She rose from her seat now in her agitation, and as she did so a pang sharp as a knife went through her chest. She paused as if she were stricken with death, and her breath came short and sharp. After a moment she went up to the glass and examined her face carefully.
“Thin, thin to emaciation,” she said to herself. “The bones protrude. Ah, how ugly I grow! No wonder he cannot love me. And this cough which I am always trying to suppress, and the burning thirst, and the fever at night, and the cold sweat—oh, great heaven! I know the truth, but I will have my fears confirmed, and now at this moment. I will be a coward no longer. My friend, Dr. Mary Murchison, will tell me the truth, and I would rather hear it from the lips of a woman than a man.”
Clara left the drawing-room, went to her bedroom, put on her bonnet and warm mantle, and went out. Walking quickly, she soon reached Dr. Mary Murchison’s house in Queen Anne Street. The lady doctor was at home, and when Clara was ushered into her consulting-room came at once to see her.
“Mrs. Tarbot,” she cried, shaking hands with her. “I am glad you have come, but what can I do for you?”
“I am here on a painful business,” said Clara. “I am, as you know, a doctor’s wife, but I would rather have the opinion of one who is not related to me. I have been unwell for some time.”
“My lungs are, I know, affected. Will you tell me how seriously they are involved?”
Dr. Mary Murchison promised to comply. She brought her stethoscope, Clara bared her chest, and the doctor listened attentively. After a moment or two she put down the stethoscope and looked full at Dr. Tarbot’s wife.
“Well, yes, I do mean it. Both your lungs are affected, one extensively, but both are affected.”
“Thank you very much. I must return home now,” said Clara.
“But take care of yourself. You did wrong to come out in the night air. How mad Dr. Tarbot must be not to have discovered this long ago! He ought to have sent you to a warmer climate.”
“It doesn’t matter,” said Clara. “I thank you for telling me the truth.”
She shook hands with Dr. Murchison and left the house. She had not been absent from her own house more than half an hour, and as she reentered the house Tarbot met her.