Page:The Painted Veil - Maugham - 1925.djvu/14

 Kitty. How can it possibly be your husband? If he’d come in and seen a strange topee in the hall and come upstairs and found your room locked, surely he would have made some sort of row. It must have been one of the servants. Only a Chinese would turn a handle in that way.”

She did feel more herself now.

“It’s not very pleasant even if it was only the amah.”

“She can be squared and if necessary I’ll put the fear of God into her. There are not many advantages in being a government official, but you may as well get what you can out of it.”

He must be right. She stood up and turning to him stretched out her arms: he took her in his and kissed her on the lips. It was such rapture that it was pain. She adored him. He released her and she went to the window. She slid back the bolt and opening the shutter a little looked out. There was not a soul. She slipped on to the verandah, looked into her husband’s dressing-room and then into her own sitting-room. Both were empty. She went back to the bedroom and beckoned to him.

“Nobody.”

“I believe the whole thing was an optical delusion.”

“Don’t laugh. I was terrified. Go into my sitting-room and sit down. I’ll put on my stockings and some shoes.”