"Let me look at you, Frank. You have improved. You've grown handsomer, I think. Aren't you going to kiss me?"

He did it with so little fervour that she made a grimace and thought "It's quite time that I came to bring him to heel. Not much loving ardour about that. I wonder if he kisses the jungle girl as coldly."

Aloud she said:

"Now let's go down to _tiffin_. I'm starving. Will you please secure a table and I'll follow you in a few minutes?"

During the meal she chattered gaily, criticised the dresses and appearance of the other women in the dining-room and, chaffing him merrily on his want of appet.i.te, ate a substantial meal herself. Mrs.

Dermot, anxious to befriend him, had thought that she could help him by inviting him to bring Mrs. Norton to tea with her that afternoon. When during _tiffin_ he hesitatingly conveyed the invitation Violet said:

"Oh, I don't want to be bothered with women, my dear boy. Take me out and show me the place and the shops and the _Gymkhana_--what do you call it here? Oh, the Amus.e.m.e.nt Club. No, stop a minute. Mrs. Dermot is your dear friend from Ranga Duar, isn't she? So she's here. And the other, the jungle girl, where is she?"

Frank flushed as he replied:

"I suppose you mean Miss Benson? She's with Mrs. Dermot."

"So you're all staying at the same hotel. How very nice for you! But, my dear Frank, doesn't it strike you that it'll be rather dull for me staying by myself here? You'll have to change to this hotel."

"I asked about rooms here; but they told me they're full up now."

"I'll see if I can't get round the manager and make him find a corner for you. Well, now for this tea-party. Yes; on second thoughts I'll go.

I'd like to see the ladies who've been consoling you for my absence."

"Oh, nonsense, Violet. They haven't. They're just friends, that's all,"

he said irritably.

"Of course, dear; I know. Well, tell me what these 'just friends' are like."

She certainly derived little idea of them from Wargrave's lame attempt at description. And when later she and he were shown into Mrs. Dermot's sitting-room at tea-time Noreen and Muriel found his picture of her as a meek, long-suffering, neglected wife very unlike the radiant, condescending lady who patronised them from the start. She showed a tendency to address most of her conversation to the girl, despite the latter's evident disinclination to talk, or perhaps because of it; for the older woman seemed to take an impish delight in teasing her about her friendship with Wargrave and their relations as nurse and patient, although it was apparent that her malicious humour made the others uncomfortable. She paraded her authority over Frank and treated him like a hen-pecked husband. When finally she bore him away to escort her to the Amus.e.m.e.nt Club she left the two girls speechless behind her. But not for the same reason. Noreen was furious.

"What a hateful woman!" she exclaimed as soon as her visitor departed.

"And I pitied her as a poor neglected wife! What do you think of her?"

Muriel only shook her head, as she sat looking despondent and thoroughly miserable. Mrs. Norton's malice affected her little, but her undoubted loveliness had made her despair. How could an insignificant little person like herself, she thought, hope to win affection from any man whom this radiant beauty deigned to favour? Frank could not help adoring so attractive a woman. He must have loved her in Rohar, although he said that he had not. Muriel felt that she could have resigned herself more easily to his keeping his word to Violet, if the latter had been less good-looking.

Mrs. Dermot broke in on her miserable thoughts.

"Come, dear, we'll take the children for their walk and then go on later to the Amus.e.m.e.nt Club."

"I couldn't go to the Club this evening, Noreen. I really couldn't. We'd only see that woman again--with Frank."

"Well, what of it? We're not going to let her think we're afraid to face her. I've no patience with Mr. Wargrave. Whatever he can see in her I can't think. You're worth twenty of her, darling. Shallow, conceited.

She neglected? She badly treated? My sympathy is with her husband now.

What fools men are!" And Noreen swept indignantly from the room.

Every moment of the hour that they spent in the Club that evening was a lifetime of torture to Muriel. She had faced a charging tiger with less dread than she did the crowd at the tea-tables in the rink. She fancied that every woman who looked at her was laughing in her sleeve at her, that every man who bowed or spoke to her was pitying her. Suddenly her heart seemed to stop beating, for she saw Frank sitting with Mrs. Norton and two other ladies, her Calcutta cousins, as well as a couple of men in the British Infantry regiment at Lebong. They were looking at her; and she felt that Violet was pointing her out as the deserted maiden.

She tried to smile bravely when her rival waved her hand and called out a cheery "good evening" to her and Noreen, who answered the greeting with an almost defiant air of unconcern.

