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Show Mrs. Harry puh Smith WQ CHAPTER XI Synopsis Since her husband's death, Anne Pliillips has worked to support sup-port her children. Berenice, the eldest, is married to Bill Carter. Jim, Anne's son, lias let Ids infatuation in-fatuation lead to an eiiKiujement with the rich Helen Sanders. Anne suspects that Cathy, widowed widow-ed littles dancer, is in love with Jim. Janot, Anne's younger daughter, is unhappy because her nell-to'O friends, neglect Jier. She is commissioned by Tony Ryan to help him restore the old Phillips estate which he has bought. Janet believes Tony is (jetting it ready for Priscilla Leigh and himself. Janet's older sister, sis-ter, Berenice, is miserable because her young husband, Bill Carter lias left her. She keeps going over the note Bill left behind when he saw Guy Shelton kiss her. . o "I didn't want to kill him. I didn't care. That's how I know I'm free of loving you. You have wanted for a long time to lead your own life. You can from now on. I'm through. Permanently washed up. I never want 'to see you again. I don't even want to hear, about you. Bill." . On the twentieth of August Tony Ryan planned to give a housewarming at the old Rad-cliffe Rad-cliffe mansion. He sent out ela-, ela-, borately engraved invitations. "At home from four to six," they read. Janet turned over her key to him the afternoon before. Her job was finished. She had even filled every available vase with flowers. an afternoon tea party " "But " "Please be on hand early," he , said, "to help me receive or what-. what-. ever they call ft, and for Pete's sake keep an eye on the refresh-. refresh-. ments. I've engaged the best ca-. ca-. terer in town, but he's already : asked me a dozen questions I don't know how to answer." Janet was thinking about Tony the next afternoon while she dressed for the party and her cheeks burned. He infuriated her to the point of tears. He had all along. Her gray eyes were mutinous mutin-ous when she faced them in the mirror. She was wearing flowered pink and white chiffon. She had bought it with the money she earned renovating the old Rad-cliffe Rad-cliffe house. With Tony Ryan's money, she reminded herself, making a face at the glass. Her mother had selected the frock and it was adorable. She received a small square florist box from Tony Ryan shortly short-ly before she was ready to start that afternoon. There was a card enclosed across which he had scrawled "Will send a car for you. Tony." Janet made another face. She did not want him to do the gracious thing in her behalf. She never had wanted to be compelled com-pelled to think better of him. She was frowning when she came downstairs to wait for the car. To her astonishment she found old Mr. Jacoby posed on the front stoop in an ancient frock coat and striped gray trousers, wearing wear-ing a white daisy in his buttonhole. button-hole. "Ready?" he inquired in an eager voice. "Maybe you'd better look me over. It's many a year twecn Tony and Steve Hill jus inside the front parlor. Priscilli and her crowd were late in arriv ing. It was then Janet began to re alize the guests presented a cur ' ious assortment. Deke had driver up not once, but twice, with thf closed car. He brought first a lit tie, dried-up old lady with bright inquisitive face. "How are you, Mrs. Delancey?' cried Tony. "Sure it's swell to see you!" Mrs. Delancey patted his arm "One of my oldest and best friends, Mrs. Kate Delancey," said Tony to Janet. "Pleased to meetcha, love," murmured the old Irishwoman. Janet could not see the guest whom Horace was admitting, but she recognized Priscilla's triumphant trium-phant voice. "Tony," she was saying, "the house is gorgeous! Darling, I can't think of a lovelier time to announce our engagement." Something inside Janet seemed to be tearing itself loose from the roots. It was no news that Priscilla Pris-cilla and Tony were going to be married. Janet had understood as much from the first. Yet to hear their' engagement put into words in a formal announcement was something she felt incapable of facing. Janet and Stephen Hill without with-out conspicuous success attempted attempt-ed to unite the various cliques. Janet went over and chatted with the Earl of Jersey for whom she was achieving an affection. Tony was talking to Rufe when Janet, with Mrs. Delaney clinging to her arm, approached Mrs. Henrv the only glitter that doesn't rub off." "In that case," murmured Tony, "maybe you'd like to marry me for my money." She could not speak. She could not even get her breath. He smiled at her. "Catch," he said. He tossed the glittering object at her. Her hand closed on it involuntarily. in-voluntarily. It was a superb diamond dia-mond magnificently set in a platinum pla-tinum band with emeralds. "I've got a house," said Tony. "It's a nice house, but it needs a mistress. In a way, it's more your house than anyone's." She was staring at the ring, the ring which he had bought for Priscilla before she walked out on him, or so Janet told herself. "I've heard of trial marriages," said Tony. "Shall we have a try at being engaged?" he grinned. "It might come out even." "Why not?" she demanded, and slipped the diamond onto her finger. . . Leigh. "This is one of Tony's oldest friends," said Janet. "I thought you'd like the privilege of taking her in to tea. Mrs. Leigh coldly surveyed the awful spectacle of the old Irishwoman't hat. "Sorry," "Sor-ry," murmured Priscilla's mother loftily. "I'm not having tea till later." Kate Delancey's Celtic temper rose to the bait. "Faith," quoth she,. "I can remember, Jennie, when you'd have fainted all over your father's butcher shop if someone had offered ye tea in the middle of the afternoon." "I hope everything is satisfactory," satisfac-tory," she stammered. "Sure," he acknowledged