His Captive Indian Princess

by Tanu Jain

  She did have feelings for him. Once or twice he had seen a wealth of emotion in her eyes when she had looked at him and he knew she wasn’t immune to him. He was sure that there was something that Gauri was hiding from him, something which lay behind her rejection of his proposal. He would have to pester her until she revealed the truth. He would convince her to marry him.

  He went to Gauri’s room and opened the door silently. The bed was empty. He switched on the light and checked the bathroom but that, too, was empty. Heart pounding with dread, he looked around, wondering where she had gone, when he noticed a crumpled piece of paper on the bedside table. He smoothed it and read the note from Maya. Why the hell hadn’t she told him? His dread increased and, activating the alarm for his security guards, he all but ran towards the stables.

  Gauri just managed to turn her face away as Ravi lowered his mouth to kiss her and his mouth landed on her neck. Ravi bit her neck in anger.

  ‘You can’t escape me now,’ he breathed.

  Gauri reeled at the pain. Suddenly, she felt Ravi’s weight lifted off her. She opened her eyes and saw Vikram standing like an avenging angel holding slimy Ravi by the throat.

  ‘You bastard—how dare you show your face here?’ he exclaimed in deadly fury.

  He punched him hard in the face and Ravi fell down on the floor, bleeding from the nose. Vikram’s anger didn’t abate and he carried on picking him up and beating him mercilessly. Gauri stared at Vikram, horrified, unable to move. He seemed to have lost all control. He would kill Ravi. She would have to stop him. Even the security guards who had followed him were standing shell-shocked and seemed unable to intervene.

  ‘Stop, Vikram, please stop!’ she pleaded.

  But Vikram didn’t seem to hear her. Gauri quailed at the cold fury on his face but, when Ravi crumpled on the floor, she pushed herself in front of him and caught Vikram’s arms, pleading with him to stop.

  Vikram looked at her dishevelled appearance and the anger in him threatened to explode. He wanted to kill Ravi with his bare hands. How dare he touch his woman? But the touch of Gauri’s hands and her tear-stained face stopped him. He yanked her in his arms and enfolded her cold body in his warmth. Gauri’s pent-up sobs burst out. He let her cry and then gently kissed her face and wiped away her tears.

  ‘Shh … don’t cry,’ he said huskily through the lump in his throat. He hated seeing her cry. Why couldn’t he have protected her better? Anger still hummed in his body.

  Suddenly, they heard the sound of footsteps. Vikram looked up and saw Maya and her grandmother coming. They stopped, transfixed, at the sight of Gauri and Vikram.

  Maya was quick to regain her composure and said, ‘Well, well, this is a repeat of what happened six years ago. Vikram, did you discover her with Ravi again? She will never change. Aaji Maa, see she is still carrying on with Ravi! I told you she was up to no good.’

  Maharani Rajkanwar was equally quick to react. ‘Is there no end to her wickedness? I don’t know what sins we have committed that we have to bear her like a burden on our heads. She is a blot on the family. Her father is lying senseless in a coma and here she is cavorting around with a stable boy! She is just like her whore of a mother.’

  Gauri shut her eyes, willing away the corrosive effect of her tirade. It was a repeat of previous events.

  As Vikram listened to the old woman’s virulent tirade, the anger still bubbling inside him burst and, eyes blazing, he said, ‘That’s enough! I don’t want to hear another word against Gauri from you. She is not a blot on the family name. You all are!’ Fury was radiating off him in waves.

  He turned to Maya, who paled and stepped back fearfully. ‘You are a cheating, lying and conniving woman! It was you and not Gauri who was having an affair with the stable boy. You blackened her name in front of everyone and made Gauri pay for your mistake. You made her childhood hell. And, because you wanted to trap Gauri again, you connived to bring this garbage here and set up the entire scene.’ He pointed towards the crumpled Ravi.

  ‘No, no, Vikram, I didn’t do anything. She always tries to gain everyone’s sympathy. First she stole my Baba’s love from me and then she made Madhav Dada love her more. She acts sweet and worms her way into everyone’s affection but actually she is just a liar and I hate her!’ Maya released her pent-up jealousy.

  Vikram’s face took on a cold look and he moved towards her menacingly. Maya almost tripped in her haste to step back.

