"Drake's come to inquire after the patient," he said. "How are we, Falconer?"
"Better," said Falconer, with a smile; "much better. Couldn't you persuade Miss Lorton to take down the report, Dick?"
Dick nodded commandingly at Nell.
"Yes; you go, Nell."
She hesitated a moment; then she raised her head and glanced at Falconer reproachfully.
"Yes, I will go," she said, almost defiantly.
Drake leaned against the rails in the sunlight, softly striking his riding whip against his leg. His horse's bridle was hitched over the gate, and as he waited for Dick he thought of the time when the bridle had been hitched over another gate.
He heard a step lighter than Dick's on the stairs behind him, and slowly turned his head. The sun was streaming through the doorway, so that the slim, graceful figure and lovely face were set as in an aureole. A thrill ran through him, the color rose to his bronzed face, and he stood motionless and speechless for a moment; then he raised his hat.
"How is Mr. Falconer?" he asked.
He had not seen her since the night of the burglary, the night he had held her in his arms, and the blunt question sounded like a mockery set against the aching longing of his heart.