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CHAPTER SIX
Her awakening was a nightmarish repetition of the earlier recovery, and she wondered hazily if the entire episode, culminating in that shattering materialization, had been merely a feverish dream. The same rosy draperies surrounded her, the same fingers touched her wrist, the same gruff voice demanded, "Drink this."
Here, however, the pattern changed.
"Oh, do stop fussing, Horace," the Duchess exclaimed. "She needs only peace and rest. Such exhaustion often follows the trance state; I have seen it before."
"Balderdash!" was the emphatic reply. "Today's young ladies fall into a faint on the slightest provocation. Sheer affection and tight lacing, that is all. If I have said it once, I have said it a hundred times -"
"Yes, my dear doctor, you have," Carlton interrupted. "Do you feel that this is not a counterfeit swoon, then?"
At this Maria
The discussion continued. The Duchess insisted that Maria
"No, my dear, you are quite right."
"Then I beg of you, leave the girl in peace! I have given her a mild sleeping draft; she will probably not wake until tomorrow morning. I propose to perform the same service for you. The excitement is very bad for you, Honoria, very bad indeed."
"I am a little tired," the Duchess admitted. "But very happy, Horace; very happy."
"All the same, you need rest. Please go to your room and lie down. I will come to see you shortly."
"Only let me call her maid."
"I will do that when I have made sure she is sleeping. Promise me one more thing,
Honoria." "What?"
"No more of these experiments." "You know I ca
If you care nothing for your own health, you have no right to risk the health of Miss Ransom."
This appeal had the desired effect. The Duchess murmured an agreement. Maria
After the Duchess had gone out, Carlton said, "Is she asleep?"
A finger lifted Maria
The doctor answered Carlton's question. "No, she is not asleep."
"Just as I thought!"
"Keep your voice down. In fact, you had better go."
"When you do."
"Good Gad, man, do you suppose the young woman requires a chaperone? I will stay until she drops off. I prefer not to leave her until I am certain she has no adverse reaction to the medicine I have given her. I know nothing of her medical history."
"But I want to talk to you."
"Do so, then. She ca
Maria
"I can't understand your coolness," the lawyer exclaimed. "We must rid the house of this – this co
"Impossible."
"But she is -"
"I don't know who, or what, she is," the doctor interrupted. "And neither do you. I do know that even if we could evict her the effect on the Duchess might be disastrous. You hotheaded young fellows make me tired. Your legal training ought to have made you more circumspect."
"She is a cold, calculating imposter," the lawyer insisted. "I admit I had my doubts; but after that bit of legerdemain -"
"That is certainly one explanation of what occurred."
"What other explanation can there be?"
In his irritation the doctor forgot his own injunction to speak softly. "I can think of several. Assuming that the girl is i
"I am relieved to hear you admit it. You used to be the most outspoken skeptic -"
"And still am, I assure you. Spiritualism is a wicked, dangerous business. But the Duchess is not a skeptic, and it is her belief we must contend with. Only consider, young Roger, what one of the alternative explanations must be, and do not press me, I beg, to voice it aloud."
The silence that followed was so fraught with emotion that Maria
"Only too serious. I tell you, we must proceed with caution. The health of our dear old friend must be our chief concern. Please allow me to be the judge of what is best for her."
"I must do so," the lawyer muttered. "But don't expect me to be civil to the wench."
"You needn't be civil, but if you speak of her in such terms to the Duchess, you will find yourself evicted from the house," was the doctor's dry response. "Be off with you now."
The lawyer's reply was unintelligible. Maria
The following days were the happiest Maria
There was no possible reply to this but grateful acceptance. After all, Maria