Originally posted by: roseraja1915
C37- What a thrill in the hills!
Mounting Bahadur was a monumental task for the petite lady but her man, taking matters into his own hands , got her hoisted up onto the horse with a singularly remarkable manouevre, without even laying a finger on her. (BTW Sahiba, the sketch that you put up showing how this was done was a great help in visualizing it.)
I think the silence during the trek was deliberate on his part because AMK ( other than he being reticent by nature ) did not want to unnecessarily tax her, seeing how unwell she was. The heat that was bearing down upon them being a factor to contend with - a conversation would have further sapped her energy.
What a plan to tackle the problem of the impending water crisis! Everything was meticulously mapped out and tabled for his Begum's consideration. But it was a water crisis of a different kind that took the chapter to an entirely new level.
An offer of his water flask to Heera to assuage her thirst before the return journey set in motion a chain of events that turned out to be a panacea for his pangs of desire. A brilliant CIO as he could not have misinterpreted the signals from her end and considering the tumultuous predicament that they found themselves in, the intimate moment was just waiting to happen.
The kiss- it catapulted the readers (along with the protagonists) to the heavens while it lasted. It was a culmination of intense emotions that found an escape in that moment of intimacy and ecstasy for the couple. However, we were subjected to a forced landing when an injudicious choice of words put a dampener on the intoxicating scene. Misconstruing her ill-constructed utterances, AMK promptly brought down the shutters to barricade himself from a repeat of such incidents in the future until and unless his Begum has a change of heart.
The first matter settled the scroll bearers issue, the second settled the water issue and the third (his leaving Parnagarh on business that very evening) gave them space to settle the issues of the body, heart and mind after the turbulent episode.
Darling author, C37 was a breathtaking experience for the reader in more ways than one. Thank you so so much, Lashy Sahiba! ❤️ 🤗
A token of appreciation:
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