The next day Kaki sa woke up the drowsy Sanyukta who was sleep-deprived after an overnight conjugal odyssey with her lover. Kaki sa was keen to know what had taken place, and on being told by the blushing Sanyukta she was relieved to know that once again Randhir had exercised restraint, and yet the couple had been fully satisfied with their sensuous passion play. In the limited time that they had spent together Kaki sa had coached Sanyukta as much as she could, besides giving her invaluable advice on the art of gratifying the man which the smart girl had put to good use on her lover, as well as on the science of birth control. 

As a parting gift she gave the  young girl a concealable cache consisting of a bouquet of herbs, some to be taken orally and some pessaries to be inserted in the birth canal for possibly preventing conception. "None of these remedies guarantee results, neither does the rhythm method nor early withdrawal by the man. A single steadfast and highly mobile sperm is all it takes to make you a mother; if the egg is waiting in readiness for it. Abstinence is the only remedy, unless he decides to put the wood where it will bring you forbidden pleasure of an acquired taste, irrespective of whether you are married or not." The lady explained patiently to her pupil. 

After Sanyukta had bathed she was given a light breakfast. She gifted her hostess an intricately embroidered shawl that she had made herself. As the girl bent to touch her feet Kaki sa first chanted blessings and pulled her in for a warm hug, expressing hope that she would be able to welcome her back in the haveli as Randhir's bride in a not so distant future. Both the women had tears in their eyes, so emotional had been the ties that bound them together in such little time. After a fond farewell from her Sanyukta joined her aunts in the carriage and the caravan left Samsher's haveli. Samsher's daughters waved them goodbye from the haveli's courtyard while his sons rode with their father till the end of town, returning after the caravan had left the city limits. 

Sanyukta exchanged surreptitious looks with Randhir when no one was watching, even winking at him and then making such an innocent face that no one would suspect what she had been upto. Randhir smiled to himself at her antics, for all her theatrics in bed she was still an immature teenager.  He knew she has imagined the worst when he rode into town, she must have agonised over whether or not he had bedded a prostitute out of his frustration. Actually he almost did when he wandered into a house of ill repute. A woman of indeterminate age spotted him first and led him by his hand through a side-door into a barely furnished room. She could see he was not a regular, in fact the place was very much beneath his class, and she could hardly believe her luck.  

She plied him with liquor letting him down shot after shot and then she began seducing him. He tried to block out Sanyukta's image from his mind telling himself that he deserved to taste flesh that night but to no avail, her image hovered right where she was, in the fidelity locus of his limbic system. As he began pushing the woman away she pleaded with him telling him she had young children to feed. As if struck by a bolt of lightning he threw some silver coins in her palm, far too many than she was worth and stormed out of the room riding back straight to the haveli. His heart would not let him betray the trust of the child woman who nurtured dreams of becoming the mother of his children. He knew his aunt must have informed her of his return and she had promptly readied herself to visit him. 

He recalled how she had sashayed before him in the very revealing costume that she had obviously borrowed, the beast in him had screamed out aloud for him to tear those flimsy clothes off her ripe body and ravish her right there. Her enthusiasm showed how eager she had been to please him, she had never explored him so boldly before that night. "You don't have to try so hard to be please me, you are a delight just the way you are!" He had whispered into her ears as his lips explored her delicate skin. "Kaki sa says never let your man go to bed hungry, I am just doing her bidding." She moaned as his tongue played havoc on her sensitive spots. It had been a night to remember, after all.

 As they began trudging through wild terrain he rode alongside the women's carriage giving them formal instructions to keep themselves concealed for their own safety, as the jungle posed the ever present danger of an attack by bandits or wild animals. Spotting her arm sticking out of the curtain he had given it a light whack to chastise her for defying his orders. It happened so spontaneously that some of glass bangles she was wearing shattered and she immediately peeped out, giving him an angry glare. He told her equally firmly to keep all parts of her body concealed from strangers' eyes lest he has to risk his life to keep her from harm.

After dinner that evening the camp quieted down and he noticed that she was still sulking. He signaled her to come by the river bank after her people slept and she pretended she could not see him. But as soon as her aunts began to snore she rose quietly, rearranged her blanket to resemble a sleeping shape and stole away, following the direction he had asked her to take. She looked for him along the river but could not spot him so she turned to return disappointed. The next moment she was pulled behind a Kadamba tree, her mouth clasped firmly by a hand that felt familiar. His fingers unknotted the strings that held her clothes in place and the next moment she was laid flat on the soft grass beneath the tree and he led her once more to a walk in the clouds under the starlight. 

"You broke my bangles, that is not auspicious for married life!" She complained, after he lay down besides her, satiated. "Mhari Moomal, married Rajput women wear ivory and gold bangles, not flimsy ones like these. And the husband is bound to break a few glass  bangles in the effort to enjoy his conjugal rights, what is inauspicious about that? Broken bangles on the sheets are a testimony to a night well spent. Anyway, I called you here to witness something extremely rare. Follow me." He led her to a vantage point explaining what he wanted her to see. It was a mating pair of tigers, the female was in estrous and seemed to be restless, cajoling her tired mate to mount her by offering him her rear and gently nudging him to get on with the task.

The male got up half-willingly, positioning himself behind her and grappling the scruff of her neck in his jaws to steady her as he pounded into her for just a few seconds then retracted cautiously, only to have her try to swipe at him violently, when he jumped out of reach. She rolled on her back purring in pleasure and again she resumed the pursuit of her exhausted mate. Seeing Sanyukta confused Randhir smiled, leading her away. "But why did she attack him then try to seduce him again?" She asked out of curiosity. "She is in heat, with a mad urge to mate so she can have babies, she will not stop till she is impregnated. Unlike in humans his shaft has barbs to stimulate ovulation and also for a quicker climax, but it hurts her when he withdraws so she lashes out on instinct. By the time she is pregnant they would have copulated over a hundred times." He explained.

"That's incredible. So much work for the male! But won't they attack the camp?" She remarked. "He has to work hard to pass on his genes. And no, they won't harm us yet, they got something else keeping them busy, we are quite safe." He smirked at her, grabbing her suddenly. "Shall we give it a shot too? We won't need that long to make babies. Say, are you game?" He asked. "First gift me my poshak, rakhdi, aad, chooda and sindoor. Then we'll talk!" She countered. "So much knowledge about the Rajput beendni ro shingaar?" He asked, smiling at her. "Are you forgetting that my roots are in Shekhawati too, just like yours? Please can we elope? We'll go into hiding  and have an endless honeymoon in the hills!" She pushed the envelope again, just like she had tried several times earlier. "When life seems complicated the solution must be found out of the box, eloping is for cowards. Trust me, I'll find a way!" He assured her once more, leading her back to bed. As she struggled to go to sleep she hoped that he really meant his words, and would find a way out before it was too late!