| Show L queen abines lac eby fie n F ca M munn keplar 0 framces keyes fill III sil CHAPTER XI continued 28 oh but this Is such a tiny tittle little spark and you are going to need my help bell with that tartar all winter anne deliberated in her de determine tion that there should be no semblance of a repetition ol 01 the episode in paris she had leaned over backward in her observance of the proprieties but after all lassiter was extremely use ful to her and she had bad perhaps been unnecessarily prudish the concert then she conceded harriet felt a aggrieved grieved that neal and anne aline were leaving her alone on the tr n very night of her arrival it was impossible to make her understand that in a city where dinner lists were compiled weeks before they could not i ask to bring an extra and unexpected guest with them to a formal forma dinner 1 the next morning her sister in law TO invaded the room where anne sat in bed rending reading her mail and drinking her ber coffee ita 2114 how do you expect your household atit i to be properly managed if you dont Q i get up in good season and supervise iii i ii it demanded harriet 1 st well it Is managed answered anne patiently 1 I 1 dont know of one adhere where there Is so little friction or where the servants do so much and do it pleasantly besides do be rea harriet I 1 worked hard for years but my days of manual labor f are over now the telephone beside her bed tini ig aled anne picked it up oh good morning blythe no 0 I 1 faient forgotten why very kind of you she is right here ill 3 ask her harriet senator lassiter 3 r says that he and his mother would w like very much to have you lunch with 4 them informally on sunday she says madame lassiter Las siler is interested in your views cl 1 I feel it my duty to go harriet replied though I 1 do not approve of sunday entertaining on general prin caples harriet placated for the moment 1 hurried off to map out her plan of 1 campaign for the improvement of the I 1 nation before noon it had been disi closed that she intended to use horace I 1 I 1 and the limousine to facilitate her 1 calls ZD on all the members of both i houses ot congress as she expected to influence these legislators in the aright right direction she had invited awen fi ty zealots zealous from the national anti to i bacco league to tea in order that they sd might arrange for a series of parlor meetings to be held every alonda monday y morning in annes drawing room fan fanne anne resolved to abandon all plans bof bof her own for entertaining until a more opportune season bi S without consulting anne harriet ahad had suggested to her parents and her t fb i rother brother arthur that they should join aher her for the holidays and the house j 1 had become so crowded that there was no breathing T space iu in it either figuratively or literally anne wel the impending 0 appearance ot of sol anil and sam as an excuse for clear 1 ln ing it out harriet was too firmly entrenched entrench eI alto to dislodge e but the others will celled comments on annes lack inch of true hos departed ou on the same da day y that at the boys arrived but hei broth tea fers 8 brought broi g it no solace with tieni them vhey they were so acutely unhappy tippy in the ilien alien atmosphere into which they hart h ii lid been plunged that annes ill 0 peart ea r ached tor for them she coached pern ht gently hut but firmly in matters ol oi dress and deportment they were so ro docile and tractable that it was pa Wf but slie she knew they were home icci for the lp le old house holise at fest Han hamstead istead that they nung hungered ered latteo ator r coarse accustomed food that they ck iw auld have been more comfortable in overalls than broadcloth that they were stifled without the air of their e mountains first san sam and hen sol came down with the flu md anne caring for them tenderly est they should be more miserable bojan aan ever it if abandoned to the mercies 00 af pf f a strange nurse caught it herself it then en it swept through the household ficke e wildfire nancy neal the ser rants each was felled in turn chaos cano ild confusion reigned supreme in the obia palely house bouse which neal and anne aline rold id ad felt so sure was to be the seat seal the rt r f culture and well ordered living hwat length the invalids recovered the 59 r joys dehook itself into shape the riols began to adjust their fand nd to life at the university lep pried to foli Hin well 91 it leased leased with tier winters work ann NO assuring her brother and sister in ln law at she would be on band the follow ing season to carry it furchell fur thell sen ator lassiter saw her off at the sta tion and then swung back to george georg town intent on taking anne for a spin in his roadster with no one to observe just how long they were gone one lie ile found her huddled over the hie library library fire looking utterly desolate you you will be a wreck if you yon dont watch out he predicted really lady anne you look frightfully seedy the air will veil do you good 1 I dont need air I 1 need a little peace and quiet he left her reluctantly it was several weeks before he found her alone again mabel hildreth Uil dreth had hinted that perhaps she and george and one or two of the children might be coming to washington that spring a hint upon which neal and anne promptly acted neither had forgotten how good mabel had been to them that first year of their mardla marriage e when anne was so sick this was obviously the time to repay the obligation besides george had become one of the leading farmers of the state be had tremendous influence I 1 P 11 01 jaa but after all lassiter was extremely useful to her and she had perhaps been unnecessarily prudish with the agricultural vote he be was not only an old friend be was a genf with whom to reckon then governor low to whom neal owed his appointment to the senate stopped off on his way north from a conference of governors which he had been attending in south carolina and mrs low joined him anne and neal gave a large official dinner in their honor the first one in spite of all their plans which they had bad given that winter fol lowed by a still larger reception anne was perceptibly overworked and neal re regarded carded her with alarm look here he said your nerves are all shot to pieces its this hellish winter you have had you shall never let your yourself in for another like it again family or no family constituents or no constituents I 1 wont have you landing to in a sanitarium q am not going to land in a sanitarium sobbed anne 1 I am going to land in the nursery again or of course I 1 am desperately tired and that does make me nervous but one reason 1 I am so silly and uncontrolled Is that I 1 am I 1 am just deathly sick besides oh neal I 1 am almost certain that 1 am going to have another baby put cut she did not the pleasant physician who had seen them safely through h the flu after chatting chattin merrily and casually with her for a few minutes went downstairs with ne neal a closed the library door and spoke frankly there is no doubt that she is pregnant normally I 1 should expect her to be confined about the end of octo ber but I 1 dou dont think things are quite normal I 1 wil will have another adoth er man in to look 1001 at her too if you dont mind if I 1 dont mind I 1 neal shouted you must do everything for her everything do you hear dont alce t take it so hard said doctor harrison gently of course everything will be do done ne for her anne herself had no misgivings when she had had a fortnight of of complete rest she was up and about almost as usual except that she was careful about getting over tired she re furnished the guest room as a nursery land and we will never have another guest aest room she lau laughed hed as long as we live in washington she jes jested t ed about the little benjamin they were to have so long after they had supposed that their family was complete she acquiesced uncomplainingly gly to spending the summer in washington where doctor harrison could watch over her but late in august she was ta taken ken acutely and suddenly III and wien when I 1 she finally groped her way back from the valley of the shadow and stretched out her arms across the bed to touch the little bundle that she expected to find beside her there was only empty space F for or little benjamin Benjam ln had come too soon and he had been stillborn CHAPTER XII anne was very slow in recovering her strength doctor harrison spoke ke frequently of the advisability of getting aln to a more bracing climate as soon as she she was well enough to travel but it was late september before she was able to leave her room and by this time nancys school had opened and sol and sam had returned to college so anne would not hear of going away ill spend next nest summer in hins boro she assured her long iong suffering physician very quietly the climate e Is bracing enough there I 1 assure you the climate may be all right in fact I 1 have no doubt that it is but I 1 do not believe you will rest very much your husband comes up for election next nest fall he be Y e e s if he decides to run I 1 dont believe he has fully yet but naturally he would like to quite so and you would like to have him I 1 suppose you wish to do everything you can to help him of course then you had better be begin in by getting yourself in good physical condl condi Is TO nr BE CONTINUED |
