Her cousin shook his head. "What is there we can do? Nothing! We must wait and hope that all is well."
"Are you anxious now?" asked Lady MacNairne.
"A little," he admitted.
"I don't know how to bear it," exclaimed Nell, with a choke in her voice.
I longed to comfort her; but her wretchedness seemed only to harden her cousin's heart.
He looked at her angrily. "It is late for you to worry," he reproached her. "If you had shown concern for Rudolph's safety this morning it would have been gracious; but——"
"Don't!" she said.
Just the one word, and not crossly, but in such a voice of appeal that he didn't finish his sentence.
We sat about awkwardly, and tried to speak of other things, but the talk would drift to our fears for the boat. Nell did not join in. She sat by the window, looking out and listening to the rain and wind, which made a sound like the purring of a great cat.
Ten o'clock came, and Lady MacNairne proposed that, as we could do nothing, we women should go to bed.