Page:Kapalkundala (1919).djvu/100

Rh bend of it. But why are you to leave me for good? Do the sun and moon not shine in the same firmament? Do the twin buds never flower on the same stalk?"

Luthfunnisha focussed the full glare of her large wide eyes on the Badshah and rejoined "The tiny flowers may bloom but the twin lilies can never blossom on the same stem! Why am I to remain a prickly thorn at the base of your jewelled throne?"

Luthfunnisha retired into her own apartments. She did not explain to Jehangir the cause that furnished the motive power. Jehangir was satisfied with the surface view of the question as he never cared to look a little lower down than the surface. Luthfunnisha had the heart of an adamant. The fascinating graces of the royal debonair Selim failed to entrap her mind. Marble-hearted as she was, a worm now began eating into that unimpressionable heart.