Book: Uncle Max

R >> Rosa Nouchette Carey >> Uncle Max




'Oh, Gladys is never a robust woman. She is almost always pale.'

'It is not that,' he returned decidedly. 'I consider she looked very
ill. I don't believe the change has done her the least good. There is
something on her mind: no doubt she is longing for her cousin.'

I thought it well to remain silent, though Max's account made me anxious.
If only I could have spoken to him about Eric! Most likely Gladys was
fretting because there was no news from Joe Muggins. She was certainly
not fit for any fresh anxiety. I felt my banishment from Gladwyn acutely.
If Gladys were ill or dispirited, she would need me more than any one.

I think both Max and I were sorry when Mr. Tudor came back and
interrupted our conversation. He carried me off presently to show me
some improvements in the kitchen-garden; but Max was too lazy to join us,
and we had quite a confidential talk, walking up and down between the
apple-trees. Mr. Tudor told me that, after all, he was becoming fond of
his profession, and that the old women did not bore him quite so much.
When we returned, Max was not on the lawn, but a few minutes afterwards
he appeared at the study window.

'I was just speaking to Hamilton,' he said. 'He came while you were in
the kitchen-garden, but he was in a hurry and could not wait. By the bye,
he told me that I was not to let you sit out there any longer, as the
dews are so heavy. So come in, my dear.'

I obeyed Max without a word. He had been here, and I had missed him!
Everything was flat after that.

I took my leave early, feeling as though all my merriment had suddenly
dried up. How would he have met me? I wondered. Would Max have noticed
anything different? 'How long will this state of things go on?' I
thought, as I bade Max good-bye in the porch.

I waited for some days for Gladys to come to me, and then I wrote to
her just a few lines, begging her to have tea with me the following
afternoon; but two or three hours afterwards Chatty brought me a note.

'Do not think me unkind, Ursula,' she wrote, 'if I say that it is better
for us not to meet just now. I have twice been on my way to you, and Etta
has prevented my coming each time. My life just now is unendurable. Giles
notices nothing. I sometimes think Etta must be possessed, to treat me as
she does: I can see no reason for it. I hope I am not getting ill, but I
do not seem as though I could rouse myself to contend with her. I do not
sleep well, and my head pains me. If I get worse, I must speak to Giles:
I cannot be ill in this place.'

Gladys's letter made me very anxious. There was a tone about it that
seemed as though her nerves were giving way. The heat was intense, and
most likely anxiety about Eric was disturbing her night's rest. Want of
sleep would be serious to Gladys's highly-strung organisation. I was
determined to speak to Mr. Hamilton, or go myself to Gladwyn.

My fears were still further aroused when Sunday came and Gladys was not
in her usual place. After service Miss Darrell was speaking to some
friends in the porch. As I passed Mr. Hamilton I paused for a moment, to
question him: 'Why was Gladys not at church? Why did she never come to
see me now?'

'We might ask you that same question, I think,' he returned, rather
pointedly. 'Gladys is not well: she spoke to me yesterday about herself,
and I was obliged to give her a sleeping-draught. She was not awake when
we left the house.'

'I will come and see her,' I replied quickly, for Miss Darrell was
bearing down upon us, and I am sure she heard my last words; and as I
walked home I determined to go up to Gladwyn that very evening while the
family were at church.

I thought I had timed my visit well, and was much exasperated when Miss
Darrell opened the door to me.

'I saw you coming,' she said, in her smooth voice, 'and so I thought I
would save Leah the trouble. She is the only servant at home, and I sent
her upstairs to see if Gladys wanted anything. I hope you do not expect
to see Gladys to-night, Miss Garston?'

'I most certainly expect it,' was my reply. 'I have given up the evening
service, hearing that she was ill.'

'It is too kind of you; but I am sorry that I could not allow it for a
moment. Giles was telling me an hour ago that he could not think what
ailed Gladys: he was afraid of some nervous illness for her unless she
were kept quiet. I could not take the responsibility of disobeying
Giles.'

'I will take the responsibility on myself,' I returned coolly. 'You
forget that I am a nurse, Miss Darrell. I shall do Gladys no harm.'

'Excuse me if I must be the judge of that,' she returned, and her thin
lips closed in an inflexible curve: 'in my cousin's absence I could not
allow any one to go near Gladys. Leah is with her now trying to induce
her to take her sleeping-draught.'

I looked at Miss Darrell, and wondered if I could defy her to her face,
or whether I had better wait until I could speak to Mr. Hamilton. If
Gladys were really taking her sleeping-draught, my presence in her room
might excite her. If I could only know if she were telling me the truth!

