Mr. Maule went on, "Bayworth Kaye, it seems, is lying very ill at Aden."
Mrs. Maule gave a slight sigh of relief. That was not what she had thought, with a sudden overwhelming fear, to hear Richard say.
"The Kayes are thinking of going out to him, and they thought that I should be able to tell them something about the place—how to get there, and so on. But I advised them to wait a day or two for further news.
"I heard about Bayworth Kaye's illness some days ago," said Wantele slowly. "But I forgot to tell you. I did, however, enquire about him yesterday. They seemed to know very little then——"
"I have been longing, longing, longing to see you, Jane! Now, at last we can have a talk——"
Putting both her hands on Jane's unresisting shoulders, Mrs. Maule gently pushed her friend down into a low chair, and then knelt down by her.
They were in Jane's bedroom, and it still wanted three-quarters of an hour to dinner.
Jane's eyes filled with happy tears. She was moved to the heart. How good they all were to her!
She could still feel the clinging, the convulsive, grasp of Lingard's hand. She had not seen him alone, even for a moment, but now, at last, they were under the same roof, and each of his letters from Rede Place had been a cry of longing for her.