The king's courtesan wife

C H A P T E R 9

Days later, Sandhya kept thinking about what Akshara had told her. But something was stopping her from taking further actions.

Again she came to sit by the fountain to find some peace of mind. From a distance, the sound of payals distracted her. She turned around to see her mother in law with an unknown girl coming in her direction.

Quickly, Sandhya got on her feet and fixed her dupatta on her head.

"Greetings, Maa sa." Sandhya bowed and looked at the girl besides her mother in law. She was beautiful with doe like eyes.

"Bless you." Raj mata smiled. "Sandhya meet her, she is Bhavna. Abhimaan's little sister." She introduced and Sandhya smile widened.

"Greetings, Jiji sa." Sandhya said, joining her hands and bowing her head down.

"Arey, bhabhi sa what are you you doing?" Bhavna held Sandhya's hand.

"She is guest of a few days here. Sandhya, I want you to keep her company as much as you can. So that you both can get to know each other." Maa sa instructed.

"Yes of course, I'd be pleased to." Sandhya said with a bright smile. And seeing the warm smile on Bhavna's face reassured her a little that she is not like her grandmother.

"So I'll take your leave now, you two can talk. Okay?" Maa sa said and Sandhya gave a head nod.

"Jiji sa, where would like to go?" Sandhya asked with a warm smile.

"No, No. Bhabhi sa, I am fine here." Bhavna said sitting on the edge of the fountain and Sandhya joined her.

"I've heard, you sing and dance very well." Bhavna said which made Sandhya frown. She never sang or danced ever since she got married, not even in the privacy of her own room.

"Well, there is nothing as such." Sandhya said.

Bhavna laughed echoed in the open space of the garden which made Sandhya uncomfortable. She was now getting a bad feeling from Abhimaan's sister.

"Don't lie bhabhi sa. These talents of yours only lured my brother into thinking that he fell for you." Bhavna added bitterly. Sandhya got up and looked at the woman with a hard glare.

"What do you mean to say?" She asked.

"Singing, dancing, luring rich noble men with your beauty and sexual appeal, this is the job of courtesans isn't it?" Bhavna said with a smirk and Sandhya shook her head, disappointed with herself to even think that another  family member of her husband besides his mother would accept her whole heartedly without dragging matters of the past.

"Your husband is the king of Malwar right?" Sandhya asked and Bhavna frowned glaring at Sandhya.

"I've seen him." Sandhya paused taking her previous seat and looked at Bhavna. "Back in the brothel. He was a regular, maybe because Suryagargh and Malwar is not too far from each other. Navi. His favorite girl's name was Navi, a good friend of mine."

"Sandhya! How dare you to talk about my huaband? Have you forgot your status?" Bhavna was shaking with anger as she got onto her feet.

"No! I haven't forgotten a single thing." Sandhya said getting up and facing Bhavna. "But maybe you forgot who you are talking to" She said.

"You might be a born princess and now a queen but I am also an Emperor's wife. You better watch your words." Sandhya stated.

"Emperor's wife?" Bhavna mocked. "Even this divinly pure vermillion and mangalsutra are now tainted because someone like you is wearing it. You were a prostitute and will always be known as a prostitute." Bhavna gritted out.

"Prostitute." Sandhya laughed. "Do you know why women like me are courtesans? Because men from family like yours come to us. If my vermillion and Mangalsutra is tainted because I am a courtesan, yours is not pure either  Because your husband while being married still visits the brothel."

"Don't compare yourself to me, Sandhya. I am a true queen, there is royal blood running in my veins." Bhavna said.

"It's true. May I ask something? If you were just a commoner and your husband a king, your child would also have royal blood running in his veins and would be a prince or princess?" Sandhya asked.

"Of course, they still will be children of the king." Bhavna said, holding her head high.

"So it means that back at the brothel the girl who was born a few months ago also is a princess." Sandhya said. Bhavna frowned and looked at Sandhya trying to understand what she was hinting at.

"What do you mean?" Bhavna asked.

"I mean that Jiji sa, your husband has fathered a daughter with a courtesan." Bhavna eyes widened in shock after what Sandhya revealed.

"You are lying!"

"What will I get from lying? You can go and see it with your own eyes. That child is the exact replica of the king of Malwar, the same eyes, nose, hair. So she is a princess right?" Sandhya asked again.

"No! She is a sin." Bhavna was shaking in anger, her face became red and hands in a tight fist.

"How come? You said it yourself that as long as the king is the father, the child is a princess."

"Sandhya!" Bhavna raised her hand to slap Sandhya but Sandhya held her hand, stopping her.

"Don't you dare. I did not want hurt you. I just wanted to show you the mirror. The blood and lineage, you are so proud of is also for the girl in the brothel. Why? Why if she was born out of your womb then it would have been a blessing but since a courtesan birthed her, the same blessing became a sin? What's the fault of the child? The truth is that us daughters of courtesans are also of noble blood but the difference is that our fathers forsake us at birth and hence the society also rejects us. But if our fathers would show some courage and accept us, then we would also be respected and would not have to become courtesans." Sandhya said and left Bhavna there alone in the garden.

At first she did not intend to tell Bhavna anything about her husband. Because he had made it clear to Navi that he did not want to have any connections with the child. It would be useless to talk of it and it would only hurt Bhavna but she should have stayed in her limits.