My doubts were answered by Leah's entrance. Miss Darrell addressed her
eagerly:

'Have you given Miss Gladys the draught, Leah?'

'Yes, ma'am, and she seems nicely inclined to sleep. She heard Miss
Garston's voice, and sent me down with her love, and she is sorry not
to be able to see her to-night.'

I thought it better to take my leave after this, hoping for better
success next time. I watched anxiously for Mr. Hamilton the next day, but
unfortunately I missed him. When I arrived at Janet's he had just left
the house, and I did not meet him in the village. I was growing desperate
at hearing no news of Gladys, and had determined to go up boldly to
Gladwyn that very evening, when I saw Chatty coming in the direction of
the cottage. She looked very nicely dressed, and her round face broke
into dimples as she told me that Miss Darrell had sent her to the
station, and that she meant to call in and have a chat with Mrs. Hathaway
on her way, as she need not hurry back.

Jem Hathaway was pretty Chatty's sweetheart. I knew him well. He was
a blacksmith, and lived with his mother in the little stone-coloured
cottage that faced the green. He was an honest, steady young fellow,
a great friend of Nathaniel, and Mrs. Barton often told me that she
considered Chatty a lucky girl to have Jem for a sweetheart.

'And if you please, ma'am,' went on Chatty, looking round-eyed and
serious, 'my mistress said that I was to give you this.' And she produced
a slip of paper with a pencilled message. I knew Chatty always called
Gladys her mistress: so I opened the paper eagerly:

'Why did you go away on Sunday evening without seeing me? I implored Leah
to bring you up when I heard your voice talking to Etta, and when the
door closed I turned quite sick with disappointment. Ursula, I must see
you; they shall not keep you from me. Come up this evening at half-past
seven, while they are at dinner. Chatty will let you in.'

'Very well: tell your mistress I will come,' I observed; and Chatty
dropped a rustic courtesy, and said, 'Thank you, ma'am; that will do my
mistress good,' and tripped on her way.

I went back into my parlour, feeling worried and excited. Gladys had sent
for me, and I must go; but the idea of slipping into the house in this
surreptitious way was singularly repugnant to me. I would rather have
chosen a time when I knew Mr. Hamilton would be absent; but in that case
I might find it impossible to obtain admittance to Gladys's room. No,
I must put my own feelings aside, and follow her directions. But, in
spite of this resolve, I found it impossible to settle to anything until
the time came for keeping my appointment.

I arrived at Gladwyn just as the half-hour was chiming from the church
clock. As I walked quickly through the shrubbery I glanced nervously up
at the windows. Happily, the dining-room was at the back of the house,
but Leah might be sewing in her mistress's room and see me. As this
alarming thought occurred to my mind, I walked still more rapidly, but
before I could raise my hand to the bell the door opened noiselessly, and
Chatty's smiling face welcomed me.

'I was watching for you,' she whispered. 'Leah is in the housekeeper's
room, and master and Miss Darrell are at dinner. You can go up to my
mistress at once.'

I needed no further invitation. As I passed the dining-room door I could
hear Miss Darrell's little tinkling laugh and Mr. Hamilton's deep voice
answering her. The next moment Thornton came out of the room, and I had
only time to whisk round the corner. I confess this narrow escape very
much alarmed me, and my heart beat a little quickly as I tapped at
Gladys's door; then, as I heard her weak 'Come in,' I entered.

The room was full of some pungent scent, hot and unrefreshing. Some one
had moved the dressing-table, and Gladys lay on a couch in the circular
window, within the curtained enclosure. I always thought it the prettiest
window in the house. It looked full on the oak avenue, and on the elms,
where the rooks had built their nests. There was a glimpse of the white
road, too, and the blue smoke from the chimneys of Maplehurst was plainly
visible.

The evening sunshine was streaming full on Gladys's pale face, and my
first action after kissing her was to lower the blind. I was glad of the
excuse for turning away a moment, for her appearance gave me quite a
shock.

She looked as though she had been ill for weeks. Her face looked dark and
sunken, and the blue lines were painfully visible round her temples. Her
forehead was contracted, as though with severe pain, and her eyes were
heavy and feverish. When she raised her languid eyelids and looked at me,
a sudden fear contracted my heart.

'Ursula, thank God you have come!'

'We must always thank Him, dearest, whatever happens,' I returned, as
I knelt down by her and took her burning hand in mine. 'And now you must
tell me what is wrong with you, and why I find you like this.'

