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Show TRAILER GIRL Led By VERA BROWN WNU Service CHAPTER XXVI Continued 16 Madam shook Lynn gently and laughed: "You ask how you're going go-ing on. I'll tell you. The first thing you're going to come to work. Nothing Noth-ing like work. Besides, you need the money, and I'll dock you if you aren't on the job! Next, you're going to have a lot of new clothes. Nothing like a smart new hat for a woman whose heart's broken! That's why I make money. Half the women who come in to my shop on a clothes spree have broken hearts. Don't you realize that? You haven't a corner on all the suffering in the world!" That idea had apparently not occurred oc-curred to Lynn. "Now, I'm going to see you into bed. I'll turn off the lights. And tomorrow night I'm going to take you home with me for the weekend. week-end. By Monday you'll be a different differ-ent person." Madam was as good as her word. Saturday night she came for Lynn and the girl went with Madam to her handsome uptown apartment. When they had finished dinner, Madam began to talk about style. "You should begin to study yourself, your-self, Lynn. Learn by trial and error what you should wear. You've been letting me dress you. You'd be lovelier love-lier if you'd evolve your own clothes. You've been too busy being in love to do anything but walk around in a daze. It's time you got to work. Then there's another thing. If Rene goes away, what about you?" "I have my work." "You don't want to work in my shop for $30 a week all your life. You've got a career ahead of you." Madam looked thoughtfully at the girl: "I've had a couple of boys into the shop to see about you for color photography. You'd model well that way. I'd dress you, and it would not be bad for me, you know." Madam had an eye to the main chance. "I couldn't pose for anybody but Rene, somehow!" "Nonsense! You can face a color camera, can't you?" Madam smiled: "Your coloring is unusual, you know." The next night Lynn took a bus down to the Square and walked over to Rene's studio. "I hoped you'd come, I'm hungry." hun-gry." He grinned at her. "When do we eat?" Rene's old cry! Lynn smiled in spite of herself, and she set about making supper. Then, seated across from Rene, she felt almost happy again. Marty dropped in, seemed unaware un-aware that anything was wrong. But then, Marty was always tactful, Lynn mused. "Well, the famous artist will be off for Paris and Rome before long," Marty remarked. "Lord I hate to see you go, Rene!" Rene nodded. "Think of me!" Lynn demanded. "I am." Marty squinted up at Lynn as she gave him a cup of coffee. cof-fee. "Half the boys In town are screaming for you, Lynn. What do you say to that, Rene?" Rene shrugged: "They show good taste!" "You're the ideal model, Lynn." "That's what Mme. Reanoud said. She wants me to do some photographic photo-graphic modeling." "Common trade, eh?" Marty laughed. "Might be a good idea. I think you've been in that dress shop long enough. And if you wanted to pose for some of the illustrators you would have time." "I wish you'd talk to Mme. Reanoud Rea-noud for me, Marty." "I'll do what I can. You should have a good agent, Lynn. I haven't time to give you the thought I should, but I've promised Rene I'd keep an eye on you." Lynn flashed Rene one of her lovely smiles. He had been very loyal to her. "The first thing I want to do is move," Lynn said. "The thought of that apartment is too painful." "That's not a bad idea." Rene turned to Lynn. "Take what you want of this stuff in here. It doesn't amount to much. There might be a small apartment in this building. Better ask tomorrow. It would be easier coming here." Marty left early and Rene asked Lynn to stay while he smoked another an-other cigarette. "Now I'm going; I rather dread the break," Rene remarked. "Think of me! Rene, what will I do without tfou?" Lynn turned to him in genuine distress. He came over to her chair and took her hand. "Look at me, Lynn." Her wide set brown eyes which he had painted with such power looked up inquiringly. "I love you, Lynn. I have for a long time. I couldn't speak, knowing know-ing how you felt about Wild. But now it's different. Come with me! I'll do my best to make you happy." Lynn gave a protesting little gesture. ges-ture. "Don't answer me tonight, Lynn. Think about it. I won't ask for your love. Maybe some day you'll feel different. I think you care about me as much as you do anybody