absently. ab-sently. Her heart seethed with rebellion. rebel-lion. It meant nothing to him, the gracious old home into which had gone so many of her dreams. It was merely something for which he had paid out cheeks. He was handing her a check at that mo-menV mo-menV a very generous one. She yearned to tear it up and fling the pieces in his face. "I included your services for tomorrow," he said carelessly. "Tomorrow?" He grinned. "I've done a lot of weird things in my time, but I've never yet been the host at since I've been to a party." Janet could not believe her ears. ."You're going to a tea!" "The boy wouldn't take no for an answer," said Mr. Jacoby proudly. "We've grown to be pret-' pret-' ty good pals, you know, I and Tony. He comes by every now and ' then to talk to me. Says he has to hear from my trick knee before be-fore he makes any plans for the ( day. Reckon he knows I get toler-, toler-, able lonesome. with no one to yarn to. Reckon he's got a heart as big , as all outdoors, that Tony." Janet shook her head. "I've given up trying to figure Tony Ryan out." At that moment a new and very glittering closed car drove up to the gate. Deke, in resplendent chauffeur's uniform, was at the wheel. He got out and with a flourish ushered Janet and Mr. Jacoby into the car. It was a grisp blue and gold August afternoon.. The lawn at the old house flashed like emeralds emer-alds as they drove in. Tony Ryan in immaculate white flannels was standing in the doorway door-way with Stephen Hill. "Hi, Mr. Jacoby, how's the boy?" cried Tony. He came forward and wrung Mr. Jacoby's hand. Shortly after, more guests be-' be-' gan to dribble in. Janet stood be- Mrs. Leigh turned purple and Janet, suppressing a grin, took Mrs. Delancey in to tea herself. Tony joined them in the dining room. Like a majestic ship Mrs. Henry Leigh approached the tea table under the convoy of her friends. Apparently she did not see anyone any-one outside her immediate group. Kate Delancey, smiling broadly, departed with Mr. Jacoby in the closed car. "She had a lovely time," said Janet. "And isn't she precious?" "Sure," said Tony. Mrs. Leigh sniffed. Others were leaving and Janet began to realize what a strain it had been. She drew a sigh of re- Miss Helen Sanders and her father fa-ther arrived the next morning at eleven-forty. Jim met the train. Helen, lovelier than ever in a sheer black traveling dress with peach-colored accessories, flung herself into his arms while her father stood about on one foot and than the other waiting for her raptures to subside. "I've got the old flivver here," said Jim. She squeezed his arm. "We brought one of the cars and a chauffeur." A trim chauffeur in lemon-colored livery bobbed up apparently from nowhere and touched his cap to Mr. Sanders. "The limousine's waiting, sir," he said. Jim gulped again and followed meekly to where a huge pale yellow yel-low machine, having just been rolled out of the baggage car, stood glittering with chromium at the side of the station. By it were several trunks, a pyramid of traveling tra-veling hfl?S a wnnHan-fona lief and then heard a shrill, furious fur-ious voice in the back parlor. "He is too a lunatic! I don't care what you say, Tony Ryan. The man's a punch-drunk lunatic," luna-tic," Priscilla was saying. "And that Englishman's as phony as his glass eye. The nerve of you, hav- ing people like that at a party to which you invited me and my friends!" "They happen to be my friends," remarked Tony. "I thought I could marry you!" blazed Priscilla. "I thought I could overlook that you came from Shanty Town. I didn't "know you intended to drag Shanty Town around after you. Maybe you'd expect your wife to have Mrs. Delancey to dinner along with her paper sack." "My wife will never snub my friends," observed Tony. "I'm through with you!" cried Priscilla. "Yes?" murmured Tony. "Come on," said Priscilla crossly cross-ly to her mother. "Don't stand there gaping like a nit-wit." They departed and Tony smiled at Janet across the empty room with a quizzical light in his blue eyes. "That's that," he said. "Now we've both been jilted." "In spite of what you may have heard," she said in a choked voice, "I am not wearing my heart away for Gordon Key or any other man." Tony grinned. He had drawn something out his pocket. He kept idly juggling it back and forth in his hand. "Love isn't that important,'' continued Janet compressing her Frenchwoman in a maid's uniform, uni-form, and the solemn be-speckled young man who was Clive Sanders' San-ders' private secretary. Jim was beginning to perspire. He felt more than ever all arms and legs as they rode up to Bay City's most expensive hotel. Mr. Sanders, so far as Jim could tell, had engaged practically the entire en-tire fourth floor for himself and his party. Helen and her father each had a sitting room, bedroom bed-room and bath. Their sitting rooms opened into each other and it was there they had lunch. Jim had planned to take his fiancee and her father out to lunch. He had painstakingly audited his bank account and decided he could afford for once to tackle the Bel Air restaurant at a dollar dol-lar a plate, but Helen vetoed the suggestion. "We'll be so much more private pri-vate up here," she said, "and anyway, any-way, darling, Father's footing the bills." It was five minutes to two when they rose from the table. "Got to get back to the office," said Jim, and smiled. Helen wound her arms about him and cuddled her cheek deli-ciously deli-ciously against his. "You can't go," she said. (To be continued) HPS. "You sound disillusioned." "I am!" cried Janet with a little lit-tle sob. He tossed up the shining object ob-ject in one hand an caught it in the other. "You think life's a matter of dollars and cents?" he inquired. "Yes," said Janet. "All that glitters may not be gold, but it's |