She said:
“Roddy, I want you to listen to me carefully!”
He turned to her, slightly surprised.
“Of course, Elinor.”
“I want you, if you will, to follow my advice.”
“And what is your advice?”
Elinor said calmly:
“You are not particularly tied? You can always get a holiday, can’t you?”
“Oh, yes.”
“Then do—just that. Go abroad somewhere for—say, three months. Go by yourself. Make new friends and see new places. Let’s speak quite frankly. At this moment you think you’re in love with Mary Gerrard. Perhaps you are. But it isn’t a moment for approaching her—you know that only too well. Our engagement is definitely broken off. Go abroad, then, as a free man, and at the end of the three months, as a free man, make up your mind. You’ll know then whether you—really love Mary or whether it was only a temporary infatuation. And if you are quite sure you do love her—well, then, come back and go to her and tell her so, and that you’re quite sure about it, and perhaps then she’ll listen.”
Roddy came to her. He caught her hand in his.
“Elinor, you’re wonderful! So clearheaded! So marvellously impersonal! There’s no trace of pettiness or meanness about you. I admire you more than I can ever say. I’ll do exactly what you suggest. Go away, cut free from everything—and find out whether I’ve got the genuine disease or if I’ve just been making the most ghastly fool of myself. Oh, Elinor, my dear, you don’t know how truly fond I am of you. I do realize you were always a thousand times too good for me. Bless you, dear, for all your goodness.”
Quickly, impulsively, he kissed her cheek and went out of the room.
It was as well, perhaps, that he did not look back and see her face.
IV
It was a couple of days later that Mary acquainted Nurse Hopkins with her improved prospects.
That practical woman was warmly congratulatory.
“That’s a great piece of luck for you, Mary,” she said. “The old lady may have meant well by you, but unless a thing’s down in black and white, intentions don’t go for much! You might easily have got nothing at all.”
“Miss Elinor said that the night Mrs. Welman died she told her to do something for me.”
Nurse Hopkins snorted.
“Maybe she did. But there’s many would have forgotten conveniently afterwards. Relations are like that. I’ve seen a few things, I can tell you! People dying and saying they know they can leave it to their dear son or their dear daughter to carry out their wishes. Nine times out of ten, dear son and dear daughter find some very good reason to do nothing of the kind. Human nature’s human nature, and nobody likes parting with money if they’re not legally compelled to! I tell you, Mary, my girl, you’ve been lucky. Miss Carlisle’s straighter than most.”
Mary said slowly:
“And yet—somehow—I feel she doesn’t like me.”
“With good reason, I should say,” said Nurse Hopkins bl
untly. “Now, don’t look so innocent, Mary! Mr. Roderick’s been making sheep’s eyes at you for some time now.”
Mary went red.
Nurse Hopkins went on:
“He’s got it badly, in my opinion. Fell for you all of a sudden. What about you, my girl? Got any feelings for him?”
Mary said hesitatingly:
“I—I don’t know. I don’t think so. But of course, he’s very nice.”