It is the shibboleth of the British Raj.

Legally! Come!" "I will not stir!" "Then be carried," he replied, beckoning his servants.
"No, no!" "Ah! Well, then, we'll ride together in the palanquin." To struggle would reward her with nothing but shame and humiliation; so she bent her head to the inevitable.

A passionate longing to be revenged upon this man began to consume her.

She wanted the feel of his brown throat in her fingers; wanted to beat him down to his knees, to twist and crush him.

But she was a woman and she had not the strength of a man.
"Behold!" cried Umballa later, as he entered the presence of the council, "behold a slave of mine!" He pushed Kathlyn forward.