  Controlling the impulse to strangle her, Vikram bit out ferociously, ‘Gauri has suffered enough at your hands and if you hadn’t been Madhav’s sister I would have made you pay for your wickedness. You are a woman and I don’t hit women, otherwise I would have made you account for every finger that you have laid on her. I will never forgive you for the dastardly way you have treated her. I am warning you for the last time now—she is my fiancée and I will not tolerate any conspiracy against her. Try any trick and I will forget that you are Madhav’s sister. You will be sorry you crossed my path. Now, get lost from here and don’t ever set foot here without my permission.’ He nodded to the security guards, who immediately closed ranks around Maya, and she walked out sullenly.

  He addressed Gauri’s grandmother. ‘As for you, Aaji Maa, this is the last time that I will tolerate your abusive ranting against Gauri. I don’t want to hear you say anything against her ever. She has always put her family first and has behaved blamelessly. She covered up Maya’s mistake just so that there would be no scandal, at great cost to herself.’

  ‘Vikram, she has blinded you! She is very clever at fooling others. She bewitched my son and grandson and they, too, wouldn’t hear anything against her. She seems to have done the same to you. She has cooked up stories and misled you. I discovered this boy in her room that day and I cannot believe that he had come to meet Maya!’ Maharani Rajkanwar persisted truculently.

  ‘You are so prejudiced against her that even if God himself were to come down and prove that Gauri is blameless you wouldn’t believe him,’ Vikram thundered.

  Maharani Rajkanwar stood speechless for a moment. But then she said acidly, ‘So, she has bewitched you, too! She learnt these wiles from her mother’s womb and you are well and truly trapped.’

  Vikram looked at the white-faced Gauri, who had been standing silently all this while. She seemed about to collapse at any moment and he enfolded her in his arms.

  ‘Quiet! You are deluded, as always. You have spent so many years harbouring delusions against Gauri because of your jealousy. Gauri doesn’t know the first thing about cheating and lying. She is not planning to trap me! I am planning to trap her into marriage if only she will have me. So far she has refused but I haven’t given up hope,’ he said, dropping a swift kiss on her cheek.

  ‘You want to marry her? If you marry her you will taint your lineage! She has bad blood running through her,’ her grandmother cackled.

  Vikram felt Gauri stiffening in his embrace. She lifted tear-filled eyes to his face and mumbled, ‘Forgive me for not telling you, but…’

  Her grandmother interrupted her. ‘Ah, so you haven’t told him! See, I told you she was a lying madam. I’ll tell you the truth about her lineage. She is a nobody, the illegitimate daughter of a cheating slut who palmed off her child of shame on to my son. My son is not her father! He only shouldered her burden out of a mistaken sense of responsibility.’

  Gauri turned paper-white and bowed her head in shame. Now Vikram would be disgusted. She couldn’t bear to see an expression of contempt on his face. She waited for him to thrust her away in disgust.

  But Vikram tightened his hold on her and snapped at her grandmother, ‘I don’t believe you. Gauri is Kaka Maharaj’s daughter and nothing you can say will convince me.’

  The old woman produced a piece of paper. ‘I have her birth certificate here to prove it. I confronted my son that day with it and, though he argued and shouted at me, I knew it was the truth,’ she said triumphantly.

  ‘So you upset Kaka Maharaj so much that
he suffered a stroke! You are his mother but you have proved to be his worst enemy. You should be ashamed of your behaviour,’ Vikram shot out furiously, remembering how he had held Gauri responsible for her father’s stroke. She had been paying for the sins of others.

  Her grandmother looked as if she might have an apoplectic fit. No one had ever castigated her like this.

  Vikram continued sternly, ‘This certificate which you are brandishing is just a useless piece of paper which is easily available for a price. It is obviously a fake.’

  ‘This is a true certificate. Ask Gauri. I showed it to her that day six years ago and she recognised her mother’s signature on it. That is the only reason that she fled, finally leaving us in peace,’ she sniffed.

  ‘So, you brandished this false certificate with a forged signature like a weapon and blackmailed your sixteen-year-old granddaughter into running away! You viciously beat up an innocent young girl and threw her on the streets, not even bothering to find out her fate. You were always jealous and insecure of Gauri because of the deep bond she shared with her father and brother and you never lost an opportunity in trying to break it,’ he accused.

