"Undoubtedly," said the doctor, with a solemn nod.
"And is this all?" asked Valentine hopelessly.
"My dear sir, what else can I say?" said the doctor; "as my good friend Mr. Sheldon has just remarked, there is extreme languor; and as my good friend Mr. Sheldon further observes, we must await the effect of change of air. The--aw--invigorating sea-breezes, the--aw--enlivening influence of new surroundings, and--aw--so forth. Dr. Poseidon, my dear sir, is a very valuable coadjutor."
"And you think your patient no worse, Dr. Doddleson?"
"The doctor has just left Mrs. Sheldon much comforted by his assurance that her daughter is better," said the stockbroker.
"No, no!" exclaimed Dr. Doddleson; "no, no! _there_ my good friend Mr. Sheldon somewhat misrepresents me. I said that our patient was not obviously worse. I did not say that our patient was better. There is a dilatation of the pupil of the eye which I don't quite understand."
"Mental excitement," said Mr. Sheldon, somewhat hastily; "Charlotte is nervous to an extreme degree, and your sudden arrival was calculated to shake her nerves."
"Undoubtedly," rejoined the doctor; "and it is unquestionable that such a dilatation of the pupil might, under certain circumstances, be occasioned by mental excitement. I am sorry to find that our patient's attacks of dizziness--"
"Which are purely the effect of fancy," interjected Mr. Sheldon.
"Which are no doubt, in some measure, attributable to a hypochondriacal condition of mind," continued the doctor in his fat voice. "I am sorry to find that this periodical dizziness has been somewhat increased of late. But here again we must look to Dr. Poseidon. Tepid sea-baths, if they can be managed, in the patient's own room; and by-and-by a dip in the waves yonder, may do wonders."
Valentine asked no further questions; and the physician departed in the St. Leonards fly, to turn his excursion to profitable use by calling on two or three dowagers in Warrior Square and Marina, who would doubtless be glad of an unexpected visit from their pet doctor.
"Well, Hawkehurst," said Mr. Sheldon, when the fly had driven away, "I hope you are satisfied now?"
"Satisfied!" cried Valentine; "yes, I am satisfied that your stepdaughter is being murdered!"