Show e te n binnes vy by FRANCES PARKINSON KEYES ci frances parkinson keyes keye service SYNOPSIS disappointed through her inability to put fial shing touches louche to her costume for a de dance A anna me chamberlain is irritated by br the of her escar becort t george eorge elldreth Hll 1111 dreth A visitor 1 tn th the commini community t neal conrad young I 1 lawyer wyer ll is to la be the sensation ont atlon of tho the evening and 1111 dreth annis anna sutor autor Is if vaguely jealous Jea loui conred conrad la Is impressed by anne readily perceiving her fine character he invites invitee her to accompany him and his hostess mrs mr griffin on an a picnic the following sunday anna am accepts though aware she he is ie being unconventional dional anne dipping into scanty savings buys buy suit cult able ble finery for the trip from an old friend mr goldenburg the picnic Is I 1 a red letter leer day for anoe ann CHAPTER IV continued 9 they were in the lane now near the rosebush with its sharp thorns and falling petals neal could feel her young body quivering with rapture beneath his encircling arm what Is it anne tell me I 1 1 I was only thinking I 1 came here the night of the dance in hamstead to pick some flowers to wear to the party mummer had taken the sweet peas I 1 was saying saving and put them on aunt grave they were all I 1 had bad you poor child III I 1 so aupper suggested the rosebush agot I 1 got all hot and dusty hurrying and then I 1 pricked my fingers there enough roses anyway george followed me down here and asked me why I 1 mix them with some of those flowers growing in the meadow 1 I noticed them at the dance of course do you know what called certainly I 1 do queen annes lace by jovel how quickly he had sensed the symbolism which had eluded george entirely 1 she caught her breath it grows where the soil Is very poor the farmers think its just a weed an awful pest because they cant see how beautiful it Is anne anne my darling I 1 his arms had tightened about her like bands of steel he bent and laid hla his face against her hair the then n suddenly with a little cry his lips brushed across her cheek seeking her mouth and found it already upturned to the hard hot kisses hisses which he pressed down on it it they clung to each other two clean passionate young creatures used fused in the white flame of their first great creat desire neal was the first to recover himself he drew away from anne gently with a caress that he might have given to a child then he took her face between his two hands look at me anne 1 I am looking III 1 I mean that this should happen not for a long time yet not because bause I 1 love you III 1 I know you love me but because I 1 want to hurt or even startle you you I 1 love you it would have killed me not being sure she thought ho was going to take her jn in his arms again to kiss her until it hurt as he had before instead steaB In he knelt down in the long grass and bowed his head anne he said so softly that she could hardly hear him anne you are a queen alqueen a queen in disguise a fairy changeling perhaps but a queen just the same will you help me earn the lace tor for you to wear III III III 6 Is A little over a month later anne and neal were married ile he did not allow their sudden suddah betrothal to interfere with his plans the following morning he started oft off in pursuit of his wealthy client pour four days later he returned with the report of complete success in his venture that meant five hundred dollars to me to us 11 he told anne and well need it you think of me as some kind of a fairy prince even if you are a queen 1 I dont said anne flushing you do too you know you do bless you youl I 1 but im not id be willing to bet that george got twice as much salted away as 1 I have this very minute sure you dont want to change your mind neal I 1 wish you he saw raw that her love was so BO strange to her still so sacred that she could not jest about it all right dear I 1 wont but we must talk over the practical side of things because I 1 want to marry you r right ig away yes what I 1 want too anne I 1 wish you ho he mocked lightly you have no iden idea how liard hard it Is for me to behave when you speak to me like that but wd we ought to straighten ou a few important details first as I 1 said ive got a good practice for a fellow my age and its gr growing im earning a fair income and ive saved something not an awful lot but we can be begin in clear with something ahead and something behind us only weve got to begin small I 1 thought id try and rent a little place we could live in this winter and we could look around together after we were married for something better id like to buy or build a little house for our very own right away its poor economy in the long run to pay rent reno yes I 1 see eee that and ill get ready tuo