It was late by the time Rau returned to his wife's sleeping chamber. Kashi stirred hearing his footsteps and sat up, mustering all her strength.

"Please don't get up, you look tired. You should sleep." He said softly, taking care not to awaken his infant son who was sleeping peacefully in the cradle next to his mother's bed.

"We are not that tired. And if we go off to sleep now we don't know when we shall have the privilege of seeing Swami again." Kashi shifted from her position, inviting her husband to sit down next to her. In the aura of the samai lamp's light she tried to drink the handsome man's vision with her eyes. Her pregnancy and the baby's birth had certainly altered their life as a couple.

"You deserve all the rest you can have. We were told that the baby's birth was quite tedious. And our son needs your attention every few hours. Maybe you should consider engaging a wet nurse." Rau suggested. Most girls of Kashi's generation delivered their first babies in their early teens, when their bodies were not adequately prepared to handle pregnancies. Some girls did not make it through, and neither did some babies. The numerous superstitions and phobias related to pregnancy and childbirth had their origin in such mishaps. Having experienced women in the family who laid stress on maternal nutrition and health made a big difference and could prevent maternal as well as infant mortality. 

Rau had been avoiding visiting his wife, firstly, because of the mandatory period of abstinence of six weeks postpartum and secondly because he had been told that the baby slept mostly during the day but cried for milk nearly every hour after sundown.

A father could not do much when a hungry baby cried for milk, other than to assist putting the baby to the mother's breast. Rau had been avoiding physical contact with Kashi for a few weeks, afraid that he would impregnate her much too soon after the first baby. But he had also heard that lactating mothers were likely to stop ovulating. As long as they breastfeed their babies every few hours of the day their menstrual period would get delayed.

"It is true, he is quite a nightbird! But it is a baby's privilege to be nursed by his own mother. We are not comfortable with the idea of our son being suckled by a stranger. We can understand using a wet nurse's service if the mother is unable to nurse due to illness or if, unfortunately, she does not survive childbirth. It is tiresome when he demands milk every few hours, but we try and sleep whenever he does. Anyway, tell us about yourself. We hear that the Chhatrapati is very pleased with you!" Kashi's eyes gleamed with pride. 

The Bhat family was riding a wave of good fortune. Balaji Vishwanath's right to the Peshwa's post had been seamlessly inherited by Rau. The latter had lived up to his father's reputation, much to his employer's joy. To add to that the birth of the Peshwa's heir was being seen as a good omen. Rau told his eager wife all about his battle campaigns. The first monsoon after the passing of Balaji Vishwanath had been spent in Aurangabad, Malkapur, Jalgaon, Nashik, Sangamner and Ahmednagar. In September he was engaged in battle with the Mughal official stationed at Baramati. Early next year had the very important meeting with the Nizam in Aurangabad. The spring saw the Peshwa in Gujarat where his mission took him to Surat and the princely state of Rajpipla.

Kashi was glad that her body had healed enough after childbirth to enable her to enjoy some intimate moments with her husband. Rau made sure he was gentle. It was indeed a miracle that the fragile porcelain body of the child woman next to him had endured the difficult labour. Her breasts leaked milk occasionally and her belly would take a few more weeks to regain its tone but the joy that they had made a baby together had bound the young couple in an eternal bond. Kashi gasped as Rau pleasured her while making love. Later she fell into a deep slumber. Fortunately the baby did not wake up until morning. When she was awakened by his crying it was an hour after dawn and the Peshwa had already left her bed. She wondered when she would see him again. He was, after all, a busy man.

"Where is Kashi Vahini?" Anu asked Bhiu. She was surprised to see Bhiu sitting with Godubai. Normally whenever Bhiu came visiting she was inseparable from Kashi.

"She fell asleep after her oil massage and bath. Fortunately little Nana is resting too!" Bhiu informed. Being older of her husband's two sisters it had been her privilege to whisper the baby's name in his ear during the baarsey ceremony. There was no dispute about the name chosen for the baby. It was tradition to name him after the recently deceased paternal grandfather. Thus Rau's and Kashi's firstborn son was given the official name of Ballal Bajirao Bhat, also known as Balaji Bajirao. Although the baby was named after his grandfather in deference to the senior Peshwa nobody would address him by the first name Ballal or Balaji. Thus Bhiu began calling him Nana, which was also the sobriquet for their father. Soon everyone followed her, referring to Rau's son as Nana.

"Wasn't Nana's baarsey a grand success? The entire town was thrilled when the Chhatrapati himself graced the occasion with all his queens!" Anu was still excited by the royal visit. Rau had personally gone to Satara to invite the Maratha king and his family for the ceremony. The king could hardly snub his Prime Minister by turning down the earnest request. 

The Rani-Vasa or the queen's entourage was particularly thrilling for Anu. She was fascinated by the sight of Shahu's wives laden with heavy jewellery typical of Maratha royalty. Each one of their Shindeshahi todey (a kind of bracelet) weighed over twenty five tolas, which was nearly three hundred grams. Their pearl naths were much larger than the Brahmani naths worn by the Peshwa women. And their bodies were draped in fine brocades where the zari weighed more than the silk. They had brought equally rich gifts to the baby and every member of the Peshwa family. Anu was gifted a blue Paithani saree with golden peacocks on the pallu.

