my illustrious grandfather. Her pen name is Krissy Om.'

Bani, who had recently read the latest offering by krissy Om, was enthralled by this piece of news.

'I loved her last story. It was fascinating. It was called "Ansuni Geet ". But why is she going to love me? I'm not going to meet her.'

'Yes, you are. You're going to have dinner with her, and with a bit of good luck you're going to be her secretary-companion and live in a place which is called Walia Mansion but in reality is a Castle.'

Bani took a deep breath. Somehow she must make an effort to battle against this inescapable force which had entered her life and had taken her over, before it swept her in a direction she didn't wish to go.

'Mr. Walia-------'she began firmly.

'If you're going to object you may as well save your breath,' he said curtly, ' because I'm not going to listen.

There's a motorway ahead. I like driving fast, but I find it safer if I'm not involved in an argument at the same time.'

After several miles of tight-lipped, fist-clenched silence, bani's temper began to simmer down. She wasn't normally a quick-tempered person, but Jai's calm assumption that she should do as he dictated had roused the independent spirit which slept beneath her docile appearance, and it took her some time to control the urge to attack him verbally. By the time she had decided there was little use in speaking to him if he wasn't going to listen and if he wasn't going to retaliate, which for some reason was even more irritating, they were speeding along the motorway towards Mumbai, and she was saving her breath.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Save your breath to cool your porridge. The old saying flashed through her mind. He had said he would tell her all about the castle while he drove her into town. In fact that had been the bait which had enticed her to come with him, she thought crossly, conveniently forgetting that she had had no choice in the matter but had been hustled into coming with him. And now he was sitting there silent and relaxed, not telling her anything, while the car hurtled along at seventy miles an hour.

Perhaps she would learn more about the castle from his mother who was Krissy Om, the novelist, with whom she was going to have dinner. Alarm struck. How could she have dinner in a Mumbai hotel in this sari on which champagne had been spilt? She leant forward to see if the stain was bad. It was quite faint and might not be noticed by others, but she knew it was there and she would be conscious of it all the time and it would worry her.

Bani's eyes gleamed mischievously. Here was her excuse not to go to dinner with Jai Walia's mother ' a way of thwarting this man who thought he had taken over. When they were nearer Mumbai she would ask him to take her to the chawl so that she could change. Once she was in her own place she would refuse to go on with him, and short of abducting her with physical violence there would be little he could do.

As the sprawling suburbs closed in around them she brought up the subject of the sari.

'I can't go to dinner in this dress,' she announced clearly.

'Why not?'

'It's stained, and it isn't very suitable.'

He flicked a sidelong glance in her direction.

'As an excuse to get out of dining with my mother that's very poor,' he jibed. 'You must know how elegant and mysterious you look in it.'

Elegant and mysterious? That wasn't how she saw herself. She was so interested and puzzled by the different image of herself, wondering how she could possibly have achieved it quite by accident, that several more miles passed before she saw his comment for what it was, a way of diverting her from her intention.

'I must change it,' she insisted. 'It won't take long. I live quite near Chandni Chowk and I can direct you from here.'

'Nothing doing, Bani. You're fine ass you are. My mother isn't a stickler for etiquette like your Reeva Aunty, and she probably won't care what you're wearing. Ten to one she'll be in tweeds and beads herself.'

After that she gave up and sat in passive silence trying to pretend to herself that she wasn't excited at the thought of meeting Krissy Om, and that the possibility of becoming her secretary wasn't enticing. If only the opportunity hadn't come her way through this domineering, infuriating man!

Mrs. Walia wasn't staying in the same hotel as her son. She preferred the slower, more conservative ways of an old-established hotel to the streamlined, efficient American-style amenities offered further west which were his choice.

At the reception desk they were told that she had already gone and had left a message for Jai saying that he was to join her in the dining-room. Attacked suddenly by shyness, Bani excused herself to go to the ladies' room to freshen up before going to the dining-room.

'You can go if you promise not to try and escape by the window,' said Jai sternly.

'Having come this far I'm not going to be done out of a meal,' she retorted a little shakily, lifting her chin.

'That's better,' he said, and glanced down at the dilapidated bouquet which she was still carrying. He took it from her and examined it. Only one rose seemed to have escaped being squashed. It was a white half-opened bud. Jai pulled it out, stared at it for a second and then to Bani's surprise tucked it behind her ear.

'I think you might call it symbolic,' he remarked. 'See you here in a few minutes.'

Slightly bemused by his action, Bani stared at herself in the mirror in the ladies' room. There was a flush on her usually pale cheeks and her eyes were sparkling. The white rosebud looked untouched and curiously innocent against the swathe of her dark hair. Symbolic, Jai had called it. What had he meant? Had he meant she should wear it because with a bit of good luck she might go to Shimla as his mother's secretary. Or had he meant something deeper? Who could guess what went on in the mind of a man like Jai Walia? He was too complex a personality for her to understand. Nor did she wish to understand him.

But even as her hand was raised to remove the rose from behind her ear and throw it into the waste basket she experienced a sudden bewildering change of mind, and left it where it was.

They found Mrs.Walia sitting alone at a table for two, peering through a pair of owl-like spectacles at the menu. She was a slim straight-backed woman with a mass of wavy white hair. As Jai had said, her attitude to dress was careless and she was wearing a nondescript sari and blouse which Reeva Aunty might have considered suitable for supervising the cleaning of the house. Around her neck were row upon row of multi-coloured beads of which any hippy would have been envious.

