Show 1 aseen Asi n d raes d 9 lace C by frances parkinson keyes e parkinson norvies CHAPTER X continued 24 we would be glad to come any evening said anne with her accustomed frankness you are the first person who has asked us to dinner what a neglect of opportunity ll 1 murmured mrs biro lassiter Lass lter but it we wont n t last long next winter we will have to speak for you months ahead meanwhile I 1 will get in touch with you again very shortly mrs birs conrad mrs lee seemed as pleased as anne herself at the invitation and she told anne something about the Las as they drove away mrs airs lassiter was a very wealthy widow it seemed and acted as hostess for her son who was unmarried and the greatest catch in the senatorial circle you made quite an impression on him at the opening of congress ile he asked who you were immediately after he saw you in the gallery and has told several people e he thought you were the prettiest we woman in there the promised dinner invitation was delivered by hand before neal and anne had finished their own supper that night it was surmounted by a gold crest over which was written in ink arn in honor of the french ambassador and madame Bl marceau arceau 11 underneath partly engraved and partly written appeared the words mrs lassiter Lass lter requests the pleasure of senator and mrs mra conrads conrad company at al dinner on wednesday evening december the tha at eight 2141 massachusetts avenue less than a week off I 1 exclaimed anne oh neal what shall I 1 wear neal laughed what a question top for a woman who has just got back from parisi paris I 1 your clothes are lovely anne you know they are and you try to save them when the ones you have now begin to get shabby you must have some more I 1 think that white velvet with the glittering trimming rhinestone do you call it Is about the best and I 1 guess you bett better r wear the best bes it Is going to be hard neal driving a car in evening clothes 1 I know I 1 do wish we could afford more help dora must stop doing the washing certain you must send it out anne or get a woman to come in and help with it and to get supper the nights dora goes out we cant afford it anno anne objected but her objection was rather weak it was all too obvious that neither she nor dora could continue to work as hard as they had been doing without breaking down if so many outside demands were to be made upon them we have got to afford it neal retorted resolutely thank goodness this Is a short seasonal season 1 ill be back in HIn the fifth of march digging away tor for dear eifel no vacation for me this summer 1 my poor old clients will have to cough up enough for us to live on decently here since the government wont and next winter we will be doing things right in the meantime we will have to find some kind of temporary solution the solution presented itself in an unexpected not to say startling manner when anne returned from her round of calls the following afternoon will I 1 ever she was saying to herself do anything in the afternoon again but call call calli call I 1 she drew back in alarm before a muddled figure which was crouched on her front steps in an attitude of the deepest dejection jec tion at her startled exclamation the figure unfolded itself and stood up a gaunt unkempt man young but haggard d dressed in a shabby uniform good evelln warm marm he be said awkwardly taking off his bis frayed cap sorry if ah frightened you dont need a man do you good gracious exclaimed anne 1 I dont know what kind of a man what do you mean well ah meant my kind of a man 11 the intruder explained hopefully ali ah ben loolen for work quite a spell but ah cant seem to find none pears like the fellers that stayed to home while we all was to war collared all the jobs ah come up here to try to fix ma claim at the veterans bureau and ah aint got ma claim and nh ah aint got no money to go home with neither ahm plumb broke and ah got so dead beat wallan the streets lookin for some thin to do that ah finally set down here on your stoop ali ah aint askin for much your hired girl let me in but she said ah could watt wait outside till you all come home can you drive a car asked anne without circumlocution the haggard veteran grinned well ah faint had much experience with rolls royces and them lady but a small carp car P it Is ft a small car said anne with surprising suddenness are you willing to wash windows and tend a furnace and put on a white coat and open the door ahm ahlm willing to do any anything thin said the man with pathetic eagerness are you are you w white hite it Is so dark 1 cant see ive had my maid a long time and I 1 dont know how she would feel about a colored man in the house said eald anne with slight confusion all right marm ah dont mind you askin yes alim white all right pore white trash call me ah reckon ali ah come from the mountings kentucky ah seen your hired girl ashes powerful pert lookin aad be pleased to help her any ways waya ah could ali ah can cook a meal too real good your name demanded anne delaney delancy mah blab first names rod hod horace well norace horace delaney delancy it if I 1 get you th the e clothes you need and feed you will you come to me for thirty dellara a month until you have proved you are worth more theres a little bit of a dark room in the rear of the basement im ashamed to ask anyone to sleep in it but if you J oh marm exclaimed horace delancy oh ohla ladal dyl ile he pitched suddenly forward anne caught him ham supported him noal neat swung suddenly into sight around the corner of the street and ran towards the house this to Is our now new chauffeur 11 said anne calmly an answer to prayer ile he just fainted away because I 1 expect its some time since sanco he had a square meal but he Is going to be another household ha treasure just like dora horace delaney delancy warm fed bathed shaved and clad in neat whipcord whipcord 0 well ah meant my kind of it a man the tha intruder explained hopefully drove anne and neal to their dinner at the Las the following wednesday evening it was of course a crazy thing to take a man oft off the street like that into ones house both anne and neal admitted it but somehow neither of 0 them hesitated to do the crazy thing just the same and doras harsh and suspicious comments were nullified by herb her kind and charitable actions and she was repaid in kind horace delancy had scarcely recovered from his hla faint when he assumed control of the furnace the following morning he drove the children to school neal ta the senate office building and anne to the central market and before evening he had washed every window in the house it was not until sunday however that his supreme opportunity came dora went out then and he served his astonished benefactors not the cold pickup pick up supper which la Is usually associated with a religious observance ser Tance of the sabbath but a meal in which fried chicken corn fritters beaten biscuit fruit salad and lady baltimore cake were a few of the more substantial offerings her release from the pressure of 0 domestic duties immediately gave anne an increased freedom of both action and spirit on the eventful evening of the dinner she sang as she put the studs in neal s dress shirt and laid it on the bed beside the white velvet velve dress with the glittery trimming when neal came home she had already bathed and was sitting clad in her silk slip before her dressing table her hair hanging like a cloud of gold about her Lore lorelei lel I 1 he whispered laughing and his arms slid down around her slim pliant body and tightened there ile he lifted her up and sat down himself holding her closely to him darling annel anne I 1 I 1 do love you so sol I 1 I 1 dont say so often I 1 know or show it as much as I 1 might and sometimes I 1 know I 1 seem geem preoccupied indifferent neglectful even but he did not try to go on indeed there was no necessity that he should anne understood and made her understanding sweetly clear when at last he set her on her feet again he began to fumble a little weakly a little shamefacedly in his pocket it Is a long time since I 1 have given you a present would this be pretty do you think with the glittery dress this when taken out of the satin box with a little littie spring that clicked and unwound from layers of flat cot ton and twisted tissue paper proved to be a diamond pendant hung on a slender platinum chain finished with a diamond clasp anne lifted it out breathlessly starry eyed TO BE BB CONTINUED |