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Page 224
Peter smiled faintly, but there didn't seem to be anything more to say and they waited silently. In about fifteen minutes the thin, grey doctor came out.
"You are her nephew? Her closest relative, she said."
Peter stiffened as if to resist a blow. "I . . . yes."
"Walk down the corridor with me. Ah, young ladyLinda, the companion?"
"Yes, I am. Is there anything I can do to help?" Linda asked eagerly.
"No." The doctor smiled. "Mrs. Bates is not ill. Whatever small seizure she may have had left no lasting effects. She will be able to leave the ship this afternoon. Let her rest until thenand don't ask her how she feels every five minutes. Act, if you can, as if nothing occurred."
Peter returned very soon and beckoned Linda out to him. He smiled at her, although his eyes were sad. "He just wanted to ask whether I knew of my aunt's heart condition. When I said yes, he shrugged and gave me the same advice he'd just given you. Damn it. I wish he was the doctor on Corfu instead of that quack. Well, never mind. He doesn't know what happened. Maybe a tinya little dizzy spell. But there's nothing they can do about that either. He said that the medication she's taking is what he would recommend himself."
Linda shook her head. "Did you ever know anyone who had a dizzy spell to fall down so neatly? People don't fall flatnot without crack-

 
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