"Laura! Laura! do not go away!" he cried. "Do not leave me alone."
"No, love, I am not going," she answered gently, and sat down by his side.
Ghisleri was not gone long. By a mere chance he found the doctor at home, and brought him back. Then he waited in the drawing-room to hear the result of the visit. The physician's face was graver when he returned, and Laura was not with him.
"Is it anything serious?" asked Ghisleri.
"I am afraid so. I shall be better able to tell in a couple of hours. The fever is very high, the other symptoms will develop before long, and we shall know what it is."
"What do you think it might be?"
"It might be scarlet fever," answered the doctor. "I am afraid it is. But say nothing at present. You should get a nurse at once, for some one must sit up with him all night. I will send him something to take immediately, and I will come back myself in about two hours."
They went away together, but when the doctor returned, he found Ghisleri waiting for him in the street. It was now five o'clock and quite dark. Pietro remained down stairs while the visit lasted.
"Well?" he asked, when the physician came down again.
"It is scarlet fever, as I was afraid—one of the most sudden cases I ever knew. They have not got a nurse yet, the idea seems to frighten Lady Herbert."