We bowled forward at a rapid pace, and she continued:—
"I came to meet you to-day to tell you that I have used a little guile with regard to your visit. I have not told Sir Henry that you are coming here in the capacity of a doctor."
Here she paused and gave me one of her restless glances.
"Do you mind?" she asked.
"What have you said about me to Sir Henry?" I inquired.
"That you are a great friend of the Onslows, and that I have asked you here for a week's change," she answered immediately.
"As a guest, my husband will be polite and delightful to you—as a doctor, he would treat you with scant civility, and would probably give you little or none of his confidence."
I was quite silent for a moment after Lady Studley had told me this. Then I said:—
"Had I known that I was not to come to your house in the capacity of a medical man, I might have re-considered my earnest desire to help you."
She turned very pale when I said this, and tears filled her eyes.