She enters a trance while the monks recite ancient texts concerning the sacredness of marriage, the intrinsic part it plays for lay people on the eight-fold path, the importance of the tiny beam of light at the center of every human soul that is like an authentic splinter of nirvana, and how much stronger we become when we are able to join with another in total commitment and faithfulness and how we need that strength for that crucial and terrifying moment when at death we enter that transitional state called “The Other Side”. They end by reciting the duties each spouse owes the other, particularly emphasizing fidelity and honesty.

When the monks are gone, Lalita explains to her parents the strange farang inhibition about privacy: basically, Magnus wants them to consummate their marriage alone in the house. After a short discussion, McKay forks out another three hundred dollars for her parents to go stay with her father’s brother, who lives up the road, for a week or so.

Now he can finally achieve what he has been planning since New York. A week is a long time for a millionaire to postpone gratification.

Afterwards, he tries to stifle his disappointment, tells himself it is early days and there has been a breakdown in communication somewhere along the line. She used none of her tantalizing tricks at all, employed none of those spectacular techniques which had been haunting his libido for so long. On the contrary, she made love to him with unstinting adoration in her eyes and the functionality of a country girl who wanted to make a baby.

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