Sentence:  I was at liberty to attend to Wilbert, who I could see desired <WSD>speech</WSD> with me. ... As far as Bobbie and I were concerned, silence reigned, this novel twist in the scenario having wiped <WSD>speech</WSD> from our lips, as the expression is, but Phyllis continued vocal. ...<!--ch. XVIII--> For perhaps a quarter of a minute after he had passed from the scene the aged relative stood struggling for utterance. At the end of this period she found <WSD>speech</WSD>. “Of all the damn silly fatheaded things!” 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  The faculty of uttering articulate sounds or words; the ability to speak or to use vocalizations to communicate.