"And she lives through it all!" said Patience.
"Yes, marvellous to tell, she lives through it all," he answered, "and is but little changed. She seems to have no material body, to live in and by the spirit. The poor creatures cling to her, and she has no fear of them."
"Is the plague very bad at Newgate?" asked Patience.
"Bad!" said Lord Craven. "They carry the bodies out at night that they may not be seen. What is worse, the poor creatures go mad with fear, and can hardly be restrained from killing one another."
"It is terrible," said Patience. "And Ann, what is she doing?"
"She is in her own two rooms with that old hag who waits upon her, and I have entreated her on no account to move out of it," said Lord Craven.
"But if she came to us," said Patience, "surely that were better for her!"
"She will not hear of it. She says she would be too far from her mother; now she can have news of her continuously. The old woman goes backwards and forwards, and I go to her. So long as the plague does not enter her dwelling-place, she will remain there."
"And when it does it will be too late," said Patience; "they will not let her out."
"We shall see," said Lord Craven.