"Then it is she who has been troubling my poor darling with this wretched story."
"In Key West, and I leave you to judge whether she makes a good sick nurse or no."
"Has she been my nurse?"
"To be sure? Nice place you've got here, sir! Everything as dainty as a lady's boudoir; and what a magnificent bunch of flowers! Think of that in March!"
"Miss Walsingham—my Perdita! The girl who risked her life for me!"
"Even so. Precious short were her visits to my bedside, for watching at yours; and between us she's had a wearing time of it, the dear, kindly girl!"
"Good Heaven—is my own darling, that Miss Walsingham?"
"Yes, and I thank Heaven to hear that from you. You love her, so it's all right."
The lawyer here dropped his jocund air, pressed the hand which had nervously clutched his, and retired to the window for a while.
A silence fell upon the pair; the rescued man was turned face downward to his pillow, with his hands clasped tightly.