“Yes.”
“By all means.”
“I will sit with you. Mary, too, will keep us company.”
“No, no,” said the doctor in a whisper, “there is no need for that. If I stay, it is with the understanding that you both go to bed.”
Sarah Woodham was standing back in the shadow, but she appeared to be listening eagerly to every word.
“But we should make it less dull for you,” pleaded Claude.
“I am never dull when I sit up with a sick person,” said the doctor didactically. “These are my hours for study of my patient. No, no; if I am to stay it is as the doctor—the master of the situation. You will go to bed.”
“But you will want refreshments—somebody within call.”
“To be sure, and there will be our old friend Mrs Woodham. You will sit up?”
“Yes, sir, of course,” said the woman eagerly.