IV
That winter Barbara fell very ill. Jamie rushed round to the house one morning, hatless, and with deeply tormented eyes: “Mary, please come—Barbara can’t get up, it’s a pain in her side. Oh, my God—we quarrelled …” Her voice was shrill and she spoke very fast: “Listen—last night—there was snow on the ground, it was cold—I was angry … I can’t remember … but I know I was angry—I get like that. She went out—she stayed out for quite two hours, and when she came back she was shivering so. Oh, my God, but why did we quarrel, whatever? She can’t move; it’s an awful pain in her side …”
Stephen said quietly: “We’ll come almost at once, but first I’m going to ring up my own doctor.”