"The doctor was here this morning." "She's as ill as can be," said Polly, "and all of a sudden.

But you can't do her any good.

And you'd better come down to your tea." Hetty followed Polly without saying more, though she felt too anxious to care about her tea.

She was greatly frightened, yet hardly knew why, as Mrs.Rushton was often ill, and the doctor was often sent for.

There was a general impression in the household that the mistress sometimes made a great fuss about nothing, fainted, and thought she was going to die, and in a few hours was as well as usual.