"I know. But that will make no difference. This germ, that is now in his body, has the power of arresting all further decay. Your father will remain as he is now for an indefinite period."
I met her eyes as steadily as I could, but there was a quality in her gaze that caused me to look elsewhere.
"How do you know this?" she asked after a painful silence.
"I—er—I can't tell you." The colour mounted to my cheeks, and I began to tap the carpet impatiently with the toe of my boot. "You wouldn't understand," I continued in as professional a manner as I could muster. "You would need first to study the factors that bring about old age."
"Where did the Blue Disease come from? Tell me. I can surely understand that!"
"You have read the paper, haven't you?"
"I've read that no one understands what it is, and that the doctors are puzzled."
"How should I know where it comes from?"
She regarded me searchingly.
"You know something about it," she said positively. "Richard, you are keeping it back from me. I have a right to know what it is."