He stood for a few minutes looking at his old nurse, with a dark moody
face. What could he feel except supreme indignation against this woman,
who dared to oppose him when he had the best right to rely on her
faithful service? She had promised him her fidelity, and at the first
hint from a stranger she coolly deserted him and went over to the enemy.
"Do you mean to say that you refuse to let me look at the medicine which
you have been giving to my stepdaughter?" he asked.
"I mean to say that I will obey the orders given me by the strange
doctor," the old woman answered, with a calm sadness of tone, "even if it
turns you against me--you that have given me a comfortable home when
there was nothing before me but the workhouse; you that I carried in my
arms forty years ago. If it was anything less than her dear life that was
in danger, sir, and if I hadn't stood by her father's deathbed, I
couldn't stand against you like this. But knowing what I do, I will stand
firm as a rock between you and her; and think myself all the more truly
your faithful servant because I do not fear to offend you."
"That's so much arrant humbug, Mrs. Woolper. I suppose you've made your
book with Miss Halliday and Miss Halliday's lover, and think you can
serve your turn best by sticking to them and throwing me over the bridge.
It's only the way of the world. You're genuine Yorkshire, and know how to
pack your cards for winning the trick.
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