in this world. That will be enough for me. I won't ask for more." He paced restlessly up and down the room as he pleaded: "I'm going places. I know that now. I feel the power in me! I couldn't have done anything without you." He came over to her again. "I need you io, dariing!" CHAPTER XXVII Lynn's hands were in Rene's. He clung to her. In her desperate loneliness lone-liness she was tempted. Could she find a kind of happiness with Rene? Helping him to paint his fine pictures? pic-tures? It would mean a wonderful life, Europe, all the strange places of the world. For Lynn knew, too, that Rene had a great future before him. It would be wonderful to have a part in that career. His arms were about her, as he pleaded his case: "We'll find a place down in Capri, and I'll work like mad, Lynn!" Rene's eyes were burning, his lips were on hers. "Rene, I can't!" Lynn clung to his arm, appealingly as she spoke. "I can't, Rene. It's too late." He let her go then, and the suffering on his face accused her. Why make him unhappy? There was no peace for herself. Why not at least try to make him happy? But even as she argued with herself, she tried to make him understand: "You wouldn't be happy, Rene, knowing I loved somebody else. You're too fine a person for half measures!" Rene could not agree. "I'm willing will-ing to take the risk, Lynn!" He held her hand that wore Wild's emerald. em-erald. "Please think it over!" She left him then to go back to her apartment. There she wondered L1fj&ij - ' ':?:: J Lynn 'felt ' almost happy again. whether she was right. Her ring hung heavy on her hand. She slipped it off. That was the first thing she must do. Even Lynn had not realized real-ized the value of the gorgeous stone. She put it back in its box, wrapped it carefully, and in a sure hand addressed ad-dressed it to Raymond Austin, Austin Aus-tin Manor. Later that week she found a small studio apartment in Rene's building, and it was arranged that the few things he had would be moved there. The days hurried by. Marty had found an agent to handle her affairs and there was talk of a contract with a cigarette company for color photographs. Rene's belongings were packed in his new luggage. "I'm still hoping you'll change your mind, Lynn," Rene said one evening, just forty-eight hours before be-fore his sailing. "Even if you don't come now, you could come over later if you change your mind." "You're a darling, Rene. I wish I could." But both of them were sure her answer was final. The day Rene was to leave, Lynn got the morning off from the shop. She cooked Rene's last breakfast in her new apartment, and a lot of people dropped in to say good-by. Marty was there, of course. He was going to the boat, and so were several sev-eral of Rene's artist friends. Lynn was glad there was a lot of excitement, excite-ment, and even at that early hour, Marty was ladeling out the highballs high-balls with gusto. There was little time for Rene and Lynn to talk. But he did manage to corner her in the kitchenette for a moment. "I'm leaving some money in a savings sav-ings account for you, Lynn," he said as he handed her a bank book. "It isn't much. But I want you to have it You know how I feel. If the time ever comes you want your freedom, free-dom, take that money and get it That's what it's for." Lynn looked at the book in her hand. "I can't take it, Rene." "You have, already. It's in your name now. I asked you to come. That always stands. But I want you to know your freedom is there when you - want it." He paused a moment: mo-ment: "I messed up your life once, Lynn. I don't want to do it again!" He kissed her hand. "Remember, next time, tell the truth, or if you fall in love, get your freedom first." "I'll never fall in love again, Rene. That's over." "You will, but I still have hopes it might be me." She smiled at him through her tears. "I wish it would be!" "That's the sweetest thing you could say to me!" "If you meet somebody. Rene . . ." But he would not let her finish. fin-ish. He leaned over and kissed her on the hps and then let her go. The sailing party was gay and some fifteen men and girls piled into Rene's cabin. Lynn wiped her eyes and the crowd insisted on taking her to luncheon with them. Marty was at his best and kept everybody laughing. laugh-ing. Lynn was grateful to him, for she knew he understood. Later he offered to drop her at Mme. Rea-noud's. Rea-noud's. In the taxi he gave her hand a pat: "Well, kid, a