Show baete tk CO COMES M ES a MOMENT by ELINOR MAXWELL 0 ARCADIA HOUSE publications SERVICE IM SYNOPSIS mary ary loring and her fattier father jim alm an ineffectual tie attorney meet a train which brings his wealthy sister in law unmarried linnie corswell Cot swell and her friend leua leila ormsby divorcee lor for a christmas visit ormsbyl wait waiting ng i at home for or them are marys mother her younger sister ellen len her fathers nagging maiden sister aunt mamie and peter the baby of the family at the depot dr christopher cragg helps the guests ats with their luggage mary is gue secretly ec r et y in love with doctor cragg in leaving leavi it her aunt lin me urges mary to visit her in new york but mary refuses mary works in a rental library where she spends her spare time writing short stories ma marys rg father Is let out as railroad attorney the tees fees ol of which were almost the sole support of his family to earn money a she he decides to begin writing in earnest mary feels eels sure that her newest story at sea would please the editors of national weekly after finishing it she caus calls doctor cragg who comes to chebook the book sto store e for a current novel Falling falling herom rom a 2 1 ladder adder while getting h his I 1 book she regains gai na consciousness to find his arms a around ro und her he tells her he loves her jd d then tells her he Is to be married married B corning coming month to a girl he has town 0 wn all his life iffe despondent mary tie de tides id ea to accept her aunt lindt in inal I 1 tau on in new york her aunt laughs at he her r lor for her plans to write and insists tha that t she meet as many eligible men as 9 possible the new week brings two letters one from rom the national weekly witha with a check for her story makes her deliriously happy the other from her sister tells her that financial conditions at home are getting worse the next day at a party given by her aunt mary meets distinguished jerome taylor wealthy middle ged aged 1 I 1 man about town and effusive cou count n t umberto balland the counts oily manner nause nauseates tes her A note from her father the follow following day pleads with her not to mention the fam ilys financial plight to her aunt after reading it she forces herself to begin work on her next short story which Is more difficult to write than the first she labors on until her aunt informs her that C count tUm umberto cumberto berto whom lelia leila terms a sponger and fortune hunter Is to take them to dinner that evening he takes them to a garish restaurant in greenwich village village that evening mary sends her story their son to the national weekly she goes to osee see phillip bu chanan editor of the national weekly to whon whom she has given her last story he invites her to lunch he congratulates tes her tor for the simple treatment given the first story and says that her last offering will receive immediate attention at lunch she Is introduced to attractive jim ormsby lelias leilas former husband CHAPTER VI continued 7 mary watched jim ormsby as he walked across the room and finally disappeared through the door into the foyer she liked his voice the way he carried his shoulders the perfect hang of his well cut clothes he looked just the sort of person whom lelia might well have loved whom lelia might well still love with all her heart hes very attractive she said ditre nitre more to herself than to phillip buchanan hes He stops tops the man replied almost belligerently and to my way of thinking hes been given a dirty deal his wife divorced him a couple of years ago on what was merely circumstantial evidence never gave him a chance to explain and he was too damned proud to do 0 so later seemed to figure that if she he ant have more faith in him than he e appeared to have he might as well ell let her go mary leaned across the table Is his wife beany by any chance named lelia she asked excitedly yes buchanan replied surprised it is do you know her well eatherl in tact fact ashes a sort of cousin of mine and visiting aunt linnie right bowl oh lordi I 1 hope I 1 said anything I 1 havel no mr buchanan not at all by the way it time we were leaving buchanan looked at his bis watch yes it is how are you going ging uptown mary smiled at him literally in the bus she replied metaphorically on wings you see im terribly excited over this assignment youve given me and ill do my best fla make given good tuve buch an M motioned t boned to alphonse glanced n ed over v r the check and leaving some bills on the table indicated to mary that he was ready to leave hear from us is as soon as weve made a decision on their son miss loring he said when they reached the foyer thanks for lunching with me mary extended a gloved hand thanks for asking me she replied her eyes dancing 1 I loved it it although I 1 confess you had me stymied tor for a while stymied the man r replied amie ledl dl what do you mean but she was out ot of the door now and either did not hear him ar or else would not turn around her heart was lighter than it had been in weeks and her feet barely touched atoe e pave pavement as she fled down the and turned up fifth avenue CHAPTER VU lelia leila ormsby was