"Not dying, I hope."
"Oh, we all shall hope until hope is denied us. I suppose his chance for life is one in a thousand. I am so sorry, and we shall miss Louise and Dr. Bethel so much."
"Bethel is in close attendance?"
"Yes, Dr. Barnard has all confidence in him; and then—you know the nature of his relation with the family?"
"His relation; that of family physician, I suppose?"
Miss Manvers draws back her creamy skirts as we brush past a thorny rose tree.
"That of family physician; yes, and prospective son-in-law."
"Ah! I suspected an attachment there."
"It appears they have been privately engaged for some time, with the consent of the Barnards, of course. It has only just been publicly announced; rather it will be; I had it from Mrs. Barnard this morning. Dr. Barnard desires that it should be made known. He believes himself dying, and wishes Trafton to know that he sanctions the marriage."