“Oh, he has asked for you! That is, he has asked for some lady named ‘Anne’ almost constantly, and I suppose that means you? You see he has his quiet moments, and this is one of them. A sort of unconsciousness, you know. I guess it’s Nature’s way of giving him a rest.”
“How long do these periods usually last?”
“Anywhere from ten minutes to an hour. You’d better stay all night. I’ll make up the daybed for you in the studio. The doctor will be here soon again and will probably want to talk things over with you. If you can only be here when one of his spells comes on, it may make all the difference!”
“Very well.” Anne put Alexis’ hand back on to the cover and rose to her feet. “I will stay, of course. If you’ll show me where the telephone is, I’ll call up my maid and have her send me a few necessary things for the night. By the way,” she hesitated a moment as she reached the door, “are the other two ladies spending the night here also?”
The nurse looked surprised.
“Oh no, ma’am. They always go home at night. They’ve probably left already. The telephone’s right in the studio by the front door. Yes, that’s it.”
So they had gone! With a sensation of reprieve, Anne crossed the empty room quickly and got into communication with Regina.
Half an hour later she was installed in the raised alcove off the studio.
But it would be days before Anne would see her own house again. Days in which she and the doctor and the nurse would wrestle with fiery death for the life of Alexis Petrovskey.