The New Mistress Part 57

Feelier's sobs ended in one large gulp, as if by magic, and she lay perfectly still, staring at the other bed.

"Please, Miss Burge," she whispered, "will you bring some of your roses and put in water by teacher's pillow?"

"Yes, my dear, that I will," said the little lady, patting Feelier's hand. "And now lie still, and don't talk; let's keep the room quiet, and try to make her better."

"Yes, Miss Burge; but please will teacher get well?"

"Why, surely, my dear; and very soon."

"Because mother said I was a little wretch and gave teacher the fever, and I wish I may die instead."

"But you shall both get well, my dear, very soon; and then you shall both go down to the sea, and you shall be Miss Thorne's little maid."

"Shall I?" cried the girl, with her eyes sparkling and a flush coming into her thin, sunken cheeks.

"Yes, that you shall, my dear; only lie very still, and don't talk."

"Please, Miss Burge," whispered Feelier, "let me tell you this."

"Well, only this one thing, and then you must be very quiet, my dear."

"Yes, I will," whispered Feelier, in a quiet, old-fas.h.i.+oned way; "but that's how teacher keeps on all night and all day; she keeps on wanting Mr William Forth Burge to come to her, and mother says I kep' on just the same, asking for teacher to come, and I was quiet when she did, and then"--sob--"she caught the fever too."

"Yes, yes, my dear; but you'll soon do better now."

"But you'd better let old Billy Burge--"

Feelier stopped short, conscious of the slip of her guilty tongue, and looked up at her gentle attendant as if she expected a blow.

"I won't call him that name agen," she said demurely, "but if he come he'd do teacher good; only if he did come, he'd ketch the fever too, and I don't know what's best, only we mustn't let teacher die."

"No, no, my dear; of course not," whispered little Miss Burge hastily.

"But if she did die I know what I should do," said Feelier dreamily, and with a drowsy look in her eyes, the effect of being washed and the cooler atmosphere of the room inducing sleep.

"What should you do, my dear?" said Miss Burge, pressing down the pillow to let the cool air blow upon her cheek.

"I should set violets and primroses all over her grave; and if any of the other girls was to pick any of 'em, oh, I would give 'em such a banging! And then--then--then--"

And then poor, weak Ophelia Potts sank into a profound sleep, and little Miss Burge wiped her eyes and sat and watched Hazel's weary, restless head; listening to her broken sentences and the incoherent mutterings, all of which were to the same tune--that she had been weak and cruel and ungrateful to one who had been all devotion to her, and that she would never rest till she had tried to make him some amends.

"Poor Bill, if he could only hear her now, how glad he'd be!" sighed the watcher; "but this will all pa.s.s away, and when she gets well she'll never know she said a word. Poor Bill; it won't never--it couldn't ever be!"

"I want Mr Burge," cried Hazel suddenly, and her voice sounded hard and strange. "Tell him to come to me--tell him to come."

"Yes, yes, yes, my darling; he shall come soon."

"He would catch the fever, do you say? No no; I could not give it to him; he is so kind and good. Tell Mr Geringer, mother, it is impossible; I could not be his wife."

"Oh, my poor dear!" whispered Miss Burge, bathing Hazel's burning forehead with the eau-de-cologne that Mrs Potts had now brought; "that poor, poor, burning, wandering brain. Why don't the doctor come?"

CHAPTER FORTY THREE.

THE QUEEN'S PHYSICIAN.

It was many hours yet before the doctor came, for the life of one patient is no more to a medical man than that of another, and the great physician had several urgent cases to see before he could use the special train placed at his disposal by Hazel's elderly lover, who had never left the station all the morning, and had given instructions that the starting of the train should be telegraphed to him from the terminus in town.

In addition, he had a messenger, in the shape of Feelier's brother, who came to and fro every hour to where Mr William Forth Burge was walking up and down the platform, to deliver a report from Miss Burge on the patient's state.

One of these messages was to the effect that the local doctor had been, and said that there was no change; and that he was stopping at home on purpose to meet the great physician when he came.

So was Mr William Forth Burge's carriage, and so was a group of the tradespeople and others, for in the easy-going life of a little country town the loss of a day was as nothing compared to the chance of seeing the Queen's own physician when he came down.

At last, but not till far in the afternoon, came the lightning message speeding along the wires, "Special left King's Cross 3:30;" and then how slow seemed the rapid special, and by comparison how it lagged upon its way, for it would be quite an hour and a half, the station-master said, perhaps two hours, even at express speed.

And all this time William Forth Burge waited, and would have taken nothing but for the thoughtfulness of the station-master's wife, who brought him some tea.

"No, six, not yet; that's the fast down." Or, "No sir, not yet; that's only the afternoon goods." Or again, "No sir; that's only the slow local. They'll wire me from Marshton when she pa.s.ses."

This from the chief official; and at last the wired message came, and after what seemed to be an interminable time, a fast engine, tender, one saloon carriage, and brake steamed into the station, and a little, quiet dark man stepped out as the door was held open by the station-master, waiting ready to do honour to the man greater in his power than the magician kings of old, but very weak even then.

"Mr William Forth Burge? Thanks. Carriage waiting. Thanks. Now tell me a little of the case."

This was mastered princ.i.p.ally by questions as they drove to the cottage.

"Yes," said the great man. "I see. The old thing, my dear sir. What can you expect with sanitary arrangements such as these?"

He pointed right and left as they drove along, Mr William Forth Burge suddenly checking the driver, as they were about halfway, to pick up Doctor Bartlett, the resident medical man.

Next followed a consultation in the wretched keeping-room of the cottage, the great doctor treating his humble brother with the most profound respect, and then they went up to the bedroom, and little Miss Burge came down to her brother with her handkerchief to her eyes.

A dreary half-hour followed before the doctors came down, the two occupants of the room gazing up at them with appeal in their eyes as they vacated their chairs in the great man's favour.

"I can only say, Mr William Forth Burge, that we must hope," said the great baronet. "It is the most ordinary form of typhoid fever, and must have its course. I may add that I almost regret that you should have called me down, unless my opinion is any comfort to you; for I can neither add to nor detract from the skilful treatment adopted by my _confrere_, Doctor Bartlett, who is carefully watching the case. What we want is the best of nursing; and, at any cost, let the poor girl be taken to some light, wholesome, airy room."

"Might we risk moving her?" panted Mr Burge.

"It is a grave risk; but it must be ventured, with the greatest care, under Doctor Bartlett's instructions; for I have no hesitation in saying that if our patient stays here she will die."

"G.o.d bless you, Sir Henry; I'd have given all I possess for that!"

gasped Burge, as he placed a slip of paper in the doctor's hands.

There was the drive back to the station, the little train steamed out, and that evening, while poor Feelier Potts slept, Hazel Thorne was carried down to the Burges' carriage, and lay that night in the west room, to keep on talking incessantly of her cruelty to one who had been so n.o.ble, so true, and good, and to make appeals to him for his forgiveness, as she now knew how to value his honest love.