"Kakubai Saheb, why is Virubai Saheb more important than the other queens? We hear that she was born a slave. The Chhatrapati's other queens are from the noble Maratha clans and yet they are controlled by her." The irony had soon become apparent to Anu as she enjoyed the pampering from the royal family.

"Anu, the occupant of the Dusra Wada (Second mansion, as Virubai was euphemistically referred to) gets a fatter stipend than the individual women of the Chhatrapati's own family. Even the tributes presented to her by visitors outweigh those meant for others. That is because of an accident of fate. If you did not know it already, Yesubai was forced to get her son Shahu married to his brides while still in Mughal captivity. Rather than present the true blue Maratha brides before the Badshah Yesubai adorned a charming slave girl in royal robes and made her bow alongside Shahu before the Mughal Badshah as proxy. From that time Virubai has the been inseparable, albeit illegitimate wife to Shahu."

"While still in the Mughal camp Shahu was appointed to an Imperial mansab of 7,000 zat and 7,000 sowar and granted the personal title of Raja in 1691. He was also granted the states of Akkalkot, Indapur, Supa, Baramati and Nevasa as Imperial jagirs in November 1703. When he was released in 1707 Virubai was released at the same time  while Shahu's other brides Savitribai (from the Shinde family of Kanherkhed) and Rajasbai (from the Jadhav family of Sindkhed) remained behind in the Mughal camp with Yesubai as collateral. Savitribai died while in the Mughal camp in 1709 while Rajasbai had died by 1720. Shahu took two other young wives at Purandar in 1709. One was Sakwarbai, the daughter of Ramoji Rao Shirke. The other was Sagunabai, the daughter of Newaskar Mohite of Nagpur. Because the young wives were still minors Virubai effortlessly became the superintendent of the royal harem as she already had consent of Yesubai, Shahu's mother." Godubai noticed that Anu had become distracted by some toy while Bhiu continued to listen intently. She urged her to continue. 

"Virubai bore Shahu a daughter. In any case even if she had a son he could never be his father's heir due to his illegitimate birth. However destiny presented her with another opportunity. When Shahu returned to claim his fief he marched on Pune and tasted his first victory at Parud, where the village headman named Sayaji Lokhande got killed in the skirmish. His widow appealed to Shahu, asking him to adopt her ten year old son Ranoji. Shahu agreed and renamed the boy Fateh Singh Bhonsle. Fateh Singh was later given the hereditary Jagir of Akkalkot. Virubai lost no time in declaring the adoptive boy her foster son. Under feudalism harem inmates have always tried to gain or retain power by using this route- of aligning themselves to favoured male issue or foster sons of their husbands. Right enough under Virubai's patronage Fateh Singh's career flourished." Godubai paused to sip some water.

"We believe, Kakubai Saheb, that you are suggesting that Virubai rose to a prominent position in Shahu's harem as well as his court because her place was sort of legitimised by the royal mother Yesubai's patronage. Perhaps Yesubai realised that her young son could be prevented from going astray by providing him with a nubile mate while his legitimate wives were yet to come of age. And Yesubai was discerning enough to cast upon Virubai a veneer of respectability because of which she has always been treated as equivalent to the legally wedded brides of Shahu, and in fact, she even took precedence over them. Fortunately for the Chhatrapati Virubai served as an able administrator of the household where she was a dominant force due to Shahu's patronage. Thus we see Virubai becoming an exception to the rule- an illegitimate companion taking precedence over the true daughters-in-law of the clan. This practice is in clear contravention of the sanctity of the institution of a Hindu marriage." Bhiu asserted.

"We know what you are thinking of. When your father took on a mistress he took pains to keep the truth concealed from your mother. Because he was apprehensive of the consequences of Radha discovering the truth. Because unlike among the Maratha nobility where intrigue among multiple wives is commonplace among us Brahmins from the Konkan the wedded spouse is the Ardhangini, the man's better half. Society bestows upon her legitimate power over the household she presides, and all her children look up to her. They are not accountable to any co-wives of their fathers because none are permitted. Such a family rallies under a common aim and remains loyal to the objectives. This family unit is seen as a perfect administrative model as long as it is not corrupted by ambition and immorality. The idea is for such strong undivided clans to rise to unprecedented prominence." Godubai was reinforcing what Bhiu already knew. 

"How do women do it? How can they tolerate betrayal? We clearly remember, no matter how much it bothered her our mother never suspended the allowances to father's mistress and even made sure her sons were given gainful employment." Godubai had seen Radhabai deal with her husband's indiscretion tactfully even if it had hurt her but Bhiu could not see any justification.

"Bhiu, it is natural for a wife to be upset with her spouse over his betrayal. But the mistress in question, usually powerless, has little choice in the matter. To most influential men, women like her are commodities meant for consumption and they compensate them for services rendered. There is no emotional connect in such transactions. However it is clear that any issue born out of such relationship will never be welcomed into the main family's household. The illegitimate are tolerated as long as they remain in the fringes. Every legitimate wife reserves the exclusive right to her turf, and the privilege of passing on hers and her husband's genes on to the family's next generation. Thus there are no succession disputes. Do you recall the drama over succession after Chhatrapati Sambhaji's death? Yesubai must have made a rather difficult choice." While Godubai rambled on a messenger arrived from Radhabai asking Bhiu to see her in her chamber. 

"You better hurry, she does not like to be kept waiting!" Godubai advised. Nobody knew the Peshwa's mother better than Godubai.