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After all the excitement of Delhi, Anita is happy to go back to a quiet life in Kapurthala.
With Ratanjit and Gitas departure for Villa Buona Vista, and the other sons leaving for England, only the small central core of the family is left in the palace, consisting of Jagatjit, who since the Great Durbar everyone calls Maharajah, Anita and little Ajit. Horse-rides, shopping trips to Lahore, and games of tennis once again mark the rhythm of a peaceful and luxurious life.
In spite of its size, the palace does not give the impression of being cold or overwhelming because it is an ant`s nest of activity. All the ministers daily present their reports or problems to the Maharajah, who receives them in his office. Interviews are granted, decisions are made and meetings and conferences are organized. The basement is overflowing with accountants, financial experts, treasurers and administrators of all kinds.
Anita takes great care of her corner of the garden. She has planted it with aromatic plants and flowers. In the shade of her rose-garden she writes every day in her diary, in leather-bound notebooks, in tall, spiky writing. She does it because her husband has asked her to, and she writes in French, so that he can read it. She has got used to the paternal love the Maharajah professes for her and, although at times she has been tempted to reproach him for the wheeling and dealing that went on with regard to her marriage, she now understands that he is a man who is used to giving orders and buying anything he likes - palaces, cars, horses, ministers, women.
She loves him a little like she might love a banker who opens up the fortune in his basement for her. He has given her splendid jewels so that she can be even more beautiful and resplendent, and also to justify his whim for this sudden love for this woman to his family and to his world. He wanted her to be pretty, sparkling, attractive and irresistible.
Together, they represent a new image of Kapurthala. But Anita does not over-value the sentimentality of the presents; her husband is so rich, that the fact alone does not mean much of a sacrifice for him. Besides, she has lost her idea of the value of money.
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