Chapter 6 (part #3)
HIM
Arnav stared at the glass of wine in his hand. The guests had arrived in the late morning and a lavish brunch had been organized in the reception hall. He had been introduced to over fifty ladies, all of them stunning and smart, well groomed and poised but all he had felt was a stifling unease building inside him. On any other occasion he had always been a gracious and attentive host but today it seemed like a never-ending burden. As the mindless chatter in the room filled his ears, he found his patience was fast running out.
"My Lord!" he heard an overly sweet voice squeal from behind him and turned.
"My Lord, I have been looking all over for you."
'I am right here, my Lady." He said coldly .
Lavanya took the glass of wine from his hand and placed it on a table close by, then hooked her arm into his.
"Enough drinking, my Lord. I know you have a fabulous collection of horses and I would love to see the stables. Besides I get the feeling that you could use a bit of fresh air yourself."
"I could," he said. It would also give me the chance to question her about Khushi.
Skillfully dropping polite words here and there, they steered out of the hall, avoiding the other guests. They entered the grounds and moved towards the stables, situated in the front lawns, to the right side of the cobble-stoned path which curved to the left and led up to the main gates of the Manor.
Arnav breathed in the fresh cold wintry air for comfort, while listening to Lavanya talk about her home. When he had met Manorama in the morning and tried questioning her, she had cunningly diverted the attention away from herself by engaging grandmother in conversation. He realized this was as good a time as any to ask Lavanya.
"So how come your sister Khushi didn't come with you to the Ball?"
"She didn't want to. Besides, she doesn't live with us right now. She left."
"Why?"
"After our father passed away, we were all upset and we tried to console her too. But she was too stubborn and left."
"Where? Didn't you try to look for her?"
"No point. She likes to wander by herself so we wouldn't know where to start. Anyhow, she'll come back when she needs to."
"You don't seem worried about your sister at all." he remarked.
"Because there is nothing to be worried about, my Lord. You seem awfully bothered about her yourself." she countered, irritated.
"I just wanted to know why she didn't come to the ball." He said casually, contemplating how to get more information out of Lavanya.
"She didn't like you the slightest bit. She said so directly." Lavanya said as they reached the stables.
Arnav was about to comment when he saw someone and stopped dead in his tracks.
HER
Payal was sitting by the oven adjusting the timer when she looked up as Khushi entered. She saw her gloomy face, the helplessness in her demeanor and got up.
"Khushi, what happened? You look terrible. Have you been crying again?"
"Nothing happened." Khushi replied in her soft voice, staring blankly at the ground.
"Come and sit down first." Payal said and taking Khushi gently by the elbow she made her sit at the kitchen table.
"Tell me what happened, sweetheart. Go on."
"I don't want to talk about it."
"Khushi, please. I know there are some nasty rumours going around the Manor but I don't believe a thing. I trust you."
Khushi looked up at Payal and threw her arms around her.
"Thank you so much." She said meekly while Payal stroked her back.
Someone knocked at the kitchen back door just then. They both looked up to find Enkay's cute face grinning back at them. Payal went and opened the door for him and he went straight to Khushi.
"I have a lovely surprise for you, Miss. Payal told me you have been upset for over two days so I 've brought you a reason to smile." He said, happily.
Khushi returned his disarming smile reluctantly and got up.
"What is it?" she asked.
"You have to come with me to the stables."
"I can't leave the kitchens." She said ruefully.
"We are going into the grounds. No one will know. They are all busy receiving guests, anyway," he said. "Please come?" he said, with a puppy face this time.
"Oh alright. Let's go. I'll be back soon Payal." Khushi said and she followed him out the door.
Itti Si Khushi Sab TV
Udne Ki Aasha
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