him, since she knew that there was no such thing as cold or heat or
pain, and therefore you could not feel cold. But now, since, according
to the new creed, such things as uric acid, chromogens and purins had
no existence, she could safely indulge in decent viands again. But her
unhappy husband was not a real gainer in this respect, for while he
ate, she tirelessly discoursed to him on the new creed, and asked him
to recite with her the True Statement of Being. And on the top of that
she dismissed the admirable cook, and engaged the miscreant from whom
he suffered still, though Christian Science, which had allowed her cold
to make so long a false claim on her, had followed the uric-acid fad
into the limbo of her discarded beliefs.

But now once more she had temporarily discovered the secret of life in
the teachings of the Guru, and it was, as has been mentioned, sheer
Guruism that constituted the main attraction of the new creed. That
then being taken for granted, she turned her mind to certain
side-issues, which to a true Riseholmite were of entrancing interest.
She felt a strong suspicion that Lucia contemplated annexing her Guru
altogether, for otherwise she would not have returned so enthusiastic a
response to her note, nor have sent Georgie to deliver it, nor have
professed so violent an interest in the Guru. What then was the
correctly diabolical policy to pursue? Should Daisy Quantock refuse to
take him to Mrs Lucas altogether, with a message of regret that he did
not feel himself sent? Even if she did this, did she feel herself
strong enough to throw down the gauntlet (in the shape of the Guru)
and, using him as the attraction, challenge darling Lucia to mutual
combat, in order to decide who should be the leader of all that was
advanced and cultured in Riseholme society? Still following that
ramification of this policy, should she bribe Georgie over to her own
revolutionary camp, by promising him instruction from the Guru? Or