Ratnavali rushed to the only go to person she could think at the moment. The high-spirited girl that she was nobody found it strange to see her hastening down the corridors of the entire haveli, often with her entourage. But today she was alone as she knocked the heavy inlaid door of the guest's apartment. The door opened and she rushed in, shutting the door behind her. "What have you done this time? Are you desperately looking for a place to hide from someone? And I no longer have any sweets with me, I gave them all away!" Randhir looked at her, an anticipatory smirk forming on his face. He did not mind the intrusion, having known her all these years he had come to expect it.

"Jiji said I have to marry you!  They are having the tilak and haldi-mehendi soon, and the pheras in the evening. Did you ask for my hand in marriage?" She blurted out. "If this is a joke it is in very poor taste Ratna, what's going on?" Randhir looked worried. Had Vidushi gone off her mind to conceive of such a vile idea, he wondered. For him Ratna would always be his bhabhi's baby sister. "I am not insane to joke about such things. I am old enough to be married, according to my sister. What are we going to do now?" For the first time Randhir saw frown lines on the peppy girl's brow. 

"Look Ratna, please tell me everything you know. It will help me understand actually what's going on!" He said to her patiently. He had to get to the bottom of the problem. "The khabar is that Tara Jiji ruined Vidushi Jiji's plan. She did not want either Shubra or Prabhavati to marry you so she spoke ill about your character to their mothers. The girls as well as their mothers refused to fall into what they called the marriage trap sprung by Jiji so they declined, putting her into a quandary because she has already proclaimed to your parents that you shall return from this haveli with a bride from our family. Now she wants to keep her word by marrying me off to you! And from what I hear the wedding preparations have already begun."

"Jiji has threatened that she will swallow poison if the wedding does not happen. She has it stashed in her thumb ring so that she is ready if she cannot have her way. She has not taken a morsel of food nor a sip of water since morning, refusing to break her fast unless you agree. Now come up with a solution!" Ratna paused. Randhir asked her to sit down while he paced around the room for a few minutes, racking his brain for a plan, an escape route out of the situation. He touched the Bhavani pendant that Sanyukta had placed around his neck seeking divine intervention. "Show me a way out of this tangle and also bless this child who is facing the biggest challenge of her own life!" He appealed to the image on the silver pathri amulet. He thought of Sanyukta and how affected she would be if he remarried.

Anytime now his brother and father would return to the room to break the news to him and in all likelihood to put the ball in his court, because everyone knew that Vidushi was headstrong enough to carry out her threat rather than lose face, the humiliation that Tara had inflicted on her by talking her two cousins out of a possible marriage was already too bitter a pill for her. She would make sure that Tara's name would be dirt henceforth, she would never let her set foot in the haveli again. Randhir deliberated on the matter, working out a decision tree in his head. If he refused to comply with what Vidushi had proposed she would definitely try to inflict harm upon herself, she wasn't in a frame of mind to be reasonable. And that would lead to a diplomatic nightmare, affecting his relation with everyone in the family.

If he agreed to marry Ratna how could he face Sanyukta? He found himself wishing he was facing the enemy on a battleground rather than being in this cauldron of soup. A nascent plan began forming in his head and although he was not fully convinced of it he had no other viable choice. He turned to face Ratna, summoning her near. "Ratna, do you trust me?" He asked her. "I am not sure what that means!" She replied. "Look, I have a plan. Listen to me carefully, I need you to co-operate fully for it to work well for both of us." He hastily summarised what he had thought of, emphasising on what Ratna would stand to gain if she stood by him. 

They continued discussing, with her asking counter questions while they considered the pros and cons. "If I agree, do you promise to keep your side of the bargain?" She asked him finally. "I give you the word of a Rajput, I am not my father's son if I go back on the promise!" He told her confidently. "Fine then, it's a deal!" Ratna's face had a bright smile. "Leave now, make sure you act the part well so no one smells a rat!" He said, showing her out of his room. No sooner had the girl vanished down the corridor Randhir heard heavy footsteps approaching, it was Parth and his father coming back to break the news to him.

