To Love A Murderer | ✔

17 | The Truth

"I have reasons to believe that all of these recent incidents are connected," said one of the women at the head of the table, whom Lilavati had not been introduced to.

"Why would people do that, however?"

The question posed to the woman made her pause and think, and then shrug.

"They are connected somehow, perhaps done by the same set of people with some sinister motive. What that motive is or who those people are is not known to me."

Lilavati's eyes scanned the room full of women, all in various states of thought and varying expressions on their faces. She caught her breath as her eyes passed over—and then came back to rest on one particular woman.

Madhuraa.

She was silent, her gaze directed downwards. She stood stiffly, flinching at the smallest of sounds or motions around her. One of her friends who sat next to her placed a hand on her shoulder in solidarity, only to face Madhuraa making a full-body flinch away from the hand as though it was a dagger itself. 

The action earned her a shocked look from the women around her, and her eyes dropped down when they began to dampen.

Lilavati winced when she noticed this, knowing that she herself was the cause of her trauma.

She averted her gaze from the woman, hoping that the latter would not notice her presence for obvious reasons.

Lilavati tried to focus on what the women in the front of the room were debating about: how the clues they had found could possibly be related.

"—that cloth of the eunuch appears familiar to me, it must be a commoner's guise because the cloth is very coarse—"

"—Krishna's new wife killed an intruder—"

"—it must be from Chedi or Kashi—"

"—someone had the heavens-damned audacity to try and harm Bhadra Jiji—"

The clamour rang loudly in Lilavati's ears as various threads of conversation and debates, some spoken in soft tones while others in the heat of anger that rises when fierce debate occurs, wove themselves around her. She was not able to focus clearly on one single conversation, considering that some would break in the middle or turn another path entirely as was the nature of talk.

Amidst this sea of people speaking fondly and knowingly, she suddenly felt lonelier than ever before, and she desperately missed Iltani.

I miss you, Ilu, but your duties to your temple and your lady come first. I hope you return when you have the time.

Lilavati knew that she would not see her dearest friend for another few months at the least, considering the distance between the two places.

She was also glad, she considered, that not many had seemed to recognise her. Or there might have been a bloodbath.

She snorted silently.

"Alright my ladies, I think that's enough for today," cut in Bhadra, her gaze sweeping over the crowd of women.

All eyes swung to her.

The queen smiled and then dismissed them, and the women left.

Lilavati did not move as the women rose and walked in different directions, some in pairs or groups while others were alone. 

Some time later, she was the only one in the room.

She heard sniffling.

Lilavati raised her head.