d she said firmly, "Yes."

But the effort was too great, and after the word was launched her mouth
broke up into a nervous smile, for which she despised herself, but
which she could not control for her life.

Farnham was so pleased with the smile that he cared nothing for the
word, and so he continued in a tone of anxious and coaxing good-nature,
every word increasing her trouble:

"You are wrong as you can be. I am a much better groom than Andrews. He
has rather more style, I admit, on account of his Scotch accent and his
rheumatism. But I might acquire these. I will be very attentive and
respectful. I will ride at a proper distance behind you, if you will
occasionally throw a word and a smile over your shoulder at me."

As he spoke, a quick vision flashed upon him of the loveliness of the
head and shoulder, and the coil of fair hair which he should have
before him if he rode after her, and the illumination of the smile and
the word which would occasionally be thrown back to him from these
perfect lips and teeth and eyes. His voice trembled with love and
eagerness as he pleaded for the privilege of taking her servant's
place. Alice no longer dared to interrupt him, and hardly ventured to
lift her eyes from the floor. She had come down with the firm purpose
of saying something to him which would put an end to all intimacy, and
here, before she had been five minutes in his presence, he was talking
to her in a way that delighted her ears and her heart. He went rattling
on as if fearful that a pause might bring a change of mood. As she
rarely looked up, he could feast his eyes upon her face, where now the
color was coming and going, and on her shapely hands, which were
clasped in her lap. He talked of Colorado as if it were settled that
they were to go there together, and they must certainly have some
preliminary training in rough riding; and then, merely to make
conversation, he spoke of other places that should only be visited on
horseback, always claiming in all of them his post of groom. Alice felt
her trouble and confusion of spirit passing away as the light stream of
talk rippled on. She took little part in it at first, but from
monosyllables of assent she passed on to a word of reply from time to
time; and before she knew how it happened she was engaged in a frank
and hearty interchange of thoughts and fancies, which brought her best
faculties into play and made her content with herself, in spite of the
occasion