Page 33 of Twisted Alliance

She saw a wall with stacks of books, but it didn’t look like a library. There was a huge table at the center, and two men were talking softly.

They paused and turned towards her.

“Ishani?” Mihir Thakvar asked.

Ishani froze, looking at her father-in-law and another older man seated opposite him.

“Y-yes,” she replied, realizing her father-in-law didn’t recognize her because she was wearing the veil.

She was used to wearing it when she met strangers. Only her brother and limited male household saw her without the veil.

“Come in, child,” Mihir Thakvar said with a smile.

Feeling relieved at seeing the smile, she stepped inside.

“Are you feeling better now?” he asked.

“Yes.” She knew Mihir Thakvar thought she was recovering from the journey from Gujjar to Thakvar province.

He smiled, shaking his head. “Shivay should have stayed home tending to you. Now that you are fine, I’ll insist he work from home rather than going to the city each day. He has already set up an office in the mansion.”

“I-it’s okay,” she said, hoping her devil husband would continue leaving her and going to the city during the day.

She couldn’t imagine having him around to torture her in person all day as well.

“Sorry, I… I didn’t mean to disturb you,” she said hesitantly. “I was looking for the library.”

“Don’t worry, you weren’t disturbing us at all,” Mihir Thakvar replied. “Jignesh and I were going through the monthly accounts for the trust. It’s something I hate doing but have to.”

She looked at the other man, who must be the accountant.

“The library is on the second and third floors,” her father-in-law stated. “It’s very big, but it hasn’t been updated for a while. I have donated most of the books to the schools in the province, but there are still a lot of books left that are my favorites.”

Ishani had heard about the schools that Mihir Thakvar built and ran through the trust organization, along with hospitals and many charitable organizations.

One of the many things she had heard about the Thakvar province was how the women were encouraged to shed their veils. Most of the Thakvar women didn’t wear veils in the household or villages, leaving their faces and hair uncovered.

But Mihir Thakvar hadn’t asked her to remove her veil. He knew she wouldn’t be comfortable shedding something ingrained into her since childhood.

He smiled at her. “I will take you to the library. Just give me a few minutes to finish the accounting. You can wait here, but we might bore you with the accounting talk.”

She shook her head. “I took care of all the household accounts for my brother. I enjoy accounting.”

Mihir Thakvar’s face brightened. “That’s great to hear. I heard that you play thebinmusical instrument wonderfully. We have one in the prayer room. You can use it. Or I can order a new one for you.”

She hadn’t packed her bin instrument from home because she didn’t think she would stay at the Thakvar mansion for long. But now that her stay didn’t have an end date yet, she craved the serenity that playing the bin offered.

“Thank you. I can use the one in the prayer room.”

“Wonderful.”

He led her to the empty chair at the table before sitting back next to the accountant.

Ishani enjoyed learning more about the trust organization. Based on the conversation and accounts, she confirmed that the money donated for the school, hospital and other programs was only from the Thakvar family, even though other clans used the services.

She made a note to donate a percentage of her meager savings to the noble causes.

The meeting finished, and Mihir Thakvar led her to the Thakvar mansion’s massive library. It was two stories high.

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