Show DECEPTION 28 by BARBARA BENEDICT newspapers service bonfa said 1 I want to tell you S conla a story about a poor girl who was thrust at a rich man by her family she was supposed to marry the rich man in order to save her fam ilys social position and her father from financial ruin darl evans looked at sonia and in the his face was grave its a grand night for story telling go on finish about all sonia shrugged As in all good stories the poor girl was of course endowed with many scruples and a very noble sense of honor she hated the role she had been given but her family had reared her from childhood given her every advantage she felt that she owed them that much and the end of the story the end said darl but you told me whether or not she found the rich man whether she f fell ell in in love with him whether or not she married him and saved the family from disgrace bankruptcy and ruin that part of it said sonia matter darl lit a cigarette suddenly he laughed you know he said that reminds me of a story that is so si similar un one might think they were written by the same author really said sonia in my story said darl dar the girl hated the man before she met him simply because she knew he was rich and it was her ignominious duty to inveigle him into marriage even after she met him she continued to hate him and then what do you suppose happened 1 I cant imagine said sonia well after about six months the girl discovered that the man was as poor as she like her father he had lost everything in the crash and was merely putting up a front in the hope of one day marrying a very rich girl in order to rescue himself from a distressing situation and the ending of your story said sonia softly darl crushed out his cigarette and gestured 1 I never did hear the ending it was very annoying too so annoying that I 1 improvised one to my own satisfaction both the girl and the man thought it was a great joke and went their respective ways sonia guessed but darl shook his head on the contrary each confessed to the other you see they had fallen in love and when each discovered the others deception they realized they had been blinded by their individual purposes there came an awakening and both lived happily ever after As man and wife of course sonia caught her breath and was S silent ilent for a long time then she said Is yours a true story darl what do you think he caught her in his arms sonia I 1 love you madly will you marry me she tried to free herself youre forgetting my story you cant want to marry me im forgetting everything except that I 1 love you all I 1 want to remember all necessary look at me sonia look at me you know I 1 love you yes I 1 know I 1 oh darl you do love me and I 1 love you too so very very much all that matters everything lets get married now tonight tonight darl I 1 cant my family never forgive me it they who should be forgiving you its you who should be forgiving them this is something have to decide for yourself have children of your own some day are you going to be selfish enough to expect them to dedicate their lives to your happiness to give up everything they want and long for because of your aged selfish pride no nol never 1 I 1 be that cruel of course not then think of yourself of us that way it fair for anyone to expect you to deny yourself the things that they refused to deny themselves to do so written in the great scheme of things sonia looked up at him there were tears in her eyes but her face was radiant and you want to marry me despite everything he laughed 1 I should be asking that question will you marry me despite everything yes di oarl arl dear I 1 ill p marry you because I 1 love you despite what ive said the story chesto I 1 told despite even th the consequences ga quen ces I 1 despite everything darl he held her close in a long embrace they sat in the hammock on the terrace looking up through the tree branches at the white moon A gentle gentie breeze stirred the leaves with a faintly rustling sound A bird chirped sleepily somewhere overhead presently sonia stirred im glad I 1 told you my story s she he said it it ended exactly as I 1 wanted it to he laughed and im glad I 1 had the presence of mind to think up the story I 1 told Y you 0 u otherwise im afraid never have agreed to marry me she looked at him quickly apprehensively hen darl the story you told me a true story I 1 mean about yourself PP well not wholly that part about the young man putting up a front in the hopes of catching a rich girl 1 I do that any more than you were able to go on with your deception i you mean 1 I mean sweetheart you been fooling me a single minute ive known how things stood all along but I 1 loved you and after a while I 1 began to think you might love me but in order to make sure I 1 had to put myself on the same level now that I 1 know you do love me nothing can change that nothing else matters she drew away from him but he caught her in his arms it fair she said you you deceived me into thinking thin kingl you 1 I did he said exactly what wha you did you tried at first to deceive me and then because you loved me you confessed and I 1 deceived you too but because I 1 worsen love you ive confessed Is one worse tha than n the other i sonia opened her mouth to reply i closed it again regarded him stead ily it its all sort of mixed up J it I 1 some things about it are daril darl admitted but there are one or two points that appear quite clear no doubt at all about them he drew her close sonia yielded I 1 no doubt at all she breathed |