Florence stared at him with her pupil-centered eyes.
“Floria,” she murmured. There was a pause. Suddenly a scream rose from her lips. She tumbled forward in her chair. De Medici sprang to her side and saved her from falling to the floor.
“She wakened,” Dr. Lytton explained, mopping his heavy face. “And she’s unconscious now.”
He summoned the startled-looking matron and ordered her to bring water and ammonia. Norton assisted them in reviving her.
“Please let me go back to the cell,” she murmured as her eyes opened. “I feel so tired....”
Norton shrugged his shoulders.
“We can gain nothing by talking to her,” Dr. Lytton agreed. “She’s on the verge of a collapse.”
The matron helped her to rise. De Medici stood beside her. He looked calmly at her eyes until they turned from him. Her confusion and anguish brought a deep pain to his own heart. But a conviction masked his emotions.
“She knows,” he murmured silently, “she knows and keeps silent. For a reason....”
He smiled almost happily at her as the matron led her away.