Annada Babu burst out laughing. "Akshay, you're perfectly mad ! Why should our Ramesh change his name because some Ramesh or other has left his wife crying at school ?" But Ramesh suddenly turned pale and left the room. Hemamalini burst in to tears. " It's too bad of Akshay Babu, daddy !" she sobbed out; "why should he insult a guest in our house like this ?" Hemamalini fled upstairs.
Since his return to Calcutta Ramesh had left no stone unturned to trace Kamala's husband. With great difficulty he could find out where Dhobapukur was and had written to Kamala's uncle Tarini Charan only to get a reply that Tarini Charan had heard nothing of his niece's husband Nalinaksha since the catastrophe. It is only made known that Nalinaksha had been a doctor practising at Rangpur and after making inquiries there Tarini Charan had heard nothing from anybody there. Even Nalinaksha's native place was not known. Ramesh now definitely banished from his mind the idea that Kamala's husband could still be alive.
Annada Babu had alredy sent invitations for the wedding of his daughter with Ramesh and Ramesh had started getting letters congratulating him for the forthcoming marriage. He felt like revealing his true situation to Hemamalini, but the event that took place due to Akshay had made his task harder. Not only would he present the appearance of a criminal caught in the act and trying to exonerate himself, but the disclosure would seem to be triumph for Akshay, and that was too humiliating to contemplate.
At this point the post brought him a letter and opening it he found that it was from the headmistress. She wrote to say that Kamala had taken so terribly to heart the prospect of of being kept at school during the holidays that the management must decline to be responsible for her; school would break up on Saturday, and Ramesh must be prepared to receive her at home that day. Kamala was to come on Saturday and his wedding was to take place on Sunday !
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