"First promise me that you won't be angry with me for telling such tales!" Ratna said cautiously. She knew her sister Vidushi had an infamous temper. "Just tell me, will you?" Vidushi said impatiently. "Bhairao SIngh told his wife Leela who told Laachi that Tara Jija was seen entering Kunwar Randhirsa's room in the dead of the night. Tara locked the door behind her and nobody saw her afterwards until next morning. I wonder what that means!" Ratna fluttered her puppy-dog eyes at Vidushi feigning ignorance. "What rubbish is this!" Vidushi remarked, her irritation evident in her tone. "It's true, JIja! You can ask Laachi if you wish to verify the information." Ratna added.

Vidushi went quiet for a couple of minutes, the gears of her mind turning rapidly. Asking the maid Laachi about what she had heard would only add fuel to the fire, encouraging the staff to discuss it more. Vidushi knew Ratnavali very well, she would not carry forth the gossip if she was unsure about the news. What she had heard would bring complications, compromising her plan for Randhir. If there was anything going on between Randhir and Tara it could only be with mutual consent and the prospective groom's involvement with a fallen woman the family was related to could discourage the prospective bride, who could even refuse to marry him. "Ratna, promise me that you will not share this with anyone else, the gossip will soon be forgotten." Vidushi warned Ratna, hoping to contain the damage done by the incident.

She asked Ratna to summon Randhir and in a few minutes he arrived, waiting at a respectable distance from her in the sitting room. "You wished to speak to me, Bhabhiji sa?" Randhir asked her. "I hope that your stay here is comfortable enough Devarji sa, and that you have had a good night's sleep!" Vidushi tried to honey coat her sarcasm. "I've had absolutely the best night Bhabhiji sa, your family has paid attention to every little detail in providing generous hospitality!" Randhir's smirk was obvious to Vidushi even through her gauzy veil, confirming her doubts about Tara and him. The woman had obviously shown him a very good time indeed, his smug look told Vidushi. "Devarji sa, don't forget that we are planning to have your Tilak ceremony as soon as your match is decided with a suitable girl from my family. And all concerned parties must maintain decorum under the circumstances." She hoped that he could guess what she wanted to convey between the lines.

"Forgive me if I am being cheeky, Bhabhiji sa! Clearly, raw passion runs deep among the young girls in this household. Why should a young man bother to tend a plantation if the fruit comes to him willingly?" His tone mocked her. "Whatever do you mean?" Vidushi could barely control her temper. "If you did not know what I meant you would have not summoned me this way Bhabhiji sa! You know your cousin made me an irresistible offer at night, and I would be foolish to decline it. In her own words, if I let her become my mistress she would show me a way to avoid the marital altar set up by you. Not only is this young lass stunningly attractive she is also skilled in the art of pleasing a man. I am sorely tempted by her offer!" Randhir hit the final nail in the coffin.

"What a load of rubbish!" Vidushi fulminated. "I swear on Goddess Bhavani, Tara did not mince her words while offering herself for my pleasure, if you don't believe me you can ask her yourself. Now if you don't mind I must join my father and my brother, it is improper for me to remain in your presence in the absence of your husband and my brother. As it is your cousin Tara has provided enough grist for the gossip mills in this haveli!" Randhir bowed formally and showed himself out of the door. He had a wide grin on his face as he marched away from the room, his arrow had found it's mark, Vidushi already knew that he had told her the truth, she had already been agitated before he met her. 

Vidushi was upset that Tara, whom she had steadily defended against banishment from the haveli, and who was also her secret keeper had put a spoke in her wheel. If Tara was obsessed with Randhir she could do anything to prevent the imminent wedding, she could not be relied upon to share Randhir with another girl from the family. Vidushi had always considered herself powerful, and now Tara was posing a challenge to her position. Tara had to be shown her place before the matter got out of hand. Vidushi hastened toward the hidden room that Tara used whenever she sneaked herself into the haveli with Vidushi's blessings. She found her engaged in anointing herself with unguents that helped keep her milky skin smooth and supple.

"Oh Vidushi! To what do  I owe the benevolence of your visit? You could have easily summoned me to your room and I would have come immediately. Do sit down!" Tara sounded like a woman who was positive with anticipation. "Cut the small talk Tara! I am here for clarification. Did you pay my husband's brother a nightly visit and offered to be his mistress like some low born slave? Tell me nothing but the truth!" Vidushi's demeanour conveyed her mood and Tara was taken aback on hearing her words. She looked away, trying to avoid a response. "I asked you something, Tara, and I need to hear you!" Vidushi could barely conceal her contempt. "If you must know, I offered to be his companion for life, and I did not hear him decline vociferously!" Tara retorted.

"How could you, Tara? You know he is my husband's brother! You are my blood relative, how could you stoop so low for a woman born in a noble family!" Vidushi was really livid. Girls born to noble families were meant to find matches equal to their station, it was inconceivable for such girls to relegate themselves to the position of a concubine, leave alone becoming a willing mistress. That role was enacted by lowly women whom a man took a fancy to but could not marry because of his caste or social status. "I hope you have not forgotten, dear cousin, that my past renders me an unsuitable bride for a man like Randhir. I've also been there and done that! Tara only pleases herself and the man she wishes to please. Social mores mean nothing to me, so why should I let them stymie my heart's desire?"

"You've known that I have coveted Randhir ever since I saw him for the first time during your wedding. And after what I have been through he will never take me for his wife. And I don't want to let go of him for such a trivial reason, I know I can turn him away from any other woman if I have him for myself. Is that not what every wife truly desires, to cast a spell on her man? So why can't I want the exact same thing?" Tara said defiantly. She was not going to surrender or back down as far as Randhir was concerned, no matter how much it upset Vidushi.