Barnard smiled, then glanced along the terrace with an air of pretended secrecy.
"Take me into partnership!" he said in a whisper. "My clients don't know it, but I'm constitutionally the laziest beggar alive. Do let me idle in your company for half an hour? The canals are delightful in the early morning——"
He indicated the flight of stone steps, round which one or two gondolas were hovering in expectation of a fare.
Clodagh's glance followed his; and her face insensibly brightened.
"I should love it," she said.
"Truly?"
She nodded.
"Right! Then the thing is done."
He hurried forward. And with a little thrill of pleasureable anticipation, she saw one of the loitering gondolas glide up to the steps.
For the first few moments after they had entered the boat, she was silent; for in the iridescent morning light, Venice made a new appeal; then gradually—insidiously—as the charm of her surroundings began to soothe her senses, the encounter with Milbanke melted from her mind; and the subtle environment bred of last night's adulation rose again, turning the world golden.