new deal. You're going to get some good cards now. Nothing can stop a girl with your looks. I'll drop in and see you now and then. How about supper tonight?" to-night?" Lynn knew why he asked, knew he realized how she dreaded that first evening alone with Rene gone, too. "I'd be grateful," she said simply. "Maybe I'll have good news for you." Then she left him. She worked hard all afternoon to make up for her morning off, and she was grateful to think that Marty would be waiting for her that night. He had been a stanch friend. He was there when she finished the day's work at 6 o'clock, and he came into the shop to talk with Mme. Reanoud. "It's all set, Madam, the boys will see you about the arrangement for clothes." "Can I have Lynn for my Spring fashion show?" Madam demanded. "Be sure it's understood in the contract, you'd better cast your eye over it." Later, Marty and Lynn dined in a comfortable German restaurant over Third avenue. They sat long over their late dinner. "You hate to go home, don't you?" "Yes." "Let me give you some advice. Keep going places. Then, after a while, you won't notice it when you come home to the studio. We're creatures of habit, and if you keep plugging, after a while things don't seem so important." "If I could just forget for a while, go to sleep and wake up in about two years!" CHAPTER XXVIII Lynn's lovely face, in colors, smiled out from the back of the magazines these days. Rene, in Rome, saw the first color photographs and cabled his congratulations. congrat-ulations. When that cable was delivered de-livered to her Lynn hardly had strength to open it For that hope sprang always that Wild might relent. re-lent. It was a gorgeous Autumn day. Lynn, by force of habit turned straight to the society columns. That was the only word she had nowadays nowa-days of Wild. And that was so little. lit-tle. She knew when Mrs. Austin left or returned from her Palm Beach home. She knew when Chuck joined his brother in Algiers in the early Spring and when he returned. It was there she learned Wild was on a trip around the world. And there was a great bitterness in her heart as she read. "I must stay and face the music. He can go wherever he chooses forget!" There had been a photograph of Wild big-game hunting in India, entertained en-tertained by a maharajah. She pushed the paper from her. No news today. Rene had been faithful. His letters let-ters were a bright spot in her life. He did not write often, but when he did he gave her a delightful picture pic-ture of his life in Rome. He was working like mad, painting wildly. And always the same plea: "Come." Often for hours she'd forget about Wild. Then suddenly she'd find herself her-self sitting in a restaurant where they had dined, and it was all she could do to keep from running out of the place. Or she would pass a book shop where they'd lingered on a lazy afternoon. It was later than she thought when she got home that day and she hurried hur-ried into the building. In her studio she found a letter from Rene. She undressed leisurely and then slipped into bed. Now. She slit the envelope. Out fell some snapshots. They were Rene and a pretty brunette bru-nette girl. "My new model." That was the way one of the pictures was labeled. He had been vacationing up in the mountains. That is why he had not written. He had been ill. A cold again and the doctors had ordered him away. That's where he'd found his new model. "I'll always miss you, Lynn," he said as she read on. "But life must go on. I'm glad the work is going well for you. Your pictures I see every place where they sell American Ameri-can magazines. It is exciting getting get-ting the new ones. But they're so expensive over here that I don't buy them. I permit myself the luxury of stopping at the newsstands and looking at your face." The next few paragraphs left Lynn white-faced. "You remember what I said once. If I ever wanted my freedom, I'd tell you. I think it is better that you settle things once and for alL I say this after thinking about the matter for a long time. Go and see an attorney, Lynn. Try Mortimer. You know him. Tell him the story. He'll advise you. I wish you'd do this right away." The letter let-ter dropped from Lynn's hand. Queer that she should feel so badly. bad-ly. He was in love with the model. Lynn scolded herself. After all, she had her chance. She had let him go. Now she must give him the freedom that he asked. (TO BE CONTINUED! |