"What's the matter with Cecil? What does Craig Hopkins say?"
Before she could be answered, and in spite of a real anxiety, she seated herself. Though she was a tall woman, Sophy was at least two inches taller; and this always exasperated her. She liked to look down on people literally as well as metaphorically.
"Doctor Hopkins has not seen Cecil," said Sophy. The storm must break sometime; why not at once?
"Eh?" cried Lady Wychcote sharply. "What's that? What d'you say?"
Her voice had the bark in it that Cecil's always had when he was angry, and that he had inherited from her. She reared her head suddenly and looked at Sophy along her delicate nose.
"D'you mean to tell me that you haven't consulted a doctor about your husband?"
"Yes; I have seen a doctor, but not Doctor Hopkins."
"You have—seen—a—doctor—but not the family doctor? Your reasons, pray?"
The tone was scathing, even insolent. Sophy felt her blood rise, but her calmness did not forsake her.
"I have some very painful things to tell you, Lady Wychcote. Please try to listen patiently."