Chapter 29 #2
“Your husband is paying a tithe to the Porcugi. If the Porcugi are using conquered lands as bases to get closer to the nations they want to attack, how long until they ask that favor of Banghervari?”
My jaw dropped. “Aru would never . . .”
Parushi tilted her head and raised her eyebrow. She didn’t have to say what I knew she was thinking. He wouldn’t, but Vishwajeet would.
And given the way things went in Aru’s council, that might be all that mattered. I clenched my fists tight. I knew of only one way to be sure that never happened.
“I need to find a way to convince him to stop paying tithes.”
By the time we left the records room, it was almost time for my tour with Aru, so Parushi and I headed straight to the main doors.
Before we’d gone very far, the raja himself turned a corner just ahead of us, followed by a few guards.
He looked just as surprised as we were, but he was more than happy to wait for us to join him.
The cerulean embroidery on his lavender kurta perfectly matched the color of my sari.
Aru smiled at me. “You chose well for us today, my rani.”
My cheeks lit up in pink as Aru came and adjusted one of my earrings. As he leaned in, I murmured, “I thought the whole point of these tours was for the people to get to see me. Nobody will bother to spare me a glance now.”
“Anyone who doesn’t have their attention on you is a fool.” He caressed my cheek and traced his finger to my earlobe and down my neck.
“Aru!” I jumped away before he could get to the neckline of my blouse, but his arm snaked behind my back and pulled me closer. “There are other people here.”
“Everyone here wants an heir, so they should be happy to see our affection. If it really bothers you, though . . .” He gestured to his guards. “Go a bit further away. My wife and I need some privacy.”
The guards hurried ahead at his command, and Parushi dropped back.
“Is that better?” Aru seemed inordinately pleased with himself.
“Yes, much.” I wiggled out of his arms but held his hand as consolation. He leaned in close, but I spoke again before he could do anything else. “Dearest, forgive me, but I must ask a rather uncomfortable question.”
This was one of the few times we’d have alone when he didn’t have other things on his mind, and I was determined to take advantage of it.
“Anything,” Aru whispered as he leaned closer.
Apparently, even at this hour of the day, he had only one thing on his mind.
“In Ullal, I always sought counsel from a group of advisers, but I noticed that you seem to favor the words of Vishwajeet.” I paused to try to find the least accusatory words, but I also wasted no time in getting to my point. “Why do you give one man’s voice so much weight?”
Aru stood straight and pouted. “You want to talk about Vishwajeet?”
“No, I want to understand you.” I rubbed his arm and beamed at him, hoping to ply his will with compliments. “I know a raja as wise as you wouldn’t do anything without a reason.”
He stopped pouting and put his hand on mine. We took a few steps in silence before he asked, “What do you know of my parents?”
“Very little,” I admitted. “My tutors told me that they died when you were very young.”
“Yes, few people know about the circumstances of their deaths.” Aru licked his lips and squeezed my hand. “But you are my rani, and you should know.”
There were only a few reasons that the details of a ruler’s death would be kept secret, and none of them were good.
As I knew all too well.
“My parents were strong rulers, beloved by their people.” Aru’s eyes glazed over as he kept his focus firmly forward.
“But there will always be those who want more power for themselves. My uncle tried to organize a coup. He secretly rallied all my parents’ advisers, including Vishwajeet’s father, behind him, and they . . . they . . .”
He didn’t need to finish the sentence. I hugged him, holding him close as I ignored the guards’ wide-eyed stares. “I’m so sorry,” I whispered in his ear.
Aru held me tight for a moment before continuing to walk.
“Anyway, they had a plan for all of us—my parents and me—but Vishwajeet heard his father plotting, and he saved me. He hid me in a temple after an adaiman led us there. Vishwajeet is the only reason I’m alive.
I mean, Vishwajeet and the Spirits, of course. I owe them everything.”
I couldn’t think. I could hardly even breathe.
Vishwajeet had saved Aru’s life, and he’d probably never hesitated to use Aru’s debt—to him and the Spirits—to his advantage.
He’d probably made sure that his voice, and only his voice, was in Aru’s ear ever since that day.
No wonder Aru always deferred to Vishwajeet.
To him, Vishwajeet was the only one he could trust.
“I became raja far too young, and I didn’t have my parents there to guide me,” Aru continued. “But Vishwajeet has always helped—he practically raised me, but he asks for nothing in return. The least I can do is listen to him.”
But I needed my husband to listen to me. We needed to be united against the Porcugi, and I doubted that was part of Vishwajeet’s plan. Even if Aru listened to me today, how long would it take for Vishwajeet to convince him to agree to his own schemes?
“Now you see why I rely on him above all others,” Aru said, misunderstanding my wide-eyed silence. “And you can trust him too.”
I had no words for a response, so I just squeezed his hand as we continued toward the exit. We arrived there shortly, and our two parallel palanquins were already set out. Vishwajeet stood next to them, waiting to see us off.
He bowed deeply to Aru. “I have confirmed the route with your guards and the towns. They’ll be expecting you.”
