A Royal Affair

by Preethi Venugopala

“Don’t worry dear. We will find a way.”

  While they were getting out of the car at their place, Daniel’s phone rang.

  “Who might this be? It is a local number. I better pick this up.” He walked away to attend the call.

  When he returned, he called Taylor and asked him if he could take him to a nearby pub.

  “Devika, that was an old neighbour. He wants to meet me for a drink.”

  “You go ahead. I will go in and rest for a bit,” said Devika. After Taylor parked the car in the family garage, he and Daniel went out to meet the friend

  The whiff of coffee welcomed them home and Jane plonked herself onto the couch and Ernie slid next to her. Devika left them and wandered towards the kitchen. When Ernie switched on the TV, Jane snapped at him.

  “Turn it off. Give me some peace of mind.”

  “You go off to your room if you crave peace. I want to watch a movie.”

  “Ernie, switch it off. Or watch it from your bedroom,” said Jane’s mother coming in with a tray full of freshly baked scones and coffee.

  Ernie scowled at Jane and switched off the television. Both the siblings continued bickering till Devika returned to the room.

  Daniel returned after an hour. His face was bright and he seemed to have had a merry time.

  “Darling Devika, God seems to have heard you. Young Peter, my friend’s son is the caretaker of the Dev Palace. He has invited us all to visit the place tomorrow morning. The family is not expected to visit anytime soon, so we can stay the day there if you wish to. Isn’t that the best piece of news I have given you in a while?”

  “It indeed is.” Devika’s face lit up with a smile.

  “And I want everyone to accompany us. We might never get a chance to visit a royal house again!”

  Everyone started chattering excitedly but Jane didn’t want to be a part of it.

  “I have seen the Sravanapura Palace. This might not anyway be as big as that. I think I will skip it.”

  “No, Jane. I want you to come. I want to show you the place that holds a very special place in my memories,” said Devika.

  Daniel seconded her. Ernie began teasing her for making such a fuss about a simple visit.

  Jane succumbed to the pressure and agreed. In the evening, Grandpa Bill returned home and the happiness quotient in the house rose by another notch.

  ***

  London, April 17, 2009

  In the morning, they all left the house for London, with the exception of Jane’s mother who stayed back to look after Grandpa Bill. Grandpa Bill was advised not to travel for a while and rest. He had grumbled and complained all morning when he learned where they were all headed.

  The Dev Palace stood out among the other houses situated on the eastern side of Regent's Park because of its elegant neoclassical design. It was a terrace house and the prime location, which presented panoramic views of the prestigious Regent’s Park, made it one of the most desirable properties in the area.

  The royal insignia of Sravanapura, a galloping horse in steel, pinned over the nameplate was the first symbol of royalty they encountered.

  A man dressed in a prim suite, who must have been Peter, stood at the door. He raised his right hand in a welcome gesture when Daniel stepped out of the car. He came forward and greeted them warmly.

  “I'm so glad I could meet you, madam,” he said as he held the door open for Devika to step out. Devika got out and folded her hand and said ‘namaste’ to him, and he immediately repeated the gesture and sank into a deep bow before her. The man sure was used to bending low to royalty every now and then.

  Jane’s heart fluttered. A collective sigh of awe resounded when they stepped into the reception area of the three-terraced house. It was two floors high with intricately carved plasterwork in the ceilings and masterpieces of art displayed on the ivory coloured walls in ornate gold frames. An immense marble staircase, carpeted with a red Persian rug, ended in an arc in the broad balcony above.

  “Please make yourselves comfortable,” said Peter guiding them towards a gold-and-white salon on the right. He walked away, as they bundled into the salon chattering in excitement.

  “Oh, there are other visitors,” whispered Taylor to Jane gesturing to two other people seated in the salon. Jane’s palms and feet went cold when she recognised the two Indians, the two Sravanapura royals, seated in the gold and white salon. Jane heard Devika gasping, though Daniel appeared strangely calm.

