'Not yet. Do you wish her to?
'No!—Don't tell Lyddy!—I shall be better—'
'No one shall know, Thyrza. Don't speak now. I am going to sit by you.'
Much mental disturbance was evident on the pale face for some time after this, but Thyrza did not speak again, and presently she appeared to sleep. Mrs. Ormonde left the house at midnight and was back again before nine the next morning. Thyrza had been perfectly conscious since daybreak, and had several times asked for the absent friend. She smiled when Mrs. Ormonde came at length and kissed her forehead.
'Better this morning?'
'Much better, I think, Mrs. Ormonde. But I can't lift my arm—it's so heavy.'
The doctor came late in the morning. He was agreeably surprised at the course things were taking. But Thyrza was forbidden to speak, and for much of the day she relapsed into an apathetic, scarcely conscious state. Mrs. Ormonde had preferred not to leave her the evening before, and had explained by telegram her failure to keep her appointment with Mrs. Emerson. To-night she visited her friends by Regent's Park. On looking in at the eating-house before going to her hotel for the night, she found the patient feverish and excited.
'She has been asking for you ever since you went away,' whispered the nurse.
Thyrza inquired anxiously, as if the thought were newly come to her:
'How did you know where I was, Mrs. Ormonde?'