The Unventured Passions

Game of Seduction

Deception is a sort of seduction. In love and war, adultery and espionage, deceit can only succeed if the deceived party is willing, in some way, to be deceived.
Raimoti had heard her father's conversation with Batuk from the parallel telephone line in her bedroom.
She bit her lips as a thoughtful smirk of possibilities played on her beautiful face.
Her eyes quickly brushed on the wall clock before getting up from her morning bed. It took her almost half an hour to lay back on the bed as the sharp honk from Batuk's motorcycle announced his advent at the entrance.
Rai had carefully chosen her gown, the white flimsy frilly linen, un-tussled, revealing subtly a portion of her alluring feminity. Her long hair was unkempt, yet brushed into a careless deception of beauty. She had dabbed some pink on her lips and cheeks to bring back that faded pretty glow that painted her entire demeanor with a 'damsel in distress' look. She wanted Batuk to be her pseudo savior, she wished to give him a false sense of victory... she wanted to claim his heart by nudging his need to save women, just like his elder brother.

"Batakrishna Roy Chowdhury, let's see who saves whom today."
She pulled out the minty lemongrass essense from the drawer of her bedside table as a naughty smirk played mercilessly in her eyes.

...........................................

"Good afternoon Sir."
Batuk greeted Judge Neelmoni Mukherjee as he entered the magnificent sprawling drawing hall of the Raybahadur palace.

Neelmoni was probably on the telephone as Batuk saw him slowly put down the receiver before a broad smile spread over his face.

"Good Afternoon, young man!" Neelmoni gestured him to sit on the couch infront of him. "I was just speaking to your sister in law... Very inquisitive. She'd make a fine Barrister someday."

Batuk hesitated.
"Oh... you were..." He quickly checked his wrist watch. "Strange that she's at home now." He murmured.

"Oh.. no.. no... " Neelmoni let out a chuckle. "I dialled your brother's office telephone. Is she into Barristry these days?"

"Not that I'm aware of." Batuk furrowed his eyebrows trying to gauge the probably cause of why Bondita would answer his brother's office telephone.
"Sir, how is Miss Mukherjee now?"

Neelmoni let out a soft chuckle.
"She is in quite a mood it seems, refused the soup the maid took to her.

"Oh... May I see her... Um... If that's.."

"You definately may, young man." Neelmoni smiled at him, gauging him with his expert eyes.
"But before that I wish to speak to you."

Batuk was prepared to get up from the couch but the old man's eyes made him root back to his seat.

"Yes Sir." He nodded expressing his active attention to him.

"Well, Batakrishna... As you know, I don't have anyone else apart from my Rai Maa... I have tried to bring her up as nicely as possible, and looking at her I think you too would agree that I haven't entirely failed in the job."

Batuk kept quiet, unable to determine the course of this one-sided conversation.

Neelmoni continued.
"So, all these that you see here... This is all Rai Maa's and your's ofcourse. And, it would be good if you start minding things that are your own from now on."

"Um... I'm sorry?... I quite didn't get the reference." Batuk smiled awkwardly.

Neelmoni let out a sigh.
"Batakrishna, Son... Look... I know your family has enough to provide for my daughter... Your brother has made it very clear. But, in everything that the Roy Chowdhury's have, Anirudh would invariably be entitled to everything first." He paused to light his fat cigar chewed in between his teeth.
"Well, what I'm trying to say is I don't want my daughter and you ofcourse to remain as secondary members of the family. I'm asking you to move here, in this palace post Rai Maa and you...
How long do you have before your medical degree is completed?"