woman, misled by
vanity and his courteous manner, had shamelessly offered him what she
termed her love and forced him to play the Joseph to a modern Mrs.
Potiphar.

CHAPTER XV

THE FEAST OF THE GODDESS KALI

The Rains were nearing their end, and with them the Darjeeling Season was
drawing to a close. To Noreen Daleham it had lost its savour since Dermot's
departure. Her feelings towards Ida had undergone a radical change; her
admiration of and affection for her old schoolfellow had vanished. Her eyes
were opened, and she now saw plainly the true character of the woman whom
once she was proud to call her friend. The girl wondered that she could
have ever been deceived, for she now understood the many innuendoes that
had been made in her hearing against Mrs. Smith, as well as many things in
that lady's own behaviour that had perplexed her at the time.

But towards the man her feelings were frankly anger and contempt. He had
rudely awakened her from a beautiful dream; for that she could never
forgive him. Her idol was shattered, never again to be made whole, so she
vowed in the bitterness of her desolate soul. It was not friendship that
she had felt for him--she realised that now. It was love. She had given him
her whole heart in a girl's first, pure, ideal love. And he had despised
the gift and trampled it in the mire of unholy passion. She knew that it
was the love of her life. Never could any man be to her what he had been.

But what did it matter to Dermot? she thought bitterly. She had passed out
of his life. She had never been anything in it. He had been amused for an
idle moment by her simplicity, tool that she was. What he had done, had
risked for her, he would have done and risked for any other woman. Why did
he not write to her after his departure as he might have done? She almost
hoped that he would, so that she could answer him and pour out on him, if
only on paper, the scorn and disgust that filled her. But no; she would not
do that. The more dignified course would be to ignore his letter
altogether. If only she could hurt him she felt that she would accept any
other man's offer of marriage. But even then he wouldn't care. He had
always stood aside in Darjeeling and let others strive for her favour. And
she was put to the test, for first Charlesworth and then Melville had
proposed to her.

Though Noreen's heart was frozen towards her quondam friend, Ida never
perceived the fact. For the elder woma