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did, I'll have to wake poor Gertrude to get in." |
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"No," Linda said. "I can get a pass key from the steward or the purser. That's no problem. But Mrs. Bates, Gertrude would never tell Peter to lock the door and go to bed if she knew you had no key. She just wouldn't." |
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"No, of course she wouldn't." But Mrs. Bates seemed to have recovered her self-possession. She smiled and shook her head. "What Gertrude did, I am sure, is to give Peter the key and tell him to bring it to me. He'll have forgottenand it's no good asking him because he'll deny it. Peter is a dear boy, but he does get so stubborn. He will not admit mistakes." |
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Linda looked and felt perfectly blank. she knew Peter pretty wella lot better than Mrs. Bates guessed, no doubt, and he was stubborn sometimes, but not that way. When he forgot something, he was more inclined to laugh and cry mea culpa, as busy people do, than to lie about it. Linda almost said it aloud, but Mrs. Bates, who had been keeping one eye on the card table, interrupted her. |
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"I must go back, dear, the hand is finished. Go along now and enjoy yourself." |
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"I think I'll wait until you're through and go up with you, Mrs. Bates. It isn't right for you to run around looking for the steward." |
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Mrs. Bates cast her eyes heavenward and laughed. "Another protector! Linda, I may be an old lady, but I can ring the corridor bell for the steward myself. Don't you dare sit here and wait. I'll feel your impatient presence every |
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