She was very quiet when she first came to us, but beyond that I noticed
nothing unusual in her manner, and after the first I was inclined to
think that being out of health accounted for everything. My sister
Claudia, however, was not so easily deceived. She declared that Ideala
was suffering from some serious trouble, either mental or bodily; and
as the days wore on and there was no change for the better in her, but
rather the contrary, I began to share Claudia's anxiety. Ideala grew
paler and thinner, and more nervous. She was oftenest depressed, but
occasionally had unnatural bursts of hilarity that would end suddenly
in long fits of brooding.
It seems she had at first believed that Lorrimer's absence was an
intentional slight, and the humiliation, coming as it did upon the long
train of troubles which had weakened her already both in body and mind,
nearly killed her. She had been lying for weeks between life and death,
and we had known nothing of it. But as her strength returned she began
to think she had been unjust to Lorrimer. She could account for his
absence in many ways.
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