Three or four bighas of land—write that off too, and then go beg from door to door. Tell me, did you not have a tongue in your mouth to ask those panchayat elders, what makes you such great men of virtue, that you go around imposing fines on others? Even to look at your faces is a sin.

Hori scolded her, “Be quiet! Don’t talk so insolently. You haven’t yet been caught in the snare of the biradari, or you wouldn’t dare utter a word.”

Dhaniya grew more agitated. “What sin have we committed, that we should fear the biradari? Have we stolen from anyone, cut someone’s crop? To take a woman is not a sin. Yes, to take her and then abandon her, that is a sin. It is not good for a man to be too meek. The result of such meekness is that even dogs come to lick your face. Today, over there, they must be singing your praises—how well you have upheld the honor of the biradari! I must have been cursed to be saddled with a man like you. Never once have I known a day’s peace.”

“Did I go to fall at your father’s feet? He was the one who tied you to my neck.”

“A stone must have fallen on his wits—what can I say to him? Who knows what he saw in you to become so besotted? It’s not as if you were so very handsome.”

The quarrel drifted into banter. Eighty rupees were gone, but at least they had a child worth a hundred thousand. No one could take him away. If Gobar returned home, Dhaniya would be content even in her separate hut.

Hori asked, “Whose child is it?”

Dhaniya replied with a happy face, “It’s Gobar’s, truly.”

“Is he healthy and strong?”

“Yes, he is well.”

That night, as Gobar walked with Jhunia, he trembled as if he had been disgraced. The moment the villagers saw Jhunia, there would be an uproar, wailing from all sides, Dhaniya would hurl curses—these thoughts made his steps falter. He did not fear Hori; he would roar once, then fall silent. It was Dhaniya he feared—she might swallow poison, set the house on fire. No, he could not bring Jhunia home with him now.

But what if Dhaniya refused to let Jhunia enter, chased her with a broom? Where would the poor girl go then? She could not return to her own home. What if she jumped into a well or hanged herself? What then? He sighed deeply. Whose shelter could he seek?

But Amma was not so cruel as to run after her to beat her. In anger, she might hurl a few abuses, but when Jhunia clung to her feet and wept, surely she would feel pity. Until then, he would hide somewhere. When the commotion had died down, he would quietly return one day and persuade Amma. If, in the meantime, he found some work and came home with a few rupees, Dhaniya would have nothing more to say.

Jhunia said, “My heart is pounding. How could I have known you would bring this curse upon me? Who knows what ill-starred moment I first saw you. If you hadn’t come to buy the cow, none of this would have happened. You go ahead and say whatever needs to be said. I’ll come after you.”

Gobar replied, “No, no, you go first and say you were coming home from the market after selling your wares. It got late, and now you can’t go back. By then, I’ll be there.”

Jhunia said anxiously, “Your Amma is very hot-tempered. I am truly afraid…”

What will I do if they start beating me?

Gobur tried to reassure her. “Amma isn’t like that. She’s never even slapped us, not even once—why would she beat you? Whatever she has to say, she’ll say to me. She won’t even speak to you.”

The village was now close. Gobur stopped and said, “Now you go on ahead.”

Jhunia pleaded, “Don’t be long.”

“No, no, I’ll be there in a moment. You go on.”

“I don’t know why, but my heart feels uneasy. I’m angry with you.”

“Why are you so afraid? I’m coming right behind you.”

“It would have been better if we’d just run away somewhere else.”

“When we have our own home, why should we run? You’re worrying for nothing.”

“You’ll come quickly, won’t you?”

“Yes, yes, I’m coming right away.”

“You’re not deceiving me, are you? Sending me home and then slipping away yourself?”

“I’m not that low, Jhunia. When I’ve taken your hand, I’ll stand by you till my last breath.”

Jhunia started towards the house. Gobur stood for a moment, uncertain. Then suddenly, the thought of the shame and reproach hovering over his head took on a terrifying shape before him. What if Amma really does rush to beat her? His feet seemed rooted to the ground. Only a small mango grove separated him from his home. He could see Jhunia’s dark shadow slowly moving away. All his senses were heightened. He thought he heard Amma cursing Jhunia. His mind felt as if an axe was about to fall on his head. It was as though all the blood in his body had dried up.

A moment later, he saw Dhaniya leaving the house, heading somewhere. She must be going to Dada. Perhaps Dada had finished eating and gone to guard the peas. Gobur set off towards the pea field, trampling through the barley and wheat fields as if something was chasing him. There was Dada’s hut. He stopped and crept quietly to sit behind it.

His guess was right. He had barely arrived when he heard Dhaniya’s voice. Oh! It’s all over! Amma is so harsh. She feels not a shred of pity for an orphaned girl. And if I go and confront her, telling her she has no right to speak to Jhunia, all my bravado will vanish. And now Dada