"Vidushi baisa wants you to marry her sister Ratnavali by evening, failing which she has threatened to kill herself! You know the consequence of this Randhir, we will alienate her family forever if that happens, and it will be a strategic disaster for us."  His father did not bother to mince his words. The Shekhawats needed her clan's support to maintain peace in their Thikana, enmity with them would be a fatal mistake. "You do realise that this is blackmail! Why, the girl is a mere child, she is not ready to assume marital responsibilities yet. How can you ask me to consent father?" Randhir registered his protest. 

"This is a political alliance, not a romantic one. Ratnavali is an apt bride for you because of her inheritance. Her dowry will includes villages from a part of Rajputana that we did not have much control over. She is well brought up, bears a good character and has a pleasant disposition. And the girl is almost into her teens, she will mature in a few years. Marriages between people with a wide age gap are not unusual among our people. The consummation can wait until nature has prepared the girl physically and mentally to grace your marital bed. Meanwhile if you wish to you can add more women to your harem, if the one you have married previously does not suffice. A nobleman has to beget sons to succeed him, and your successor can only be borne by a noblewoman!" Harsh reminded him of the age old tradition.

Although what his father spoke about was obvious to Randhir the mere mention of consummation with Ratnavali and the existing norm on succession made Randhir feel uncomfortable. This custom went against Sanyukta's favour but he could not help it. "We await your response Randhir, though you can choose to decline the proposal if you so wish. I don't want you to decide on the basis of coercion." Parth sounded guarded, he was equally in a fix as far as this issue was concerned. Unlike his father and Vidushi Parth know Randhir's situation with Sanyukta, he was empathetic but unable to help him, the family honour and his wife's wellbeing was at stake!

"With all due respect Bapuji sa and Bhaisa, please listen to me in good faith. As you are aware I have recently taken a young wife, and I have really no desire to add another. I am aware of our rules of succession but I am still young, there will be time enough to beget sons. About the matter on hand, I will agree to marry Ratnavali provided there will be no more coercion from Bhabhiji sa or interference in my personal life. Do you give me this assurance?" Randhir looked calm as he waited for them to respond. "Of course Randhir, you don't have to worry on Vidushi's account!" Parth clarified. "All right then, I am ready!" Randhir sighed.

There was much confusion among the haveli guests who were told that there would be a wedding in the evening, the urgency being attributed to an astrological confluence. Some people were aware of Vidushi's powerplay and her role in rushing the wedding. Some saw her as manipulative while others thought she was a concerned sister who wanted to watch over her little sibling. Many were uninterested in who was marrying whom as long as there was a banquet to be enjoyed. In a few hours a nervous looking Ratnavali dressed in bridal finery, with henna on her hands and feet was led to the altar to join her impassive groom. 

Traditional rituals progressed and culminated in the pheras and sindoor daan. The groom made a solemn promise to provide for, care for and to protect the bride and be a friend to her. Vidushi finally breathed a sigh to see her own sister become her co-sister, having had the final say in the whole debacle. Grabbing a window of opportunity in the midst of the celebration the bride dug her elbow into the groom to draw his attention toward her. "You won't backtrack on your promise, will you?" She whispered. "Will your sister spare me if I do? Relax, everything will happen as agreed!" He replied. The ceremony gave way to a lavish feast and the guests enjoyed the delicacies, having forgotten the inexplicable circumstances under which the wedding took place. 

The only person whose plan had backfired sat in a little room strategising how to inflict maximum damage for the washing out of her aspirations. Rejection is hard to take and Tara felt rejected both by Randhir as well as Vidushi, who had gone hammer and tongs to hound her out of the haveli, blacklisting her forever. Tara and her mother had already been banished once by the widowed wife of her patron after his death, but now Vidushi had snapped the last link that bound Tara to the home where she was born and bred. It is said that hell has no fury like a woman scorned. After figuring out the weak links in the chain that bound the Shekhawat brothers together, Tara made her decision. The next morning a grey homing pigeon flew out of her window, bearing a confidential message in the container fitted to its leg. She packed up quickly, leaving behind the town that had shown her the door, resolving to irreparably hurt the two people who had taken her out.