"Dear me, Hester, how you do meander on!" said Mr. Rayner irritably. "What was the girl's name?" "Leila Baltus," answered Hester meekly. "She said you would know who she was--in fact, it was you she came to see." "Never heard of such a person in my life! She's no client of mine, be assured of that--more likely a lying half-caste beggar!" Hester saw that her husband looked blanched as if by uncontrollable anger--or was it agitation? He was silent for a moment, then he asked, evidently with an effort to assume an unconcerned tone: "Did the creature say what she wanted? Did she give any reason for her visit?" "Not in the least! I think she said she would see you some other time. She certainly called herself a client," replied Hester dejectedly, for it was borne in upon her that her husband's sudden source of annoyance came after all from the mention of this girl's name. He did know Leila Baltus, though he denied all knowledge of her! It was a staggering revelation to the young wife. She turned her clear eyes on her husband's averted profile and longed to say: "This secrecy, this prevarication is much harder to bear than anything you may have to tell me!" On his side, Alfred Rayner was dwelling, with as much honest regret as his nature was capable of, on his having been unfortunate enough to have been betrayed into useless lying concerning a matter which he might have dealt with more effectually by acknowledging his former flirtation--now hateful to him--with this Eurasian girl. To have assured Hester, as he had assured the old woman on the road, that her daughter had no possible hold on him, but was simply blackmailing. But what would the straight-forward Hester think if he laid bare the whole matter now when she recalled that not five minutes ago he had disavowed all knowledge of the girl? No, the remedy would be worse than the trouble, he decided peevishly. He rose from his chair complaining of a headache, and went sullenly to bed. CHAPTER XIX. Christmas gaieties were now in the air. The pleasant life-long associations which cluster round that season for Anglo-Indians seem to urge them to almost feverish anxiety to celebrate it with increased zeal in their exile. The whole community in fact catches the contagion. The natives, both civil and sepoy, look forward to "Kismas" as a time of gifts and _tomashas_; while the Eurasian community vie with each other in imitating its time-honoured rites. To Hester Rayner its approach brought more than a suspicion of homesickness. She remembered sadly that the glad old greetings would sound for other ears than hers in the dear home far away, while to her husband, the chief preoccupation seemed the success of the impending dinner-party on which he had set his heart. The invitations had been duly issued by Hester, and to his satisfaction the hoped-for guests had all responded, two covers being reserved for the Collector of Puranapore and his Assistant.