In one of the upstairs rooms, a young woman was lounging on a wooden cot woven with jute strings and covered with a thin quilt.

Just some time back, the bunch of kids that she had been in-charge of, whilst their parents served the patrons, had finally drifted off to sleep. Earlier, she had learnt that Thakur-sa was visiting that day, accompanied by an esteemed guest. This meant the evening would stretch into the wee hours of the next day and keep all the other adults on their toes.

The lamp lit in the room had started flickering in a manner that indicated it would soon run out of oil. For a moment she considered adding more oil but then decided to turn in for the night herself.

Sleep had barely kissed her eyes when Kanta shook her "Hari! Wake up!! Bai-sa has called you downstairs."

Fairly disoriented, Hari muttered "Is it morning already? But it's still so dark..."

As Kanta tutted "Tidy up quickly... Bai-sa wants you to offer Paan to Thakur-sa!", all sleep fled from her eyes in an instance.

"Paan for Thakur-sa... Why me??" Hari stuttered.

Looking equally flustered, Kanta replied "I don't know... But she insisted."

Hari peered at her closely in the room lit with just some moonlight and asked suspiciously "Did you sneakily drink some of the expensive madira again today? You must be drunk! Bai-sa would never summon me like this!"

Another older woman rushed into the room armed with a lantern and rebuked them both "Kanta, what were you thinking rushing upstairs without a lantern? How is she supposed to make herself presentable in the darkness?! And Hari, why are you still in the bed? Get up this very moment!"

"But Kaki..." Hari's objections were effectively ended by Kaki "Not another word from you!"

Observing her attire, Kaki issued some brisk instructions to Kanta "Fetch one of Urvashi's outfits. I will tidy her hair and put on some jewellery."

"Absolutely no!" Hari bristled. "I will not deck up like the dancers to serve someone Paan. If Bai-sa wants me to go down, I will go down but only as I am!"

Sounding impatient, Kaki grumbled "Hari, this is not the time for your dramatics! But I don't have the time to engage in an argument with you." Moving towards a little wooden self, she opened a box and started handing her some jewellery and simultaneously ordered the other servant "Kanta, forget Urvashi's outfit, just hand me the black odhani with the mirror work which Bai-sa got her from the mela last week. It should be in that yellow chest."

As Hari reluctantly donned the jewellery, Kaki tried to tame her wild mane. When the old woman complained, Hari countered "Forget the hair. Just cover my head with the odhani and hid it. And tie..." Over the next ten minutes or so poor Kaki tried to make the young girl as presentable as possible.

* * *

As Hari stood in the doorway of the hall, Kaki handed her a shinning decorative brass plate filled with some Paans: betel leaves folded into triangle shaped parcel filled with an assortment of ingredients. After she had pointed out where Thakur-sa was seated, the old woman warned her "And be respectful to the guests! Don't go causing any unnecessary trouble for all of us."

Biting back a response, Hari stepped into the hall. As she made her way towards Thakur-sa, she took note of the other guests around him. Apart from the manservant who always followed Thakur-sa like a loyal pug, two young men attired in a fairly simple grab occupied the space next to him. One of them, with an extraordinarily striking aura, was enjoying the music with his eyes closed.

She wondered not seeing any ostentatiously dressed king – And where is that other old geezer he has brought along today?

Maybe he got so drink that Bai-sa had to put him to bed! As she internally snickered at the image of a slightly different version of Thakur-sa sprawled in one of their guest bedrooms, she stepped close to the esteemed patron.

Bowing dutifully, she forwarded the plate "Khamma Ghani, Thakur-sa."

At first, the inebriated man, about to wave away the offer of Betel leaves, cast a cursory glance at the girl. But then he stopped noticing the never seen before glowing youthful face. His eyes swiftly travelled over her and then he opened his mouth, silently inviting her to feed him.

Oh... so he expects to be fed... If it weren't for Bai-sa watching me, I would either dump all the Paan on his head or shove some down his throat!

Feigning naïveté, she just picked a Paan and held it out to him.

But Thakur-sa was both a seasoned and shameless player. Grabbing her hand, he drew it to his lips forcing her to feed him. Every muscle is Hari's body stiffened and shuddered in indignation.

Don't let your pride cause the downfall of this house! Trying to remind herself of what was at stake, she stood with a stoic expression.

She kept her eyes lowered to hide her disgust as Thakur-sa openly appraised her whilst he took a very small bite of the Paan and slowly chewed it. While taking the next bite he playfully nipped at her finger a bit, making Hari almost yelp in surprise.

Vayu was pulled out of the music-induced-trance by the hissing sound. He opened his eyes to the sight of his uncle gripping a serving girl's hand and eating the Paan from it.

This was not remarkable, as he was aware of his uncle's fondness for pretty, young girls. But what did surprise him was the couple of tears that had started sliding down the girl's cheeks. His eyes briefly flickered to his uncle's handhold. But it did not look like he could be hurting her that bad. So, why the tears?

Some protective feelings whirled inside him. He uttered in a taunt voice "Mama-sa, there are others waiting for the Paan as well. Let her go."

