‘Maid! You ARE a swell! There are only four genuine maids in Simla that I know of--the rest are really nurse-girls. What a comfort she must be! THE luxury of all others that I long for; but alas! army pay, you know. I did once bring a dear thing out with me from Nice--you should have seen Horace’s face.’ ‘I couldn’t very well go about quite alone; it would be uncomfortable.’ ‘Except that you Americans are so perfectly independent.’ ‘On the contrary. If I could order about a servant the way an Englishwoman does--’ ‘Say you are not going to tell him! I’ve got such a lot of other calls to make,’ exclaimed Mrs. Innes. ‘Dear Lady Bloomfield won’t understand it if I don’t call today, especially after the baby. What people in that position want with more babies I can not comprehend. Of course you haven’t noticed it, but a baby is such a shock to Simla.’ ‘Don’t let me keep you,’ Madeline said, rising. ‘But you haven’t promised. Do promise, Miss Anderson. You gain nothing by telling him, except your revenge; and I should think by this time you would have forgiven me for taking Frederick away from you. He didn’t turn out so well! You can’t still bear me malice over that convict in Sing Sing.’ ‘For his sake, poor fellow, I might.’ ‘Coming along I said to myself, “She CAN score off me badly, but surely she doesn’t want to so much as all that.” Besides, I really only took your leavings, you know. You threw poor Fred Prendergast over.’ ‘I am not prepared to discuss that,’ Madeline said, at no pains to smooth the curve out of her lip. ‘Then I thought, “Perhaps--you never can tell with people--she will think it her DUTY to make a fuss.”’ ‘That is a possible point of view.’ ‘I know. You think I’m an imposter on society and I ought to be exposed, and I suppose you could shut every door in Simla against me if you liked. But you are a friend of my husband’s, Miss Anderson. You would not turn his whole married life into a scandal and ruin his career?’ ‘Ruin his career?’ ‘Of course. Government is awfully particular. It mayn’t be his fault in the least, but no man is likely to get any big position with a cloud over his domestic affairs. Horace would resign, naturally.’ ‘Or take long leave,’ Mrs. Innes added to herself, but she did not give Madeline this alternative. A line or two of nervous irritation marked themselves about her eyes, and her colour had faded. Her hat was less becoming than it had been, and she had pulled a button off her glove.