第104章

wastoseethelastofher。IhopeandtrustIshallneverseteyesonheragain!“

“DidyouhearhowMr。Speedwellcametobeatthehouse？Hadhegoneofhisownaccord？orhadhebeensentfor？“

“Hehadbeensentfor。IventuredtospeaktohimaboutthepersonswhomIhadseeninthegarden。Mr。SpeedwellexplainedeverythingwhichIwasnotableofmyselftounderstand，inthekindestmanner。Oneofthetwostrangemeninthegardenwasthetrainer；theotherwasadoctor，whomthetrainerwasusuallyinthehabitofconsulting。ItseemsthattherealreasonfortheirbringingGeoffreyDelamaynawayfromScotlandwhentheydid，wasthatthetrainerwasuneasy，andwantedtobenearLondonformedicaladvice。Thedoctor，onbeingconsulted，ownedthathewasatalosstounderstandthesymptomswhichhewasaskedtotreat。

HehadhimselffetchedthegreatsurgeontoFulham，thatmorning。

Mr。Speedwellabstainedfrommentioningthathehadforeseenwhatwouldhappen，atWindygates。Allhesaidwas，’IhadmetMr。

Delamayninsociety，andIfeltinterestenoughinthecasetopayhimavisit——withwhatresult，youhaveseenyourself。’“

“DidhetellyouanythingaboutDelamayn’shealth？“

“HesaidthathehadquestionedthedoctoronthewaytoFulham，andthatsomeofthepatient’ssymptomsindicatedseriousmischief。WhatthesymptomswereIdidnothear。Mr。Speedwellonlyspokeofchangesfortheworseinhimwhichawomanwouldbelikelytounderstand。Atonetime，hewouldbesodullandheedlessthatnothingcouldrousehim。Atanother，heflewintothemostterriblepassionswithoutanyapparentcause。Thetrainerhadfounditalmostimpossible(inScotland)tokeephimtotherightdiet；andthedoctorhadonlysanctionedtakingthehouseatFulham，afterbeingfirstsatisfied，notonlyoftheconvenienceofthegarden，butalsothatHesterDethridgecouldbethoroughlytrustedasacook。Withherhelp，theyhadplacedhimonanentirelynewdiet。Buttheyhadfoundanunexpecteddifficultyevenindoingthat。Whenthetrainertookhimtothenewlodgings，itturnedoutthathehadseenHesterDethridgeatWindygates，andhadtakenthestrongestprejudiceagainsther。OnseeingheragainatFulham，heappearedtobeabsolutelyterrified。“

“Terrified？Why？“

“Nobodyknowswhy。Thetrainerandthedoctortogethercouldonlypreventhisleavingthehouse，bythreateningtothrowuptheresponsibilityofpreparinghimfortherace，unlessheinstantlycontrolledhimself，andbehavedlikeamaninsteadofachild。

Sincethattime，hehasbecomereconciled，littlebylittle，tohisnewabode——partlythroughHesterDethridge’scautioninkeepingherselfalwaysoutofhisway；andpartlythroughhisownappreciationofthechangeinhisdiet，whichHester’sskillin