noon
Her hands trembled , but not from fear , but delight . Arthur had called her `` dear and brave '' -- and long after she had reseated herself by the lonely hearth , the echo of his gentle , manly accents , seemed floating round the walls . The illness of Miss Thusa was very sudden . She had risen in the morning in usual health , and pursued until noon her customary occupation -- when , all at once , as she told the young doctor , `` it seemed as if a knife went through her heart , and a wedge into her brain -- and she was sure it was a death-stroke . '' For the first time , in the course of her long life , she was obliged to take her bed , and there she lay in helplessness and loneliness , unable to summon relief . The young doctor called in the afternoon as a friend , and found his services imperatively required as a physician . The only wish she expressed was to have Helen with her , and as soon as he had relieved the sufferings of his patient , Arthur brought Helen to the Hermitage .