For days afterwards she saw practically nothing of Wargrave, who was obliged to be in constant attendance on Mrs. Norton. Violet had induced the manager of her hotel to find a room for him; and he was forced to transfer himself and his belongings to the Eastern Palace. She monopolised him, insisted on his taking her shopping in the mornings, calling in the afternoons or to Lebong to watch the polo, or else playing tennis with her at the Amus.e.m.e.nt Club. He dined with her every evening and escorted her to the dances, concerts or theatricals that filled the nights during the Season. He hardly recognised her in the gay social b.u.t.terfly with seemingly never a care in the world; and she made him wonder every day if she had any love left for him or wanted him to have any for her. For she showed no desire to be sentimental and treated him very much as she had in the early days of their acquaintance. She never discussed their future. He had not the moral courage to ask her outright if she still wanted to come to him. She gave no indication of being happy only in his company; for she soon began to release him from attendance on her on occasions in favour of some one or other of the new men friends that she rapidly made. He took advantage of this to see something of Muriel again.

But this did not suit Mrs. Norton. Even if she did not want Frank herself that was no reason why the girl should have him. She tried being jealous and insisted on his breaking off the friendship; but, although he hated the scenes that ensued, he resolutely refused to do so. Then Violet adopted another plan. She pretended to be convinced by his a.s.surances that it meant nothing and declared that she wished to be friends with Muriel. She went out of her way to be nice to the girl when they met in public and at last invited her to tea at the Eastern Palace Hotel on an afternoon on which she knew Mrs. Dermot to be engaged.

Muriel accepted because she did not know very well how to refuse.

When she was shown into Mrs. Norton's private sitting-room she found Wargrave already there with her hostess, who received her very amiably.

During tea the conversation flowed in safe channels at first. But suddenly Violet startled her guests by saying:

"Now, Miss Benson, that we three are alone I think it a good opportunity to speak very plainly about Frank's relations with you. I've just been giving him a serious talking to about the way he has behaved to you."

The girl drew herself up haughtily.

"What do you mean, Mrs. Norton," she said. "The way Mr. Wargrave has behaved----? I don't understand you."

"Oh yes, you do. It's best to speak plainly. I'm afraid Frank has been leading you to believe that he's in love with you----."

"Violet!" broke in Wargrave angrily. "Please don't go on. You've no right to say such things."

She smiled sweetly on him.

"Yes, I have, Frank. You know, my dear boy, that you've got pretty ways with women--I fear he's rather a flirt, Miss Benson--that you are apt to make some of them think you mean more than you do."

"What absurd nonsense!" he cried, more angrily still. "Please stop, I beg of you."

"No, Frank, it is only right that I should warn Miss Benson." She turned to the girl. "He hasn't told you, I'm sure, that he's not free to marry you or any other girl."

Wargrave sprang up.

"I've told her everything about us, Violet," he protested. "I ask you as a favour to drop the subject."

The girl sat as if turned to stone while Mrs. Norton went on:

"You are young, my dear, and can't know much about men. I suppose you've lived in the jungle all your life. Now, a little bird has told me you've let yourself get too fond of Frank--oh, he's very charming, I know, and this playing at nursing a poor wounded hero is a dangerous game. But I'm going to tell you plainly that Frank is pledged to me. He has asked me to leave my husband for him, and I've consented; so there's no use your trying to catch him, my dear. You're too late."

The girl sprang indignantly to her feet.

"I've done nothing of the sort, Mrs. Norton. How dare you say so? You've no right to speak to me as you're doing."

The older woman sat back coolly in her chair and laughed; but her eyes grew hard.

"Oh yes, I have, my dear girl. You two were the talk of Darjeeling before I came. Of course you're angry, naturally, at failing to catch him, but I'm going to put a stop to your trying, here and now. He has got to break with you."

"You are a wicked woman," began the girl; and then indignation choked her.

Mrs. Norton leant forward in her chair.

"Can you deny that you're in love with him?" she asked.

Wargrave tried to interpose; but the girl waved him aside and faced her rival.

"I'll answer you. I am. I love him as you could never do. I was willing to give him up to you--for he loves me, not you--so that he should not be false to his word. I didn't know what you were like, then. But now I don't believe you'd ever make him happy. You don't love him--you haven't got it in you. You wouldn't be content with any one man. I've watched you. You're absolutely heartless; and you'd only make Frank miserable.

You're willing to disgrace him as well as yourself. You don't mind if you ruin him. Frank----"