Edith went up the stairs. Here was some one dying of the pestilence alone, and the care and caution of less exigent cases could not now stand in the way of needful succor; but she did not reflect so; she only acted upon the irresistible impulse and hurried on.
The sound grew more distinct as she advanced; there was impatience in it and strength. It was no worn-out sufferer, but some one struggling desperately under the deadly poison. Edith entered an ante-chamber furnished with stately magnificence, pompous and grand, without the luxury of that voluptuous time. Through an open door the voice came fretful in its anguish. Edith’s heart was beating high with the excitement of youthful courage. She had never before been in such immediate contact with the enemy: she went in.
Under rich curtains, upon a bed of state, lay a woman whose fine features were convulsed and flushed with the pain against which her proud will struggled for the mastery. She was half-dressed as if suddenly attacked. Her dark hair had a sprinkling of gray, her face was haughty and proud in its expression, and the voice of her pain was making itself articulate in words:
“All gone from me—all fled. Just Heaven, must I die alone!”
Her eye fell upon Edith as she spoke. With a loud, shrill cry of fear the lady raised herself from her bed, and shrank back to its furthest bound.
“Thou Edith! thou spirit—thou angel! comest thou to torment me before my time? Ah! have mercy, God, have mercy! hast Thou sent her to see me die!”
Edith paused in fear at this address, but recollecting herself, she threw a handful of perfumes into the fire, which burned faintly upon the hearth, and advanced to the bedside to see if any thing could be done. In the simpler remedies for the pestilence she had become skilled.
But the patient shrank still further back, and gazing at her with wild terrified eyes, extended her hand to keep her away.
“Come not near me—what have I to do with thee, thou dead! Ah! wilt thou press upon me—wilt thou stifle me—thou—thou—Edith, I did not slay thee!”
“Lady,” said her wondering visitor, “I do but seek to help if I can do aught—I have with me what may do you service. Have you been long stricken?”