“Ihavesomethingtotell——somebadnews。”shesaid。“Butyoumustnotbealarmed，asitisnotsobadasitmighthavebeen。
Edgarhasbeenthrownoffhishorse。Wedon’tthinkheishurtmuch。IthappenedinthewoodtheothersideofNellcombeBottom，where’tissaidtheghostsofthebrotherswalk。”
Shewentontogiveafewoftheparticulars，butnoneoftheinventedhorrorsthathadbeencommunicatedbytheboy。“I
thoughtitbettertotellyouatonce。”sheadded，“incaseheshouldnotbeverywellabletowalkhome，andsomebodyshouldbringhim。”
Mrs。Melburyreallythoughtmattersmuchworsethansherepresented，andGraceknewthatshethoughtso。Shesatdowndazedforafewminutes，returninganegativetoherstep-mother’sinquiryifshecoulddoanythingforher。“Butpleasegointothebedroom。”Gracesaid，onsecondthoughts，“andseeifallisreadythere——incaseitisserious。”Mrs。MelburythereuponcalledGrammer，andtheydidasdirected，supplyingtheroomwitheverythingtheycouldthinkoffortheaccommodationofaninjuredman。