The other attentions fell to Therese.

She dressed and fed the impotent old lady, and sought to understand her slightest wish.
For a few days Madame Raquin preserved the use of her hands.

She could write on a slate, and in this way asked for what she required; then the hands withered, and it became impossible for her to raise them or hold a pencil.

From that moment her eyes were her only language, and it was necessary for her niece to guess what she desired.

The young woman devoted herself to the hard duties of sick-nurse, which gave her occupation for body and mind that did her much good.
So as not to remain face to face, the married couple rolled the armchair of the poor old lady into the dining-room, the first thing in the morning.