Georgia’s eyes were full of tears as she took her leave. She had bestowed all her pity hitherto on Nur Jahan, but now she felt more deeply for her mother, whose love, passionate and unrequited, had been to her only a source of pain. The wrong which Jahan Beg had done had been visited not only upon himself, but upon his innocent wife and daughter, and it could not be redressed. “Sweetheart,” said Dick, anxiously, as he helped Georgia out of the litter on their return, and assisted her to remove the enshrouding _burka_, “you look awfully fagged. Come and have a turn round the courtyard with me.” “Do you know, Dick,” she said, looking round at him, “that I am being advised continually not to marry you?” “No?” said Dick, highly diverted. “What a joke! Who is the faithful warner--young Anstruther?” “Dick! As if I would ever let him say a word against you to me! No, it is all my Ethiopian ladies. They are firmly of opinion that marriage is a failure.” “I hope you oppose them with all the ardour of a new convert, then?” “I can’t convince them, unfortunately. Their arguments are unanswerable, they are their own husbands.” “And you have no favourable counter-experience to draw upon?” “No. I have to defend you on trust, Dick.” “Poor little girl! and that’s very hard upon you, isn’t it, when you know so little of me, and what you do know is so bad?” CHAPTER XVIII. RETREAT CUT OFF. Two or three days after Georgia’s visit to the Lady Nafiza, messengers from Rustam Khan reached the city, announcing that his expedition had been entirely successful, and that he was bringing back with him the servants and baggage-animals of which the travellers had been deprived. This was good news, and once more preparations for departure occupied all those in the Mission. But before the triumphant general had returned to the capital, and while Stratford and Dick were still superintending the packing of cases which it was necessary to pile up in the front courtyard until the means of transport arrived, Mr Hicks looked in to bid farewell to his English friends. His mules and camels had not been impounded, and he was therefore able to start on the morrow. Stratford was somewhat surprised that he did not defer his journey for a few days, and ask permission to attach himself to the Mission caravan; but Mr Hicks explained that he preferred to travel in comfort, and not to find all the inns occupied, and the markets cleared at every stopping-place along the route, by the train of the British Envoy. He did not add that he was calculating on bringing to Khemistan the first news respecting the Mission that had arrived since the interruption of communications, or that he anticipated driving an excellent bargain for himself and the paper he represented by the sale of the unique information he possessed; but he had a proposal to make to Stratford which rather surprised him.