Chapter 33
Whatever spies Vishwajeet had sent to attend to me must have told him of my vomiting, because nobody argued when I sent word that I had a stomach ailment and could no longer attend the various tours and functions that had been arranged.
I maintained my need for privacy and stayed in my chambers, which really was for the best since the nausea only became more and more overwhelming over time.
Soon, Chaaya’s suspicions were confirmed when my monthly cycle failed to make an appearance.
I waited almost two extra weeks to be sure, and then I told Aru the news.
My raja lifted me off the ground and swung me in a circle before he caught himself.
“I’m so sorry!” he exclaimed as he let me down and placed his hand on my stomach. “A baby. Just as you saw. What do you need? Rest? More food? Better pillows? Vishwajeet, get her whatever she needs.”
Vishwajeet bowed deeply—to Aru, not me, but Aru was too distracted to notice.
“We need to take care of you—of the baby—so of course we can’t, you know, risk disturbing . . .” Aru’s cheeks colored as he tried to find the right words.
Vishwajeet looked away as his lip curled, and Parushi’s eyes rolled to the back of her head.
“Even if we cannot enjoy sunsets together,” I said gently, “we’ll still have our afternoon walks, and I’m sure we’ll find more time to spend as just us.”
I led him to a nearby set of chairs and took a seat, sinking into the Banghervari-style pillows.
Their plushness still took me by surprise, and I missed the thinner, firmer cushions back home.
“Truth be told, I don’t need much of anything.
The only thing I ask for is some privacy, particularly in the morning.
My stomach is quite unsettled at the beginning of the day, and the last thing I want is for our people to see me like this. ”
“Are you sure?” Aru pulled a chair right next to mine, sliding it over the plush carpet, and took my hand in his ever so gently. As if he was suddenly afraid to crush me with his affection.
“The rani is quite right!” Vishwajeet declared, and he began pacing back and forth. “The raja will have to handle all public appearances until the rani doesn’t look like . . . until she has recovered suitably.”
I ignored Vishwajeet’s comment about my appearance and turned to Aru, covering his hand and curling my fingers around his.
“I ask that only Parushi and Chaaya attend to me in the mornings, so only they will see me when I feel worst. Perhaps more people can come to attend to me closer to our midday meal? They can help me get ready so we can take lunch together, and then we can go out for walks afterward. It will give me a chance to see more of your beautiful gardens.”
Aru still looked worried, no doubt preoccupied with thoughts of how to keep his heir safe, so I decided to get his attention. I ran my finger from his chin to his temple and cupped his face in my hand the way I often did before pulling him closer for a kiss when we were cocooned together at night.
“There is nobody I would rather see them with than you.”
Aru nestled his head into my hand, smiling contentedly—and hopefully too satisfied to argue with my suggestion.
Parushi, Chaaya, and I had planned this proposal before inviting Aru here.
Chaaya had warned me that my mother’s severe nausea had been so exhausting that she’d needed to conserve her energy and make fewer public appearances.
I felt most ill in the mornings, so this plan seemed like the best solution.
It let me have a bit of space when I wasn’t feeling well and gave me some time away from Vishwajeet’s spies while still allowing me to keep an eye on Aru.
“You want to be attended by only Parushi and her?” Vishwajeet gestured to Chaaya incredulously. “All morning? How will they manage?”
“My wardrobe will be far simpler when I won’t be out for everyone to see.” The idea of being free from a throng of people inside my own quarters was glorious, but I couldn’t let them see my joy. I had to continue to look ill, which wasn’t hard given that Vishwajeet was in the room.
“Simpler? On the rani?” Vishwajeet’s face went slightly purple.
“Surely you don’t want the rani to feel uncomfortable as she gives life to the next heir?
” Parushi put her hand on her chest in feigned shock, looking much like she did when she mocked the exaggerated manners of the people in Banghervari.
“That baby is, after all, the future of our nations. Anything less than our best efforts would be tantamount to disloyalty. Don’t you agree? ”
By the time she finished, Vishwajeet was positively apoplectic. He sputtered but could only disjointedly spit out words like “disloyal,” “never,” and “insult.”
I turned away from Aru and covered my face so he wouldn’t see the smile I failed to suppress.
Thankfully, he misunderstood my gesture. Aru placed himself between Parushi and Vishwajeet. “Stop it! You’re upsetting my rani. Before you speak, consider whether or not silence would be preferable.”
