No. Is he a man or a butcher? This is the fruit of his own intentions. He never thought of it before, and so he went on living as he pleased. Now he says, “What have I to do with it?”

In Hori’s mind, Dhania was in the wrong. The way Siliya’s family had disgraced Matai—this was not right. Whether they took Siliya away by force or with affection, she was their daughter. Why did they have to disgrace Matai?

Dhania rebuked him sharply—“Let it be, don’t act so righteous. All men are the same. When Matai disgraced her, no one thought it was wrong. Now that Matai himself has been disgraced, why does it hurt? Is Siliya’s honor not honor at all? She’s a chamarin, so now they pretend to be so pious and righteous! Harkhu Chaudhary did the right thing. This is the only punishment for such ruffians. Come, Siliya, to my house. Who knows what kind of cruel parents she has, that they’ve beaten the poor girl’s back bloody. You go and send for Sona. I’ll take her with me.”

Hori went off, and Siliya fell at Dhania’s feet, weeping.

:24:

Sona was in her seventeenth year, and this year it was necessary to get her married. Hori had been worrying about this for two years, but with empty hands, he could do nothing. Still, this year, come what may, her marriage must be arranged, even if it meant taking on debt or mortgaging the fields. If it had been up to Hori alone, the marriage would have happened two years ago. He wanted to manage with thrift. But Dhania would say, “No matter how much you tighten your belt, it will take at least two or two and a half hundred rupees.” Ever since Jhunia had come into the house, their standing in the biradari had fallen, and without giving at least a hundred or two hundred rupees, no respectable groom could be found. Last year, at Chaiti, nothing came of it. There was Pandit Datadin’s half-share, but Panditji gave such an account of the seeds and labor that Hori was left with barely a quarter of the grain. And the full rent still had to be paid. The crops of sugarcane and hemp were ruined—hemp because of too much rain, and sugarcane because of termites. But this year’s Chaiti harvest was good, and the sugarcane was thriving. There was grain for the wedding, and if two hundred rupees could be raised, he would be freed from the debt of the daughter’s marriage. If Gobar could help with a hundred rupees, Hori could manage the rest easily. Both Jhinguri Singh and Mangru Sah had softened a bit now. Since Gobar was earning in the city, their money could not be lost.

One day, Hori suggested going to Gobar for two or three days.

But Dhania had not forgotten Gobar’s harsh words. She did not want to take a single paisa from Gobar, not in any way.