the affair in its charity aspects. He had taken no part in the war himself, having, like most of the native royalists whose titles came down from the old Indian dynasties, no sympathy with the British Empire and its wars. Indeed Carmelita recalled rumors which she had heard in Europe that Rao-Singh's presence in Paris was due to difficulties with the British administration in India on account of his supposed alliance with the movement for Hindu independence. Certainly he had the Oriental's viewpoint in most matters, including sex, and his Oxford education had influenced his mind and external veneer without affecting his spirit.
Rao-Singh had donated the use of his wide and beautiful stretch of lawn leading from his house to the Sound for the Charity Fête for the sole reason that it would bring him closer to Carmelita Drake. That was the real explanation, and matters were working out excellently for him.
Perhaps because she was a little uneasy at the predominant rôle Rao-Singh was now playing in her present activities, Carmelita made an effort to enlist Dudley's aid in the Fête also. She explained it all to him when he came out to Hedgewood the week-end after the visit of Mrs. Peabody and Mrs. Hurd. She had been away on an emergency errand
