"No... Oh Eliot, that's Uncle Robert's door."
Upstairs the door opened and shut and Adeline came to the head of the
stairs.
"Oh Eliot, come quick----"
Eliot rushed upstairs. And Anne heard Adeline sobbing hysterically and
crying out to him.
"I can't--I can't. I can not bear it!"
She saw her trail off along the gallery to her room; she heard her lock
herself in. She had every appearance of running away from something.
From something she could not bear. Half an hour passed before Eliot came
back to Anne.
"What was it?" she said.
"What I thought. Gastric ulcer. He's had a haemorrhage."
That was what Aunt Adeline had run away from.
"Look here, Anne, I've got to send Scarrott in the car for Ransome. Then
he'll have to go on to Cheltenham to fetch Colin."
"Colin?" This was the end then.
"Yes. He'd better come. And I want you to do something. I want you to
drive over to Medlicote and bring Jerrold back. It's beastly for you.
But you'll do it, won't you?"
"I'll do anything."
It was the beastliest thing she had ever had to do, but she did it.
From where she drew up in the drive at Medlicote she could see the
tennis courts. She could see Jerrold playing in the men's singles. He
stood up to the net, smashing down the ball at the volley; his back was
turned to her as he stood.
She heard him shout. She heard him laugh. She saw him turn to come up
the court, facing her.
And when he saw her, he knew.
She opened her door and looked out. When she saw Jerrold she came to
him, slowly, supporting herself by the gallery rail. Her eyes were sore
with crying and there was a flushed thickening about the edges of her
mouth.
"So you've come back," she said. "You might go in and tell me how he
is."
"Haven't you seen him?"
"Of course I've seen him. But I'm afraid, Jerrold. It was awful, awful,
the haemorrhage. You can't think how awful. I daren't go in and see it
again. I shouldn't be a bit of good if I did. I should only faint, or be
ill or something. I simply can not bear it."
"You mustn't go in," he said.
"Who's with him?"
"Eliot and Anne."