'I do not know,' she whispered, almost clinging to me. And it struck me
then that she was frightened about herself. 'As I told Giles, I feel very
ill. The heat tries me, and my head always aches,--such a dull, miserable
pain; and, most of all, I cannot sleep, and all sorts of horrid thoughts
come to me. Sometimes in the night, when I am quite alone, I feel as
though I were light-headed and should lose my senses. Oh, Ursula, if
this goes on, what will become of me?'

'We will talk about that presently. Tell me, have you ever been ill in
this way before?'

'Yes, last summer, only not so bad. But I had the pain and the
sleeplessness then. Giles was so good to me. He said I wanted change, and
he took a little cottage at Westgate-on-Sea and sent me down with Lady
Betty and Chatty, and I soon got all right.'

'So I thought. And now--'

'Oh, it is different this time,' she replied nervously. 'I did not have
dreadful thoughts then, or feel frightened, as I do now. Ursula, I know
I am very ill. If you leave me to Etta and Leah, I shall get worse. I
have sent for you to-night to remind you of your promise.'

'What promise?' I faltered. But of course I knew what she meant. A sense
of wretchedness had been slowly growing on me as she talked. If it should
come to that,--that I must remain under his roof! I felt a tingling sense
of shame and humiliation at the bare idea.

'Of your solemn promise, most solemnly uttered,' she repeated, 'that if I
were ill you would come and nurse me. I claim that promise, Ursula.'

'Is it absolutely necessary that I should come?' I asked, in a distressed
voice, for all at once life seemed too difficult to me. How had I
deserved this fresh pain!

In a moment her manner grew more excited.

'Necessary! If you leave me to Etta's tender mercies I shall die. But
no--no! you could not be so cruel. They are making me take those horrid
draughts now, and I know she gives me too much. I get so confused, but it
is not sleep. My one terror is that I shall say things I do not mean,
about--well, never mind that. And then she will say that my brain is
queer. She has hinted it already, when I was excited at your going away.
There is nothing too cruel for her to say to me. She hates me, and I do
not know why.'

'Hush! I cannot have you talk so much,' for her excitement alarmed me.
'Remember, I am your nurse now,--a very strict one, too, as you will
find. Yes, I will keep my promise. I will not leave you, darling.'

'You promise that? You will not go away to-night?'

'I shall not leave you until you are well again,' I returned, with forced
cheerfulness. But if she knew how keenly I felt my cruel position, how
sick and trembling I was at heart! What would he think of me? No, I must
not go into that. Gladys had asked this sacrifice of me. She had thrown
herself on my compassion. I would not forsake her. 'God knows my
integrity and innocence of intention. I will not be afraid to do my duty
to this suffering human creature,' I said to myself. And with this my
courage revived, and I felt that strength would be given me for all that
I had to do.




CHAPTER XXXVIII

IN THE TURRET-ROOM


My promise to stay with Gladys soothed her at once, and she lay back on
her pillows and closed her aching eyes contentedly, while I sat down and
wrote a hasty note to Mrs. Barton.

When I had finished it, I said quietly that I was going downstairs in
search of her brother; and when she looked a little frightened at this, I
made her understand, in as few words as possible, that it was necessary
for me to obtain his sanction, both as doctor and master of the house,
and then we should have nothing to fear from Miss Darrell. And when I had
said this she let me go more willingly.

My errand was not a pleasant one, and I felt very sorry for myself as I
walked slowly downstairs hoping that I should find Mr. Hamilton alone in
his study; but they must have lingered longer than usual over dessert,
for before I reached the hall the dining-room door opened, and they came
out together; and Miss Darrell paused for a moment under the hall lamp.

She was very much overdressed, as usual, in an _eau de Nile_ gown,
trimmed with costly lace: her gold bangles jangled as she fanned herself.

'Come out into the garden, Giles,' she said, with a ladylike yawn; 'it is
so hot indoors. I thought you said that you expected Mr. Cunliffe.'

'Perhaps he will be here by and by,' returned Mr. Hamilton; and then he
looked up and saw me.

'Miss Garston!' he ejaculated, as though he could scarcely believe his
eyes, and Miss Darrell broke into an angry little laugh; but I took no
notice of her. I determined to speak out boldly what I had to say.

'Mr. Hamilton,' I said quickly, 'I have seen Gladys. I am quite shocked
at her appearance: she certainly looks very ill. If you will allow me,
I should like to remain and nurse her.'

'But you must allow no such thing, Giles,' interfered his cousin sharply.
'I have always nursed poor dear Gladys myself, and no one understands her
as I do.'

