Chapter 2 - Rapunzel
Khushi yawned and stretched, opening one eye at a time, looking around at the unfamiliar room. It was a beautiful room, she saw. All the furniture was heavy, hand carved out of wood. A richly embroidered carpet beside the bed made sure she didn't have to step on cold wood as she got out of it. She'd had the best sleep of her life in that bed, the mattress soft, and the linen clean and smelling of sunshine. Just like the long, white nightshirt she'd been given last night. It was bliss after days on the trail from Oklahoma.
She walked over to the window and opened it wide. The sun shone gloriously down on the green plains. To her left she could see the high mountains with dots of snow on their peaks, and the green skirt of the evergreens at the bottom.
She stood at the window gazing out, wisps of her hair blowing gently in the soft early morning breeze, her braid flung over one shoulder. A cowboy rode into view on his gray appaloosa. She stiffened at the sight of the horse. He wore leather chaps over his tight jeans, and a Stetson hid his face from her view on the upper floor. The fringes on his buckskin leather jacket swayed with the movement of his horse. He rode bareback, she saw. ASR. No. Arnav. She watched him ride past, following him with her eyes. Then he turned in his seat, raising his head, looking up to her window. For a moment, the horse slowed. From this distance she couldn't make out his expression, and then he touched the brim of his hat with his hand. She heard him yell 'Git!' before he galloped away.
When she came downstairs, the house was quiet. She'd put on the clothes someone had left for her, feeling uncomfortable in the slightly long dress. She looked around and was wondering what to do, when she heard someone calling her name.
'Khushi?' It was Nanny Raizada, looking regal as ever, even though it was still early.
Khushi turned with a smile. 'Nanny Raizada, good morning,' she said with a shallow bow.
'Did you sleep well, child?' Nanny smiled sweetly at her, her dark eyes sparkling.
Khushi nodded. 'Yes, yes I did. Thank you, kindly.'
'No need to thank me,' Nanny waved it away. 'You don't have to be so formal. Are you quite recovered?'
'Yes, I am,' Khushi said, just as her stomach growled loudly.
Nanny laughed. 'You're hungry. Come with me. HP!' she called. The wizened man came to the door. 'Get some breakfast for Miss Khushi,' she said.
'But,' Khushi stopped her. 'I really need to get back to my Ma and Sis.'
Nanny twinkled at her. 'You've no need to. Your papa will bring them here.'
'Oh!' Khushi exclaimed. 'Why didn't you wake me up?'
'You were sleeping peacefully, so we let you sleep. Now come and eat breakfast. Your father should be here soon.'
Khushi wandered off to the dining room, going over the events of last night. Nanny and Anjali had insisted she stay back at the homestead, and her papa had agreed, surprisingly allowing her to stay in a home full of strangers.
Doc had arrived last night, and he turned out to be Anjali's brother. Which would make him Arnav's brother, too.
She hadn't seen Arnav at all last night. Her first glimpse of him since he'd told her his name, was this morning. She wondered why he'd said that. Everybody had called him ASR. But he'd told her his name was Arnav. Strange man! she thought, shaking off her thoughts of him as she tucked into the eggs, bacon and toast, and the hot mug of coffee that HP set in front of her.
Anjali came in just as she was finished. 'Oh, good,' she said. 'You're up.' She sat down at the table. 'How are you feeling this morning?' she asked.
'I feel fine, Miss Anjali,' Khushi replied. 'And thank you for the clothes,' she added, realizing it must be Anjali who had provided her clothes to her.
'Please. Call me Anjali,' she smiled.
They chatted for a while, until they heard the sound of the wagons arriving.
'My horse!' Khushi gasped. 'Anjali, do you know where my horse is?' she worried her nail as she asked.
'In the stable, that way,' Anjali pointed.
Khushi lifted the hem of her skirt as she ran to the stables. She saw her horse, Red, in one of the stalls. Someone had brushed him and fed him. His coat shone and he looked happy to be where he was. She gave him a hug. 'Hey, boy. Missed me?' She kissed his nose and rubbed it, he greeted her with a nicker. She giggled as the air blew on her neck, tickling her.
A stablehand, all of seventeen years of age, came up to her. 'You want I should saddle her up, miss?' he asked.
She looked at him and said, 'no. I'll do it myself. Where's my saddle?'
'In there. The boss said I was to saddle him, should you need it, ma'am,' he said nervously.
She looked at him curiously, 'the boss?'
'ASR, ma'am' he mumbled looking at the ground, kicking it with the tip of his boots.
'I don't need help to saddle my horse,' she said. 'Been doin' it all my life. I came to see where he was. I'll get him later.'
He nodded and turned away. She looked after him. Didn't he think she knew how to saddle her own horse? She was annoyed. With a brief shake of her head, and a frown on her face, she went out to greet her parents and her sister.
*****
Nanny Raizada had invited all of them to the house for brunch. Shashi introduced her to his wife Garima, his older daughter Payal, and Tia Abeja, who had been with them forever and was like a second mother to the children. The other men were his two hands, who had traveled with him, when he bought the Box-Lightning. A small homestead north of Yerba.
'Where are you coming from, Mr. Gupta?' Nanny asked him while they all sat drinking glasses of lemonade on the porch.
'Oklahoma, ma'am,' he said. 'We decided to move West when we found the Box-Lightning was up for sale.'
'Ah yes, the Box-Lightning,' Nanny said thoughtfully. 'It is a good property. I am sure my grandson will have to speak to you of it,' she added.
Shashi frowned. 'Speak of it? What about it?'
Nanny smiled at him. 'Let Arnav come back. He's out with the hands, on a roundup.'
Shashi nodded, wondering what Arnav could have to talk about. 'This is fine grazing land you have here, Miz Raizada,' he looked around appreciatively.