clothes and linen of course I 1 chini have much dut but ive a little leguy from aunt sarah rd id rather spend it won on my trousseau than anything I 1 c can an think of well settled then now where would you like to go for our honeymoon anywhere with you what would you say to washington 0 oh h neal how did you guess I 1 ive longed and longed 1 well so have 1 I so settled too and we wont stint on that trip either well have a good time E dont believe ive told you im tremendously interested in politics even more than in law tt im a in member aber of the city council in hansboro now perhaps some day I 1 can go further oh neal I 1 im sure you can anyone can be ba president you know he said teasingly you could well perhaps I 1 can be mayor but we well H have a look at the white house anyhow maybe it wont appeal to you and that would settle it he laughed then changing the subject abruptly another thing we economize on Is your ring honestly I 1 dont need an engagement ring I 1 mind a bit nonsense let me hold your hand band a while so I 1 can measure your finger neals second visit was even briefer than his first but in the course of it he be had a long talk with hla his prospective parents in law whom he found stunned but acquiescent and then insisted 1 1 I in announcing the engagement 1 in the wallacetown Wallace town bugle having thus burned all his bridges behind him he departed to tell his own father and mother of his impending plunge into matrimony ile he had adroitly contrived to avoid much discussion of the conrads with anne he knew all too well how bitterly they were bound to opposed oppose the match but he hoped as far as possible to keep this knowledge from her mrs conrad came from one of the oldest families in the country and she never forgot it or allowed anyone else elsa to forget it she belonged not only to the daughters of the american revolution but to the colonial dames to t the episcopal church and the wednesday sewing circle all humanity was divided into two classes those who were refined ned and those who were not the display of all human emotion was to her disgusting y she was fond of the words good breeding culture and tradition her husbands standards were much ilke her own and his sense of self im quite equal to hers though like herself he depended largely on the past nast to establish his claim to als lie ile had never made much headway in his profession as an architect they had very little money but they contrived to keep heep up appearance in a way that was almost uncanny their elder son arthur an unmarried clergyman and their widowed daughter harriet lived with them as aa welt well as neal by pooling their resources in this way their income went much further than it otherwise would hav done harriet had very pronounced views all neals decision of character without his charm her husband had committed suicide by jumping from a sixth story window while they were on their honeymoon neal burst in upon his family kissed his mother and sister dutifully but without enthusiasm and told them immediately of the fat fee which he had captured in the course of his vacation then he told the rest of Us his story 1 I knew think that was good news but ive got some better yet im going to be married there was a moment of ominous horrified silence then a simultaneous exclamation Mar married riedl to whom A girl named anne chamberlain she lives in a little place called west hamstead my illy son are you really telling no 09 this in earnest 1 I certainly am the conrads exchanged terrified glances then I 1 must ask you to explain yourself neals neala worst enemy could hardly accuse him of a lack of eloquence on any theme or on any occasion and this time he outdid himself the results however were even worse thao than he had feared do you expect us to admit this en ga gement if we are questioned certainly its been announced in the wallacetown Wallace town bugle already he ha noticed his mothers shudder III 1 I shall see that its in the Hin times tomorrow and you expect us your father and I 1 your brother and sister to go to the wedding to receive this this person iafe my fiancee fl ancee very soon my wife of course perhaps you were thinking of bringing her here to live 1 IT I bo be so cruel to her he had bad scored ilia his mother attempted to draw blood in her turn have you thought what the withdrawal of your contribution to the family expenses Is going to mean to us in our old age I harriet clarriet and arthur arent so very aged it hurt either of them to get out and hustle a little as ive had to do neal I 1 do not degrade us and yourself with vulgar vulgarity ityl I 1 I 1 suppose your your i language and your conduct are the result of your political associations association you should never have allowed yow bour self a gentleman by birth at least to be drawn into them TO BB 1311 |