She looked at her mistress with stealthily questioning but affectionate eyes, and sat down on the floor rubbing her hands and feet in a sort of soothing massage.

Osborn went out of the room, and the two women were left together.

Ameerah knew many ways of calming her mistress's nerves, and perhaps one of the chief ones was to lead her by subtle powers to talk out her rages and anxieties.

Hester never knew that she was revealing herself and her moods until after her interviews with the Ayah were over.

Sometimes an hour or so had passed before she began to realise that she had let out things which she had meant to keep secret.