Show alaia OIL s BID by frances francea 5 spare iney V 7 service 0 frances parkinson keyes SYNOPSIS at a dance a visitor in the community neal conrad young lawyer is impressed by anno anne chamberlain pretty daughter ot of a shift leas leaa farmer perceiving her fino fine character A few days later she ehe accompanies him and his hostess mrs griffin on a picnic at the end of the day neal declares declare his love at washington on honeymoon the conrads rocel meet clarence hathaway friend of neals young diplo diplomat maL the young couple start housekeep ng annes health begins to fail neal ent bossed in politics politic becomes neglectful of her tp their son is born bom in ID the ensuing eat years neals law practice and his hi positron position in politics both mount A daughter list has been born bom to anne but her beauty Is fading clarence hathaway visits the conrads he reproaches pro aches sebes neal for allowing anne ann to stagnate and suggests neal and anne take a holiday with him in france in paris anne ann is rejuvenated physically and sartorially hathaway long secretly enamored endeavors to win her from neal without success the governor of his bis state offers neal nea the appointment of senator in the united state senate CHAPTER IX continued 20 at the hands of the newspapers she fared even worse the society editors like the photographers had telephoned her like the photographers she had put them off she could not hear bear the thoughts of giving interviews but miss sharp of the evening inquirer decided to present herself at the new senators residence and take her chances on being rebuffed even though she went without an appointment her ring at the doorbell remained unanswered and she turned fc for r h help elp to a a young woman her head enveloped in a mobcap who was vigorously washing windows can you tell me whether mrs conrad is at home she asked the window washer wrung out her cloth from the pall of steaming suds by her side and turned her head bead halfway around 1 I am mrs conrad she replied calmly and went on washing windows miss sharp fled but as she fled she thought and thought rapidly before the sun had gone down anne had been surreptitiously photographed in the act of washing her last window and the following evening this distorted likeness of herself together with x ith the heavy headline senators wife acts as own scrubwoman Scrub woman surmounted two columns more conspicuous for their imagination agi nation than their accuracy on the front page of the inquirer this was such good copy that it was of course copied from one end of the united states to the other reporters Ite porters were sent to hamstead and to ivins boro to dig up forgotten or unknown facts or fancies about about the new sen acors wife photographs of aupper and mummer with sol and sum sam on the front porch between them adorned the sunday supplements anne was delineated bending over the washtub and milking the family cow und had neal been a candidate for the presidency no sort of publicity could have been more helpful since he was instead an appointee to the senate none could have been more disastrous by the time the nine days excitement had subsided somewhat the housecleaning house cleaning was finished groceries and coal had bad been installed and anne had ad gone to Hin to help dora finish closing the house there and bring the maid and the children back with tier her to washington annes daily round of work began after an early breakfast she walked over to the garage the nearest one they had been able to find was several blocks away and got the car while neal read the morning paper for it was of course important that he should keep himself thoroughly informed about current events by the time she had taken the children to school he was however ready to have her take him to the senate office building and after she had left him there she did the mark marketing margetin etin for the cash and carry stores were much c cheaper he aper than the ones that delivered back at the little yellow brick house the chamber work awaited her for dora had agreed to take care of the furnace if anne would do this in no time the hands of the clock were pointing to the hour at which she must go and get the children steer them through their luncheon plan for their afternoon outing then there were the simple home lessons with wh which leb they needed help preparation for sun day school on saturday night dancing school to dress them for and take them to saturday morning there was supper to get for all of them on doras night out a hearty supper for neal had quickly fallen into the way of taking inking a very light lunch and came line hungry anne found herself standing beside tier her bed at night pressing her hands against her throbbing temples tel temples ples as if by this pressure she could push back bach the pressing duties which drove her forward she was tired all the time tired as she had not been since tb jbf days when nancy was a delicate baby and junior an exacting three year old ola and she had been obliged 0 at the doc tors fors orders to engage dorn dora and cease doing all her own work she was coo con hurried and hurried her daiv ing weariness threatened to annihilate tier her for as she soon discovered the demands made upon her time and strength by her home and family were as nothing compared to the outside de mands made upon her in her official position as a senators wife anne had settled herself with an overflow overflowing li mending basket before the living room fire one rainy afternoon comfortably conscious that she had an hour or more to herself before it would be time to go for neal though after that there would still be supper to get for this was doras day out she had on a rather shabby little serge house dress because she found it easier with running the car so much to slip a big coat over such a dress than to kepp keep 7 I 1 A can you tell me whether mrs conrad Is at home eba changing nging all the time to her emarl parisian she knew of course she knew that she ought to put on something more suitable for afternoon but it hardly seemed worth while when she must go out again so coon in that driving rain her shoes too she real zed glancing down at them were were get ting shabby with all this driving she let herself get careless get shoddy again after all she had learned in paris but oh well she picked up her fourth sock the doorbell rang she went to the front door and flung it open two very elegant ladles ladies confronted her they had on dark velvet dresses rich furs and white gloves and their satin slippers were smooth and nar row behind them at the curb stood a shiny limousine with a man in livery at the wheel la Is mrs conrad receiving today they asked simultaneously in shrill high voices and as they did so they each extended three cards two little ones and one large one neatly folded into triangles at the upper right hand corner mechanically anne reached behind her for the silver card tray that reposed on the hall table and set it down again the cards fluttering lutle ring over the edge before she answered then in spite of her bewilderment she spoke cordially wont you come in im mrs airs conrad I 1 think find these chairs here by the tire fire comfortable oh thank you we know whether have begun your thursdays yet or not its so early in the season arid and its early in the afternoon too of course we know that but bill perhaps you quite ready to begin receiving mrs conrad you must excuse us but weve been so anxious to meet the new senators wife im mrs roper and this Is my friend mrs ranger we always make our calls together were such friends annes head was whirling her thursdays mrs roper and mrs ranger she groped towards a alighi light which she could not find and her visitors were instantly aware of the fact of course you knew mrs conrad that senators wives receive on thursdays the supreme court ladles on mondays the con congressional ress lonal ladles on tuesdays the cabinet ladles ladies on wednesdays the senatorial ladles ladies on thursdays the diplomatic ladles ladies on fridays that leaves saturdays and sundays ys for the resident society the caidwell cave dwell ers you know but of course I 1 dont need to tell you all this I 1 how hoa are you getting on with your own visits my aly own visits gasped anne thinking of 0 the windows she had washed and the floors she had bad scrubbed and all the other pushing dally daily duties which made her press her hands bands against her temples at night they harried r her so visits indeed I 1 ot of course youve called promptly on all ali your superiors in rank its so important to do that at once it creates quite a wrong impression if you dont donl well next week we shall expect to see you yon dear mrs conrad we always receive together were such friends of course youve heard how bow intimate we are they rose shook hands and hurried away with staccato exclamations about ten more calls to make the front door closed behind them but anne could hear them talking as they went down the steps my aly dear did you ever I 1 do believe all those stories about the cow and the washtub and everything are true dont you no tea and no one to open the door and those shabby clothes what did she do in paris do you suppose go to art galleries and its evident she know a thing about expected of her oh madame estabi are you coming to call on mrs conrad too yes les weve were just been yes ashes in TO BE BB CONTINUED |