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The lawyer broke off and took a long sip of water.
Wait! What? What condition? And was this the time for a fucking water break?
I took a deep breath and drew on my admittedly sparse reserves of patience. Be cool, Isha. Do not yell at the lawyer. Ma will never forgive you if you do, I told myself sternly.
My heart leapt into my mouth as he began speaking again.
“… That she is either married when this will is read, or agrees to be married within a month of receiving a copy of the will.”
“What nonsense,” roared Bhai Sa, and the lawyer flinched because my brother was not known for his patience either. Although, unlike me, he had a reputation for settling arguments with his fists.
“Dheer, beta, let him finish,” said Ma, trying to be calm.
“This is unacceptable, Ma,” argued Dheer.
“I agree. But I’d like to know exactly how unacceptable it is, so be quiet,” Ma said sternly.
I kept my eyes on the lawyer and desperately prayed for a different ending to that clause. Maybe it was Dadi Sa’s attempt at a joke, although she was the most humourless, nasty being I had ever encountered, who had never made a joke when she was alive, so why would she start now?
“I know this is not very pleasant, Your Highness, but please let me finish,” begged the lawyer.
Diya put a hand on Dheer’s arm and he sat down reluctantly.
“As I was saying, the princess can only inherit the property if she is married, or gets married within the next month.”
I forced myself to speak up.
“And what happens if I don’t agree to be married?” I asked, barely recognising the voice as my own.
“In that case, I regret to say that you don’t inherit the property,” said the lawyer softly.
“That’s okay, Isha. I’ll deed the property to you anyway. We won’t let that nasty cow shaft you like this,” declared Bhai Sa furiously.
But the lawyer shook his head.
“I’m afraid that’s not possible, Your Highness. If the princess does not agree to the terms of the will, the property will be donated to the Goel Foundation.”
There was complete silence in the room for a minute before everyone began to speak at once. Everyone other than me, that is.
The poor lawyer tried to fend off the questions coming at him from all directions, but he looked like he was about to wet his pants. I wondered where Dadi Sa had found him because he didn’t belong to the firm that our family had on retainer. My grandmother had clearly gone to great lengths to keep her will a secret.
When I couldn’t stand it any longer, I stuck two fingers in my mouth and let out a loud, piercing whistle. Everyone fell silent, and my mother shook her head at me disapprovingly.
“Haven’t I told you not to do that in public?”
“I think these are extenuating circumstances, Ma,” I said mildly. “Now, if everyone will just shut the fuck up, I have some questions for the lawyer.”
“Language, Isha,” snapped my mother.
Seriously? Of all the things that mattered right now, she was worried about my language? I ignored her and turned to face the lawyer.
“Mr. Batliwala…”
“My name is Bose,” he interjected.
For fuck’s sake!
“Mr Bose,” I started over through gritted teeth. “Do you mean to tell me that my grandmother actually considered leaving our ancestral property to the Goels?”
