‘Stop it, child!’ she said, not unkindly, for even Angela’s tears made her own feel uncomfortably near the surface. She turned to the others quickly.
‘Every one will get ready and go into the field for a hockey practice,’ she commanded.
Charlotte shut her book with a bang. ‘What’s the good of hockey?’ she grumbled crossly.
‘What’s the good of anything,’ sighed Margaret, ‘with that poor little kid lying ill up there?’
Charlotte looked at her swiftly, and then turned away, blinking her eyes furiously; and the head girl took her arm with astonishing condescension, and walked silently into the cloakroom with her.
A little later, Dr. Hurst came out of Miss Finlayson’s bedroom upstairs, and closed the door softly behind him. The head-mistress stood waiting for him on the landing. Their eyes met, and hers were full of anxious inquiry. In his there shone a gleam of something that had not been there before.
‘Better,’ he said, and drew a long breath. He put his hand on the baluster-rail to steady himself. ‘She’ll do, now that consciousness has returned,’ he went on in a businesslike tone; ‘the concussion was only slight, after all, and the fracture to the leg could hardly be in a better place. Wonderful what children will do to kill themselves without succeeding! She’ll pull through in no time, with rest and quiet–perfect quiet, mind! Don’t let those boys go near her, whatever you do; and keep your girls from weeping on her neck as much as possible. Good morning.’
Miss Finlayson smiled, and retained his hand a moment. No one would have thought that this practical man of medicine, who pretended to regard his little patient merely as an interesting case, was the boyish-hearted fellow who had sat by her bedside all night to watch for her returning consciousness.
‘Must you go?’ she said. ‘Why not rest on the sofa in my study for an hour, and stay to lunch with us? You must be worn out.’
The Doctor drew himself up and frowned. ‘Not at all, not at all!’ he said, looking vexed. ‘Room full of patients waiting for me at home–I must wish you good morning.’