The door of communication opened suddenly, and the nurse came out. Her face lighted at the sight of Bride.
“Oh, my lady, I think he is asking for you. We can’t quite make out his words. He has no voice, and scarce any breath; but I saw his lips move, and I’m almost sure he’s saying your name. We can’t tell whether he knows us yet—whether his mind is there. But I think if you would go in to him we might be able to tell.”
Bride looked at her companion.
“Let us go in together,” she said, feeling a strange desire for the support of another presence. She hardly knew what it was that she would be called upon to witness in that room; but at least Eustace was there—Eustace was still living; and if he wanted her, was not that enough?
Her face was very pale, but her manner was quite composed as she walked forward, passed the screen, and stood beside the bed.
Upon the bed, perfectly flat, with only one thin pillow beneath his head, lay Eustace, as motionless and almost as rigid as though life were extinct. His arms lay passively outside the bed-clothing just as they had been placed. The left arm was bound up in a splint, but the right lay almost as helpless and powerless beside him. There was a white bandage about his head, and his face was almost as white as the linen. The lips were ashen grey, and a shadow seemed to rest upon the face, robbing it of almost all semblance of life. Only the eyes retained any of their colour. They were sunken and dim, but there was life in their glance yet; and as Bride stood beside him, and softly spoke his name, a sudden gleam of joyous recognition flashed from them, and the white lips curved to the faint semblance of a smile.
“Bride,” he said, in the lowest whisper.
She took the powerless hand in his, and then bent down and kissed him.
“I am here, Eustace, I am with you. You will live for my sake,” she said, in soft clear tones, which seemed to penetrate the mists of weakness closing him in. The dim eyes brightened more and more, and fixed themselves upon her fair, sweet face. She felt a very slight answering pressure of the fingers she held, and again she heard the whisper of her name.
The doctor was standing a little distance off. He had known Bride from her infancy, and was watching the little scene with extreme interest, both professional and personal. Now he came forward and stood on the other side of the bed; his kind old face was beaming with satisfaction.