Betty was either better or worse.... The Doctor came. As he was leaving, Helen walked to the stairs with him.
“Yes, there is a change,” he said.
“You think it is good?”
“Yes.... It’s been nearly six months. Yes, I think it is good. She would have been dead without you, Miss Quiston. I don’t know what you do—but you keep her from the engrossing mania.”
“She has some strength, Doctor?”
“It is all a matter of will at this stage. All along we have battled to keep her somehow nourished.”
Helen went back to the studio. Betty was on her feet again. The nurse was at hand, but she had never been able to involve herself in the patient’s understanding. She left the room now, anticipating the inevitable request.
“Do you think, Helen—that as he finishes his work—more and more—the ruins will come back to mind?”
6