A Fall through time(Once upon a time)

3.And the story begins...

The faint glow coming from the floral inter-cuttings of the pale green Quartz lamp was the lone source of illumination as the sun outside was disappearing behind the foggy plateaus, leaving a scarlet sky in its vague.

"I am so happy we have finalized this deal, Lord Fall", a middle-aged man sitting beside me on the Dinning table was saying, " I'll personally be there in West Bengal to make sure that our Royal buyers get the Tea supply on time." He patted his pot-belly, which was protruding painfully out of his royal, mustard-colored Sherwani and added as an after-thought, " I think its about time to eat Dinner. Won't you agree?"

His warm,light-brown eyes turned towards me questioningly.

"Oh yes, of course Mr. Pradhan", I agreed with a smile.

"Ramu kaka!", he called out to the servant who was fanning him," Sahabji wants dinner now, You better hurry up."

"Yes sir", the shriveled, old servant nodded and hurried away.

"I hope you won't mind Indian food ? I just thought it'll be a refreshing experience for you." He nervously fingered his long, grey mustaches.

"How very considerate of you", I smiled politely, trying to reassure him that I didn't minded experimenting in the least.

A lady in her mid-20s came out of the kitchen with 2 large Indian thals(plates) and placed it in front of us.

After a moment's pause I asked hesitantly, "I have a question. Mr. Pradhan. If you don't mind me asking it.."

"Of course not. Please go ahead."

"Sir, since you own this town and so many neighboring villages, I can't help but wonder that why would you want to own Tea farms in Darjeeling?"

Mr. Pradhan laughed as he said, " You are one observant man,Lord Fall. Well, I am first and foremost a business man and lets say now a days being a Zamindar is a business of loss."

"If you are looking for profit then why not venture into Indigo plantation?" I had read somewhere in my official files that Indigo plantation was increasing day-by-day and the middle man in this trait was bound make a lot of profit.

He suddenly frowned , "Its far too controversial for my taste. I might be a business man but I care for my people dearly."

"I don't understand. What do you mean by controversial..." but I was cut off by someone pulling the seat across from me.

"I'm sorry Papa that I'm so late. I was reading in the library and lost track of time."

I looked up to inquire the source of voice and stumped into silence again. OH dear lord, I can not bear two mini-heart attacks in the same day!

There sitting in front of me was the girl I had presumed I would never see ever again. Her previously wild and open hair were now tamed in an elegant bun and a few strands escaped to frame her slender neck. Her Blood -red lehanga, a clothing commonly seen on a commoner, was now replaced by a white silk Sari, which from the looks of it was very costly. However her eyes were still the same, ther expression reminding me of a wild horse waiting to be unleashed.

This was a marked difference from the girl I had met in the fair. That girl was clearly free-spirited, care free and a commoner but the girl sitting across from me extruded an air of elegance and royalty, she was clearly brought up to be a disciplined daughter and a supportive wife.

Her eyes flashed to me and became as wide as saucer but the expression was gone so soon that I thought that I had only imagined it.

"This is my daughter, Durga", Mr. Pradhan introduced me to her," and Durga , this is Lord Fall, a new ICS officer and our new business partner."