  “Welcome, Daniel. I'm so excited to meet you, Aunt Devika,” said Rudra Dev Varman as he embraced Daniel like an old friend.

  Jane stood rooted to the spot staring at the unexpected scene unfolding in front of her.

  “Jane, won’t you say hello? I hope you remember Kritika,” said Rudra Dev, his lips curling into a smirk. Kritika came forward and hugged Jane.

  Jane stood frozen for a few seconds trying to compose herself and then returned Kritika’s hug. She smiled feebly at her.

  Her eyes wandered around seeking the one royal she desperately wanted to see. As though answering her unasked question, Rudra Dev said, “Vijay asked us to convey his regards to you all. He is quite busy with the impending marriage and all his business dealings. But he is eager to meet the Worthington line of his family as soon as possible.”

  Chapter 24

  London, April 17, 2009

  Jane’s stomach clenched and she felt nauseated. Even as she continued to stand like an immobile statue, witnessing what should have been an impossible scenario, introductions were made. Rudra Dev and Kritika chatted with all her family members like they were friends meeting after a long while.

  At last, she found her tongue and addressed Rudra Dev.

  “I don’t understand. What is happening? Will anyone explain?”

  “Don’t you think you owe us some answers? You were the one who vanished from our house without any explanation.”

  Jane swallowed. She closed her eyes and took a calming breath.

  “Sorry, but I was obliged to leave. I had promised someone that I would leave in exchange for the information about Daniel’s whereabouts.”

  “Yet, you could have trusted Vijay. He helped you all along, didn’t he?”

  “I don’t want to justify my actions, but I don’t regret them. Everything seems to have happened for the better as the recent developments show.”

  Rudra Dev wrinkled his forehead and narrowed his gaze.

  “So, you thought you could fool us and get away? Is that all you wanted? It didn’t matter to you that you played around with our feelings. We were a means to the end, weren’t we?”

  “Dad, stop it. Don’t you think Jane is allowed to make her own choices? She made her choice like Vijay made his. Anyway, because of her, you are finally reunited with great-aunt Devika.”

  “Oh, I would have found her soon. Even before mother confessed to her role in helping Aunt Devika, I had zeroed in on the Daffodil Resort, based on my search since the last few months. It wasn’t difficult, was it, to figure out given the several hour-long chats to that particular number from the Dower house? But let bygones be bygones. Let us forget everything and start anew. What say, aunt Devika?”

  Devika looked at Jane. She clearly wanted this new beginning but she was concerned about her. Jane smiled at her and turned away. Now she had turned out to be the outsider. She wished she was back in her room where she could sink under the covers and hide from everything.

  “Kritika, why don’t you show Jane around the house?” Rudra Dev said.

  Jane had no wish to go around the house where she felt like an impostor. Yet, when Kritika came near and led her out of the salon, she followed. Kritika showed her the kitchen and dining area and the impressive larder, cloakroom and staff accommodation spread over the ground floor.

  “Jane, I apologise for how my father behaved with you. I'm with you. I would have done exactly the same thing and I know father approves of it too. It is just that he likes to put his weight around a bit to intimidate people. Ignore
him, okay?”

  Jane nodded but she didn’t say anything. She kept on walking as they climbed the white marble staircase and reached the balcony that led to the master bedroom on the second floor.

  “This house is steeped in history. It has hosted many famous personalities from India’s past and present, including many former prime ministers and presidents. This wide reception hall is one of the four we have in the house. On this floor, we have only the master bedroom, with its en-suite bathroom and dressing room. It is huge and boring. We will skip it as my father is occupying it as of now. I want to show you mine and Vijay’s rooms. The views of the Regent’s Park from our balconies are breath-taking.”

  Jane listened silently to her talks even as she wished she were elsewhere. She wished she were back in that cosy beach house in Mangalore, the time when she had been the happiest, or that moment when Vijay had gone down on his knees at the gazebo in the palace garden. She bit her lips as tears pricked at the back of her eyes. For two days, she had lived in a fairy-tale. It had then died prematurely. Her prince had turned out to be a traitor. Yet again.

