e
was under the influence of his voice, his manner, his face; and her mind
had begun to relax the tenacity of its hold on that one distracting
fear.

"You thought you saw something," he said, emphasising the word
"thought"; "you made a mistake. You saw nothing--you imagined you
saw--there _was_ nothing!"

May could not hear whether Gwendolen made any reply.

"And now I am going to prevent you from frightening yourself by
imagining such foolish things again."

Although she did not look towards them, but kept her eyes on the ground,
May was aware that the Warden was now bending over the bed, and he was
speaking in an inaudible voice. She could hear the girl move round on
the pillow in obedience to some direction of his. After this there came
a brief silence between them that seemed an age of intolerable misery to
May, and then she perceived that the Warden was turning out the bed
light, and she heard him move away from the bed. He walked to the door
very quietly, as if to avoid awakening a sleeper.

"Good night," he said in a low voice, and then, without turning towards
them, he went out of the room.

The door was closed. The two women moved, looked at each other, and then
glanced at the bed. Gwen was lying still; she had slid down low on her
pillows, with her face towards the windows and her eyes closed. They
stood motionless and intent, till they could see in the dim light that
the girl was breathing quietly and slowly in sleep. Then Lady Dashwood
spoke in a whisper.

"Now, I suppose, I can go to bed!"

Then she looked round at May. "Go to bed, May! You look worn out."

"Shall you sleep?" whispered May Dashwood, but she spoke as if she
wasn't listening for an answer.

"I don't know," said Lady Dashwood, in a whisper too. "It's so like
life. The person who has made all the fuss is comfortably asleep, and we
who have had to endure the fuss, we who are worn out with it, are awake
and probably won't sleep."

May moved towards the door and her aunt followed her. When May opened
the door and went outside, Lady Dashwood did not close the door or say
good night. She stood for a moment undecided, and then came outside
herself and pulled the door to softly behind her.

"May!" she said, and she laid a detaining hand on her niece's arm.

"What, Aunt Lena?"

"If he liked, he could repel her, make her dislike him! If he liked he
could make her refuse to marry him! You understand what I mean? He must
know this now.