"It was very thoughtful in you to take her into the conservatory," she said. "I was startled to see how pale she looked as you left the room."
"She is not strong," he said, "and she insists on ignoring the fact."
"Do you know," said Mrs. Sylvestre, "that was what struck me when we met for the first time in the autumn—that she was not strong. She used to be strong."
"If she would accept the fact she would get over it," he said; "but she won't."
"I met her first at Newport," said Mrs. Sylvestre, "just after Janey's illness. For a day or so I felt that I did not know her at all; but in course of time I got over the feeling; or she changed—I scarcely know which. I suppose the strain during the little girl's illness had been very severe?"
"There is no doubt of that," said Arbuthnot; "and her anxiety had been much exaggerated."
"I shall see a great deal of her this winter," she returned, "and perhaps I may persuade her to take care of herself."
He spoke with a touch of eager seriousness in his manner.
"I wish you would," he said. "It is what she needs, that some woman should call her attention to the mistake she is making."
"I will try to do it," she responded, gently. "I am fond of her too."