CHAPTER XLV.
BAFFLED AND DEFEATED.
It seemed an eternity before Lottie came back, yet she had not been absent three minutes. She came alone, and stood by me at the door, regarding Mrs. Dennison's movements with the keen vigilance of a fox. But a glimpse of Mrs. Lee's face made her start forward with a cry of dismay.
"My mistress, she is dead! They have killed her!"
She would have fallen upon her knees by the bed, but Mrs. Dennison put her aside. It was an easy thing, for Lottie had lost all her strength in that terrible fear.
"Foolish child! she has only fainted," said Mrs. Dennison, holding her back; "the air will bring her to."
Lottie's courage returned with these words, and struggling from Mrs. Dennison's hold, she sat down upon the bed, chafing Mrs. Lee's cold hands and kissing them with loving tenderness.
"Is she really and truly alive?" said the poor girl, appealing to me.
I could not resist the wistful anxiety of that look, but came forward, holding my breath, with a dread that her fears might be true.
That moment Mr. Lee entered the room, and directly came Jessie, with a look of terror on her face. She trembled like a leaf at the sight of her mother, and turned to me, looking the question which she could not frame in speech.
"It is not death! I hope and believe that it is not death!" I said.