“Of course, Raja.” Vishwajeet was all simpering sweetness again, but I was certain even this was not preferable to silence. “If the rani wants privacy in the mornings, we will honor her wish.”
“Thank you,” I said.
“But?—”
Curse that man. There was always a “but.”
“Given the rani’s difficulties,” Vishwajeet continued, “I propose that a holy woman also stays with her. The rani understands the importance of the Spirits’ good favor. She is, after all, Spirits blessed, so there can be no objection to having a monk nearby.”
I stared at him, willing my brain to think of an excuse, but nothing came. “I... I don’t think that’s necessary. I am sure that with time and privacy, I will recover quickly.”
There were so many better reasons, but I couldn’t think of any of them.
“Surely we should do whatever we can to garner the Spirits’ favor.” Aru looked from me to a now preening Vishwajeet. “A monk will have no interest in gossip. And if having her here will help our son...”
He let his words trail off. He didn’t ask me how I could say no, which was for the best since I had no answer.
Finally, I nodded. Aru smiled widely and hugged my shoulders with one hand as he let the other rest on my stomach. Again. What had started as an endearing gesture now felt more like an invasion of my space.
“Excellent,” Vishwajeet said. “I know just the woman. She is an adept healer and has a connection with the adaiman. Something the two of you share, I believe.”
He didn’t bother to try to hide the victory in his smile.
Aru was thrilled. “It was meant to be. With so much of the Spirits’ favor, our son will surely thrive.”
No protest would have stopped them now, so I smiled and accepted the inevitable: We had been outplayed, and Vishwajeet’s monk informant would be coming.
All I could do was prepare.
Vishwajeet must have moved quickly, because a servant came to my quarters just before midday to inform me of the monk’s arrival at the palace. Chaaya thanked them and closed the doors firmly when they left. The sound echoed through the sitting room, which seemed so much bigger with only the three of us inside. Every noise bounced around the smooth white walls and up to the high ceilings.
“You welcomed a spy into our midst.” Parushi tossed pillows off the sofas and chairs and into a pile in the corner. None of us enjoyed all the extra squishiness, and now we could arrange things just as we liked without any glaring judgments. “At best. She could be an assassin.”
“I didn’t have much of a choice.” I nestled into the peacock blue pillows on the rosewood sofa as I sipped my ginger tea. Prior to my pregnancy, I’d only requested it on rare occasion, but now I asked Chaaya for several cups a day because it helped settle my stomach. “And I doubt Vishwajeet would be brazen enough to send an assassin. At least this way we’ll know exactly who the spy is.”
“Fair enough.” Parushi tilted her head back and forth as if weighing her options. “But I’ll be keeping a close eye on her. You’re not allowed to die without an heir?—I have no interest in people discovering that I’m your cousin.”
“And I have no interest in dying,” I said dryly. “Stop pretending I’m arguing.”
“What a mess,” Parushi mumbled. She stopped and stared at me, tapping the flat of her palm with a sheathed dagger. “I wonder if she has any idea what she’s stepping into.”
“Doubtful,” I said. “At least not the full extent of it. Vishwajeet doesn’t seem the type to tell anyone everything he knows. He wants to be the only one that can put the pieces together.”
“Well, I won’t be one of his pieces.” A wicked smile crept across Parushi’s face. “I’m sure I can make this so-called monk regret coming here.”
“No!” I snapped. “We need to be nice to her. She’s a monk, for Spirits’ sake! And we don’t want to give her more reasons to continue to work with Vishwajeet.”
“Welcoming her with open arms isn’t going to change anything.” Parushi looked at Chaaya for support, but the tiny woman did her best to blend in with the wall. “She’s going to report to Vishwajeet no matter what.”
“I’m not saying she’s going to become our friend, but we don’t need to provoke her,” I said. Parushi still looked mutinous, so I appealed to her again. “Please, I’m trusting you as a cousin and a friend. Be kind. Or fair, at the very least.”
With a tilt of her head, Parushi acquiesced, and not a moment too soon, because a knock echoed around the room.
Chaaya opened the door, revealing Vishwajeet standing next to a woman, his hand raised as if he was ready to knock yet again.
“Forgive me,” Vishwajeet said.
One day I would make the man say those words and mean them.