  Maharani Rajkanwar looked unrepentantly at Vikram and scoffed, ‘If I had my way I would have had her banished when she was a child but my son overruled my wishes. But after I showed her the certificate and pointed out the cruel trick her mother had played on my son, she came to her senses. She had the sense to realise that she was just an embarrassing burden which my son was bearing because of his innate goodness. And, after the scandalous way she behaved with that stable boy, no one wanted to have her at home. She agreed that it would be better if she disappeared and left my family in peace.’

  Vikram said savagely, ‘All her life, you treated Gauri like an unwanted burden, taunting her, belittling her and even beating her. Your cruelty knew no bounds and you finally managed to force her into running away by feeding her a load of false rubbish. And because she loves her father and her brother and didn’t want to be a burden to them, she fled. You should be ashamed of your cruel and vicious behaviour. You are the eldest in this family but you have always behaved immaturely and selfishly. You have created trouble just to satisfy your ego and pride. Have you ever wondered how disgusted Kaka Maharaj would be with you if he came to know how you viciously beat Gauri six years ago? I’m sure if Madhav were here right now he would be ashamed to call you his grandmother. And have you ever stopped to reflect on all the bad karma that you have accumulated? At least try and wash your misdeeds now!’

  Maharani Rajkanwar was rendered silent by Vikram’s harsh condemnation. He continued, ‘As for the question of paternity, it is apparent to everyone but you that Gauri is Kaka Maharaj’s daughter through and through. In all circumstances she has behaved nobly, with dignity and goodness. She shares Kaka Maharaj’s honesty, integrity and selflessness but, though you are his mother, I cannot say the same for you.’

  Maharani Rajkanwar stood thunderstruck, listening to Vikram’s insults. She blurted, ‘That’s enough, Vikram! I will not stand here being insulted.’

  ‘Aaji Maa, it will do you good to hear the truth. If it weren’t for the fact that you are Madhav’s grandmother, I would have ensured that you make reparation for your misdemeanours. I am warning you now that if you try in any way to harm Gauri, you will have to deal with me. She is no longer a helpless waif whom you can treat viciously. She is mine. And next time I will not let you off so leniently.’ Vikram laid down the rules.

  Still holding Gauri, he walked off, nodding at the guards to escort Maharani Rajkanwar to her chamber. Gauri felt her head spinning as she tried to grasp all that had happened. She was feeling cold and shaken. At the same time a fragile bubble of emotion was unfolding inside her, churning her up inside.

  They reached their suite of rooms and she stole a glance at Vikram. He looked grim and forbidding. Her heart sank further. Did he really despise her for having hidden the truth about her parentage from him?

  He let go of the tight grip he was holding her in and said, his eyes darkening with emotion, ‘Why did you sneak off in the middle of the night without informing me? I thought you were beginning to trust me!’ He was unable to disguise the hurt in his voice.

  Gauri was dazed to recognise hurt clouding his face. She had hurt Vikram by not taking him into her confidence. ‘I wanted to tell you but I didn’t want to add to your burden. You are already shouldering so many responsibilities,’ she said huskily.

  Vikram felt his heart would burst with emotion. She, who had been shouldering an intolerable burden all her life, wanted to lighten his burden. How could he have been so blind to her essential goodness for so many years?

  ‘You don’t have to worry about me! My shoulders are very broad and can carry a lot of responsibility. Promise me that next time anything happens you will not keep it from me. You will tell me everything from now on,’ he said emotionally.

  Gauri nodded. ‘I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the truth about my parentage. I thought you would be disgusted,’ she said tremulously.

  ‘It is not your fault for not having faith in me. My behaviour towards you has hardly been exemplary. My prejudices blinded me. I was against you from the very beginning because I always saw you as your father’s illegitimate daughter, and the anger that I felt against my father’s mistresses was somehow transferred to you. I am not trying to excuse my behaviour but all that I can say is that I had a closed mind which was filled with rigid notions and these dictated my behaviour towards you. I feel ashamed of my actions and wish I could turn back the clock and make your past better for you,’ Vikram said with pained regret.

