Of course she had discovered the cause of his illness, and the incessant torment of a great fear had been added to what she suffered from the estrangement between the boy and herself.

Her own bodily weakness had not permitted her to nurse him; she had passed days and nights in anguish of expectancy.

At one time it had been life or death.
If he died, what life would be hers through the brief delay to which she could look forward?
Once more she had him by her side, but the moral distance between them was nothing lessened.

Mrs.Eldon's pride would not allow her to resume the conversation which had ended so hopelessly for her, and she interpreted Hubert's silence in the saddest sense.

Now they were about to be parted again.