'And it is a good country, too,' she added.
'What about the Apache? I heard they were hereabouts?'
Nanny shook her head. 'The Apache will leave you alone. If you are good to them, they are good to you. They were here before us. So they might resent us. But if they know that you will not hurt their land, they will not hurt you,' she said. 'They are a proud people, like us, Mr. Gupta. Only when we treat all people with respect, will we receive that respect from them.'
Shashi looked at her wise eyes and nodded.
'What about your daughters?' she asked Garima. 'How old are they?'
'Khushi is but twenty, ma'am, and Payal is all of twenty-one,' Garima said shyly.
'They are pretty girls, and they are not married yet?' Nanny frowned.
'No,' Garima wanted to say something more, then stopped. 'I ... they are good girls. It's just that Payal is so shy. She rarely would speak until spoken to. And Khushi?' She looked at Shashi and they both chuckled.
'She has a mind of her own, that one,' Shashi said. Nanny joined in their laughter as they looked at the two girls standing near the corral. Khushi sat perched on the fence, feeding a horse, while Payal stood sedately by. They both were talking animatedly. 'I pity the man that will marry her. She is a handful!'
'Perhaps she hasn't met the right soul, yet,' Nanny said, still smiling at the picture the two sisters made.
After lunch, the Guptas and their entourage took their leave, taking Happy with them in one of the wagons. He was much better now, with no fever and no infection. Doc's medicines had worked its usual wonders.
It was almost sundown when Arnav returned. He climbed off the saddle and slapped his horse on its rear. It took off towards the stable, and he walked up the stairs to the porch, taking off his hat as he stepped into the house. The quiet of the house greeted him, only to be broken by cries of 'Arnie!' as two tornadoes attached themselves to his two legs.
'Hey!' he pulled them away, and crouched down to their eye-level. The two identical pair of brown eyes smiled back at him. Two identical grins on two identical chubby faces. Hugging them close, one in each hand, he closed his eyes, as he savored the feel of unconditional love, as two pairs of chubby arms came around his neck.
'Arnie, miss you,' little Dev said. He was the older twin by fifteen minutes.
'See cows,' chimed in little Dhruv 'Drew', the other little twin.
'Come on, boys,' their mother, Anjali came into the room. 'Arnav! You're back,' she exclaimed, happy to see him. 'Come on, boys,' she tugged them off Arnav. 'Time for bed.' She tried to get them into bed on time, but the boys clung like limpets to him.
'Let them be, sis,' he said, smiling at the two of them.
'Stop spoiling them, Arnav. They need to go to bed, now,' she scolded them. It was a little hard to discipline the two, given that their great-Nanny and their uncle Arnie tended to indulge every whim of their little hearts.
'Story,' said Drew.
'Okay, story it is,' Arnav nodded. 'Now go and get ready for bed. I'll come by to read you a story.'
Anjali shook her head at him. 'You indulge them way too much, Arnav. I dread to think what you'll do with your own children.'
He laughed at that, though it was more like a derisive snort, accompanied by the familiar lop-sided smile. 'Since I'm not aiming to get married yet, you can sleep in peace for now, sister mine.' He had had this conversation so many times, he had given up on her, ever giving up on his marriage or the lack thereof.
She herded the children out, and had almost left the room when he said, 'Sis? The Guptas. They left?' She handed the children to Mami, their nurse, whose ample bosoms heaved with every breath she took. But the boys loved her profoundly, and loved to be with her. They went off obediently with her.
She turned around and nodded. 'Yes, the should reach the Box-Lightning today.'
His eyes narrowed. 'The Box-Lightning?'
'Yes. They're are the new owners,' she said. He raised his left eyebrow, a sardonic look on his face. 'Nanny told them you would be calling on them,' she added.
He nodded slowly. He knew what his Nanny was thinking. 'I'll go to town tomorrow. Perhaps I'll stop by the Box-Lightning on my way back.'
She nodded and hurried off after the children. He turned around and went up the stairs to his room.
*****
The three men crouched in front of the fire, eating their dinner. The dark sky twinkled and glowed above them. All around them were the sounds of the night. An owl hooted somewhere and silent wings carried it away from the glowing fire on the ground. The noise died down all of a sudden. Clearly they heard the soft clip-clops of a horse's hooves. Putting down the tin plates, the men swiftly backed away from the fire, melting into the night, guns out, poised and ready.
The large horse drew up to the fire, and came to a stop. Gloved hands looped the reins around the pommel, before the man on its back jumped down and looked around. He settled his hat on his head and hooked his thumbs through his belt.
The three men materialized out of the dark, and stopped across the fire from him.
'Tell me you bring me good news,' the man said. The men were silent. 'What happened?' he snapped. His face was shadowed by the brim of his hat, the firelight throwing maniacal shadows on his face.
'ASR and two of his men showed up,' the tallest of the men spoke.
The man spat on the ground. 'ASR!' he ground out.
'They got two of the Indians. The rest left,' the tall man finished his report.
The man breathed heavily through his nose, disgust and annoyance writ upon his face. He took a small bag of coins from his saddle and tossed it to the shorter of the three, who caught it swiftly. 'Find them,' was all he said. They nodded. He leapt on the horse's back and clucked twice. The horse broke into run, and man and beast vanished into the darkness.
The three men stood around, counting the coins and splitting them up. They went back to their measly dinner, silently. Until the tall one spoke again. 'They were headed to the Circle-R. Perhaps we should start there.'
The short one shook his head. 'They were headed to Yerba. They should have reached there. The Doc might know where they are. That wounded man needed medicine.'
They nodded thoughtfully. Yes, this was a better option.
Find the wounded man.
*****
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