"I wish I knew what was going to become of you."
"I'm not afraid any more. God bless you, dear."
He waited one moment longer. "You've no grudge against me?"
Winnie turned sharply away, and leant over the balcony. "Oh, please, please!" she stammered.
When she saw him again, he was half-way down to the landing-stage. He turned, waved his hand, and so passed out of sight—and out of life for Winnie Maxon.
CHAPTER XXV
"PERHAPS!"
"Good gracious!" exclaimed Mrs. Ladd, laying down her knife and fork.
From her table in the dining-room of the Hôtel de la Grande Bretagne at Bellaggio, she commanded a view of the door, and could scrutinize her fellow-guests as they entered. The hotel was full of fresh birds of passage every evening, for the end of the season was approaching, and all the world was travelling through on its way northwards. A lady of lively curiosity, possessed, moreover, by that sense of superiority over the casual visitor which a long stay in a hotel always gives, Mrs. Ladd allowed few of the new-comers to escape without comment or criticism. Lady Rosaline, whose back was towards the door, often felt compelled to twist her head round, in order to estimate for herself the justice of her companion's remarks; but on this occasion she merely asked, "What's the matter, dear?"