The older man let go of her hand and turned to address Chandrika "I don't think I have seen her before. Looks like she is new here..." Chandrika forced a noncommittal, silent smile.

Vayu's gaze intently followed the serving girl as she moved in his direction. Her tears had not completely stopped. Did Mama-sa hurt her so badly? Or did he scare her?

Just then he saw her gaze momentarily rise in his uncle's direction. But instead of any fear or pain, he saw her eyes blazing with anger. Those are tears of rage?!

Lowering her eyes once again, Hari held out the plate to the person next to Thakur-sa. When he did not help himself to the Paan either over the next few seconds, she wondered exasperated – Is he going to insist on being fed as well?!

She glanced up at him with a sardonic look.

But the moment she met his gaze, every thought disappeared. She felt like one could keep drowning in his dark, almost black, eyes for a lifetime and still never fathom their depth.

If he had seemed striking from a distance, up close he looked spectacular!

Even Hari, who had never found the males of her species charming or attractive, unwittingly acknowledged that he was rather captivating.

"Chandrika Bai, where have you been hiding this rose bud?" Thakur-sa's question jolted Hari out of her daze.

Keen to get away before Vikrant made another move, Hari asked the man in front of her "Would you like one??"

Transfixed, Vayu watched the girl in front of him. Dressed in a rather plain black cotton lehenga, she was attired very differently to most of the other women there. Where all the other dancers and serving girls were vying for attention, dressed in clothes showcasing their bodies, she was covered from head to toe. Not only was the odhani completely wrapped around her waist but it hid her hair too.

She was donning minimal jewellery. A tiny gem sparkled in her nose piercing, one dull gold kangan on each wrist and a plain beaten golden choker. Just a silver ring encrusted with a single pearl graced one of her fingers. But what really caught his eyes were her mismatched jhumka style earrings. Though similar in style they did not belong to a pair. One was golden while the other was silver.

Her heart-shaped face devoid of any kajal or artificial lip colour, shone with a youthful glow. One angry pimple on her chin and coupe of smaller ones on her forehead stood testament to the hormones running amok in her body. Big doe-shaped eyes, which had been blazing just a moment back, now had a slightly bewildered look.

He continued silently staring at her.

Suddenly feeling a flush coming over, Hari looked down at the plate and started to move on to the other young man. But before she could take a step away, he reached out and picked up a Paan.

As her eyes instinctively followed the movement of his hand away from the plate, something odd registered and she exclaimed "Stop, that one is salty!"

But it was too late. He had already popped the Paan in his mouth.

As a perplexed Vayu tried to make sense of her words wondering – Why would a Paan be salty?? he tasted the slightest tinge of salt. A study of the Paans on her plate revealed that couple of them were covered with some drops of water. He realised - Not water, those are her tears...

Sounding embarrassed, she muttered  "Sorry..."

Taking in her chagrined look, he stated softy "It's okay. I like my Paan salty."

Strange man... Who like their Paan salty?? She was completely baffled by his revelation. 

Not knowing what to make if it, she moved to the next person.

Slight amusement lacing his voice, Krushanu waved away her offer "Thanks, but I am not a fan of salty Paan." She nodded colouring a little.

Much to Vayu's surprise, she addressed Chandrika in a fake sweet voice "Bai-sa, may I retire? Or would you like me to serve Paan to someone else as well?"

Chandrika cast a quick scathing look at Hari that clearly conveyed she wanted to wring the impudent young woman's neck! But then replied airily "Of course, you can head inside. Carry on with your work. And yes, ask Kanta to bring out more madira for Thakur-sa."

As Hari weaved her way out of the room, Vayu's attention lingered on her.

But to Chandrika's unease, so did Vikrant's. The older man sniggered, his eyes gleaming, "That one seems fiery... Just like the red chillies I relish!" Though she tried to present a calm countenance, she was quaking on the inside. Bhagwanji, what have I done?! Have I just committed a huge mistake??

Sometime later, the patrons finally decided to call it a night. As Chandrika and the dancers bid goodbye to the departing guests, entreating them to soon return, little bags of coins were passed around to the performers and a bigger bag was handed to the hostess.

As Vikrant got ready to mount his carriage, Chandrika uttered "Travel safe Thakur-sa. And come back to us soon!"

"Very soon my dear..." smiling benignly, aided by his servant, a tipsy Vikrant stumbled into his carriage.

She then earnestly addressed Vayu "Raja-sa, I hope that you found our humble abode worth revisiting. Please try to grace us with your presence before you continue with your travels. And if we do not see you again before you take leave of Chandanpur, please know that you will be in our thoughts and prayers."

"Rest assured, it has been a great pleasure. I can see why Mama-sa couldn't stop talking about your mehfils!" Vayu responded before boarding.

Chandrika sighed as the carriage rode away. The young king had been gracious in his reply, but he had not expressed any intention to return.

* * *

(Hi Everyone, 

Hope you all are keeping well. Best wishes on the auspicious occasion of Ram Navami.

So, Vayu and Harinakshi have met! Hope you enjoyed their meeting and this part. Do share your thoughts.

Take care of yourself.

Lots of love, May)