The evening light had almost faded when the grey pigeon landed on the roof of the house from where it could see it's handler, who was cleaning the roosting place in the loft. The pigeon had been trained to ensure that the message it carried never fell into the wrong hands. Special training was imparted to the carrier pigeons to avoid dangers like inclement weather and attack from raptors. When returning with a message a pigeon could only be approached by the handler. The bird always landed on a vantage point from where it could see if the coast was clear; before it presented itself to the handler. Convinced that it was safe from intrusion the bird flapped downward toward trough of water drinking deeply from it. 

The handler noticed the pigeon but remained calm, placing some grain in his palm instead. The bird hopped over and began pecking the millet and still the handler waited patiently. As soon as the bird had eaten its fill the handler spoke to it softly, gently removing the tightly rolled message from the canister fitted to the bird's leg. He then let the pigeon into the safety of its loft, locking it securely before going into the house to study the contents of the message. The task was clearly spelled out in code and within minutes the handler was ready to execute the message sender's instructions. The job was easy enough, but demanded confidentiality and promptness. The following morning the message would be handed over to a dispatch rider who would ride out to deliver it to the concerned person.

Randhir's camp was served their evening meal of laal maas and khus khus ke parathe, with Ratnavali and her maid eating privately in their enclosure while the men dined in the open. The women retired to sleep promptly afterwards. Randhir could not stop brooding over his dilemma. How was he going to soften the blow of telling Sanyukta of his wedding to Ratnavali? He was excited about the prospect of becoming a father and worried at the same time, Sanyukta being especially vulnerable now. He had to keep his thoughts private, it was normal for Rajput men to take several wives and very few could understand that he was emotionally bound to Sanyukta because he had married her for love. Only Parth, Anokhi, Samsher and Samsher's wife knew the secret besides his most trusted guardsmen, and he was certain of their loyalty to him.

 Sanyukta was very possessive of him and there was no doubt that she would be deeply hurt. Randhir sincerely hoped that she would forgive him after meeting the child bride Ratnavali who was hardly her rival for his attention at the moment. Ratna was another cause for his concern, he had impulsively taken the decision to marry her just to break the impasse Vidushi had trapped him with. Someday Ratna would grow up and demand her rightful place in his life. As much as it bothered him to think of it he knew he could not ignore the matter forever, his rightful heir was supposed to be born to his chief wife whose background was similar to his. Sooner or later he would be pressured to consummate this marriage, Vidushi would make sure of that. Randhir's image of Ratna had been that of a free-willed nosy child who was partial to sweet treats, he could not even imagine himself in an intimate relationship with her. Somehow he managed to banish the disturbing thoughts from him mind and slept fitfully, rising while it was still dark. 

 The camp soon woke up to a commotion in the clump of trees that surrounded them. The resident troupe of monkeys was under attack from an aggressive pair of testosterone-hopped males who challenged the reigning alpha male, whom they managed to vanquish in a short scuffle. Juvenile sons belonging to the troupe made their escape just in time at a considerable risk to their own lives. Immediately the pair of aggressors went after the troupe's babies, hoping to finish them off in the hope of taking over the harem of female for themselves. Loss of infants would soon render the females ready to mate, whom they would proceed to impregnate to bring forth their own new brood. The mothers ran amok in alarm, doing their best to protect their infants, aggravating the male pair further but failing to match their strength and ferocity. To break their resistance the males viciously attacked both babies and the mothers who tried to protect them desperately. Within minutes the battle was concluded, leaving several carcasses of infants and some mothers scattered on the ground.

Randhir's guards witnessed the violence wearily, trying not to intervene with the natural order of things as much as possible. In any case as travelers they would soon pack up and resume their journey while the female monkeys would pick up the pieces of their own lives and accept the dominant males as their mates so normalcy could be restored. As the humans who had witnessed the carnage went about the business of breaking up their camp the victorious pair began mating furiously with any female monkeys they managed to grab. Randhir realised that Ratnavali was standing quietly near the bodies of the dead monkeys, surveying the massacre while completely unheeding the pleas of her maid who tried to warn her against wandering thereabouts. 

