And Cosmo was one in whom the gratitude was as enduring as ready.
Next to the appearance of Lady Joan, all the time he was
recovering, he looked for the daily visit of the doctor. Nor did
the doctor ever come without receiving his reward in an interview
with the lady. And herein Jermyn gained another advantage. For Joan
found herself compelled to take him into her confidence concerning
her brother's ignorance of the presence of Cosmo in the house; and
so he shared a secret with her. He did not, of course, altogether
relish the idea of this Scotch cousin, but plainly he was too young
for Joan, and he would soon find out whether there was any need to
beware of him, by which time he would know also what to do with
him, should action be necessary.
For the first week or so Joan did not mind how often the doctor
found her with Cosmo, but after that she began to dislike it, she
could scarcely have told why, and managed to be elsewhere when he
came. After the third time the doctor began to cherish suspicion,
and called cunning to his aid. Having mentioned an hour at which he
would call the next day, he made his appearance an hour earlier,
and with an excuse on his lips for the change he had been
"compelled to make," walked into the room without warning, as of
course he might without offence, where his patient was a young man.
There, as he had feared, he found Lady Joan. But she had heard or
felt his coming, and as he entered she was handing Cosmo the
newspaper, with the words,
"There! you are quite able to read to yourself today.
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