"Dad, please don't get up! You need to rest!" Randhir leapt forward to try and restrain his father from rising up. He had stopped by the hospital to see his father on his way home after a busy day at the Sanyal-Shekhawat regional office. Harsh Shekhawat no longer needed an escort to stay with him night and day, he insisted on managing alone and after the doctor's approval Renuka had relented. She still visited him daily.

"Come on, son! I am feeling fine. You guys fuss over me as if I am on my deathbed, or a woman who had just experienced a really difficult childbirth." Harsh smiled weakly.

"Yeah sure! You look like a million bucks already! But there's no need to rush through your recovery. Take your time!" Randhir placed extra pillows to help prop him up comfortably on the bed.

"This is what I have been dreading, son! Can you imagine my life after this? Look at this message, your mother's putting me on a detox spinach smoothie, salad and sprouts diet for the rest of my life. Here I am already longing to sink my Rajput teeth into a lamb shank and wash it down with a fine Islay malt whisky! The good life, as I knew it, is over! No drinking parties with my friends at the shikar kothi, no satpura parathas dripping with desi ghee with mirchi ka achar for breakfast! And no smoking! How am I gonna survive!" Harsh ranted and his son laughed to hear his father whine like a kid who was being grounded for mischief.

"Serves you right! Mom is absolutely spot on, putting you on a punishing regime! Mind you, she will imbibe the same foods too, so stop feeling sorry just for yourself already!" Randhir sank into the visitor's chair placed near the bed.

"It must be her evil father who put these suggestions in her head. I hate how he feasts on all that fried ilish and Kashmiri mutton! Think about it son, that man is getting more action in bed at his age than I'm getting in mine!" Harsh continued his rant.

"Oh come on, Dad! After all he has a new wife, unlike you!" Randhir smirked.

"Go on, mock your old man! Go on and say that you have a nubile young woman in your bed too!" Harsh scowled.

"Hush Dad! Walls have ears!" Randhir did not want to share that he was happy to have his husband privileges restored, albeit on the sly. He did not know for how long he would go unnoticed sneaking in and out of Sanyukta's room, but the adrenaline pumping secrecy was half the fun.

"Fine, tell me, have you managed to learn the ropes of the business yet?" Harsh asked.

"Well, not really! Dadu and Mom are doing everything. I am going to be the apprentice director in training, and I am learning quickly!" Randhir assured his father. They chatted for some more time until Randhir bade him goodbye and left the room to have a word with the doctor. His father was out of danger now and would be discharged soon. It was reassuring to know, his mother would be at peace finally.

Randhir pulled out of the hospital parking lot and turned onto the main street. It felt strange driving in his hometown. The traffic, which was as messy as ever, had gotten more cumbersome. Unlike in the metropolitan cities where people cared about lane discipline and traffic rules here everyone ploughed their own road. There were private vehicles as well as helmetless bikers negotiating the crowded lanes bearing precious cargoes of their wives and children at the same time, rickety taxis, unmetered three wheelers in which a novice was sure to be fleeced, smart aircon tourist vehicles with loads of SLR camera-laden Japanese tourists looking to snap pictures and buying Rajasthani souvenirs as omiyage gifts.

He was about to drive on as the traffic ahead of him opened up when something drew his attention. A girl, covered all over with a longish brown odhni, balancing a bag slung on her shoulders, hurried through the crowded bazaar street and swiftly turned into a narrow bylane. There was something familiar about her. Instinct drove him to investigate. He managed to park his car in a convenient spot and raced after her, trying to dial a certain phone number simultaneously. He was not surprised to discover that the phone was switched off.

He raced to keep pace with the girl as she turned into another bylane, her feet expertly doding the street vendors and loose cobblestones. Randhir was even more intrigued as he watched her enter the infamous red light area at the end of the old Meena Bazaar and he quickened his pace, he did not want to lose track of her.

She stopped at one of the dilapidated buildings, looked up at a sign and began climbing the ancient wooden stairs. Randhir crossed the street and waited. Sooner or later she would emerge. He would then find out what was going on. His heart beat faster with every passing minute as his anxiety mounted. Where was she, and what exactly was she up to?

It was not long before his presence caught the attention of the pimps in the neighbourhood.

