Ethel and Clive and the nurse were in the room with him; the latter came
to us, who were sitting in the adjoining apartment; Madame de Florac was
there, with my wife and Bayham.
At the look in the woman's countenance Madame de Florac started up. "He
is very bad, he wanders a great deal," the nurse whispered. The French
lady fell instantly on her knees, and remained rigid in prayer.
Some time afterwards Ethel came in with a scared face to our pale group.
"He is calling for you again, dear lady," she said, going up to Madame de
Florac, who was still kneeling; "and just now he said he wanted Pendennis
to take care of his boy. He will not know you." She hid her tears as she
spoke.
She went into the room, where Clive was at the bed's foot; the old man
within it talked on rapidly for a while: then again he would sigh and be
still: once more I heard him say hurriedly, "Take care of him while I'm
in India;" and then with a heart-rending voice he called out, "Leonore,
Leonore!" She was kneeling by his side now.
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