"I don't mean to insult you, and I think you know that. If anybody has
insulted you it's the boy who asked you to meet him here. He must have
been the one to propose it, of course, and you thought it would be fun.
Lu, when I found this out I should have gone straight to my sister
Charlotte and told her to come and meet you here instead of myself, if I
hadn't known how it would disappoint her. She would have taken it to
heart much more seriously than you can realise. She's entertained you
all winter and spring, and the responsibilities of looking after you and
Ran have been heavy on her shoulders. She's tried hard to give you a
good time, too."
Lucy turned and walked deliberately away down the path toward the
boat-landing.
"I'm bungling it," thought Jeff, uncomfortably, and stood still,
waiting. "Perhaps I ought to have let Evelyn tackle the business, after
all."
Lucy walked out upon the landing, where the _Butterfly_ swung lazily in
the wash of the current. Suddenly, quite without warning, she ran the
length of the little pier and leaped for the boat. It had looked an easy
distance, but as she made the jump she realised too late that the
interval of water between pier and boat was wider than it had looked in
the moonlight.
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