stand there talking to me in a low voice, and feeling a kind of
satisfaction, I believe, in being so near his darling.

Once I ventured to tell her that he was there, and to let him speak
a few words for her to hear. But the sound of the voice she loved so
well had such an agitating effect upon her, that I sorely repented
my imprudence, and took good care not to repeat it.


So the days went by, in that slow dreary way in which time passes
when those we love are ill; and it seemed, in the dead calm of the
sick-room, as if all the business of life had come to a stand-still.

I did not see much of Mrs. Darrell during this period. She came to
Milly's door two or three times a day to ask about her progress,
with all appearance of affection and anxiety; but throughout the
rest of the day she remained secluded in her own rooms. I noticed
that she had a wan haggard look at this time, like that of a person
who had existed for a long while without sleep; but this in no
manner surprised me, after that scene in the drawing-room.

As the time went by, I felt that my strength was beginning to fail,
and I sadly feared that we might have at last to employ the
professional aid which the Manchester physician had suggested. I had
slept very little from the beginning of Milly's illness, being too
anxious to sleep when I had the opportunity of doing so; and I now
began to suffer from the effects of this prolonged sleeplessness.
But I struggled resolutely against fatigue, determined to see my
dear girl through the fever if possible; and I succeeded
wonderfully, by the aid of unlimited cups of strong tea, and always