  They had reached the third-floor landing.

  “This is my room and that is Vijay’s. That one at the end of the corridor is a guest bedroom. Let us go into mine.”

  Kritika led Jane into a spacious bedroom furnished in the Indo-western style. The majestic four poster bed and the dressing table with a silver framed mirror were clearly Victorian. But the plush leather couch and the bean bags in front of a LED television set talked about the modern taste of the occupant. A maid came in with a glass of juice and a plate of scones just then. Kritika led Jane to the couch.

  Jane took a sip from the juice and kept it back. She desperately wanted to be alone. She clutched at her upper arms as thoughts rioted in her head.

  Kritika urged her to finish her drink. She shook her head. Her chest constricted with conflicting emotions. Wordlessly, Kritika led her out of the room. Stopping suddenly, she turned and faced her.

  “Jane, I had envied the love you and Vijay shared. I had wished for such a love to enter my life. I never thought you would give up on it so easily. Why Jane? Why did you do this to him?”

  “What did I do Kritika? Even though I promised your grandma that I would break all ties with him, I was determined to email him explaining everything. But obviously, he doesn’t love me anymore.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Oh, I heard the statement he gave to the press, telling the world that everything was fine between him and Tejaswini. I don’t want to be the thorn in his path. He is free to choose the life he wants.”

  “That was all a lie. A charade he had to play. He loves you. He went into a drunken stupor after you left. It was only after father had a talk with him that he stopped drinking. You should have trusted him.”

  “It is too late I guess. He has made his choice. I wish him happiness.”

  “Jane, all this is just a thin wall of misunderstanding. I’m telling you, it would collapse the minute you both sit down and talk.”

  “I wish I could.” Tears were starting to pool in her eyes and Jane looked away to hide them.

  “I think you should,” Kritika said as she pulled her into a hug.

  She then opened the next door in the corridor and held it open for her to step in.

  Jane stepped into a spacious and magnificent bedroom that immediately reminded her of Vijay. The room even smelled a bit of his elusive, tangy cologne. Jane ran her fingers over a photo on the wall—it was of Vijay, probably taken during his university days—thinking fervently how much she would like to see him again. At least once more.

  The door clicked shut behind her. She whirled around to ask Kritika when he planned to marry Tejaswini. Instead, she faced the subject of her thoughts leaning against the door, with one foot resting on the ground, another on the door and his arms crossed over his chest. His intense brown eyes looked straight into hers.

  Jane searched his face trying to recognize the emotions clouding his handsome features. His eyes were asking a thousand questions, but were also offering himself to her. A ghost of a smile played around his lips. Jane felt her own lips twitch in an answer and she finally allowed them to curl into a full-blown smile.

  Chapter 25

  Vijay had decided he would meet Jane again, right when he realized she had run away. Again. He had fantasized about it in a multitude of ways in the last few days. He had thought of where he would meet her, what he would say to her and how she would look like then. None of it, though, even closely resembled what was happening, thanks to his father’s elaborate and tactful conspiracy.

  How did he bring Jane here? Did his father do this because he considered himself partly responsible for their estrangement? He had known his father was having guests and had stayed in his room to avoid whoever it was. He wasn’t in a mood to socialize. He had been getting ready to visit Surrey and confront Jane when he had heard her voice outside his door. In the last few minutes, when he had been eavesdropping on the conversation between his sister and her, he had prepared himself to rant about how she had again failed to trust him.

  But now that he had pushed Kritika out of the room with great difficulty, to secure a private audience with Jane, his tongue was unwilling to cooperate. Now that their eyes had met, nothing seemed to matter. The tantalizing smile playing on her lips proclaimed she was his.

