"Uncle EJ hasn't held any political office" I countered, my mind panicking at a new scandal. No wonder he was sitting alone with a headache. "This is different from the recent charges"
"He has bribed people," he said looking at me with a knowing gaze. I kept quiet. "He tried to bribe the interior minister and now the courts are coming after him" I gave him a calculating look.
"How soon will the news of the allegations be made public?"
He smiled at my choice of words. "Around the wedding" wonderful. I gave him a cool look and gestured for him to have the tea that was now being served to him. "I am available if you need any assistance" the only thing I wanted from him was to get out of my house.
"Well, this was certainly informative. I am sure you have other places to be, people to meet" I got up abruptly. He staggered to his feet. "Do finish the tea, our cook has concocted a special brew for guests. Goodbye minster " He nodded with his mouth hanging open. I took the file placed on the table and exited the room in a flourish.
A few paces later, as I got out of the room, I bumped into my least favorite person.
"Begum Sahiba"
"Eavesdropping are we?" Major Zaroon crossed his arms at the accusation.
"Wouldn't be the first time someone has done that here would it?" he snapped back. How dare he. He really was impertinent and rude. I glared at him.
"I don't know what you're talking about" I denied, not moving out of his way. He stared at me trying to get me to back down. Honestly the nerve of this man. He was looking into my eyes trying to will me into agreeing with him.
"You're a good liar. Must be the years of practice you've had here"
"Do you have a problem with me, Major? Or this place?" I snapped. His jaw clenched and he lowered his head.
"No"
"Then move out of my way," I said and started to walk towards my room.
"Word of advice Begum Sahiba? You shouldn't have crouched. Crouching hampers you from getting up and trying to pass by smoothly" I was proud that my steps did not falter as I continued to walk towards the library.
So he knew I had heard his conversation with his father. My list of troubles was growing by the minute and I still had a bride and her guests to deal with.
A few hours later, Rania found me in the library getting coached by Uncle Azhar. At her entrance, Uncle Azhar left the room after a short bow.
"You look terrible," she said placing a packet of biscuits on the table in front of me.
"It's like being back in Uni" I answered tearing into the packet. She laughed sardonically.
"Well, get ready because Aunt Laila and her gaggle of geese are here" I groaned. Why was she the first one to get here? "Oh and Feroze sent a letter to Ammi Jaan excusing himself from the wedding, apparently, Uncle EJ told Aunt Mamo that Ammi had been attacked. So silver lining I guess?" She rattled. The coward was going to sit this one out. Thank God.
"Uncle EJ is to be convicted with bribery and corruption charges some time near the wedding" I replied stuffing a biscuit in my mouth. Rania stared at me in shock. "He tried to bribe the interior minister, allegedly, and the guy is after him"
"The... what"
"And now you have to help me convince Hania to try to make this wedding a bit more public-friendly because oh get this, we also have a possible revolution on our hands and those people are not playing around"
"Were they the ones who attacked Ammi..." she asked her voice tinged with fear.
"Maybe. I think so. They are after the 'elites' and are against the system after all"
"And it's only 4 in the afternoon," she said coming to sit on the arm of my chair. I put my head on her lap and closed my eyes as she ran her fingers through my hair. "How are you dealing with this?"
"Honestly? It hasn't sunk in yet. I have been bombarded with information in the past five hours"
"Does Ammi Jaan know about this?"
"Some parts, not all of the stuff"
"Have you talked to Uncle?" I shook my head. "If you want, you could call in sick and not have to deal with the geese"
"I wish man... I have to soldier on. We all have to. There are tough days ahead, we need to be ready"
"Don't we always" Rania muttered as we both walked out to welcome our first guest.
Aunt Laila was my mother's cousin. She was also a nonstop conversationalist and the proud mother of five beautiful daughters, all of whom were usually dressed in matching frocks.
"Ah, there you are my dear. You are a sight for sore eyes. I kept asking about you at Farishtas wedding and your sister and mother had no answer for me... oh my you're much too thin, you need to eat darling, I do not approve this trend of girls trying to be skinny just because that's the standard of beauty. No, you're a South Asian woman... ah and your eyes! So beautiful, the color of chocolate, just like your father" She took a breath as she turned around to address my mother. Ammi Jaan nodded graciously and Izzy turned his face away to hide his laugh.
"And to live all alone... pursuing a career! My God, you poor soul, why would you need to get a job? You're the heir to Gulzar Mahal, but to be fair darling, you've set quite an example. I'm quite proud of you, I can't stop bragging about you to my in-laws. They're all deeply impressed darling, they thought you'd be a nobody" she trailed off with a laugh. I rolled my eyes at the backhanded compliment.
"How are the girls? Where are the girls?" I asked leading her to sit at a nearby chair. She waved her hand dismissively.
