“Then that woman goes at once,” cried Aunt Anne emphatically.
“No,” said Ralph Elthorne quietly.
“But I say yes, Ralph. I am mistress of this house, and it is my duty to send her away.”
“And I am master, dear, feeble and broken as I am. She stays till I bid her go.”
“Ralph, must I tell you everything I know?”
“There is no need, sister.”
“But the woman’s antecedents? Maria was at the hospital, and saw all her dreadful goings on with the students, and with poor deluded Neil.”
“Maria? Pish!” said Elthorne with a contemptuous smile. “Nurse Elisia’s face tells something different from that, my dear. I would sooner believe her candid eyes than Maria Bellow’s oath.”
“Ralph! Has this dreadful woman bewitched you too?”
“Enough!” he said feebly. “Go to your cupboards and your keys, Anne. You are a good, true woman, but you have always been as blind and prejudiced as your brother has been overbearing and harsh. This illness has brought me very low, dear, and taught me much. Go now, and remember: I owe Nurse Elisia my life. She is to be treated with respect, and I shall send her away when I think good.”