"I'm glad she didn't place you under the eye of Mrs. Trubbles," observed Otterburn, with the brutal candour of youth, "because both her eyes are invariably closed."
"What a shame--I wonder where she is?"
"Asleep! don't disturb her," said Gartney, as Miss Sheldon arose to her feet. "Physicians all agree that sleep after dinner is most beneficial to people of the Trubbles calibre."
Victoria laughed at this remark, and as she showed a desire to stroll about, the gentlemen left their chairs and escorted her through the grounds, one on each side, the lady being thus happily placed between the sex masculine.
A good many of the promenaders had retired for the night, evidently worn out by the heat of the day; but some indefatigable pianist was still hard at work in the music saloon, and the steady rhythmic beat of the last new valse, "My heart is dead," sounded tenderly through the still night air, broken at intervals by the light laughter of young girls, the deeper tones of men's voices, and the melancholy sound of the waters washing against the stone masonry of the terrace. Beyond on the lake all was strange and mystical, filled with cold lights and shadows, vague and dreary under the gloom of the distant mountains; but here, by the garish lights of the hotel, the pulse of life was beating strongly, and the indescribable tone of idle frivolity seemed to clash with the silent solemnity of Nature.
Perhaps Eustace felt this incongruity as his eyes strayed towards the steel-coloured waters, for after a time the shallow conversation of Victoria jarred so painfully on his ears that with a hurried excuse he left the young couple to their own companionship, and wandered away alone into the fragrant darkness of the night.
"He's awfully fond of his own company," observed Victoria, indicating the departing Eustace. "Such a queer taste. I hate being left to myself."
"So do I," asserted Otterburn eagerly. "I always like to be with someone----"
"Of the opposite sex," finished Miss Sheldon, laughing. "Well, yes I women have always been my best friends."
"You answer at random."