CHAPTER XI.
The following day—it was the last of October—was one of almost wintry cold. The doctor who visited Miss Baring had a long interview afterwards with her brother, at his studio. He did not mince matters; he put the case plainly before Alaric, who for the first time awoke to a sense of his sister's danger. Both her lungs were affected; there was but one chance of saving her—she must leave Paris immediately. The young man did not hesitate for a moment. Wherever she was ordered he would accompany her. The doctor spoke of Colorado; but the expense of the journey, and the conditions of life there, so disadvantageous for an artist (and how could they live, unless Alaric sold his pictures?), precluded that idea. The relative merits of St. Moritz and Madeira were then discussed. Finally, it was decided that a sheltered spot on the Riviera would meet all the exigencies of the case, and Mentone seemed to combine more than any other. It was warm, it was beautiful, it was an easy journey. Alaric could run up to Paris at no great cost, if necessary. The neighbourhood of Nice and Monte Carlo rendered both sitters and purchasers more probable than at more
