Chapter 10
Geet walked slowly to the stairs after having readied herself that morning. When she saw Maan walk into the main room, talking on his phone, she paused. Remembering his words from the previous night, she hid behind one of the pillars. She was sure that if he saw her he would just start yelling again. She would wait until he left and then go down.
"Munshiji, I want that land. I don't care if you think the price is too high. I can easily make a profit ten times that amount. Call me when the deal is final."
Geet watched as Maan ended his phone call, gather up some files, and went out the door. Walking down the stairs, she thought about what a strange person he was. He always seemed to be working and he was extremely mean. He was even very rude to Dadima, yet he had brought her to the outhouse. She actually found it very strange how he seemed to support her against his brother and bhabhi. Yet, he was still very unpleasant and Geet did not like him.
Not wanting to think about the hateful man anymore, Geet ventured down the stairs. She was interested in seeing more of the outhouse. She had come through the connecting corridor the previous night, which led right to one of the staircases. Now, coming into the main room, she saw an office set up at one end, with some couches and chairs scattered throughout the rest of the space. Not very interesting.
Continuing on, Geet discovered that the outhouse had it's own kitchen. This was a happy discovery, for now Geet knew that there was someplace close by that she could make herself a cup of tea or something to eat. Peaking into the cupboards, Geet totally forgot about Maan's directive to stay out of his part of the house. Instead, she made a mental note of all the things she wanted Nakul to stock the kitchen with, before continuing on her exploration.
She soon saw the bedroom that Maan was occupying, as well as two other smaller bedrooms and the common downstairs bathroom. Not finding much of interest, Geet began moving back the way she came. Thinking more about what she would have for breakfast than anything, Geet almost missed seeing the small objection that was lying in one of the main room's corners.
Reaching down to pick it up, she exclaimed, "My taveez! I thought I had lost it. What is it doing here?"
Geet then answered her own question by assuming it had fallen from out of one of her bags when they were shifted to the outhouse. No more effort was given trying to puzzle out it's appearance, for Nakul came at that moment with news that Dadima was calling her for breakfast. Geet hurried to place the taveez in her room before making her way to the back to the mansion. It wasn't too much longer after that, that Savitri's friends arrived and she was making the introductions.
"Geet, this is Dr. Ajeet Singh and his wife Dr. Jaspreet Kaur," said Savitri, smiling when Geet moved to seek blessings from both of them.
The foursome spoke for awhile, Savitri starting the conversation by explaining how she and Jaspreet had met in college before their respective marriages. Geet perked up at the word college, having never met any women of Savitri's generation who had gone to school beyond the tenth standard. She asked both the women many questions, her interest in further education showing through quite clearly.
Jaspreet and Ajeet were just beginning to tell how they met in medical school, when Suresh came in and said, "Geet madam, you have a telephone call."
Geet couldn't think who was calling her, and wasn't at all prepare to hear, "Geet didi," coming out of the phone.
"Rajji?" came the shocked response. "Why are you calling? How did you get this number?"
"Didi, I...I looked it up in Daarji's mobile, secretly."
"Secretly? What would make you do such a thing? You would be in so much trouble if you had been caught. Is something wrong at home?"
"Didi, I met Channi's woh," told Rajji hesitantly.
"Channi's woh?"
The question prompted Rajji to explain about how she had met Gurvinder. Geet recognized the name from the little Channi had told her, but she was shocked to hear that they were married, and that Channi was still missing. Rajji also had much more to say, her words so incredible that she had a hard time believing any of it. Her sister begged Geet to tell her what she should do, as she didn't know who else to turn to. Whether Rajji's words were true or not, Geet didn't care. She just wanted her sister to stay safe, thus she advised her not to do anything, but give her some time to think about the situation.
When Geet rejoined the small party, Savitri asked about the call and if everything was alright. Geet quietly explained that it was just her sister, who had called to have a little chat. She certainly wasn't going to say anything about Rajji's incredible story, but she couldn't keep from thinking about it either. Her preoccupation was so deep that she didn't even hear Savitri speaking to her, until the lady repeated her name a few times.
"Ji, Dadima," responded Geet consciously.
"Geet, is everything okay at home?"
"Of course, Dadima. I was just thinking of my family a bit. Did you need something?"
"Actually, Beti, I was wondering if you could do something for me. Would you take Maan his lunch? I didn't get a chance to send it with him this morning."
"His lunch?" Geet looked at the two doctors sitting on the couch opposite, before leaning over to whisper in Savitri's ear, "Dadima, I don't think he would like me to bring his lunch."
"Nonsense," whispered Savitri back. "You wouldn't even have to see Maan, just see that it is delivered to him. I would do it myself, but I have guests to entertain. Please, Geet. I think it would be good for you to get out of the house, and it will give you an opportunity to see a little of the family business."
Precap
"Mohan, is there a police station near here?"
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