"Want an underage college girl? Model? Housewife? How about a good looking boy instead? I will give you an attractive discount!" He was being tempted with the entire pleasure menu the street had to offer. He had a hard time dealing with the propositions. It was not their fault, the only men who had reason to hang around on this street were potential customers looking for some cheap, uninhibited fun.

It seemed like ages before he saw her emerge. As she descended the stairs, still clutching the bag close to her, he bore down on her, grabbing her by the arm. The girl panicked at the sudden assault and tried to use her arms aggressively to protect herself. 

"Bhai, kamra chaiye kya, aap aur aapki item ke liye? Sasta aur safe hai. Yehi par!" A tout called out, watching the action with interest.

"Kitna?" Randhir asked hastily, not wanting a scene on the street. The girl stopped moving when she heard his voice but dived deeper under her odhni nevertheless, wanting to remain incognito at any cost.

Randhir struck a quick negotiation and followed the tout's direction, dragging the girl alongside, his right palm forming a vice-like grip on her left wrist. She followed him mutely like a frightened calf, unable to resist his action.

The man led them upstairs and unlocked a room. Randhir paid him hard cash for whatever was the worth of an hour and asked him to disappear. As soon as the man left he bolted the door behind him and turned around to face her.

"Would you care to explain what you are doing in his seedy neighbourhood?" His voice had a tremor, making his anxiety obvious.

"Please don't get angry, I'll explain everything!" His wife emerged as the scared young girl uncloaked herself.

"Are you crazy? Don't you know what goes on in this street? What if someone had grabbed you and tried to harm you? What could I do? What could anyone do to save you then?" The livid husband wanted answers.

"Please Jaan, calm down. Kuch nahi hua mujhey, I am absolutely safe. Here, take a look yourself. I was only here to get these manuscripts translated, that's all." Sanyukta looked at him with puppy dog eyes.

"What are these?" He asked, still angry at her misadventure.

"I cannot tell you about them!" Sanyukta looked nervous.

"I don't care. I need to know everything about this business!" He made it clear that his demand was non-negotiable.

"Oh, I just borrowed some old documents from the haveli archives. I could not make an official requisition to access them, only family members can have access to them. If anyone seeks them they need a recommendation letter from the rightful owners of the haveli. There would be questions asked if I wanted them." Her voice was laden with guilt. For the first time since they began their relationship she had done something objectionable, and without his knowledge.

"You smuggled these papers out? Why did you do that? Had you asked me for them I would have gotten them out for you through the official channel? Why did you take such a risk? Can you imagine the scandal if somebody found out? You would lose your job! And the disgrace! Oh God, Sanyu, what were you thinking?" Randhir sighed deeply. 

Sanyukta stood rooted to her spot. Tears began to form and trickle down her thick eyelashes.

"Come on, honey! Don't cry! I was just worried for you!" He threw his arms around her and she buried her face in his chest gratefully. He waited for a few minutes till she had calmed down.

"You want to tell me what these papers are about?" He asked. He did not want her to get into any trouble officially. As it is they were having a tough time keeping their relationship concealed.

"They are not property papers, if you are thinking I tried to steal from you. The manuscripts are a few centuries old. They are a journal written by some woman who was among your ancestors. After I read your grandmother's diary I was curious about what secrets this woman had recorded in her diary. So I smuggled out the papers, got them photocopied and replaced the originals without anyone noticing me. I found a scholar who would be able to translate the original text for me. I could not go to reputed translators who would get suspicious about my source so I sought out this down and out man for whom money means survival. I was supposed to collect the translated draft from him today, so her I am!" Sanyukta felt miserable, she had been caught stealing from her husband's family heirloom and she would have to live with the knowledge all her life. She wondered if he would ever trust her again.

"What is so important about somebody's journal?" He asked, kissing her forehead.

"I cannot explain, and you will never understand. I was just curious about her life back then, that's all!" She could never express to him the pain of being an outsider even when she was officially married to him. She wanted to belong but circumstances were not enabling her to. He could understand vaguely what she was feeling, and drew her into a comforting kiss. Their blissful moment could have lasted if they had not suddenly been interrupted by a harsh knock on the door.

"Kaun hai?" Randhir asked apprehensively.

"Police raid!" Came the reply from behind the door and the blood drained from Sanyukta's face.

"Cloak yourself, quick! I'll deal with them!" He left her shaking like a leaf as she hastily covered herself with her long odhni and he stepped toward the door to face the worst.