I hesitated before climbing in. I couldn’t understand why we sat and waved at our people from afar.
We never got off or even stopped to pick up the many gifts and offerings that were thrown into the streets as we passed.
There were people to do that. My job was to sit atop my palanquin and be admired.
I put a hand on Aru’s arm. “Perhaps we could go on horseback today? Or at least not ride in the palanquins the whole time? It would give me a chance to speak to your—I mean, our—people.”
Aru looked bewildered, and Vishwajeet waved off my suggestion as he said, “I’m sure the rani has good intentions, but it’s best for you both to remain on the palanquins. You are idols in the eyes of your people. And idols do not have dust on their feet.”
“Perhaps, but what do idols know of the prayers of their people?” I asked. “I learned far more about the people of Ullal while talking to them than I did in any meeting. It is easier to hear the truth when people tell you their stories themselves.”
“Here in Banghervari, we receive excellent reports during our council meetings,” Vishwajeet snapped as his eyes narrowed.
He caught himself quickly, though, and plastered his overly toothy smile on his face.
He continued, clearly happier to listen to the sound of his own voice than anyone else’s.
“I have every faith that you will quickly learn the way things are done in Banghervari. It’s not that the way you do things in Ullal is backwards, but since Banghervari is so much bigger and more prosperous, we had no choice but to become more efficient.
The raja and rani cannot burden themselves with trivialities—that’s why you have people to help you.
What you can do, that nobody else can, is to be the symbol of the strength and wealth of our nation. ”
Parushi bristled like a crested porcupine, but she kept her lips pressed together. I silently thanked her for her self-control despite the insults Vishwajeet had thrown at our beloved Ullal. I looked at Aru, but he was just eyeing the neckline of my blouse. He wasn’t about to jump to my defense.
“You have such a way with words,” I said to Vishwajeet, keeping my tone saccharine. “The raja is lucky to have had you by his side for so long.”
Vishwajeet puffed proudly. “You are too generous, Rani.”
I stepped even closer to my husband’s side and looped my arm through Aru’s elbow. He smiled as he slipped his arm behind my back so it rested on my other side. He tapped me three times as he found the perfect spot for his hand. I love you.
Given the way Aru’s face shone with adoration and nothing else, I doubted he’d listened to much of what Vishwajeet had said.
His focus was entirely on me, and I needed to remind Vishwajeet of that fact.
I tapped Aru three times on his back, and he smiled like a child who’d been given forbidden sweets on the sly.
Vishwajeet faltered for a moment, unsure of what was going on.
“I am forever grateful for your service to Banghervari and my”—I let the emphasis hang on the word for a moment before going on—“raja. Now that I am to rule beside him, I am sure we will continue to seek your input before we make our decisions.”
I silently challenged Vishwajeet to smile through that, but he was too busy looking to Aru for his reaction to care what I was doing. Aru kept his eyes on me, still smiling widely.
“Indeed,” Aru said. “I am lucky to have you as my rani.”
“And I am equally grateful to be your rani,” I said. “Speaking of which, I think it would be wise for us to have a meeting about trade today. Parushi has her figures ready, and I’m sure that Vishwajeet has been equally dutiful.”
“Today?” Aru asked. “I hadn’t planned on gathering the council today.”
“Oh, it doesn’t have to be the whole council.” I waved my hand lightly and tried to sound more casual than insistent. “Just us, Parushi, and Vishwajeet. That way we can get to know our nations better. I am eager to serve our people well.”
Aru still didn’t seem terribly fond of the idea.
My uncle had been right—Aru preferred being the raja more than acting as one.
While he was very comfortable with his role as a symbol for his people, he relied heavily on his council—on Vishwajeet—when there was a need for difficult conversations and decisions.
But I needed him to agree to this. Quickly. Before Vishwajeet could dissuade him.
I turned to face Aru and traced his jawline where I’d decorated it with kisses in the light of the moon. “Please. For me.”
He swallowed—hard—and nodded as he took my hand and kissed it. “Of course, anything for you.”
“Well, we wouldn’t want to keep the people waiting.” Parushi gestured to the dreaded palanquins before Vishwajeet had a chance to object.
“Yes, we must get going,” Aru said. Then he turned to Vishwajeet. “Be prepared to discuss the imports and exports when we get back.”
Vishwajeet nodded. My satisfied smile slipped a bit when I realized he looked less deflated and more thoughtful. He was making plans already, and I doubted they aligned with mine. Our games were just beginning.
Aru noticed none of it. He kept a close eye on me and made sure I was settled and comfortable on my palanquin before he took his seat.
I couldn’t help but feel like a roasted boar on display as we were hoisted up and carried on our moving—albeit pillowed—tables.
Guards surrounded us, creating even more of a separation between us and everyone else.
The back of my neck tingled as we approached the doors.
I turned around in time to see Vishwajeet tapping his lip with his finger as he stared at me so intently that he didn’t even notice Parushi watching him like a hawk.
He didn’t falter when our eyes met, and I ended up breaking away my gaze first.
One problem at a time.