When they reached the table and Jai spoke to her she looked up and removed the glasses, and at once the initial impression of someone who was careless and slovenly was dispersed by the high forehead, clear-cut aquiline nose, fine sweep of cheek from temple to chin and the intelligent vivid brown eyes.

'Jai, how lovely! Are you going to dine with me afterall?' her voice was gentle with just the slightest suspicion of a lilting accent.

'No, but I have brought someone who is.'

Bain in her shyness had lingered behind him, hiding behind his broad shoulders, but as he spoke he reached out a hand, took one of hers and pulled her forward. Mrs.Walia's brown eyes focused on her and surprise widened them before she transferred her gaze to Jai.

'The young Juliet,' she murmured. 'Where did you find her?'

'At the wedding. And her name is Bani ' Bani Dixit. She's Kiran Dixit's daughter.'

'Oh my dear!' To Bani's amazement Mrs.Walia stood up, grasped her by the shoulders and kissed her on both cheeks. 'This is wonderful! I knew your mother well. Her death was one of the great tragedies. She still had so much pleasure to offer the world. Please sit down ' here, near me. Jai, ask them to set two more places. This is a very important occasion and should be celebrated accordingly.'

'Then you shall celbrate it with Bani. I need to change out of this lot,' replied Jai, indicating his morning suit. 'I promised Gaurav and Mohan that I'd see them, as it's their last night in Mumbai.'

A faint frown expressing supercilious distaste marred Mrs.Walia's high white forehead.

'So you prefer a night out on the town with some of your uncouth aquaintances to dinner with Bani and me,' she said with a touch of asperity, and Bani glanced uneasily at Jai, expecting him to take offence. But he merely grinned affectionately at his mother.

They're a wild bunch when they're let out on the spree, I admit, But I wouldn't call them uncouth. Rugged, hardworking and entitled to a gay time occasionally,but not ill-mannered,' he murmured in defence of his friends.

Mrs.Walia's frown faded and her eyes twinkled with understanding.

'All right, I'll let you off this time, but only because you found Bani and had the sense to bring her to me,' she said, smiling warmly at Bani, who was immediately enslaved.

'I thought you might see it like that,' said Jai. 'But now that I've found her for you, can I trust you not to let her escape? She has quite a strong streak of independence. It just happens that she's out of work, and I think that she's what you've been looking for.'

Mrs.Walia gave him a slightly puzzled glance.

'She types ' and can do secretarial work,' prompted Jai softly, and understanding dawned slowly in Mrs.Walia's eyes.

'Is that true?' she asked Bani.

'Yes. I've been working as an assistant secretary to Madame Annabelle for the last four years.'

'I can hardly believe it! You look more like a ballet dancer to me,' whispered Mrs Walia. 'You know, Jai, she's like an answer to an oft-repeated prayer.'

'She's been conjured up by old wizard Merlin (Name of a magician in an English legend) especially for you, Maa,' he remarked mockingly. He touched Bani briefly on the shoulder and to her consternation she shivered at his touch. 'I'll say goodbye to you for now. See you in Fantasia (Fictional name to denote something like Fantasy Land),' he murmured, and there was a strangely cynical twist to his mouth as if he had noticed her shiver. He turned to his mother and added. ''Bye, Maa, and remember what I said. Don't let her escape.'

'Fantasia?' repeated Mrs.Walia as she watched her son leave the room, a shadow of anxiety deepening the brown of her eyes. 'Why does he say he'll see you there?'

'He told me that you'd named all your sons after names you came across in Hindi literature, so when he said you lived in a Castle I wondered if it was in Fantasia. I hadn't realised that I had wondered it out aloud until he just mentioned it. I'm afraid he thought I was making fun because of his name,' Bani explained honestly.

'You're not the first to do that, beta,' said Mrs.Walia. 'You see I was a fan of the Hindi Literature epics. My father was a professor of Ancient History. I used to dream that when I married and had sons I would name them after Historical Warriors, hoping that they would grow up to be chivalrous and brave. And in spite of the fact that I married a hard-headed, practical man who had his own ideas on how his boys should be named, I kept that resolve. Randheer finally indulged me in my whim, provided each of the boys was given a good honest Hindu name as his first name.'

'And have they grown up to be chivalrous and brave?' asked Bani, who was enthralled by this story. It's silly romanticism was right up her street.

'I'm going to let you be the judge of that, beta. You've aleady met Jai.'

'I think he's very arrogant,' Bani couldn't help saying. 'I had no intentions of coming here, but he made me.'

Mrs.Walia chuckled.

'Yes, he's very like his father in that respect. That's why fur and feathers used to fly whenever they were together, especially after Jai went into the business after he'd qualified as a civil engineer. He thought he knew all the answers and quite naturally Randheer took exception at being told how to manage by a young man just out of University. It was fortunate for all concerned that Randheer's Canadian associates received a new contract to build a hydro-electric dam at that point and were willing to take Jai to work on the project as a junior engineer. He stayed with it for a while and then went on to work on other projects over there. I think he wouldn't have come back if I hadn't asked him to come three years ago.'

Mrs.Walia sighed suddenly and her eyes went blank as she looked into the past. Bani busied herself with the menu. A waitress approached and Mrs.Walia came back int the present again and they ordered their meal.

loved the part...Jai Walia can be very intimidating

Thanks for a lovely update, pls conitune soon, we thought u forgot about this ff, pls do not disappear again will be waiting for another update

very good...I think Jai wants Bani as his wife...

Guys I know its past 4 months since I have last updated but you see I still keep up with monitoring with the dictor frequently that I hardly had time to continue.

I am first - great!