Madam Kuntala was embarrassed at her husband's words and suddenly cooled down.
She knew that she shouldn't have reacted so strongly to his earlier statement. Even though the current emperor didn't encourage taking in more than one wife, it was by no means prohibited for a man to bring in more than one woman into his household.
Had her husband wanted, he could have called her out on her behaviour at any point in time. But she knew that he didn't, because he did love her… a lot.
That incident… most probably had been an accident!
But Madam Kuntala still couldn't digest it after so many years. Moreover, despite her bold words just now, there was a slight guilt in her heart. It was true that she had never accepted Dushyant's presence in their household and never opened her heart to the cold-eyed boy since his infancy.
Dushyant had grown up under a nanny's supervision, who had been brought in especially by her husband for the new-born baby. The general never asked her to care for him or look after him but he didn't slacken his own care towards the child, especially in terms of providing all the possible comfort and attention.
Seeing the extra consideration being given to the illegitimate child by her husband, her heart had soured and stayed like that forever towards the baby. General Chandraveer had never shown such behavior towards his own sons.
The only consolation in all this was that the child's mother died right after giving birth!
In truth, the issue was that the general wasn't a frivolous person to begin with. During all their years together, he had never given a second look to another woman. Which is why, it was a much bigger blow when this incident happened. For him to have a child with another woman was tantamount to him declaring his sincere love towards that person.
How was it possible for the always sheltered and pampered Kuntala to deal with such a scenario?
This was also the reason why Dushyant moved out of the house at the tender age of eight and went straight to the army camp instead of attending the gurukul like the others.
By the time Kuntala emerged from her thoughts, General Chandraveer had already gone behind the wide silkscreen for a bath. She wrung her hands for a few moments before walking out swiftly.
"Ask the kitchen to quickly prepare vegetable poha*. It should reach the room in the next fifteen minutes. Moreover, baigan ka bharta*, and lahsuni palak* need to be cooked with less spices. Have them make rotis* with ghee* smeared on them to keep them soft for longer. Ah… also, inform the cook to make lady finger dipped in besan as a side dish. That's how the general likes it. Place these dishes in the jute basket, alongwith the water pitcher. Oh… make sure that radish and carrot are cut into round pieces and sent alongwith. Also, fill a small jar of the sweet lemon pickle which I made a few days ago. It should be ready to eat by now. All of this needs to be handed over to the general's assistant outside as soon as they are ready," Madam Kuntala instructed one of the waiting maids outside the chamber in a hurried voice.
While the maid ran away to carry out her urgent instructions, Madam Kuntala gestured to another maid and said, "Pull out a trunk from the store room. I will send a few extra coats and woollen clothes for the general."
The girl hesitated for a second and then blurted out. "But… but Madam, Miss Avantika took those and delivered them a few days ago when she went to the camp."
Madam Kuntala paused and then slapped her forehead in dismay. "I totally forgot about that. Nevermind, you go and help others in packing the food. And tell them to quickly send the breakfast tray to the room. Wait… check if the kitchen still has fresh oranges, pomegranates and sweet lime which were delivered yesterday morning. If so, tell them to squash and mix the three. Add a little black salt to it and send the juice along with the poha."
The girl bobbed her head and went swiftly in the direction of the kitchen.
Madam Kuntala was usually easygoing but when it came to her husband and children, she became no less than a strict army general herself. She couldn't tolerate even the slightest mistake. Hence none of the attendants dare show any laxity.
Seeing the breakfast tray and his wife's uncertain, yet coaxing smile, General Chandraveer felt the rock press even harder against his heart.
"Come, sit with me while I eat," he said, indicating that they should forget the unpleasantness which occurred sometime ago.
Madam Kuntala gave a beaming smile and nodded her head. She then proceeded to tell him about all the small and big things which took place in the city while he was away.
"What? Avantika went up to the army base this week?" General Chandraveer's voice held clear displeasure when he heard his wife tell him this news.
Madam Kuntala had also been surprised by her niece's enthusiasm and insistence upon going up to the army camp. But the weather had taken a turn for the worse and she didn't mind if Avantika wanted to personally deliver a few warm things for her family. After all, Agastya was scheduled to return to the camp around that time along with his father.
This was probably the result of the affection that she had shown towards the girl during all these years.
*Poha - is flattened rice originating from the Indian subcontinent. Sometimes, cooked with lightly fried mustard seeds, turmeric, green chilli, finely chopped onions, fried peanuts and also spices, finally steamed for a few minutes.
*Baigan ka bharta - is a South Asian dish prepared by mincing grilled eggplant and mixing it with tomato, onion, herbs and spices.
*Lahsuni palak - Spinach curry heavily infused with garlic
*Rotis - is a round flatbread native to the Indian subcontinent made from stone ground whole wheat flour
*Ghee - is a type of clarified butter that originated in ancient India.