"I have private matters to discuss!" he said.
"You are not well enough to talk of private matters, or anything else important," she declared. "You will excite yourself. You will bring on the fever. I remain here to watch. It is by the doctor's orders."
She sat down heavily within a few feet of us.
"You speak French?" Guest asked me.
I nodded.
"Fairly well!"
"Watch her! See whether she seems to understand. I want to speak of what she must not hear."
She half rose from her chair. So far as her features could express anything, they expressed disquietude.
"She does not understand," I said. "Go on!"
She bent over the bedside.