Part 2, Chapters 12-13 Summary

In chapter twelve, "Friends for Trade," Jahanara and Isa delight in their daughter, meeting often in the secret house. Jahanara takes the baby, Arjumand, with her almost every night to see Isa. Khondamir, busy with trade and disappointed with a girl child, ignores the baby completely.

Work continues on the Taj Mahal. The labor is arduous and dangerous. Jahanara regrets that many men have died in its construction, crushed by falling stones. There are always more workers, however, to take their places as the building of the mausoleum seems a sacred task. Slowly the Taj Mahal rises, grand and white and beautiful.

Aurangzeb returns from fighting in Persia. He has adopted a strict form of Islam, which angers and insults the Hindu majority. Jahanara looks closely to see how the nobles have arrayed themselves behind her two brothers, but...