In the first place, she was in no condition to discuss any subject, let alone one fraught with so many possibilities of excitement. In the second place, I was determined that no one should discuss that old secret with my husband before I had a chance to talk to him concerning it.
"Well, you needn't go to sleep just because Richard is."
My mother-in-law's impatient voice brought me back to myself. I apologized eagerly.
I have never seen any one enjoy food as my mother-in-law did the simple meal I had prepared for her. She ate every crumb, drank the wine, and drained the pot of tea before she spoke.
"How good that tasted!" she said gratefully as she finished, sinking back against my shoulder. I had not only propped her up with pillows, but had sat behind her as she ate, that she might have the support of my body.
"I think I can take a long nap now," she went on. "When I awake send
Richard to me."
I laid her down gently, arranged her pillows, and drew up the covers over her shoulders. She caught my hand and pressed it.
"My own daughter could not have been kinder to me than you have been," she said.
"I am glad to have pleased you, Mrs. Graham," I returned. I suppose my reply sounded stiff, but I could not forget the day she came to us, and her contemptuous rejection of Dicky's proposal that I should call her "Mother."
She frowned slightly. "Forget what I said that day I came," she said quickly. "Call me Mother, that is, if you can."