  Gauri looked at him. It was difficult for her to accept that Vikram was openly admitting his faults and accepting his shortcomings. Where had his arrogant self-assurance gone?

  ‘It’s not completely your fault. I wasn’t very open with you and you weren’t to know the inner goings on in the family,’ she said jerkily, trying to banish his sadness.

  ‘But I was always eager to believe the worst of you. I blamed you at every opportunity and castigated and scorned you. Forgive me, for what I said and all that I did,’ he said with intense emotion.

  Gauri felt her heart begin hammering till she was sure the sound could be heard by Vikram, too. He slowly bent his head, and she felt his lips graze hers softly, almost reverently. He hugged her close and held her silently for a moment.

  Then he left her standing there and went into the bathroom. Gauri heard the sound of the tub being filled, and he came back and led her in. He then proceeded to take off her clothes. Gauri protested but he took off her sweatshirt and Gauri flushed darkly as her breasts were revealed.

  A tic was visible in Vikram’s cheek but he simply said, ‘Get in and soak for some time,’ and turned and left.

  Gauri sagged with relief and went in and lay unmoving in the warm water. It was very relaxing and she felt all her tension melting away. She blanked her mind, not allowing any thoughts to enter. She lay there for some time and then, worried that Vikram might come to check on her, she got out. Just as she finished wrapping the towel around her body, Vikram appeared.

  Gauri stiffened, awareness shooting through her nerve ends. ‘I … I’m done. I was just coming out.’

  ‘Why the hurry?’ Vikram drawled with a glint in his eyes. ‘You should have soaked longer in the tub.’

  ‘No, it’s fine! I am all right now,’ she stuttered, her colour high.

  She went to sidestep Vikram, who stood barring her way. Unable to flee, Gauri looked up and was lost. She saw unmistakable hunger in his eyes. Vikram bent his head and kissed her passionately. Still kissing her, he removed the towel covering her and then his own clothes.

  He manoeuvred her so that she found herself under the shower. He opened the tap and water rained down on them. Switching it off, he took soap and lathered her first on the shoulder and then her breasts and then down below her navel and when he reached the apex of curls he lathered them and rubbed t
he soap against her wet opening. Gauri felt burning rays of desire shooting up, and her legs suddenly gave away. Vikram caught her close and, after rinsing all the suds off her, he switched off the water. Dropping a gentle kiss on her nose, he towelled her dry, his gaze burning over her luscious body, and wrapped her in a fleecy towel.

  He wrapped a towel around his waist and suddenly lifted her in his arms. Gauri squealed in surprise and clutched his shoulders. He tumbled her on the bed and came down with her. Holding her face between his hands, he kissed her deep and long.

  When they came up for air, Gauri felt cold and couldn’t stop the intermittent shivers that assailed her. Vikram nestled her close to his body and took her hands and rubbed them to generate heat. Gradually warmth returned to her body and shivers of another kind started. She tried to pull her hands away from his but he continued to rub them. A shiver of awareness pierced her body and when she looked up she saw that awareness reflected in his hot and hungry eyes. They looked at each other for long seconds and then he suddenly pulled her to him and kissed her lips with desperate need. She kissed him back with all the pent-up hunger inside her.

  Passion flared hotly, and he broke off the kiss and looked at her lush breasts and dainty waist. Even simply watching her was a delight and he could never tire of it. His hands caressed the sides of her breasts, skated over her waist and then ran along the quivering line of her thighs. Gauri moaned and felt her body catch fire. The coldness she had been feeling had completely vanished. His fingers fluttered in circles on the insides of her thighs and then lightly touched the nub of her desire. Gauri felt wetness pooling inside as arrows of fire streaked through her lower body.

  With a masterful movement, Vikram pushed apart her legs, and Gauri lay there, feeling exposed and much like a slave girl awaiting her lord’s mastery. He bent and flicked out a tongue at the sweet nub and then stroked his velvet tongue against her slick folds. Gauri bucked with pleasure but he didn’t let up and continued stroking and laving with his tongue while his hands were busy pinching and kneading her taut nipples. Gauri felt an urgency build up inside her and she was helpless to do anything but go along with the wave which was rising up, threatening to submerge her, and finally she let go and felt her body splinter into a million pieces.