For some years
he had suffered increasingly from recurrent attacks of the
disease to which I have already referred; and, whatever might be
the motive of his mother-in-law's behavior, certainly, in those
attacks, it was a comfort to him to be near her. On such
occasions in London, his sole attendant was his man Mewks.
Mary was delighted to see more of her country. She had traveled
very little, but was capable of gathering ten times more from a
journey to Cornwall than most travelers from one through
Switzerland itself. The place to which they went was lonely and
lovely, and Mary, for the first few days, enjoyed it unspeakably.
But then, suddenly, as was not unusual, Mr. Redmain was taken
ill. For some reason or other, he had sent his man to London, and
the only other they had with them, besides the coachman, was
useless in such a need, while the housekeeper who lived at the
place was nearly decrepit; so that of the household Mary alone
was capable of fit attendance in the sickroom. Hesper shrunk,
almost with horror, certainly with disgust, from the idea of
having anything to do with her husband as an invalid. When she
had the choice of her company, she said, she would not choose
his. Mewks was sent for at once, but did not arrive before the
patient had had some experience of Mary's tendance; nor, after he
came, was she altogether without opportunity of ministering to
him.
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