A funsies cold read of Bram Stoker's The Jewel of Seven Stars, told in very small bits, made possible by the support of my patrons at patreon.com/bbwolfe. This is the 5th part of chapter 5!

Read-along text for you to follow along with:

But before them all I would put Frere of King's College. Of all that I have named he best unites theory and practice.  He has no hobbies--that have been discovered at all events; and his experience is immense.  It is the regret of all of us who admire him that the nerve so firm  and the hand so dexterous must yield to time.  For my own part I would rather have Frere than any one living."

"Then," said Miss Trelawny decisively, "let us have Doctor Frere--by the way, is he 'Doctor' or 'Mister'?--as early as we can get him in the morning!"

A weight seemed removed from him, and he spoke with greater ease and geniality than he had yet shown:

"He is Sir James Frere.  I shall go to him myself as early as it is possibly to see him, and shall ask him to come here at once."  Then turning to me he said:

"You had better let me dress your hand."

"It is nothing," I said.

"Nevertheless it should be seen to.  A scratch from any animal might turn out dangerous; there is nothing like being safe."  I submitted; forthwith he began to dress my hand.  He examined with a magnifying-glass the several parallel wounds, and compared them with the slip of blotting-paper, marked with Silvio's claws, which he took from his pocket-book.  He put back the paper, simply remarking:

"It's a pity that Silvio slips in--and out--just when he shouldn't."

The morning wore slowly on.  By ten o'clock Nurse Kennedy had so far recovered that she was able to sit up and talk intelligibly.  But she was still hazy in her thoughts; and could not remember anything that had happened on the previous night, after her taking her place by the sick-bed. As yet she seemed neither to know nor care what had happened.

It was nearly eleven o'clock when Doctor Winchester returned with Sir James Frere. Somehow I felt my heart sink when from the landing I saw them in the hall below; I knew that Miss Trelawny was to have the pain of telling yet another stranger of her ignorance of her father's life.

Sir James Frere was a man who commanded attention followed by respect. He knew so thoroughly what he wanted himself, that he placed at once on one side all wishes and ideas of less definite persons.  The mere flash of his piercing eyes, or the set of his resolute mouth, or the lowering of his great eyebrows, seemed to compel immediate and willing obedience to his wishes.  Somehow, when we had all been introduced and he was well amongst us, all sense of mystery seemed to melt away.  It was with a hopeful spirit that I saw him pass into the sick-room with Doctor Winchester.

They remained in the room a long time; once they sent for the Nurse, the new one, Sister Doris, but she did not remain long.

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