And as if she knew what he was thinking, Sarida suggested,
“I think we should – talk about it – outside.”
The way she spoke told the Duke that the place was sacred to her and she thought that even a discussion on how to protect it would somehow spoil the atmosphere.
He moved towards the entrance and, as he reached it, Sarida extinguished the lantern.
As he looked back, he saw her kneel down in front of the empty space where the Buddha had been.
Her fingers were pressed together in the age-old attitude, which was both that of Christian prayer and the Oriental gesture of greeting and respect.
Then, as she bowed her head, he thought it very touching that she should pray to the God who was hardly known to the English.
The Buddha’s divine and deeply erudite teaching had been supplanted e
