Chapter 12 - Alice's Grandfather

When Rishabh arrived at Alice's house, he couldn't believe his eyes. He double-checked Google Maps and the address Alice had sent to him to make sure he was not at the wrong address. The house was at least eight times bigger than his and more well located as well. It was much closer to London than his house and was in convenient proximity to several superstores and public transport connections. It was more worthy of the name "mansion" than "house." Its white washed walls rose high above Rishabh's head as he tried to find his way to the main entrance across the front garden. After having passed endless golden coloured pillars holding the structure of the building together, Rishabh was finally greeted by a servant. Looking at his uniform, Rishabh guessed he was a butler.

The butler led him straight inside as he was expecting him today. Although the young man was earlier than Alice had told him he would be. Alice's grandfather had told the butler to bring any visitors straight to him. Hence, he showed Rishabh the way to the study, where Alice's grandfather usually welcomed his visitors.

As Rishabh walked across the corridors, he saw several elegantly carved statues and old-fashioned paintings, the kind that depicted scenes from the bible. There were tiny golden chandeliers above his head every ten metres or so. He sneaked a peak inside the rooms with their doors slightly ajar, only to find them empty and dark. 'What a waste,' he thought, 'about a hundred homeless people could have found a home in such a place. Instead, it is just a void of empty space.'

As Rishabh arrived at the study, he was flabberghasted. The dome shaped ceiling, decorated with a huge golden chandelier, made him feel like he had entered the chambers of God. But instead of God, Devil's shadow lurked in its corners. "You have a visitor, sir." announced the butler before leaving the room.

"Are you Alice's boyfriend?" asked her grandfather, a hunch-backed and wrinkled old man of at least 95 years of age. He was clutching a brown cane with a silver snake head handle in his right hand. The only other person Rishabh had seen to be this old was Queen Elizabeth II.
Rishabh nodded nervously.
The old man scoffed menacingly and asked, "Do you know I served in His Majesty's army in India?"
Rishabh shook his head. "No, sir." he replied softly.
"Yes, well, I served there from around '43 to '47, working my way up the ranks. We were told to treat your kind as subordinates." He said, spitting as he enunciated his last few words. "And then we were sent home. What do I find here when I come back?"
Rishabh's face was burning red. His blood curdled in his veins as his throat tightened up.
The old man continued, "I came here to find my son asking us to accept one of yours as our daughter-in-law!" His eyes started to show a tinge of sadness now. "He didn't even speak to us for years, for that woman."
Rishabh's face was so red-hot that he was surprised by the absence of smoke emanating from them. And yet he could not help feeling some sympathy for the old man fiddling his way around the study to try to find a chair. He did not offer Rishabh to take a seat.
"And guess what?" he asked rhetorically. "She wasn't even strong enough to bear a child of my lineage. Died instantly after Alice was born."
"Well," Rishabh coughed, trying to clear the lump in his throat, "a lot of women have died during childbirth to date, sadly." He argued. "Depending on which country the delivery took place in, the number of maternity deaths in the 1990s were pretty high."
The old man ignored his argument and continued with his story. "She took everything from me!" he wailed. "She took my son from me. I don't know what kind of black magic she did on him before dying, that he couldn't even survive 5 years after her death." trying to control his sobs, he continued in a hushed tone, "He took his own life. And then my lovely wife followed him shortly afterwards."
Rishabh almost took a step towards Alice's grandfather to comfort him in his grief. But he stopped as the old man gave him a grimacing look that reminded him of the murderers he had seen in the movies. The look they had right before stabbing their victims.
"And now another one is here!" shouted the old man, jumping out of his seat and collapsing instantly onto the marble floor. "What do you want now, huh? Do you want to take my granddaughter as well?"
"Just to prom." replied Rishabh, just as Alice burst into the room. "What are you doing here?" she asked. "Aren't we getting late to prom?" She took his hand in hers and left the room, avoiding looking at her grandfather. As soon as they exited, the butler went in to tend to Alice's grandfather.
Once they were out in the corridors again, "I'm so sorry." she said. "I thought you were coming at 5 p.m. Why didn't you text me you were here?"
"Well, I was so surprised by the palace you live in," he retorted, "with butlers and all, that it slipped my mind. How come you never told me you live in a mansion?"
"I didn't want you to look at me differently," she answered, "like I'm a rich snob."
"I would never think of you as a snob." Rishabh said with genuity. "Well, maybe a little." He joked.
They both burst out laughing while tears shone in their eyes as they passed underneath the chandeliers, hand in hand.