"They're in the lovely room you've set up for us. It was lovely for you to give us a room that is faced towards the sea, oh my girls love the sea! We should go to the beach while we're here, we only get out so often. The girls get tired of the constant plains and the fields near our house. Change can be nice for the body and the mind" I exchanged amused looks with my mother and sister. Ten minutes later after extracting a promise for a trip to the beach, Aunt Laila exited the room in a whirl.
All of us breathed a collective sigh of relief as blessed silence descended on our ears.
"Izzy, when will Hania be here?" I whispered not wanting to disturb the peace.
"She'll have dinner with us" I sighed. Rania gave me a sympathetic look.
"What is it?"Ammi asked. Rania and I filled her in. She nodded gravely as Izzy stared at us in shock. "Oh, Ehsan," she said as I got to Uncle EJ's part.
"So Uncle EJ might go to jail?" He asked. We both raised our hands in an 'I don't know' gesture.
"Will Hania agree?"I asked him.
"She'll have to. This is a family thing, we all need to chip in."
"Is there anything else that I should know?"
"Know what?" Uncle EJ asked striding into the room. I looked to check if his shadow was behind him. "He's not here Eli, so you can stop trying to strain your neck" I scowled at his scolding.
"Who's not here?" Ammi Jaan asked.
"Major Zaroon. Eli has a thing for him", he teased with a wink.
"I don't know what you mean. I certainly do not. Uncle EJ, why did you try to bribe the interior minister? He's a monster!"
"It was for the transport association. I had to get them to remove a bill that criminalized unions from jumping into issues" ah... "That idiot would not listen to logic so I thought he'd listen to money, but apparently not. He's a hothead, that one" he said casually.
"Will you go to jail?" Izzy asked coming to sit beside Rania.
"No, the court will run its trial. I'll be out on bail. They can't afford to lose the south right now. At most this will look bad for a while. We'll have to keep our heads low." I stared at him suspiciously. It could not be this simple.
"Uncle EJ!" Rania said just as I hissed in anger. "How could you be so calm about this? This will come out near Izzy's wedding! It will put us all under the lens"
"Rania will manage that. She knows how to shape public opinion" Rania gave Uncle EJ a baleful look.
"Rania doesn't want to manage this... what were you thinking!" Rania said leaning on Izzy. I opened my mouth to agree with her as Uncle EJ let out an incredulous laugh.
"Quiet" Ammi Jaan commanded just as the door creaked open. All of us shut up and fixed a smile on our faces. "Yes?" she asked a very nervous Andaleeb, who stood behind the partially open door.
"Farishta is here, with her husband and child"
I had snuck off into the west wing with the cinnamon tea that Alia had brought me as I tried to hide from my relatives. Thank God this area was off-limits to them. The sun was just sinking beneath the horizon and it cast its wonderful golden rays on the paintings displayed on the wall.
Hania was due to arrive in half an hour and all of her future in-laws were waiting to sink their claws into her. I had gotten Izzy to send her a text, warning her of her impending doom but she reassured us she would be fine. Farishta had burst in and claimed to be the reason for their impending nuptials. She had also criticized and shamed me for not coming to her wedding. Her husband, however, could not stop staring at me which led to Izzy strongly suggesting that they should go to their rooms and get some rest. Farishta, the daughter of a tribal leader, immediately took the suggestion to heart. She left us all after ordering her child's nanny to attend to her child and for the servants to arrange for a milk bath because that's what kept her fresh.
"This is where we met" I groaned and turned around. "You shouldn't be alone Begum Sahiba," Major Zaroon said as the last rays of the sun fell across his face. Surprisingly, he was not dressed in his military uniform but in a black shalwar kameez.
"I needed some space," I said pointedly. He smirked as he moved closer.
"You know, I never really bought the fact that you were a maid," He said coming to stand beside me.
"How does anyone 'buy' if someone is a maid?" I asked. He shrugged. "You do know how arrogant that sounds right?" I said staring at the painting in front of me. It was Queen Noor Jahan, the only female ruler of Akbarabad. Her hair flowed under her dupatta (Shawl) as she stared at the painter with defiance in her eyes.
"I didn't mean to be arrogant. It just... I don't know, I'm not the best at..." he gestured at the empty space. "At words"
"Clearly"
"But you understand what I'm trying to say"
"No Major, we have no such understanding,"
"We are working together, we live in the same place"
"Excuse me?" I said glaring at him. "May I remind you that I ran into you, only a day ago. If it wasn't for the unfortunate assassination attempt, which you should be working on, by the way, our paths would probably have never crossed. Good night Major, I expect a full report of your progress tomorrow"
I took it as a small victory that I had left him without giving him a chance to reply. The guards started to follow me as soon as I left the corridor.
"A warning for the future. No one is to disturb me when I require some time alone unless it's an emergency. Is that understood?" They nodded their heads and we proceeded to the dining hall.
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There is a time and place for everything Zaroon. ;)