Chapter XXIII

"Time and the weather run through the roughest
day." It may be doubted if Rose Otway knew
that consoling old proverb, but with her time, even in
the shape of a very few days, and perhaps, too, the
weather, which was remarkably fine and mild for the
time of year, soon wrought a wonderful change.

And as she sat by Jervis Blake's bedside, on a bright,
sunny day in late November, it seemed to her as if
she had nothing left to wish for. The two nurses
who attended on him so kindly and so skilfully told
her that he was going on well -- far better, in fact,
than they could have expected. And though Sir
Jacques Robey did not say much, she had no reason to
suppose him other than satisfied. True, Jervis's face
looked strained and thin, and there was a cradle over
his right foot, showing where the worst injury had
been. But the wound in his shoulder was healing
nicely, and once or twice he had spoken of when he
would be able to go back; but now he had left off
doing that, for he saw that it troubled her.

Yesterday something very pleasant had happened,
and something which, to Jervis Blake himself, was
quite unexpected. He had been Mentioned in Despatches,
in connection with a little affair, as he described
it, which had happened weeks ago, on the
Aisne! One of the other two men concerned in it
had received the Victoria Cross, and Rose was secretly
rather hurt, as was also Lady Blake, that Jervis had

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v?