But you never bet, you tell me!"
"Not unless I am sure of winning, Miss Falconer," he said,
significantly.
She looked after Stafford as he rode away to the stable.
"Nor I," she retorted, with a smile. "As you will see."
CHAPTER XVI.
When Stafford and Maude Falconer went down to the lake after luncheon,
they found a party from the Villa just embarking on board one of the
launches; the air was filled with laughter and chatter, and the little
quay was bright with the white flannels of the men and the gay frocks
of the women. The party greeted the two with an exuberant welcome, and
Bertie called out to ask them if they were coming on board.
"Perhaps you would rather go on the launch, Miss Falconer?" said
Stafford; but she shook her head.
"No, thanks," she said, languidly. "I hate crowds of that kind. I'd
rather stick to our original proposition; it will bore me less. But
perhaps you'd rather join them?"
"Is it likely?" said Stafford, with a smile, as he signed to the man to
bring up a skiff. "Now, let me make you as comfortable as I can. We
ought to have had a gondola," he added, as he handed her to the seat in
the stern.
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