hment. He had almost
forgotten that side of things. Right or wrong--a tribute to Tara indeed!
It jerked him uncomfortably; almost annoyed him.

"Unfair on Grandfather," he said with decision. "For every reason, you
ought to marry--an enlightened wife. Think--of Aruna."

"I _do_ think of her. It is _she_ who ought to marry."

The emphasis was not lost on Roy:--and it hurt. Last night's poignant
scene was intimately with him still. "I'm afraid you won't persuade her
to," he said in a contained voice.

"I am quite aware of _that_. And the reason--even a blind man could not
fail to see."

They looked straight at one another for a long moment. Roy did not
swerve from the implied accusation.

"Well, it's no fault of mine, Dyan," he said, recalling Aruna's
confession that tacitly freed him from blame. "_She_
understands--there's a bigger thing between us than our mere selves.
Whatever I'm free to do for her, I'll gladly do--always. It was chiefly
to ease her poor heart that I risked the Delhi adventure. I felt I had
lost the link with _you_."

"Not surprising." Dyan smoked for a few minutes in silence. He was
clearly moved by the fine frankness of Roy's attitude. "All the same,"
he said at last, "it was not quite broken. You have given me new life;
and because you did it--for her, I swear to you, as long as she needs
me, I will not fail her." He held out his hand. Roy's closed on it
hard.

"Later in the morning I will come back and see her," Dyan added, in a
changed voice--and went out.

* * * * *

Later in the morning, Roy himself was allowed to see her. With the help
of his stick he limped to her verandah balcony, where she lay in a long
chair, with cushions and rugs, the poor arm in a sling. Thea was with
her. She had heard as much of last night's doings as any one would ever
know. So she felt justified in letting the poor dears have half an hour
together.

Her withdrawal was tactfully achieved; but there followed an awkward
silence. For the space of several minutes it seemed that neither of the
'poor dears' knew quite what to make of their privilege, though they
were appreciating it from their hearts.

Roy found himself too persistently aware of the arm that had been broken
to save him; of the new bond between them, signed and sealed by that one
unforgettable kiss.

As for Aruna--while pain anchored her body to earth, her unstable heart
swayed disconcertingly from heights of