seated at the desk by the east window in the living room when mary returned to miss Cot swells apartment mary she called hearing the click of a kayin key in the latch yes lelia leila where are you right here in the i i living room having a perfect whirl for myself studying study ingall all the travel literature I 1 can find about the tropics theres a boat sailing for the west indies march fifteenth and I 1 believe be just about right for our trip mary ame came into inte view her eyes wide and tarry starry her face flushed bushed good heavens I 1 cried lella leila what in the world have you been doing you look as if caught the W world orld by the baill ive never teen seen anybody quite so aglow dl you see mr buchanan mary tell fen into the cushions of the lounge and prepared to relax in com comfort fort just it lelia leila she replied her voice husky with excitement 1 I not only saw mr buchanan but he took me to lunch at the lafayette lafaiette and lelia leila he wants me to write a series of shorts for his magazine Dar darling lingl wonder wonderful full did he mention the dell delicate cati subject ot of pay yes lel lei he did hes going to increase th the size of the checks as ti time M e goes 0 it on providing of course my stuff clicks with the public 1 im so happy you cant imagine what it means to me it means lelia leila said her blue eyes serious that at sea must be a darned good tale and that phillip buchanan feels hes made another of his well known finds I 1 congratulations my dear by the way how did you like phil buchanan 1 I liked him well enough mary replied but he acted as if he were bored bor ed to death with every word I 1 ut uttered tred and he be looked at his bis watch at least six times oh well chuckled lelia leila he is a busy man lelia leila mary began yes replied lelia leha not looking up lelia I 1 I 1 met jim ormsby today the older girl did not move but mary could see a deep red slowly rising to the nape of her neck hes a friend of phil buchanann Bucha nans lelia returned evenly her attention apparently ly riveted on a colorful picture of the race course at havana yes mary returned he asked mr buchanan to spend the weekend week end at his house in connecticut lelia leila turned about a little smile twisting her lips her eyes as blue and unfathomable as a wintry sea that house in connecticut is I 1 yes buchanan Buc banan replied surprised it isado ast 1st do you know berv her sweet white clapboard clap board and sort of straggling all over the side of the hill and a fireplace in every room we lived there most of the time jim and L there was a revealing nostalgia in lelias leilas tones as she spoke of the home she and jim h had L ic I 1 shared together and mary sensing the ache that lay beneath those words longed to rush to her and place sympathetic arms about her shoulders instead she continued jostand to stand by the window hes attractive lelia leila yes lella lelia replied juliy dully there has never been anyone else like him in my life and mary there never will be did he seem well and and happy 1 I saw him for just an instant lelia mary countered wishing she had more to tell the other woman he merely came to our table at the lafayette and spoke to mr buchanan about going to connecticut tor for the weekend week end he said two other men whose names I 1 dont remember were to be in the par party ty and that play badminton on and bridge A second of silence followed broken finally by mary was there any mail for me lelia in the eleven belive delivery ry lelias leilas shoulders jerked as it if she had been abruptly jarred out of a reverie yes I 1 believe theres a letter from hawkinsville Haw kinsville and by the way theres a box of something or other tor for you delivered about an hour ago by a western union boy looks like candy and I 1 hope it is im perishing for the want of a chocolate covered mint the letter from filim home can wait an instant mary thought at least until I 1 see in this package she untied the ribbon and tore away the glossy orange tissue that covered thebold the box bole an envelope en closed card tipped from its position by her ber eager fingers feu fell to the floor boor stooping she picked it up and read fruits from italy to a lovely lady with the feli citations and adoration of umberto just so much eyewash she told herself the man scarcely knows me ill give five the stun stuff to addle maybe shell like it i then with a commingling com mingling of eagerness and apprehension she opened the letter from ellen mary dear theres really not a thing to tell you but I 1 know that you worry when w hen you y u dont hear bear from home every now and and then so am writing anyhow dad still been able to make any connections mother Is getting thinner every day from worry and A aunt t mamie goes sadly about with the usual a i chip on her shoulder she ha has taken to re referring ferrin g wis wistfully trully to one harry archer who visited at grandfathers house awen ty five years ago intimating that he was desperately in love with her and that it was just too bad she marry him I 1 asked as ed dad on the Q T it the guy really had been in love with her an and he replied that if he was he managed to exert