"You ask me a trying question, Hawkehurst," he said at last. "If you ask me plainly whether I like the turn which Charlotte's illness has taken within the last few weeks, I must tell you frankly, I do not. There is a persistent want of tone--a visible decay of vital power--which, I must confess, has caused me some uneasiness. You see, the fact is, there is a radical weakness of constitution--as Miss Paget, a very sensible girl and acute observer--herself has remarked, indeed a hereditary weakness; and against this medicine is sometimes unavailing. You need apprehend no neglect on my part, Hawkehurst; all that can possibly be done is being done. Dr. Doddleson's instructions are carefully obeyed, and--" "Is this Dr. Doddleson competent to grapple with the case?" asked Valentine; "I never heard of him as a great man." "That fact proves how little you know of the medical profession." "I know nothing of it; I have had no need for doctors in my life. And you think this Dr. Doddleson really clever?" "His position is a sufficient answer to that question." "Will you let me telegraph for him--this afternoon--immediately?" "You cannot telegraph from this place." "No, but from St. Leonards I can. Do you think I am afraid of a five-mile walk?" "But why send for Dr. Doddleson? The treatment he prescribed is the treatment we are now following to the letter. To summon him down here would be the merest folly. Our poor Charlotte's illness is, so far, free from all alarming symptoms." "You do not see the change in her that I can see," cried Valentine piteously. "For mercy's sake, Mr. Sheldon, let me have my way in this. I cannot stand by and see my dear one fading and do nothing--nothing to save her. Let me send for this man. Let me see him myself, and hear what he says. You can have no objection to his coming, since he is the man you have chosen for Charlotte's adviser? It can only be a question of expense. Let this particular visit be my affair." "I can afford to pay for my stepdaughter's medical attendance without any help from your purse, Mr. Hawkehurst," said the stockbroker with offended pride. "There is one element in the case which you appear to ignore." "What is that?" "The alarm which this summoning of a doctor from London must cause in Charlotte's mind." "It need cause no alarm. She can be told that Dr. Doddleson has come to this part of the world for a Sunday's change of air. The visit can appear to be made _en passant._ It will be easy to arrange that with the doctor before he sees her." "As you please, Mr. Hawkehurst," the stockbroker replied coldly. "I consider such a visit to the last degree unnecessary; but if Dr. Doddleson's coming can give you any satisfaction, by all means let him come. The expense involved in summoning him is of the smallest consideration to me. My position with regard to my wife's daughter is one of extreme responsibility, and I am ready to perform all the obligations of that position."