Page:Stories of Bengalee life - Prabhat Kumar Mukerji.pdf/167

Rh must immediately follow; so I meant to fly at once with the money."

A little earlier, in deep sincerity and boundless faith, the girl had said—"Can a wife ever distrust her husband?" But as at the touch of dawn the darkness of night quickly vanishes, so at this revelation of her husband's true character her faith in him rapidly melted away. She remained voiceless, as though under the weight of a heavy blow.

Placing a hand on his wife's shoulder, Binod went on—"When, before the marriage, I said I would have the ornaments made in Calcutta, it was with this design. Under the pretext of getting them made, I meant at some time to go off with the money. You have brought these schemes to the ground."

Sarat, with a shiver, removed her shoulder from beneath her husband's hand, and sat up in the bed, saying—"What have I done?"

"You have bound me in golden fetters. I cannot leave you. Nevertheless, I cannot stay. If I do, the thing will come out—to-day or to-morrow. I could not show my face for shame."

The girl's heart was bursting with anger, contempt and shame. Then she asked—"Where did you mean to go?"