Her illness may, after all,
be only an affair of the nerves; and there is certainly no cause for
immediate fear."
Georgy was tranquillised, and agreed to take matters quietly. She
promised to arrange Charlotte's departure for Newhall, with Mr. Sheldon,
that evening.
"Of course, you know, my dear, I like to consult him about everything,"
she said, apologetically. "It is a duty which one owes one's husband, you
know, and a duty which, as a young woman about to marry, I cannot too
much impress upon you; but in this case it is quite a matter of form: Mr.
Sheldon never has objected to Charlotte's going to Newhall, and he is not
likely to object now."
The event proved Mrs. Sheldon mistaken as to this matter. Georgy proposed
the visit to Newhall that evening, while the two girls were strolling
listlessly in the dusky garden, and Mr. Sheldon most decidedly rejected
the proposition.
"If she wants change of air--and Dr. Doddleson recommended nothing of the
kind--Newhall is not the place for her."
"Why not, dear?"
"It is too cold. Northerly aspect--no shelter--three hundred feet above
York minster."
"But Dorothy Mercer is such a kind motherly creature; she'd delight in
nursing Lotta."
"Yes," answered Mr. Sheldon, with a laugh, "and in quacking her. I know
what those good motherly creatures are when they get an excuse for dosing
some unhappy victim with their quack nostrums.
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