After Aubrey's first drives, Dr. Spencer declared that the best way
of invigorating him would be to send him for a month to the sea-side,
while the house could be thoroughly purified before Gertrude's
return. Dr. Spencer and Mary would take care of Dr. May; and Ethel
had begun to look forward to a tete-a-tete with Aubrey by the sea,
which they had neither of them ever seen, when her anticipations were
somewhat dashed by her father's exclaiming, that it would be the best
thing for Leonard Ward to go with them. She said something about his
not being well enough to travel so soon.

'Oh, yes, he will,' said Dr. May; 'he only wants stimulus to get on
fast enough. I declare I'll ask Henry about it; I'm just going to
meet him at the hospital.'

And before another word could be said, he let himself out at the back
door of the garden, in which they had been meeting Richard, who was
now allowed to come thus far, though both for Daisy's sake and his
flock's, he had hitherto submitted to a rigorous quarantine; and the
entire immunity of Cocksmoor from the malady was constantly adduced
by each doctor as a convincing proof of his own theory.

'Well, I do hope that will go off!' exclaimed Ethel, as soon as her
father was out of hearing. 'It will be a terrible upset to all one's
peace and comfort with Aubrey!'

'Indeed--what harm will the poor boy do?' asked Richard.

'Make Aubrey into the mere shame-faced, sister-hating, commonplace
creature that the collective boy thinks it due to himself to be in