Chapter 10

The Jaypore House,

Kensington Palace Gardens

The rays of the weak morning sun fought its way through the French windows of house No. 20, attempting to provide some light and much needed warmth in the large hall. The atmosphere outside was unusually quiet except for the chirping of birds or the occasional sound of a car passing by. The hall was richly furnished with Victorian sofa sets, rosewood tables, Persian carpets, rugs and, on its walls were few modern paintings by notable artists. A beautiful crystal chandelier hung from the center of the ceiling. The hall also boasted of a large television with all its accompanying contraptions.

On one side of the wall was a hearth in which the dying embers of the previous night's fire lay burning. Above the hearth a huge photograph of the royal family in their traditional garb could be seen. On the bracket below the photograph, photo frames were neatly arranged in such a way that their edges slightly overlapped one another and one of the photo frames was placed face down.

A well-built man dressed in a round neck grey sweater and blue jeans was seen stoking the fire idly with a fire iron. In his right hand he held a large cup filled with strong black coffee, out of which he took a tentative sip. After prodding the embers for some more time, he finally gave up and resumed his seat on the leather recliner. He took one more sip and placed the cup on the nearby table. Then he took his iPad and began checking mails on it.

"Sir, shall I call for more coffee?", a man in his late twenties came from inside and stood awaiting orders.

Yuvraj Vikram Singh sighed.

"You should get some sleep Arjun. I am not a child that you should keep checking on me every hour", he said, not looking up from what he was doing.

"I agree sir", Arjun nodded "however I cannot sleep in peace until we find a solution and get back home sir".

Vikram exhaled heavily tossing the iPad on the sofa in slight irritation. He brought his hands to support the back of his head and motioned Arjun to sit down to which the other man complied.

"Home! Home is a distant dream. I myself am not sure of it". Arjun sensed the weariness in Vikram's voice, but he was not ready to give up.

"Don't worry sir, it's not our fault. I think we haven't gone through all the options. We are missing something", he pressed on trying to be positive.

Vikram laughed at this, "It is my fault Arjun. I am man enough to own my faults", he put his sock clad feet on the footstool in front of him. "Did you find out who the SPS Group is?", he questioned. "Anything on who owns it? Anything at all?".

Arjun shook his head, "Unfortunately no sir. There is no information on them anywhere. It is always a dead end. We need time sir to find out about SPS group and probably we can reason with them".

"Time is what we don't have Arjun. That prick Malhotra was acting under someone's orders when he sold that no good chain of hotels to us and he had covered his tracks pretty well". Vikram's eyes burned with anger. "Where have we gone wrong Arjun? We were careful weren't we?", his voice was laced with exasperation.

"Yes sir, we were. We followed all legalities but somehow . . .", he paused, "Sir, what about the meeting with the shareholders last evening? Were you able to convince them?"

Vikram closed his eyes, "They are not ready to listen to any reasons. They have given me time till the end of the month. I have just a travel ban right now but if I don't solve things by the thirtieth of this month, I may well end up in prison", he said more to himself.

Arjun looked at the man in front of him. He had been the prince's secretary for three years now and all this time he had never seen him so defeated. There were lot of undercurrents which he was not aware of. It was not his business to know either. Late last night he had heard the prince shout at someone ordering them to get 'her' out! He had tiptoed to the hall to see what the issue was and found the prince staring at the picture of a girl. From what he deciphered the issue had to do with the princess. As far as he knew, she had come back to India for some family emergency. Next the prince had picked up the photograph that was placed face down and glared daggers at it. At one point Arjun thought that he was going to smash it to the ground. But, he had placed the picture back to its original face down position in agitation.

Arjun was curious as to whom the photograph belonged to. He was not of an inquisitive nature so he never thought of even taking a peek even when he had the chance to. That was one of the many reasons why Vikram had hired him as his secretary. His thoughts strayed back to the princess. He had never seen her in flesh but, judging by the photographs all around the palace, he knew that the princess was beyond beautiful. There were lots of pictures of her even in this house, right from when she was a baby. It was obvious that the family adored her. The ones that confused Arjun was the pictures taken when she was either seventeen or eighteen. There was no joy in her eyes, no peace. She was lifeless in them. Then there was one taken probably a year or two afterwards, in that she looked regal and stoic. Still there was no sign of the joy.

"I have to be in Jaypore with my sister Arjun. I have to be there for her. I need to get there somehow!", Vikram's voice disrupted his thoughts. With renewed vigour he looked at his secretary. "Put all your resources into it. Leave no stone unturned. We need to solve the problems and get the hell out of here".

"I will get on it sir, let me see what I can do", Arjun left shortly afterwards. Vikram leaned back on the recliner and closed his eyes. He wished if he could turn back the tide of time. He wanted to erase everything and start new. If only he had listened to his intuition and not signed the deal on the dreaded day.