Ratna's heart sank as she noticed the body of a female whom she recognised from her torn ear. It was the same monkey she had noticed the previous evening when she had generously handed them bananas, only then she had an infant clinging to herself. Ratna feared that since the baby was missing it could be dead too. She was about to turn away when she caught sight of the terrified infant cowering under a thick root of the tree, recognising it as the dead mother's baby. Without sparing a thought Ratna grabbed the infant who first recoiled with fear but she stroked it gently and held it close, managing to calm it down. "What are you doing?" Randhir asked her. "It is obvious, isn't it? I am adopting the baby." She said firmly. "It is a wild animal, you cannot remove it from its habitat!" Randhir told her.

"Well, its mother is dead and if I don't bring it along it will probably die of starvation or be killed by those brutes. I have decided, I am going to be its mother now onward. But wait, I should probably give her a name. Let me see! I'll call her Ruma!" She declared. "How do you know it is a girl?" Randhir asked. "It is obvious, look, no nuts!" Ratna showed him the baby's rump. "She was probably spared because she is female. Should we not bury the dead monkeys?" Ratna asked Randhir. "It's enough for us to take away this one, the dead will be scavenged by nature. Come on, get back inside the cart now!" Randhir did not wish to delay their departure further. "We are going to need some fresh milk for Ruma, make sure to buy a milch goat on the way!" She asserted, commanding her maid to procure the little milk that was leftover from breakfast from the makeshift kitchen. 

Ratna brought out a silver baby spoon from her kit and dipped it in the bowl of milk, offering the baby a spoonful. After a little patient coaxing the infant soon got the hang of things and swallowed a few spoonfuls of the nourishment. Ratna wiped the mouth and held her close as the camp began their march onward. The widowed maid called Panna who accompanied Ratna had helped bring up the girl from her infancy. She would serve her faithfully as long as she lived. She smiled to see the girl's earnest compassion. She quickly fashioned a makeshift cloth cradle and asked Ratna to place the baby monkey in it. 

Ruma lay quietly for a couple of minutes but soon began to gecker, as if calling for her own mother. Ratna immediately picked her up, placing her close to herself, talking to her gently. "You have nothing to fear now Ruma, I shall always be your Mommy. It is my job to love you and protect you!" She assured her. Randhir, who was initially hesitant about taking an the liability felt relieved. The monkey would keep Ratna gainfully occupied and he could focus on pacifying Sanyukta, albeit with Anokhi's help. He rode close to Ratna's cart, making a mental note to buy a goat just like she had asked for. If the monkey survived the journey it could augur an omen, he could use the good karma to get his life back in order.

Miles away Anokhi gave instructions to the kitchen staff about the menu for lunch. She had chosen the dishes carefully, there would be lauki ke koftey, sukhi mogar (moong) dal, kachri ki chutney and bajra rotis- all of Sanyukta's favourite. She was personally making a sweet called jhajhariya, based on corn kernels. Anokhi wanted to do her best to keep the young mother-to-be cheerful and well-fed. She had taken care to conceal the receipt of the dispatch that had been delivered mid morning on the same day. Fortunately, Sanyukta was busy with her bath during the time and once she had read the contents of the message carefully Anokhi had immediately hidden it away, warning the staff against mentioning anything to Sanyukta. 

So Randhir had already taken another wife! Anokhi wondered how this would alter the relationship status between Randhir and Sanyukta. The message did say that the bride was Vidushi's sibling, it was obviously a match arranged by Parth's chief wife, in the hope that it would help establish her dominance in the Shekhawat household. Anokhi did not know what to make of the new bride, all she knew was that she was duty-bound to make sure that Sanyukta remained turmoil-free and happy, it was important both for her and for the baby within her. Bad news could wait, it was Randhir's job to break it to her gently. Anokhi would keep the knowledge from Sanyukta as long as she possibly could.