Show TBT Sh A CM jl dj dont 0 nt tell e wife BY sf CHAPTER VIL VII continued your real soldier of fortune loves intrigue to him it is the cocktail of life as battle is its beer and adventure its gin and roani roaming ing its ram As all the adverse cur currents curram reM and involved cross purposes of that wit vit bound group on the luxurious lounge deck of the speedwell flowed into the reservoir of his consciousness an exciting sparkle welled behind ranny raimy forbes keen eyes he had come prepared literal literally lyas as well is as figuratively for some gam trouble with the man who was trying to steal his wife he had not expected however to find himself in danger of being stolen from his wife blonde clares obvious blandish ments as such had not meant much in young life until he became away aware L of the effect the billionaire widows play for him was ha having ing upon his wife at first he did rot not understand why joan should mind in view of her own efti extramarital abner grat man in if she were sincere in her dez demands mands for a divorce it should be to her advantage to encourage intimacies in cies between her husband and another woman that would be the logical thing to do but ranny in common with mth the rest of mankind re realized in his superior way that it was too loo much enuch to expect logic from a woman when an affair of the heart was concerned inconsistency thy name is married woman so mused ranny contentedly joan was letting silly feminine pride interfere with clear reasoning that was as plain as the mole on mrs remington Tefft ins ns sternum it was a matter of vanity with joan that if any genuine philandering were to be done in the family it would he be lone done by her selfish a well as stubborn that was joan all over As benign benier as it is possible to look at forty odd ranny looked as he smiled with arch anh indifference toward joan meanwhile inn making king plain that he was more interested in clares flaxen hair and buttercup of an ear at that moment than in anything else in the world including his lawful wedded wife joan 1 I shall certainly stop in and sign the book he whispered to clare feeling very risque whereupon a reductive mit mi zt diffused over the large and babyish but not too innocent nor too loo trustful eyes eves that were the beacons of clares fickle fiade soul and imparted to their blue blueness ess the remote dreariness of a winter sky silken and fleet one little hand brushed an understanding pat on dannys bronzed paw which gripped the side of clares chair as he leaned toward her delicate the smile and subtle the touch but they were not no L lost upon up on several dissembling companions notably clay and and joan not no t least important abner gratman 4 too too furtively I 1 ly drank in n the b byplay and wed u w ed it the next instant to io the lie account of his own suit you see joan dearest he whispered plaintively the sort soe of heater cheater he is to whom you EO foolishly h y remain true as you call it theres no question of truth or honor involved between any husband and wife unless it is reciprocal noy now is there I 1 ask boll abner A ner felt quite convinced by bv his own argument he felt that if he were a woman in joans shoes such a situation and such an argument would bowl him over into the hottest fleshpots flesh pots joans murmur barely audible even to his heart attained att attuned lined ears unseated complacency it was just another demonstration of the philosophic fact that women know and men wont believe that no man arian can project himself behind feminine reactions of my own honor in ray my own oum eyes though joans answer plunged abner into sullen childish pouting for the time being as her endless variations of it to his endless versions of the selfsame plea had these many weeks past she was startled to find hereld he if for the first time critically examining the wisdom and the necessity for her own steadfast clinging to an ideal once she were rid of ranny she would marry abner gladly she felt that abner would mean to her the things that ranny had not he would fill inner voids that dannys clumsy essentially essin bially masculine approaches a p pro aches had bad left unexplored abner v was as so FO thoughtful so profoundly understanding the antithesis of ranny ranna what vas s it that they called such men as ranny ramy in th those ose curiously stark n fra frank and true labels of clia character acter in the cinemas oh yes two fisted afif ted was ranny 11 anny forbes two fist ed yen yea thrice two fisted and fists joan reflected with a bitterness softened only by her natural whimsicality were not the abe most perfect nor most delicate nor gentlest means of touching the tender places es of a womans comans heart successful lover the sort of husbands who wear ear well and ab abidingly bi dingy need a saying saving dilution of e ff in their makeup make up cave men and swordsman swordsmen swords siv men lie n and debauches were romantic enough for a flaming month th but one could not imagine cellini for ins instance ilice as a constant husband and