The Salamanca Corpus: Yeoman Fleetwood (1900 ... - Gredos

The Salamanca Corpus: Yeoman Fleetwood (1900)
“My father is not very well to-night, but we hope he will be quite himself to-morrow.
Cannot I carry you about a little, dearest Mother, if you cannot rest? "
She shook her head feebly. "I want your father," she said. "Oh, Simon, go and tell him
that he must come.”
Simon looked distractedly at his aunt, who made warning signs to him from behind the
curtain and accompanied him towards the door as Mrs. Fleetwood closed her eyes.
"La, how little gumption men have, to be sure," whispered she when they were out of
earshot. "Can't ye pretend to go and fetch him, lad? One half of the time she doesn't
know what she is saying. We shall just have to keep humouring her."
Simon crept back to his father's side, and was much relieved to find that he had fallen
into a feverish doze.
Night came, and this drowsy state continued. Except for Mr. Fleetwood's heavy
breathing and occasional sharp, hacking cough, there was no sound in the room. The
rush light flickered and burnt low, and Simon renewed it and lit another. As the fresh
gleam fell across the bed Mr. Fleetwood stirred, and presently laughed. Poor Simon's
blood froze in his veins; any groan of anguish would have been preferable to such a
sound at such a moment.
"Why, Simon, lad," said his father in a cheerful tone, painfully at variance with the
laboured breathing which every now and then interrupted it, “ye’ve got a bonny
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lot, for sure. What, are you not going to pick any Maiden's Blush? They're the sweetest
of all to my thinkin', and the prettiest — the very colour of thy mother's cheek."
Simon thought of the poor drawn, pallid face in the room over the way, and groaned
within himself.
"I've got 'em all here," pursued Mr. Fleetwood in his husky, broken voice. “I made the
chap yonder put 'em all up in one packet. I was afraid o’ losin' one of 'em else — such a
many little parcels, thou knows. I had to try in two and three places for the cassia-buds,
but I got 'em in the end. Take 'em all to your mother, lad, take 'em."
His eyes were fixed on Simon, but apparently without seeing him, for he presently
began to call for him, and to express wonder at his not appearing. Poor Simon had never