Arriving in Shiraz on the second day of the Nowruz festival, Pyne makes the acquaintance of the English consul and dines with him. He enquires after a striking house that he saw just outside the town on a visit to the tomb of Hafez, the poet. The consul tells him that this is none other than the home of Lady Esther who now lives as a recluse, refusing to see anyone from her old country. The consul took over his post the very day after the death of the companion who fell from a balcony in the courtyard while carrying a breakfast tray. The consul also mirrors some of the comments of the German pilot about the strangeness of Lady Esther and speaks of her "dark, flashing eyes".