alia joan wondered why she had eter eier been led to envision ranny for lf tha soldier of f fortune in tile role of 01 P t ornament she had beer been captivated by his 6 brer of body bady will rind and character charache alie he AS roani cd by it now for it had hadine meant ant only lirly neglect i only a sMon sf Jory place i ar r his hi inter int Cots A nar 1111 h anc lz rr r prey aribal ando in his paly ical prone proA sa would delegate her to the first throne in his scheme of life dannys attitude had caused her a severe reaction against his type abner was the opposite pole pile the lodo lode for which her heart now hungered abner represented domestic quietude harmony adjustment perhaps if ranny had only met her halt half way ther might b have ave been adjustments just ments she reflected regretfully he might nilah c have filled her days and nigh nights ts now it was too late here he was the tanned rascal openly en folding himself in the blonde web of a lady ady sp spider mer with characteristic feminine short sight joan thought though not of her own open friend friendship hip with abner the sure go gossip sip it had bad stirred up the certain embarrassment embarras ment it had bad brought ranny she knew that she was morally blam blameless s so far foolishly she took it for granted so great was her own prideful faith in her own virtue that others other must know the same but ranny dannyl he was different it must be apparent to ev everybody enbody that he was shameless that nat clare was b brasen raaf n I 1 womanlike joan traced a comparison between herself and clare greatly in her own favor of courbet course joans boms eyes flashed her haughty lack lack of fear of a public accounting of the vast difference between her innocent talk with abner and R dannys annys bold reception of that bold blondes blonds advances she felt herself exalted to pinnacles of virtue and in her mood dragged abner to the heights with her without his knowledge of course hot glistening eyes in that moment hen he be scented scented the end of the hunt would hardly have suggested surrI summits mits of morality to honest appraisers but joan being ery en virtuous was of course not honest in truth she was gosh dani dam mal mad jealous she was not however a lady to permit pique to parade for long through the alpine polish of her hauteur she was too alive to the satisfaction that such a display would give to certain people of immediate importance ranny for instance and that annn grinning ing and self satisfied clay varick and clare Cle moneau oh that clare joan employed a subtle counter offensive she exuded indifference when joan wanted to turn on the full batteries of her indifference her high disdain was a cloud pierc I 1 inc anz Matte Matt rhom erhorn the cool contempt that sprayed from joans eyes was more chilling than bitter winds from the glacier 11 limbed limned ned himalayas s ranny catching clays eyes furtively winked and pretended to turn up his coat collar as a man suffering from the cold but joan was wa for from acting just for the effect she wms profoundly shaken in her heart of IL beai hearts ts by the realization that a serious senous cn crisis is in the even moral tenor of her life was at hand for the time abner whispered his daring plan for the night s spicy trysts suffixing it why should haf scruples about being true irue to him joan drew a long breath and took a long step in the dine direction edion that up to now she had bad felt was wrong but now jsn VV ar he s in bed ill go out on the private sun deck and tap on the stanchion then you climb down straightway manner was shot through with a furtive sense of triumph he settled back in his chair a slight and involuntary gesture of smugness and stared upon the side of dannys head with such an overbearing and dominant disdain that ranny subconsciously impelled to turn and meet the fellows fellow gaze as assailed by acute suspicions and scowled darkly he could not stand that impudent gaze of contempt of obvious victory drat the fellow he was an insufferable ead cad might as well throw him overboard now as any other time feeling distinctly homicidal ranny started up from his chair abner wilted and whitened suddenly and seemed to shrivel joan felt a curious tightness around the base of her spine but gave no other sign of her ber agitation than a waiting quizzical half smile with seeming se L ning un concern transferred himself to the arm of dannys chair barring him from further rising and more important auttin shutting hut tin the offending sight of abner from his blazing eyes clare after her quaintly dumb fashion lisped why the matter ranny you look a as though nou ou want to jump donn clon throat oh I 1 just adore seeing strong men angry was staring at rannic flushed face in amazement the other guests eyes eves as wide and mouths a ac agape as the etiquette book allow pL in the scene avidly especially the women they looked at ranny at abner at joan and built mountains of scandalous hope truly this WAS going to be a yachting I 1 weekend to talk about over many coffee cups still