Always and Forever

Chapter Seven

 "Son, pour me a whiskey please," said Ram Satrap wearily. He settled himself in a big armchair in the barroom while he watched his son pour the yellow-golden liquid into the baccarat glass that he and his wife had bought in Venice all those years ago. It had been expensive and something to be treasured. But, the years since then had been kinder to them than expected and their entire house had been transformed from a declining relic of the last century to a gorgeous heritage bungalow filled with exquisite art, decor and furnishings fit for a king of the last century.

"Son, your mother had a talk with you this evening..."

"Yes papa. You have nothing to fear."

Aman handed over his whiskey and poured one for himself although he had drunk enough for one night.

Mr. Ram stared at his handsome son who had only strengthened their wealth instead of squandering it like everyone expected him to. He smiled as he recalled people speaking in hushed whispers of how he reminded them of his grandfather, the man who had almost ruined them by his gambling and womanising. All of their properties in Bangalore and Chennai had been run through and only the estate in Ooty had been left to Mr. Ram when his father had died in an accident.

He had come back from England with a Masters in Economics, which had been only a rite of passage before he inherited the family's wealth. His step-mother, a garrulous, vulgar woman had told him that the estate was all he had, and that too was reduced by half. He could go abroad and engineer himself a good life, sell the estate and settle his step-mother in town with her relatives.

However, Ram Satrap had more steel in him than his mild-mannered, pleasant demeanour implied. He saw that although or maybe because the estate manager had been pilfering generous amounts of their profits every year, he had kept the estate in good condition. He knew there was enough income to keep them going for some time. He began by seizing full control of the estate by firing the manager. There were no explanations given to the righteous indignation and tearful pleas of the man.

He had then reduced their household staff, took over managing the household finances and begun to micro manage every bit of the estate, turning a deaf year to his step-mother' badgering to sell up. He also reduced her allowance to a quarter of what it had been and refused to give her anything more despite her malicious and hateful threats. His step-mother had been a low-born woman who had managed to snare his father during a moment of weakness and it had almost ruined a house that could trace its lineage to three centuries and were cousins of the royal family of Mysore thrice removed.

His trials and dealings with the lady had convinced him of the bitter truth that one did not marry below one's station in life. To do so would only bring about ruin not only to the family's wealth but to the family itself.

He had met his Sheila during his days in boarding school. They would meet every Friday when all the girls and boys of the five schools around the vicinity were allowed to meet and greet each other over tea, supervised by their teachers.

She had been his first and only love and a source of great strength during his trials. He wanted his son to settle with a woman who would be a comfort to him during good times and bad and in his experiences a woman who came from bad stock was usually bad. The ones who had parents born from poverty and moved above their circumstances through an advantageous marriage were the worst, they taught their children how to do the same and instead of one grabby spouse, you had to deal with their opportunist parents too. It was a mess best not dealt with, especially by people like themselves who were entrusted with the responsibility of passing on their inheritance to the next generation and preserving their name.

Aman had done a wonderful job by increasing their wealth to such unimaginable heights and it was something that had made him and his mother very proud indeed. And now he had found a good woman just like his mother. Nothing more could complete their happiness.