Unmarriageable(35)

‘It’s bad wives like you who cause good men like me to turn to drink. I know it’s Hammy who’s been poisoning you with all this women’s rights crap.’

Hammy hissed, ‘Sammy has a mind of her own, you know.’

‘Oh, shut up, Jaans,’ Sammy said. ‘I was no different when we were dating.’

‘Stop it,’ Bungles said. ‘Both of you. Jaans, don’t speak to my sisters like that.’

Alys returned Jena’s quick pleased look. She too was heartened to see that Bungles had defended his sisters.

‘Dating is different, Sammy.’ Jaans scowled. ‘Once you are lucky enough to become a wife, the rules change.’

‘Oh, come on, Jaans!’ Darsee said. ‘That mentality really needs to change.’

‘It does,’ Bungles said, ‘and in the meantime, Jena is in pain and does not need to be subjected to you two fighting. Alys, please call your home.’

Alys took Darsee’s flip phone as fast as she could, making sure to not accidentally touch him. Stepping outside, she was relieved when her mother answered on the first ring.

‘Thank God you picked up. Jena has been trying to call for ages.’

‘Why?’ Mrs Binat said. ‘Has he proposed?’

‘No! And Ajmer has disappeared.’

‘I know,’ Mrs Binat said gleefully. ‘I told him to drop you both off and come back home so that Bungles has ample time to propose.’

‘What!’

‘And, Alys, you too are ageing by the day. You also need to get married, and plenty of eligible bachelors must be at the polo match to come to your rescue when they find out you need a ride home.’

‘For your information, Mummy, Jena has twisted her ankle and is in a lot of pain. We need to come home immediately. Send the car back.’

‘Tell Bungles to drop you. Allah keray, God willing, he proposes in the car.’

‘If he proposes while she’s in extreme pain, then he’s a sadist.’

‘Who cares when and how a proposal comes. Foolish girl. Sit there and make sure that he asks her to marry him,’ Mrs Binat said, and hung up.

Alys returned indoors. Jena was looking paler and her foot more swollen.

‘Thank you,’ Alys said, returning the phone to Darsee. Why was he staring at her so intently? If he’d deemed her not good-looking when she was dressed up for a wedding, he was probably having conniptions at how she looked after a strenuous walk.

‘My pleasure,’ Darsee said, slipping the phone back into his pocket.

‘Valentine always comes to the rescue,’ Hammy said, not pleased with the way Darsee was looking at Alys. ‘Don’t you, Valentine?’

‘No, I don’t.’ Darsee turned to Alys. ‘Were you able to get through?’

‘Yes,’ Alys said, and murmured that Ajmer had misunderstood her directions and gone home. ‘Bungles, could you please drop us? Our uncle lives in Jamshed Colony.’

She ignored the look Hammy-Sammy shared. Jamshed Colony had once been a very prestigious residential area of Lahore and had only seen a sharp decline in the last fifteen years, as commercial enterprises turned it into one big shopping centre.

‘I think we should take Jena straight for an X-ray,’ Bungles said. ‘There’s a first-rate private clinic ten minutes away.’

‘It’s a good facility,’ Darsee said.

‘Thank you for the offer,’ Alys said to Bungles, even as she stopped herself from informing Darsee that no one had asked his opinion. ‘But I think we should go home.’

‘Look,’ Bungles said, ‘the swelling is getting worse even as we speak.’

‘I want to go home,’ Jena said. ‘My uncle is a doctor—’

‘Doctor of?’ Darsee said.

‘Pulmonology,’ Alys said.

‘Your sister doesn’t need her lungs heard,’ Darsee said. ‘She needs her ankle X-rayed.’

Alys said coldly, ‘My uncle knows the best doctors for every ailment.’

‘Jena,’ Bungles said, pleading, ‘what if something is broken? You’ll just be wasting time going home. Let the clinic take a look. Clearly your pain is unbearable.’

‘It’s not that bad,’ Jena said, even as she groaned.

‘Okay,’ Alys said. ‘Clinic.’

She stared as Bungles proceeded to lift Jena in his arms and carry her out of the clubhouse. It was like the scene in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility when Marianne Dashwood slipped in the rain and Willoughby carried her home in his arms. It was not a good omen, Alys thought, as she snatched her sister’s shoe off the floor and hurried after them. Marianne and Willoughby did not enjoy a happy ending, no matter how promising their start. Worse, everyone outside was now going to witness Bungles being a gallant knight, and Jena, who had not asked to be swept up in his arms, was going to be the talk of the town.



Hammy waited until the club door shut behind Alys before saying, ‘What did Bungles just do? Jena could easily have walked. It’s all a big act.’

‘I did see her ankle twist,’ Jaans said. ‘I think she’s really hurt.’

‘It’s a ploy,’ Hammy said firmly. ‘What do girls like this call it – catching a man, trapping a man, grabbing a man. Right, Sammy?’