"No," said Nell; "the inn is a long way from here; too far----"
He did not let her finish, but rather impatiently cut in with: "Oh, but there must be some place where I can go----"
"You must not think of moving yet," she said. "I don't know much--I have
not seen many accidents--but I am sure that you have hurt yourself; and
you say that you have broken your arm?"
"I'm afraid so, confound it! I beg your pardon. I'll get to the inn--I
have not broken my leg, and can walk well enough--and see a doctor."
Mrs. Lorton's step was heard in the passage, and the voice of that lady
was heard before she appeared in the doorway, demanding, in an injured
tone: "Eleanor, what does this mean? Why do you want brandy, and at this time
of the day? Are you ill? I have always told you that some day you would
suffer from this continual rushing about----"
Then she stopped and stared at the two, and her hand went up to her hair
with the gesture of the weakly vain woman.
"Who is it, Nell? What does it mean?" she demanded.
The man rose and bowed, and his appearance, his self-possession and
well-bred bow impressed Mrs. Lorton at once.
"I beg your pardon," she said, in her sweetest and most ingratiating
manner, with a suggestion of the simper which used to be fashionable
when she was a girl. "There has been an accident, I see. Are you very
much hurt? Eleanor, pray do not stand like a thing of stock or stone;
pray, do not be so useless and incapable."
Nell blushed and looked round helplessly.
"Please sit down," went on Mrs. Lorton. "Eleanor, let me beg of you to
collect your senses. Get that cushion--sit down. Let me place this at
your back. Do you feel faint? My smelling salts, Eleanor!"
The man's lips tightened, and the frown darkened the whole of his face.
Nell knew that he was swearing under his breath and wishing Mrs. Lorton
and herself at the bottom of the sea.
"No, no!" he said, evidently struggling with his irritation and his
impatience of the whole scene. "I'm not at all faint. I've fallen from
my horse, and I think I've smashed my arm, that's all."
"All!" echoed Mrs. Lorton, in accents of profound sympathy and anxiety.
"Oh, dear, dear! Nell, we must send for the doctor. Will you not put
your feet up on the sofa? It is such a relief to lie at full length."