A Year Back,

The Jaypore Palace

It was a day of celebration for the Jaypore royals for achieving a milestone in their business ventures. It was natural that they should throw a party to thank the shareholders for their support and toast to a new world of opportunities that lay before them. With a flute of champagne in his hand Yuvraj Vikram Singh headed over to the guests, chatting with them, sometimes laughing at their obnoxious jokes. His father was in serious discussion with the members of the Mahasabha. As he took a sip and glanced around at the people, he noted that none of them were up to his par. They were all petty commoners who had amassed wealth in the recent years. If his grandfather were alive, he wouldn't have allowed them to look, let alone set foot in the direction of the palace. Times were changing and they had to change with time.

He smirked as he saw from the corner of his eye that some calculative mothers' were pushing their daughters in his direction. How disillusioned they were!, he exclaimed to himself. No one could breach his heart, but why should he say no to a few harmless flings. It was always good to keep the mothers' on tentative hooks, giving them the impression that their daughters would stand a chance to become the next Yuvrajkumari.

That was when he saw the short potbellied Satish Malhotra, also known as mediator Malhotra in business circles. There were talks circulating in the market about a lucrative chain of hotels in Europe for which Malhotra was the mediator. He took another sip readying himself to go talk to the man, though it was beneath him. It should have been the other way around.

Satish Malhotra was a beady eyed vulture. He had come to the party with the sole purpose of snaring the prince. He was on specific orders and for that he was promised a lucrative sum. As he saw the prince walking toward him, he smirked congratulating himself and repeating the lines that he was made to practice over and over.

"Malhotra ji, I hope you are enjoying yourself. Please let me know if there is anything lacking", Vikram signaled to his staff to refill the almost empty glass of his guest.

Malhotra bared his teeth in a wide smile, consciously showing off his diamond encrusted gold tooth or teeth to be more precise. He then folded his hands in namaste and bowed low. Vikram controlled the urge to roll his eyes at the deplorable image.

"Yuvraj ji", the other man began, "I am so thrilled to be a part of your company. Parties thrown by the royals are a picture of perfection and what to say about the Jaypore royals! I am impressed by everything", he waved his hands around.

"Thank you for your kind words. I was wondering if we could talk alone?", Malhotra immediately agreed and followed the prince inside the palace. Seated in the Blue room - named so due to the décor – Vikram called out for more drinks and when he thought Malhotra was comfortable he began,

"Malhotra ji, I heard that there was a chain of hotels in Europe that was . . . for sale?", he questioned.

Malhotra leaned back on the chair and in doing so his enormous belly protruded such that Vikram moved back slightly.

"Yes, there is such, but I think the asking price is well . . . er . . . beyond your capacity", he drawled tapping his left foot on the carpet.

Vikram clenched his teeth restraining the urge to catch the vile fellow by his rotund neck and dump him outside the palace. He simply smiled,

"I don't think you know my capacity as yet Malhotra . . . ji", Vikram's eyes narrowed to a slit.

Malhotra shook with laughter, his belly jiggling up and down with him. "I am not judging your capacity Vikram. I am just mentioning a mere fact. SPS group, who owns the chain – and whom I am representing - is asking for an exorbitant sum. The hotels are running quite lucratively. They are selling it because they plan to settle in the Caribbean's or somewhere like that and retire forever", he stated.

"How much?", Vikram voice was devoid of any emotion as he tried to ignore that the man had called him by his name other than his title. In other circumstances, he would have driven the message home. Malhotra regarded him for some time and answered,

"Two thousand two hundred crores for ten five star hotels. Three in London, one in Austria, Rome and Copenhagen; two in Switzerland; one in Venice and one in Berlin", Malhotra looked smug as he recited the details.

"Draw up the papers Malhotra ji. My legal team will be in contact with you. I hope we can finalize everything soon", Vikram now leaned back crossing his legs. The smug look on Malhotra's face faded replaced by exasperation.

"You mean to say that you are okay with the asking price and ready to pay?", he tried to confirm if he had heard correctly.

Vikram picked up a drink from the table beside him, "Yes. That is exactly what I meant", and downed it in one go.

In two weeks the men had met again and finalized everything. Vikram should have been vary about the smooth way the deal was progressing, but he didn't.

He should have insisted in meeting someone from the SPS Group even when Malhotra said that they were not of the meeting kind, but he didn't.

He should have expressed a desire to see the hotels before finalizing, but he didn't.

He didn't . . . he didn't . . . he didn't.

Vikram's eyes snapped open.

More than his ambition, it was his ego that was injured by Malhotra's insinuation that he couldn't afford the hotels. He wanted to prove to Malhotra, to his father and finally to himself that he was capable of great things. But he couldn't have been more wrong. He had put everything into this venture, more than what he should have. More than what his father knew.

The first blow came in the form of a legal notice for the hotels in Vienna and Rome, followed by the hotels in London. The hotels were failing, there was upkeep and maintenance which ran to crores. It almost costed three hundred and fifty crores to keep them running. But the same couldn't be said for the rest of them. They were failing miserably.

The second blow was when the shareholders demanded that their money be returned to them. Someone had triggered it. The travel ban, the constant surveillance around his house and his office, everything was pre-planned. His attempts to find out the SPS Group failed every single time. Then when he went after Malhotra, he had gone into hiding.

