As the girl sat alone later in the evening, she pondered over the words
Francis had spoken. That his memory had not failed in any detail
within what might be termed the radius of his love story she was well
aware. It had been further proved to-day; he had mentioned her
singing. Fortunately that presented no difficulty to her, for,
although she did not possess a voice in any way remarkable, still, she
had been well trained and had sung a good deal in her father's
lifetime. He had also spoken of riding, and of her going to Scotland.
It might be that he remembered riding with her, and perhaps the first
Philippa had arranged a visit to Scotland--she could not tell. But
beyond this he had spoken of Bessacre and Bessmoor, giving the places
their correct names without hesitating. She had always understood that
the names of places presented the gravest difficulty to a memory in any
way troubled or imperfect. Did this mean that his mind was perfectly
clear upon all that had happened up to the time of the accident, but
that from that moment all was darkness? This was frequently so in
cases of concussion of the brain, as she knew, but against this
explanation was the fact that he had recognised both the doctor and
Mrs. Goodman. If he only remembered them as they were at the time of
his accident, surely he would have made some comment on their altered
appearance. It was this that puzzled--this that made the situation so
complex.
She made a little plan of campaign in her mind--of books she would read
with him, of various little things which she would order which might
amuse him. The way bristled with pitfalls if once she allowed herself
to consider them. Twenty years! How everything must have altered
since then! For instance, how much had the ordinary everyday sights
such as pass us every day without our giving them a thought changed in
that time! Twenty years ago the motor-car was unknown, electric light
was in its infancy. The Heathcotes had cars, but she remembered that
Francis' room looked out on a part of the garden and that the drive was
not visible from the windows. Therefore, although it was possible that
he might have heard the sound of a horn or siren, he would never
actually have seen a car. Electric light was installed in his room.
She had no idea when this had been done, but he must be quite
accustomed to it.
It was not until she began to sum them up that she realised how
innumerable are the changes wrought by a couple of decades--in our
habits, even in our speech. English 'as she is spoke' is a variable
quantity, and the jargon of to-day is forgotten to-morrow. Philippa
the first had mentioned in one of her letters that she was having "a
jolly time." Well, "jolly" as an adjective is as dead as the dodo, and
if the letter had been written by her to-day, she, being what she was,
would undoubtedly have used the word "ripping."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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