It was the custom of the chief guest of the evening to
open the dancing, but this could hardly be expected of a native prince
who was as yet ignorant of such things and who must still be bound and
fettered by caste and religion.
The pause of uncertainty lasted only a moment, but for those at least
whose eyes were open, it was a moment symbolical of a great
loneliness. In the midst of a gay and crowded world of people, linked
together by a common tie of blood, Nehal Singh stood isolated. He did
not know it, but it was that loneliness which cast a transitory chill
upon his enthusiasm and made him draw himself stiffly upright and face
the hundred questioning eyes with a new hauteur. An instant and it was
gone--that illuminating flash vanished, like a line drawn across a
quicksand, beneath the surface, never to be seen again, perhaps never
even to be remembered.
Stafford led Lois out into the center, and one pair after another
followed his example. With Travers still at his side, the Rajah drew
back from the now crowded floor of dancers, and watched the scene with
glistening, eager eyes, happy at last to be in the midst of them--the
Great People of the world. It was a brilliant scene, for Travers had
spared nothing. The sides of the marquee banked with flowers, the
music, the brilliant dresses and uniforms, were all calculated to
impress a mind as yet curiously unspoiled by the pomp and magnificence
of the East.
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