'Gladys sent for me just now,' I went on firmly, without taking any
notice of this speech, 'to beg me to remain with her. She has set her
heart on my nursing her, and she reminded me of my promise.'

'What promise?' he asked, rather harshly; but I noticed that he looked
disturbed and ill at ease.

'Some months ago, just before Gladys went to Bournemouth, she asked me to
make her a promise, that if she were ever ill in this house I would give
up my work and come and nurse her. She was perfectly well then,--at
least, in her ordinary health,--and I saw no harm in giving her the
promise. She claims from me now the fulfilment.'

'Very extraordinary,' observed Miss Darrell, in a sneering voice. 'But
then dear Gladys was always a little odd and romantic. You remember I
warned you some time ago, Giles, that if we were not careful and firm--'

'Pshaw!' was the impatient answer, and I continued pleadingly,--

'Gladys seems to me in a weak, nervous state, and I do not think it would
be wise to thwart her in this. Sick people must be humoured sometimes. I
think you could trust me to watch over her most carefully.'

'Giles, I will not answer for the consequences if Miss Garston nurses
Gladys,' interposed Miss Darrell eagerly. 'You have no idea how she
excites her. They talk, and have mysteries together, and Gladys is always
more low-spirited when she has seen Miss Garston. You know I have only
dear Gladys's interest at heart, and in a serious nervous illness like
this--' But he interrupted her.

'Etta, this is no affair of yours: you can leave me, if you please, to
make arrangements for my sister. I am very much obliged to you, Miss
Garston, for offering to nurse Gladys, but there was no need of all this
explanation; you might have known, I think, that I was not likely to
refuse.'

He spoke coldly, and his face looked dark and inflexible, but I could see
he was watching me. I am sure I perplexed and baffled him that night: as
I thanked him warmly for his consent, he checked me almost irritably:

'Nonsense! the thanks are on our side, as we shall reap the benefit of
your services. What shall you do about your other patients, may I ask?'

'I will tell you,' I returned, not a bit daunted either by his
irritability or sternness. In my heart I knew that he was glad that
I had asked this favour of him. Oh, I understood him too well to be
afraid of his moods now!

'I must ask you to help me,' I went on. 'Will you kindly send that note
to Mrs. Barton. It is to beg her to furnish me with all I need.'

'Thornton shall take it at once,' he returned promptly.

'Thank you. Now about my poor people. Little Jessie still needs care, and
Janet will be an invalid for some time. I do not wish them to miss me.'

His face softened; a half-smile came to his lips. 'There is only one
village nurse,' he said dubiously.

'True, but I think I can find an excellent substitute. Do you remember my
speaking to you of a young nurse at St. Thomas's who was obliged to leave
from ill health? She is better now, only not fit for hospital work. I am
thinking of writing to her, and asking her to occupy my rooms at the
cottage for a week or two until Gladys is better. Change of air will do
Miss Watson good, and it will not hurt her to look after Janet and little
Jessie.'

Mr. Hamilton looked pleased at this suggestion,--'an excellent idea,'
and, as though by an afterthought, 'a very kind one. I did not wish to
add to your burdens, but Janet Coombe is hardly out of the wood yet.'

Miss Darrell tittered scornfully. As I glanced at her, I saw she was
dragging her gold bangles over her arm until there was a red line on the
flesh. Her eyes looked dark and glittering, but she was obliged to
suppress her anger.

'Janet Coombe is only a poor servant. The work is not so attractive to
Miss Garston, I should think,' she said, in a tone so suggestive that the
blood rushed to my face. Women know how to stab sometimes. Happily, Mr.
Hamilton's common sense came to my aid. I quieted down directly at the
first sound of his voice.

'What makes you so uncharitable, Etta? We all know our village nurse too
well to believe that insinuation. If Gladys be only nursed with half the
tenderness that was shown to Janet, I shall be quite content to leave her
under Miss Garston's care.' Then, turning to me, with something of his
old cordial manner, 'Well, it is all settled, is it not, that you remain
here to-night? Is there anything else you wish to say to me?'

'Only one thing,' I replied quietly. 'Will you kindly give orders that
Gladys's little maid, Chatty, waits upon the sick-room? Leah seems to
have taken that office upon herself lately, and Gladys has a great
dislike to her.'

'Really, this passes everything!' exclaimed Miss Darrell angrily. 'What
has my poor Leah done, to be set aside in this way?'

'She is your maid, is she not, Etta?'

'Yes; but, Giles--'

'And Chatty always waits on my sisters. It is certainly not Leah's
business to wait on the turret-room.'

