“I know of a doctor Lois had once,” Virginia said. But when she came out of that doctor’s consulting room, Ivor saw that she was impatient.
“The man’s a fool,” Virginia said; and when they were well outside, she said: “He has the indigestion theory on the brain. He shook his head over me—such a nasty little man, Ivor! And he said that it might be due to too many cocktails and irregular habits—me! And so I didn’t even trouble to tell him that I hadn’t touched anything but Vichy for years, and not much of that.... Now what are we going to do, Ivor?”
“We are going to find a better doctor,” Ivor said; and found a famous one the very next day. “This sick little pain,” Ivor said, “has had a long enough run....”
Le docteur David was a very tall and bearded old gentleman who lived in a very small and stuffy apartement in the rue Ponthieu, a narrow street off the Champs Elysées: a famous specialist and a kind and genial man of the world, with a perfect command of many languages and without a trace of that aggressive optimism which makes so many Gallic doctors quite unbearable to their victims. Virginia liked him, saying that he was a most superior man and that the word indigestion had not dominated their conversation, but that Dr. David had suggested that X-ray photographs would be interesting. She was not very communicative about it, Ivor thought.
They went again to the rue Ponthieu after the X-ray photographs had been taken. And the first sight Ivor had of le docteur David was when, pacing up and down the stuffy and overfurnished waiting-room in his restlessness, a wide double-door opened and there appeared the back of Virginia and the heavily bearded face of the specialist. Virginia was saying:—
“Then it will be all right until October? Oh, please say ‘yes,’ doctor!”
“Yes,” smiled the tall, old gentleman. They came into the room, and Ivor fully saw him as a very courtly, very bearded, and very wise-looking man of the world. Virginia introduced them, and said quickly to Ivor:—
“It’s a long story. Dr. David says I must be operated on, but that I can wait until October....”
“So long as you keep quiet,” said Dr. David.
“Oh yes, I will keep quiet!” Virginia breathed softly.