Observing that she seemed unwilling to be disturbed, he did not
remove the clothes from her face when he wished her goodnight,
but pressed his lips on her head, and patted it gently with his
hand. She shrank at the touch as if it hurt her, light as it was,
and he went downstairs, resolved to send for the doctor again if
she did not get to rest on being left quiet. In less than half an
hour afterward the maid came down and relieved his anxiety by
reporting that her mistress was asleep.
The next morning he found her in better spirits. Her eyes, she
said, felt too weak to bear the light, so she kept the bedroom
darkened. But in other respects she had little to complain of.
After answering her husband's first inquiries, she questioned him
about his plans for the day. He had letters to write which would
occupy him until twelve o'clock. At two o'clock he expected the
volume of the _Times_ to arrive, and he should then devote the
rest of the afternoon to his work. After hearing what his plans
were, Mrs. Carling suggested that he should ride out after he had
done his letters, so as to get some exercise at the fine part of
the day; and she then reminded him that a longer time than usual
had elapsed since he had been to see a certain old pensioner of
his, who had nursed him as a child, and who was now bedridden, in
a village at some distance, called Tringweighton.
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