“Oh yes; I recollect everything. But I had to rest. I’ve really rested.”
“Go on resting,” said Cuthbert, quietly.
But Guy was always a surprising person. He came back to life with a suddenness and a vigour that, as the doctor said, showed “almost abnormal rallying power.” He was not allowed to move for fear of the least strain on his heart; but he was awake to everything, and soon made Godfrey lift him on to a sofa by the window, “to look at the world;” and his delight in so looking showed how the world had been recently spoiled for him. He was soon downstairs, in the garden, out for a drive; every step in recovery was achieved before any one thought he was ready for it, and each new enterprise seemed more enjoyable to him than the last.
The tension which had held the whole household on the stretch, relaxed. Preparations for the ceremony on Michaelmas Day were pushed forward with cheerful alacrity, and Guy took his own presence at it as a matter of course.
The wreck of the broken bridge was cleared away, and orders were given for a new one to be built of rough stone, nearer to the Dragon; while a different turn was to be given to the footpath.
“It was,” said Guy, “more convenient.”
Old Cooper, unable to endure his anxiety any longer, arrived one day in the Rilston fly to satisfy himself as to Mr Guy’s condition. He found Guy able to welcome him warmly, to ask searching questions as to what had been done during his illness, and to promise a speedy return to Ingleby.
“That’s well, Mr Guy,” said the old man. “We’ve made a fair year’s work of it at the mill, and it would be a pity if ye were cut off just as the business is looking up again.”
“I’ve got to thank you for giving me a start in the right direction,” said Guy, with meaning.
“Eh, sir,” said Cooper; “ye’ve done more than your aunt expected of you, and we’ll all be glad to see you at work again. I’m glad to have seen the place that the old lady set her heart on; but it’s but a lonesome situation. And you seem to have been far from fortunate in crossing yon beck.”