Manimekalai stood gazing at Vandiyathevan’s face. Vandiyathevan, too, stood there with a smile lingering on his lips. His mind was preoccupied—how could he escape from this girl, and what should he say to her before making his getaway?

At that moment, from somewhere in the distance, a voice called out, “Amma! Did you call me?”

“No, girl, mind your work!” Manimekalai replied. Instantly, her look of surprise faded.

She walked over to the doorway through which Vandiyathevan had entered just moments ago and bolted it from the inside. Then, signaling to Vandiyathevan, she led him a little further into the room. Suddenly, she turned to him and asked, “Sir! Tell me the truth! You said Chandramathi called you, is that true?”

“Yes, my lady!”

“When and where did she see you and call you?”

“Just a short while ago! In the next room—when I was hiding behind the monkey—you and your friend came in, looked around, and left. After you left, she saw me and said, ‘Monkey! Have you come to my room? It would be convenient to scare away unwelcome visitors at the wrong time!’ Perhaps her words did not reach your ears!”

Manimekalai smiled softly and said, “If I had heard that, would I have let her go so easily?”

“Princess! What is the use of being angry with your friend? If my face and the monkey’s face look alike, what can Chandramathi do about it?”

“There is a world of difference between your face and that of a tailless monkey!”

“It must be like the distance between a monkey’s face and the face of an owl hanging above it.”

“Your face is neither that of a monkey nor that of an owl. But you have all the antics of a monkey. And at times, you stare like an owl! Just a moment ago, wasn’t it you who peeped and stared through this mirror here?” “Yes, Princess, it is I!”

“Then why did you immediately withdraw and shut the door?”

“In this mirror, close to my own face, I saw the reflection of a divine maiden’s visage. I feared that this divine maiden might be frightened upon seeing my face, so I removed my hand from the elephant tusk I was holding, and the door closed by itself.”

“Do you know who that divine maiden was?”

“In that instant, I did not know; but later, upon reflection, I realized.”

“What did you realize?”

“It was not a divine maiden I saw; it was Manimekalai Devi, before whom even celestial maidens would come and bow! I realized it was the cherished daughter of Kadambur Sambuvarayar. And I remembered that she is the beloved younger sister of my dearest friend, Kandhamaaran.”

Manimekalai’s eyebrows arched, and with a smile that mingled mockery and anger, she said, “Is that so? My brother Kandhamaaran is your dearest friend?”

“What doubt is there in that, Princess! Do you not remember, four months ago, I came here for a day? I even entered the women’s