"I am not a doctor," he answered, "but
I confess that I think very badly of him, and I believe that the woman
is right, and that a doctor would be useless."
They rode on silently for a time, when Colonel George said, "That poor
woman looked nearly as ill as her son. She went through terrible
things before Corunna, but the last few days must have been almost
worse. The strain of carrying him all that distance from Bracefort
must have been more than she could really stand. She has no one except
him in the world, and if he be taken from her, I cannot think how she
will struggle on alone."
"Yes," said Lady Eleanor, as if talking to herself, "it is terrible to
be left alone."
Colonel George glanced at her quickly, but she was looking sadly
straight in front of her, and he rode on for some way further in
silence before he broke out almost fiercely, "When I lost my best
friend at Salamanca, my first thought was for her who by his death was
left alone. When I came back after the peace I should have asked her,
if I had dared, to live alone no longer, but to come and live with me.
But I dared not, and went away again, dreading every day lest I might
no longer find her alone when I came back. And now I am about
accepting an appointment at the Cape and leaving her alone again, when
God knows, all I care for in this world is to throw up my commission
and stay with her--always, if she will let me.
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