  She was wearing a floral dress, similar to the ones she used to wear while they were in college. Large pink and blue flowers were scattered on white muslin. Her luxuriant curls spilled over her shoulders and shone in the sunlight that filtered in through the window panes. The flowers on the dress rested on her curves enticingly and sent fresh darts of desire rushing through his blood.

  He pushed away from the door he was leaning on and walked towards her, his eyes glued to hers. He stopped a mere step away from her and entreated his heart slamming against his ribs to calm down. It didn’t listen and began to pound when she raised those cornflower blue eyes, glazed with love, to his. His arms went around her, crushing her to him. His mouth swooped down and claimed her lips as her hands glided over his shoulders and up behind his neck. He plunged his tongue into her mouth that had opened already to receive him. He relished the sweet softness of her mouth and with each stroke lust surged through him.

  “I missed you, Jane,” he whispered against her lips and she pressed herself closer to him. He deepened the kiss.

  But soon he felt her stiffen in his hands. And she pushed at his chest to free herself from his arms. Puzzled, he let her go.

  “I forgot. You are no longer mine. You are still bound to her. God, how could I forget that?”

  “What? Didn’t I explain to you everything? Don’t you believe I love you?”

  She walked further away from him. She rubbed her palms against her dress and then crossed them across her belly.

  “I also heard your press statement where you declared you were still engaged to her. You made it sound as if I were a figment of the media’s imagination,” she said, wanting to hear his explanation.

  He walked over to her and cupped her face. “Jane, Jane, listen.” She pulled at his hands and he let her go.

  She moved to the open window and stood there, looking out, refusing to face him.

  He sat on his bed and raked his fingers through his hair. Then he punched the bed and got up. He should explain it all to her.

  “It was all a trap. A cleverly engineered plan by Tejaswini and her mother. She staged the whole drama and posted a note on Facebook blaming me for forcing her to take that extreme step.”

  Jane’s right hand flew to her chest and she took a step away from the window. Toward him. Encouraged, he continued.

  “The initial reports were that she was critical. I could be arrested if she died. I had to listen to my father’s wise words and play along, blaming everything on the media. I came to your room to explain after we returned from the hospital. But you were long gone.”

&n
bsp; “I can explain that. When I went to Goa, I had no plans to be away from you. I was just playing to the tunes of your grandmother to get to Daniel. She even took away my phone and dictated that note I left for you. I was determined to email you everything at the first chance I got. But then I heard your press statement and I was devastated.”

  “Don’t you think you should have asked me for an explanation? Why, when I was on the verge of proposing to you, would I suddenly give such a statement?”

  “I'm sorry. I should have trusted you. I almost lost you again.”

  “Oh, I had no plans of losing you again. I was determined to pursue you and drum the fact into that stubborn brain of yours that I love you. And that I will always love you.”

  “I love you too, Vijay. More than you even realize,” she mumbled.

  Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. With a sigh of relief, he went to her. He slid his arms around her again and gathered her to him. He rested his chin atop her head and waited for his pounding heart to calm down. Jane relaxed against him as if the only place she wanted to be then was inside the circle of his arms.

  He led her to the couch and made her sit. Then he hunkered in front of her and looked deeply into her eyes.

  “Janet, I have been thwarted twice already when I tried to do this. So, I have been carrying around this tiny box in my pocket ever since. Can I take it out now?”

  As if in answer, someone knocked on his door repeatedly. Ignoring it, Vijay took out the tiny box and pulled out the gleaming ring. He looked into her glowing face and quietly said.

  “There is no one in this world who is dearer to me than you, Janet. You're the only one I'll ever want. Will you marry me, sweetheart?”

  Jane nodded.

  “I will, Vijay. I love you,” she whispered and extended her left hand. Her hands quivered as he slipped the ring onto her ring finger. He kissed her fingers and then dropped a quick kiss on her lips.

  “It is beautiful,” she said admiring the gold ring encrusted with diamonds and a big sapphire in the centre. He had purchased it together with the necklace and earrings she had worn on the day of the spring party.