She felt strangely disappointed when he had still not arrived by mid-afternoon. It began to look as though he had truly reverted to his old way of neglecting them. She thought she must have read too much into that interlude in the meadow. It was just the beauty of the spring day that lent the incident that special air. At four, Robin cantered up and lounged into their saloon to make his brother’s apologies. “Congratulations. I see you’ve slipped the leash,” Anne said. “I’ve been let off. Alex is sick as a dog.” “What is the matter?” Mrs. Wickfield demanded. “He called Palmsey to have a go at his wound. He’s pretty well knocked up after the sawbones’s visit,” he explained. “How is his wound?” Anne asked eagerly. Robin shivered. “Ugly! His shoulder looks like a raw beefsteak. I had no idea it was still open. It became infected again on the boat, but it couldn’t have been very well healed to have broken out like this. Palmsey cauterized it. I very nearly passed out, for he made me hold Alex down.