to he be filled across many many bridge tables still to be played blue blood tingling for a shedding shed dingI of red blood ranny who had never lost his head in the th fiercest polo scrimmages mages mage reigned up his 11 is emotions sharply aie he aou would 1 I have to learn to ride his social temper with a ceib bk he laughed and lied like a gentleman ever since that game the ohp other lay day my nerves hava been unstrung jumpy urley ive been getting n balmy spells s aldaya thinking think ina I 1 s tin A argentine rg entine hitting ono over dont you know good ola oki amud whispered clay maybe tins this trip will bill do d 0 you good 1 then said sti ncr a 1 I little lita 1 ti afu fit lly ily of his lost on t b bt bat t he ad added I 1 led vish id taken you for a doe of sea air before the gamel game maybe youre going to get aphasia sla 1 lisped clare 1 I just adore men who nho cant remember anything they are safest said joan with malicious sweetness she just could not overlook the chance are you sure you were seeing an argentine 9 guffawed guff awed a witty old boy who had wade made his millions in socks ks and had bad never real read the etiquette book but his big dumpling wife who had shut off further conversational in discretions from him by the simple e expedient of grinding a french heel bee into his ankle bone ranny however was not loath to reply not quite sure he said fc lowly for the Ar gentines after all were nion men the continued references to the manly prowess of the argentine polo ests ts roused such painful recollections in in that lie he summoned his steward and ordered iced drinks noi noiselessly elesely the moonfaced moon faced manboy vent and ad noiselessly he returned his lean olive hand band holding a of tall tumblers steady against again t the urge and recession rece sion of the broad sounds bosom where does master wish dinner served he be murmured as took the last glass in the dining salon or on deck instantly jovial as his fingers caressed the clinking glass left the decision to his guests might dining salon be more err er r regular and appropriate asked joan with a slight shrug oh but I 1 just adore lining dining on deck pouted boute d clare prettily as bland blan d as contrary under the golden valance of her lashes ashes she covertly shot a defiant look at joan ranny seconded clare enthusiastically ca ily it will be keen out here put snap in in our appetites great for digestion and all that his approval appi oval could not have better prevailed with the crowd if he had been a star salesman joan found herself alone and in the position of appearing an old fashioned killjoy kill joy only abner agreed with her her acceptance cep tance of defeat was superbly in indifferent rather than merely gracious gra cious climaxes were clares specialty pe c balty as essentially a part of her as her lisp smiling languidly even tolerantly upon joan she murmured its so romantic upon the deck heie my fear dear mrs forbes and it is is up to we women ornen you know kno v to cling to the sentimental and oft times silly illy things of this drab world dropping her gesturing hand band to her lap she alloi allowed ed it to tap fleetingly again over dannys hand a caressing octave as one might measure love chords upon a pianoforte ranny settling deep ly in his chair took time now as tie had not done before to survey his immediate surroundings he recognized an unconscious truth behind the blonde prattle of clai clare e in truth a more romantic background and setting would be hard bard to imagine eastward the speedwell raced its pleasure bound way knifing the sound waters into a long opalescent furrow powdered with hissing white suds A blended panorama of dappled sky verdant shore emerald water tune of wind in time to the lilting dip of boat flank to sea cheek no other place in all the world are the music mu sic of spheres and the conscious rhythm of nature more manifest than on a s swift ift man made craft of grace and beauty abroad upon the open waters of the world here was grace two hundred odd feet of it and thirty knots an hour without apparent effort or sense of motion here was the alone set oft off by brass rails was a lavish and sheer exposition of bound rising straight as birthday candles from a classic patterned inlaid rubber tile deck upheld the gayest of yellow awnings striped alternately in bright blue and black plate glass sides offered no discouragement to the clearest freest vision A wicker hourglass table with italian marble top held cigarettes and bonbons bonbonis bon bons fresh cut flowers nodded from tall crystal vases set upon glass tables over ventilator en grills leather divans outlined outlined the dining salon superstructure opening off one end but the chairs were the ultimate touch great yielding caverns of luxurious comfort smartly upholstered to match the awning Vie viewing iving them against the setting ranny realized with a pang that joan and abner seated side by side on a wicker love seat at the extreme opposite edge of the lounge fitted perfectly into the picture to be continued |