Lord Stafford drew his chair closer to the tea-table.
"Are you not a very remarkable woman, Mrs. Bunker, even in this country of remarkable women?"
"You'll find women like me all over the States. You see we don't become old before our time—to make way for the girls. I had my daughter to rear, and I did it as well as I knew how. Then I superintended my granddaughter's training. Now she's a woman, I'm commencing all over again on my account." She laughed heartily at the serious countenance with which Lord Stafford heard her explanation.
"Remarkable, Lord Stafford, or bewildering—which?" She smiled archly into his face.
"Charming, this time, charming, I assure you!"
"The lake looks so blue and enticing from here! Shall we drink our second cup on the balcony, Miss Stillwater?"
Indiana assenting, Lord Canning brought her empty cup to Mrs. Bunker. "Make yourself comfortable in the hammock, Miss Stillwater. I will be out directly, with a fresh supply."
"Don't spill it, Lord Canning! Really your hand is very steady—a good sign! Another—with me, Lord Stafford?"
"I will take another with you, Mrs. Bunker."
He returned the cup and leaned comfortably back in his chair, enjoying the cosiness of his surroundings—the proximity of the fire, the blue lake shining in the distance, and the domestic picture afforded by Mrs. Bunker at the tea-table.