"Mistaken? About the campaign?"
"No, about the maneuver. Perhaps there wasn't any such thing, after all."
"Perhaps." Though his voice was stern, his eyes were laughing. "I am not so easily fooled as that."
"I doubt if you could be fooled at all." It was the first bit of flattery she had tossed him, and he found it strangely agreeable.
"I am not sure of that," he answered, "but the thing that perplexes me—the only thing—is why you should have thought it worth while."
Her eyes grew luminous with laughter, and the little red wings quivered as if they were about to take flight over her arching brows. "How do you know that I thought about it at all? Sometimes things just happen."
"But not in this case. You had arranged the whole incident for the stage."
"Do you mean that I fell down on purpose?"
"I mean that you were laughing up your sleeve all the time. You weren't hurt and you knew it."
Her expression was enigmatical. "You think then that I arranged to fall down and risk breaking my bones for the sake of having you pick me up?" she asked demurely.