“ Mr. Lydgate, pray be open with me: I like to know the truth. Has anything happened to Mr. Bulstrode?”

“Some little nervous shock,” said Lydgate, evasively. He felt that it was not for him to make the painful revelation.

“But what brought it on?” said Mrs. Bulstrode, looking directly at him with her large dark eyes.

“There is often something poisonous in the air of public rooms,” said Lydgate. “Strong men can stand it, but it tells on people in proportion to the delicacy of their systems. It is often impossible to account for the precise moment of an attack⁠—or rather, to say why the strength gives way at a particular moment.”