"Come, come, my dear child, you mustn't be so silly. It's not cholera or anything of the kind."
"Where's Walter?"
"Your husband is much too busy to be troubled. In five minutes you'll be perfectly well."
Kitty looked at her with staring, harassed eyes. Why did she take it so calmly? It was cruel.
"Keep perfectly quiet for a minute," said the Mother Superior. "There is nothing to alarm yourself about."
Kitty felt her heart beat madly. She had grown so used to the thought of cholera that it had ceased to seem possible that she could catch it. Oh, the fool she had been! She knew she was going to die. She was frightened. The girls brought in a long rattan chair and placed it by the window.
"Come, let us lift you," said the Mother Superior. "You will be more comfortable on the chaise longue. Do you think you can stand?"
She put her hands under Kitty's arms and Sister St. Joseph helped her to her feet. She sank exhausted into the chair.
"I had better shut the window," said Sister St. Joseph. "The early morning air cannot be good for her."
"No, no," said Kitty. "Please leave it open."