Vikram got up from the recliner and went to the window and peeked outside. The black car that was positioned two weeks back was still there. He closed the curtains engulfing the hall in semi darkness. He stood motionless for a long time staring at the Persian rug beneath his feet.

In spite of all the problems that he was currently facing, right now he could only think of Nandini. Barely five years apart, he had promised his mother that he would always look after her. Though he was thankful for the money that Chandra Raj had given them. He couldn't digest the fact that the old king expected Nandini's hand for his son. If it was few years back, he himself would have united them. But knowing the person that Abhimanyu was and what he did to her, he couldn't possibly tie his sister's fate to that man.

He hoped that Arjun would come back with good news and if he did, he would waste no time in returning back to his homeland.

*********************************************

Vilaspore Palace

Keshav Satara was tired emotionally. The events that unfolded since morning had sent him into a tizzy. After the princess left, he immediately raced to the first floor to meet the yuvraj. He related all that happened word by word, scene by scene to the prince, who listened to all that he said in silence. Though it was not his place, he had cautiously questioned the yuvraj regarding some doubts, to which he received some vague answers. Keshav wasn't satisfied but what could he do? Sitting in the small dining hall which was exclusively used by himself and the manager of the palace Roopa Sharma, he ruminated over everything. Pouring himself a glass of water he drank heartily in a bid to quench his insatiable thirst. When he replaced the glass on the table, he saw Roopa approach the dining table. From her face, it was clear that she was miffed. She reached him and without a glance at him, seated herself at the table waiting for her lunch. In few minutes, the maid arrived with a trolley of food which she arranged neatly on the table.

Flavoured rice, roti's, spiced lentils, a dish made with chickpea flour, fried bitter gourd and to finish off with sweets which included kesari, made with semolina, dripping with ghee and gulab jamuns - deep fried balls of dough immersed in rose flavoured sugar syrup.

Roopa loved the food she was served at the palace. This food was only for the higher staff like herself and Keshav ji. The maids, butlers and the other servants had just rice and dal or roti's with some vegetable curry. The yuvraj's food though, was specific, made by a special chef appointed by him only to handle his meals and that too in a different part of the palace. The maharaj had another chef, so did the princess. When she had first come to know about this she was blown away. But then it was bound to be so, they were royals. Further the food she was served was beyond what she usually had at her home, so no complaints there.

But today she had no appetite. She was upset, firstly because Keshav ji and that other man  had made her apologize to the woman Nandini. Secondly, her apology was rudely dismissed by her. Lastly, she couldn't digest the fact that the beautiful woman was supposedly a princess who was to be betrothed to her prince. All the dreams that she had spun for the past months were destroyed within seconds. Her eyes misted as a searing pain began in the region of her chest close to her heart.

Keshav saw the young woman pushing the food on her plate. His brows knitted at that. He did not like anyone disrespecting food.

"Are you alright Roopa ji", he inquired dabbing his mouth with a napkin. Roopa looked up from her plate and nodded.

"Is there something wrong with the food?", he pressed on.

Food was the last thing on her mind and knowing that Keshav would not stop being nosy if she didn't answer she said in a low voice,

"I am fine Keshav ji, I don't think I am hungry. If you will excuse me . . .", she got up signaling to the maid to clear her plate. Keshav's eyes softened. He very well understood why she wasn't hungry. How could she be after all that happened? He felt it was the time for some advise.

He gently broached the subject, "You should not take everything to heart my dear", he said endearingly. "The royals are quite peculiar. One cannot say how they behave at one moment and why they behave the way they do". Roopa tightened her fist, silently listening to what the man said without responding. "I will send you some coffee and biscuits. It is not good to stay hungry. Just forget everything okay?", he smiled taking a roti from the cane basket.

Roopa walked back to her office room fuming all the way. 'How dare he patronize me', she thought to herself. On reaching the room she shut the door with a bang.

"Damn the royals!", she shouted.

Then picking up her phone from the desk she googled Princess Nandini, Jaypore. There wasn't much news on her. She clicked on the first link which redirected to the page about the Jaypore royals. She clicked on the photo gallery and her eyes became as round as saucers. All the pictures had the inside of Jaypore palace as the background. The people pictured were enigmatic. The young man, dressed in traditional wear holding a sword, was as handsome as yuvraj Abhimanyu, but in her heart she knew that no one could hold a candle to her prince. Abhimanyu was class apart. She read the caption beneath the picture: Yuvraj Vikram Singh, the future of Jaypore royal family, 2015. Her breath hitched in her throat. She surfed to the next picture. Her eyes turned red in anger as she gripped her phone. It was a picture of the young man with Nandini. Dressed in a pale pink Rajasthani blouse and skirt with a pallu draped around her head, she was a vision. The caption below blew her away, Yuvraj Vikram Singh with his sister Rajkumari Nandini Singh at Jaypore Palace.

It was at that moment Roopa decided that she was not a very forgiving person. Princess Nandini was to be betrothed to the yuvraj, she isn't as of now, she told herself. The searing pain that she felt earlier in her heart, only confirmed what she knew but didn't realize all this long. She had fallen hopelessly in love with Abhimanyu and there was no way that she would give up her prince to anyone be it a princess or not.