'Leah,' raising his voice a little, as Leah came downstairs with a tray
of linen, 'I want to speak to you a moment. Miss Garston has undertaken
to nurse my sister, and all her orders are to be carried out. Chatty is
to attend to the sick-room for the future; there is no need for you to
neglect your mistress.'

'Very well, sir,' replied the woman civilly; but he did not see the look
she gave me. I had made an enemy of Leah from that moment: neither she
nor her mistress would ever forgive me that slight.

'If Miss Garston has no more orders to give me,' observed Miss Darrell,
with ill-concealed temper, 'I may as well go, for I am rather tired of
this, Giles.' And she followed Leah, and we could hear them whispering
in the little passage leading to the housekeeper's room.

'You must not mind Etta's little show of temper,' remarked Mr. Hamilton
apologetically. 'She is rather put out because Gladys prefers your
nursing. Between ourselves, she is a little too fussy to suit a nervous
invalid; but she is kind-hearted and means well. I was rather sorry for
her just now, but I know how to bring her round.'

'I am no favourite with Miss Darrell,' I returned, wondering secretly at
his blind infatuation for his cousin.

'No; it is easy to see that you do not understand each other. Etta was
not quite fair to you just now. That is why I spoke so decidedly. I will
have no interference with the sick-room: you will have to account to me,
but to no one else.'

I did not venture to raise my eyes. I was so afraid they might betray me.
How could I repent my trust in such a man? I felt I could wait cheerfully
for years, until he chose to break down the barrier between us.

I bade him good-night, after this, and hurried back to Gladys. I had no
idea that he was following me. As I closed the door, I said, in quite a
gay tone,--

'Well, darling, I always told you your brother was your best friend, and
he has proved the truth of my words. I knew we could trust him--' But a
knock at the door interrupted me. I felt rather confused when he entered,
for I knew I must have been overheard; but he took no notice, and went
straight up to Gladys.

'You see, it is to be as you wished,' he said pleasantly, 'and Miss
Garston has installed herself here as your nurse. Is your mind easier
now, you foolish child?'

'Oh yes, Giles, and I am so much obliged to you; it is so good of you to
allow it.'

'Humph! I don't see the goodness much; but never mind that now: you must
promise me to do all Miss Garston tells you, and get well as soon as you
can. Make up your mind, my dear, that you will try and overcome all these
nervous fancies.'

'Yes, Giles,' very faintly.

'You have let yourself get rather too low, and so it will be hard work to
pull you up again; but we mean to do it between us, eh, Miss Garston?'

I told him that I hoped Gladys would soon be better.

'Oh yes; but Rome was not built in a day,' patting her hand: 'we want a
little time and patience, that is all.' And he was leaving the room, when
her languid voice recalled him:

'I mean to be good, and give as little trouble as possible,--and--and--I
should like you to kiss me, Giles.'

I saw a dusky flush come to his face as he stooped and kissed her. I knew
it was the first time that she had ever voluntarily kissed him since
Eric's loss.

'Good-night, my dear,' he said, very gently; but he did not look at me as
he left the room.

I put Gladys to bed after this, with Chatty's help. She was very faint
and exhausted, and I sat down in the moonlight to watch her. My thoughts
were busy enough. There would be little sleep for me that night, I knew.
It was so strange for me to be under that roof,--so strange and so sweet
that I should be serving him and his; and then I thought of Uncle Max,
and how troubled he would be to hear of Gladys's illness, and I
determined to write to him the next day.

I was rather startled later on, when most of the household had retired to
rest, to hear a gentle tap at the door.

Of course it was Mr. Hamilton, and I went into the passage, half closing
the door behind me.

'Is she asleep?' he asked anxiously, as he noticed this action.

'No, not asleep, but quite drowsy. I have given her the draught as you
wished, but it is singular how she objects to it. She says it only
confuses her head, and gives her nightmare.'

'We must quiet her by some means,' he returned; and I saw by the light of
the lamp he carried that his face looked rather grave. 'Perhaps you did
not know that Etta and I were up with her last night. She was in a
condition that bordered on delirium.'

'No; I certainly did not know that.'

'She may be better to-night,' he returned quickly: 'her mind is more at
rest. Poor child! I cannot understand what has brought on this state of
disordered nerves.'

'Nor I.'

'It is very sad altogether. It is a great relief to me to know you are
with her. I must have had a professional nurse, for Etta's fussiness was
driving her crazy. Now, Miss Garston,' in a business-like tone, 'I want
to know how they have provided for your comfort. Where do you sleep
to-night?'

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