Ramesh was now in treaty for a house which stood in an isolated position on the bank of the Ganges. To fetch his belongings and to go through the necessary formalities which would enable him to control himself at the Ghazipur bar, a journey to Calcutta was necessary ; but he shrank from revisiting the city. Matters had come to such a pitch that he could delay no longer to accept his position as Kamala's husband with all that it entailed. Though the thought of visiting Calcutta was like weight pressing on his head, unable to face the inevitable, he kept on postponing his departure.
As space in the little bungalow of Chakrabartti was limited, Kamala had quarters in Chakrabartti's zenana, while Ramesh was housed in the outer rooms, and he and Kamala hardly ever saw each other. Sailaja confided to Kamala how much she regretted this unavoidable separation.
"Why make such a fuss about it ?" asked Kamala. "It's nothing so very dreadful !"
Sailaja laughed," What a hard-hearted young woman you are ! you can't deceive me with that kind of pretence ! I know quite well how hard it would be for young couple to spend separately even a single day." She explained how fast her husband is uxorious to her. To all appearances Sailaja was so absorbed in her reminiscences that she had lost all count of time ; yet the presence of Bipin Babu at the front gate made her jump towards the gate.
It must not be supposed that Kamala regarded Sailaja's attitude to wedded life as mere delusion ; she had had glimmerings of the same feeling herself. At times during the first few months with Ramesh a certain chord had been struck which seemed to give her the key to some of the mystery of wedlock. But there had been nothing so deep or lasting in her own experiences up till now and the impression left on her was a fleeting one. There had been nothing between Ramesh and herself to compare with the fervor between Sailaja and Bipin. Her temporary separation from Ramesh had not caused her any inward pang, and she could not imagine Ramesh sitting outside the zenana trying devise subterfuges that would afford him a glimpse of her.
When Sunday came and when Chakrabartti was out of town, expecting no strangers to the house through the front door as it was being locked in the absence Chakrabartti, Sailaja thought of a scheme for the rendezvous of Kamala and Ramesh.
After Sailaja and Kamala returned from their bath in the river, "come along, dear, and we'll dry your hair," remarked Sailaja.
"Is there any particular hurry to-day ?"
"I'll tell you later ; let me do your hair first," replied Sailaja and she set to work of doing Kamalaja's hair. The next item was a heated argument about the dress that Kamala was to wear. Sailaja insisted on something brightly colored, while Kamala could not understand the motive underlying her insistence. Finally, however, she yielded the point.
After the midday meal whispered something in her husband's ear and then she tried to induce Kamala to pay a visit to the men's part of the house.
On previous occasions Kamala had shown no particular constraint about seeking Ramesh's society and she had never been taught that there was anything unconventional in such conduct. Ramesh himself had broken down the barriers of reserve at the outset and she had no confidante of her own sex to reproach her with impropriety. Yet on this occasion she shrank from yielding to Sailaja's importunity. She knew what it was that gave Sailaja the right of access to her husband. She was not conscious of possessing the same title herself, and she could not approach Ramesh in the guise of a suppliant.
When Sailaja found that her exhortations had no effect on Kamala she came to the conclusion that the girl was too proud to take the initiative ; of course pride must be at the bottom of it ! The pair had now been living apart for several days and yet Ramesh had never sought a pretext to visit his wife.
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