“Of course, Raja.” Vishwajeet was all simpering sweetness again, but I was certain even this was not preferable to silence. “If the rani wants privacy in the mornings, we will honor her wish.”
“Thank you,” I said.
“But—”
Curse that man. There was always a “but.”
“Given the rani’s difficulties,” Vishwajeet continued, “I propose that a holy woman also stays with her. The rani understands the importance of the Spirits’ good favor. She is, after all, Spirits blessed, so there can be no objection to having a monk nearby.”
I stared at him, willing my brain to think of an excuse, but nothing came. “I . . . I don’t think that’s necessary. I am sure that with time and privacy, I will recover quickly.”
There were so many better reasons, but I couldn’t think of any of them.
“Surely we should do whatever we can to garner the Spirits’ favor.” Aru looked from me to a now preening Vishwajeet. “A monk will have no interest in gossip. And if having her here will help our son . . .”
He let his words trail off. He didn’t ask me how I could say no, which was for the best since I had no answer.
Finally, I nodded. Aru smiled widely and hugged my shoulders with one hand as he let the other rest on my stomach. Again. What had started as an endearing gesture now felt more like an invasion of my space.
“Excellent,” Vishwajeet said. “I know just the woman. She is an adept healer and has a connection with the adaiman. Something the two of you share, I believe.”
He didn’t bother to try to hide the victory in his smile.
Aru was thrilled. “It was meant to be. With so much of the Spirits’ favor, our son will surely thrive.”
No protest would have stopped them now, so I smiled and accepted the inevitable: We had been outplayed, and Vishwajeet’s monk informant would be coming.
All I could do was prepare.
Vishwajeet must have moved quickly, because a servant came to my quarters just before midday to inform me of the monk’s arrival at the palace.
Chaaya thanked them and closed the doors firmly when they left.
The sound echoed through the sitting room, which seemed so much bigger with only the three of us inside.
Every noise bounced around the smooth white walls and up to the high ceilings.
“You welcomed a spy into our midst.” Parushi tossed pillows off the sofas and chairs and into a pile in the corner. None of us enjoyed all the extra squishiness, and now we could arrange things just as we liked without any glaring judgments. “At best. She could be an assassin.”
“I didn’t have much of a choice.” I nestled into the peacock blue pillows on the rosewood sofa as I sipped my ginger tea.
Prior to my pregnancy, I’d only requested it on rare occasion, but now I asked Chaaya for several cups a day because it helped settle my stomach.
“And I doubt Vishwajeet would be brazen enough to send an assassin. At least this way we’ll know exactly who the spy is. ”
“Fair enough.” Parushi tilted her head back and forth as if weighing her options. “But I’ll be keeping a close eye on her. You’re not allowed to die without an heir—I have no interest in people discovering that I’m your cousin.”
“And I have no interest in dying,” I said dryly. “Stop pretending I’m arguing.”
“What a mess,” Parushi mumbled. She stopped and stared at me, tapping the flat of her palm with a sheathed dagger. “I wonder if she has any idea what she’s stepping into.”
“Doubtful,” I said. “At least not the full extent of it. Vishwajeet doesn’t seem the type to tell anyone everything he knows. He wants to be the only one that can put the pieces together.”
“Well, I won’t be one of his pieces.” A wicked smile crept across Parushi’s face. “I’m sure I can make this so-called monk regret coming here.”
“No!” I snapped. “We need to be nice to her. She’s a monk, for Spirits’ sake! And we don’t want to give her more reasons to continue to work with Vishwajeet.”
“Welcoming her with open arms isn’t going to change anything.” Parushi looked at Chaaya for support, but the tiny woman did her best to blend in with the wall. “She’s going to report to Vishwajeet no matter what.”
“I’m not saying she’s going to become our friend, but we don’t need to provoke her,” I said. Parushi still looked mutinous, so I appealed to her again. “Please, I’m trusting you as a cousin and a friend. Be kind. Or fair, at the very least.”
With a tilt of her head, Parushi acquiesced, and not a moment too soon, because a knock echoed around the room.
Chaaya opened the door, revealing Vishwajeet standing next to a woman, his hand raised as if he was ready to knock yet again.
“Forgive me,” Vishwajeet said.
One day I would make the man say those words and mean them.
“I have brought Nallini,” he continued as he gestured at the woman next to him.