wonderful self control all dad can remember about harry archers visit was that there had bad been two picnics at hicks bluff and in both cases hazy harry had to be hit over the tha head with a club ab in order to get him even to go through the motions of being aunt Ms ma mies escort browns business college have put me first on their list for any possible job that may present itsek issem but im afraid th the chances arent so hot I 1 hope youre having a wonderful time have you seen radio city yet give my love to aunt linnee and lelia leila devotedly ellen P S chris cragg was married to that lisa iia braceland Gra celand in chicago last saturday and Is bringing her to hawkinsville Haw kinsville the end of the week dying to sw see what ashes me like for an instant ahe the room went quite black before marys eyes and it was only with supreme effort that she kept from slumping clumping slum ping to the floor so chris had married after all of c ourse course he had told her that he was wa S going to of course he had been honor bound to carry through yet all along there had smoldered in the back of her mind the thought if he really loves me he wo wont nt marry lisa ilsa he canti cant hell sur surely e ay tell her that he loves someone else that his marriage cant go through but the marriage had gone through last saturday Satur dayl chris had bad now been married for five days with fingers that seemed numb she picked ellens letter up tore it into tiny pieces and dropped it into the waste basket how surprised ellen would have been had she dreamed of the portent of that postscript thank god mary thought gratefully nobody not even ellen knows how desperately care for chris nobody knows that I 1 care at all at last she turned from the dress ing table and moved toward the bed blindly she dropped to the bed heedless of the satin spread that covered it and lay there in a disconsolate heap like a child that has been sent to his nursery for punishment at last the tears began to come and still unmindful of the coverlet she buried her face against the protecting privacy of the pillow and gratefully let them fall she did not know how long she lay there but the winter darkness had bad fallen outside when lelia leila finally entered the room and snapped on the light mary I 1 know you were herel she said glimpsing the huddle of marys body on the bed have you been asleep mary sat up trying to avert her haggard a agard face from lelias leilas gaze yes she lied bed 1 I was asleep what time is it lelia leila I 1 six darting darling you better start dressing this is the night you and lentile are going to jerry T e rry taylors it lies hes sending the car tor for you mary yes 1 I wish wear my ermine wrap tonight it would look simply ravishing on you and I 1 know aunt linnie wants you to appear particularly beautiful geromes Je romes quite a person yott know even though he is in my humble opinion the worst sort ot of renegade but lelia leila mary demurred 1 I might get it soiled or tear it dont be ridiculous darling I 1 want you to wear it look divine with that silver threaded evening frock of yours all right mary replied listlessly thank you but she was thinking what difference does it make how I 1 look what difference does anything make chris is married three quarters ot of an hour later mary a transformed person stood before the mirror ol of the dressing table the hot bath and icy shower had brought life and color back to her weary body miraculously wiped from her face the ravages of sorrow lelia leila had dusted just enough 6 she picked ellens letter up and tore it into tiny pieces rouge over the soft curve of her cheeks to disguise their pallor her lace frock clung lovingly to her body and fell to the floor in an eddy of silver and white three orchids of deep purple perched lightly on her er left shoulder and now and then smoothed their soft petals against her cheek addie had just brought them to in with the announcement that mr taylors chauffeur had delivered them and ana that mr taylors car was waiting at the door well if you aint a dream ll addle addie cried why honey you look just like a princess mary suddenly aware that had it not been tor for lelia leila she would never have been able to dress that evening that lelia had practically pulled her together turned impulsively and kissed the other girl on the cheek thank you lelia youve been sweet to me tonight youre always sweet to me lentile corswell Cot swell looking handsome in a trailing gown of maroon colored lace appeared in the doorway ready mary why my dear youre a dreama I 1 know my family tree could produce such royal fruita mary never quite knew how she managed to get through the hours that followed it was like a hectic nightmare a nightmare made up of spacious flower filled rooms in jerome taylors penthouse of jerome taylor himself faultless in black and white a gardenia in his lapel always at her side always looking at her with admiring eyes dancing with jerome taylor to the tune of 0 september in inthe the rain and thoughts of chrysl A constant pain in her heart a lump in her roat that could not be swallowed swallow dd and thoughts unforgettable thoughts of christopher cragel TO BE CONTINUED |