The next day was the critical one (so it was said) for the earl, and Amabel awaited, in tearful anxiety, the moment that was to decide his fate.

It came, and he was pronounced out of danger.

When the news was brought the anxious girl, she fainted.
A week passed, and the earl, continued to improve, and all danger of infection--if any such existed--being at an end, he sent a message to Amabel, beseeching her to grant him an interview in his own room.

She willingly assented, and, following the attendant, found him stretched upon a couch.

In spite of his paleness and apparent debility, however, his good looks were but little impaired, and his attire, though negligent, was studiously arranged for effect.