"I wasn't aware I was." And perhaps his mockery was not for the term, but the man. "My mother was from India. Now, she's an American citizen. She's lived in California since before my birth."
But although Badriyah had taken on some American traditions, she maintained close ties with the expat India community in San Diego. Eliza had done her homework and she was sure she knew more about Rajvinder and his mother than they knew about her.
That that would change if he agreed to her proposal caused Eliza a certain amount of disquiet. Rajvinder was not an easy man.
"That must have been frightening for her," Eliza said, commenting on the move Badriyah had made to California thirty-six years ago.
"What?" he asked, sounding startled, pausing in handing over a ticket for retrieving his car to the valet.
She waited for the valet to leave before saying, "Moving to America alone, raising a child without the extended family. I'm surprised your mother chose to do it."
Especially after being raised sheltered and pampered as Badriyah had been.
Rajvinder gave Eliza a censorious look. "It wasn't her choice."
"What do you mean?" Had she been forced to leave India when she wouldn't give up her baby?
That sounded so draconian, but after living more of her life in the palace than she'd live out of it, Eliza understood that draconian wasn't out of the realm of possibility for families like the Singhs and the Acharyas. Just like everywhere else, some Indian families, lived with one foot in the past.
"Is that really any of your business?"
"Probably not. I'm a terribly curious person." It's what made her a good scientist. Eliza cut her gaze away, not because she was embarrassed, but because she thought she maybe was supposed to be. "Tabish auntie is always reminding me to rein it in."
"Curiosity is not a bad thing," he said like his word was truth and there couldn't be another.
Eliza smiled a little. He was so arrogant, but she was used to arrogant men. Even Dev, who had a much more laid-back side than other men in his family had carried a certain level of arrogance.
"That was almost a compliment," she teased, wondering where the confidence to do so came from.
"Truth is truth." He made a dismissive gesture. "You're a beautiful woman, I’m sure you don't need compliments from me."
Eliza had never considered herself beautiful. Not even average height at 5'4", she had moderate curves, nothing to write home about. Her hair was a honey blonde now, but she used to dye it a pretty chestnut brown to better fit into the Indian household that made up her surrogate family.
"I'm hardly beautiful."
"You're trying to deny that there are plenty of men, and most likely women, in your life as well, that have verbally appreciated your beauty." He sounded disappointed in her.
But Eliza could not imagine why. "I look nothing like the princesses who have come before me."
And Tabish auntie did not believe in swelling a girl's head with praise. From the age of ten, Eliza had been raised to be a princess in the House of Mahapatras, but she had been expected to be a humble one.
"Anyway, until recently, I was too busy pursuing my doctorate in chemistry to notice how men saw me, much less if any of them liked what they saw."
Truth be told, Eliza was as introverted as it got. She didn't let people in. She'd lost too many to take the risk, but even developing casual friendships wasn't something she found a comfortable thing to do.
"None of the men around you even tried to break your academic concentration?" Rajvinder asked with clear disbelief.
"I was engaged to be married." She'd been promised to Dev since before going to university, but she didn't think that was something she needed to share right then. "I never pretended to be single."
"To the nephew that died along with my sperm donor?" Rajvinder asked, like he was trying to work something out.
"Yes."
Rajvinder touched her arm, his expression solemn. "I am sorry."
"Thank you. He was my best friend." Eliza surprised herself with how much his genuine offer of sympathy touched her.
"You said that earlier, I didn't realize there was more to your relationship."
And this was not a man with a high tolerance for only having half the picture. She was sure of that, which made his ignorance about his father's family odd. The only way he could have not known about his father and cousin's deaths was if he willfully avoided news of the Mahapatras Singhs.
That would imply that his bitterness toward his father's family ran much more deeply than Eliza would have expected from a man who had made such a success of his life.
And that did not bode well for her plans.
"An engagement would not stop all men from pursuing you," he said breaking into her thoughts.
"What can I say?" she asked, unsure why they were still on this topic. "If they pursued, I wasn't aware."
"If I had been one of them, you would have noticed," he said with unwavering confidence.
She had no doubt.
A meticulously clean, dark blue Tesla Roadster pulled up, the valet jumping out almost immediately.
"Why are you here?" Rajvinder asked as he opened the door on the passenger side and then indicated she should get in.
Not sure what to say in answer to that question, Eliza slid into her seat, appreciating the leather interior and high tech, but beautifully designed dashboard and features.
Dev had loved cars and had wanted one of the limited-edition Roadsters, but Grandfather had said no. He wasn't indulging Dev with a two-hundred-thousand-dollar car, much less the limited edition. The Mahapatras dynastic coffers weren't as full as they once had been.
Adhip uncle had never pretended that they weren't all looking forward to the infusion of capital her inheritance would bring upon her marriage. Dev hadn’t liked that kind of talk though, telling her she needed have her trustees protect her inheritance.
But money had never been something Eliza cared about.
As long as she could pursue her academic endeavors, that had all been that mattered to her. And she'd fought to pursue those interests, unwilling to go to finishing school instead of university.
"Trisanu is not in need of a nurse, is he?" Rajvinder asked as he settled into the driver's seat, showing he did indeed have his own healthy dose of curiosity, because the question so obviously hadn't been prompted by concern.
"No." She clicked her seatbelt into place, appreciating the new car smell of the interior. "The family thought I should meet you."
Which was true, but such a small part of the truth, Eliza felt guilty not offering more.
Since this whole plan had been her idea, Eliza had insisted on seeing it through. It was always going to be her having this discussion with Rajvinder, despite both Dadaji and Tabish auntie's protests.
Grandfather had tried to say it should be him discussing Elizah's plan with Badriyah, not even Rajvinder. With what she knew of Rajvinder, Eliza had been sure that was a recipe for disaster. Tabish auntie had tried to say the discussion should be between Grandfather and Rajvinder, but again Eliza had refused.
She was an adult woman and she would keep her promise to Dev herself.
She'd thought her statement innocuous enough, but Rajvinder's gaze zeroed in on her like a shark sniffing blood in the water. "Why?" His expression demanded truth.