I did have a cough
when I came here: my chest is not strong."
"But why should she ignore heart-disease?"
"There was a fear that Maude would be subject to it when she was a child.
Should it be disclosed to her that it is my complaint, and were I to die
of it, she might grow so alarmed for herself as to bring it on; and
agitation, as we know, is often fatal in such cases."
Lord Hartledon sat in a sort of horror. Maude subject to heart-disease!
when at any moment a certain fearful tale, of which he was the guilty
centre, might be disclosed to her! Day by day, hour by hour, he lived in
dread of this story's being brought to light. This little unexpected
communication increased that dread fourfold.
"Have I shocked you?" asked Captain Kirton. "I may yet get the better of
it."
"I believe I was thinking of Maude," answered Hartledon, slowly
recovering from his stupor. "I never heard--I had no idea that Maude's
heart was not perfectly sound."
"And I don't know but that it is sound; it was only a fancy when she was
a child, and there might have been no real grounds for it. My mother is
full of crotchets on the subject of illness; and says she won't have
anything about heart-disease put into Maude's head. She is right, of
course, so far, in using precaution; so please remember that I am
suffering from any disorder but that," concluded the young officer with
a smile.
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