Bismillah--ul----" The long Arabic sentence went rolling through the Hall, while Kumran stood stunned by the suddenness of his aunt's death.

And yet it might have been expected; the journey was far too trying for one of her years.
And she had risked it--for what?
With a rush Kumran realised that his promise still held good, and for the moment disappointment, anger, savage desire for revenge swept away his regret.

Yet even he could not fail to be touched by the letter his brother Humayon had sent him by the hand of the messenger.

Dearest-Lady had, he said, pled his, Kumran's, cause well, and he, Humayon, was ready to forgive for the sake of the dead woman who had loved them both, whom they both loved, and who had died with a smile.
But such softer feelings did not, could not linger long in a mind that had no fixed belief in anything.

Before a day had passed the feeling that he had been tricked onto an oath he dared not break came uppermost again.