“The worthless creature! I feared as much.”
The doctor was shocked at this dreadful expression of the countess’s eye. He laid his hand on her arm, and gave her a penetrating look, beneath which she instantly quailed.
The doctor’s suspicions were correct.
A dreadful idea had flashed across Mme. de la Verberie’s mind—the idea of destroying this child which would be a living proof of Valentine’s sin.
Feeling that her evil intention was divined, the proud woman’s eyes fell beneath the doctor’s obstinate gaze.
“I do not understand you, Dr. Raget,” she murmured.
“But I understand you, madame; and I simply tell you that a crime does not obliterate a fault.”
“Doctor!”
“I merely say what I think, madame. If I am mistaken in my impression, so much the better for you. At present, the condition of your daughter is serious, but not dangerous. Excitement and distress of mind have unstrung her nerves, and she now has a high fever; but I hope by great care and good nursing that she will soon recover.”
The countess saw that the good doctor’s suspicions were not dissipated; so she thought she would try affectionate anxiety, and said: