Show t am EBY TU Q ff copyright by the th bobbs merrill co CHAPTER XIII continued 10 flossie paid tier her a visit the first sunday of geoffr self exile 1 low how does docs it happen youre h home 0 me th this 8 afternoon was her grec greeting ting 1 I thought you went riding with defy geoff on Sund sundays nys geoffr Go Ge offs busy was Cynt hias brief reply flossie gazed nt at her thoughtfully you treat groff geoff awfully mean I 1 think Cynt cynthia lital 1 hell survive it said bald the other girl lightly flossie said tin an anex unexpected pecked thing Il hell willell ilo do more than survive it uel take out of reach of oe it ill tell you about men cynthia stand a lot of walking 06 on but not too much youve been trampling nil all over geoff ever since ive known you both I 1 expect iles hes getting it a little tired of it now id quit it I 1 were you yon that is if you want to keep him liking you and supposing I 1 dont began to draw on her gloves oil oh you not want him to site bhe said placidly any girl would be glad to get him I 1 dont mean me of course im not in his bawa but a fellow that will to do for any girl geoff did for you while you were in the hospital Is ore opa swell prince of a man and dont doi t you forget that cynthia aylesbury III the appealing brown eyes flashed the placidity gave way to something so go like anger that Cynt hias surprise deepened plainly her little sister inlaw I ln nl law was deeply stirred on geoffr behalf hut but if I 1 really and truly dont dollt love him glossier flossier Flos Floss sier lel she said with a new meekness flossie smiled you love him all right only you just found it out yet but be careful while youre finding it out that you dont lose him altogether P 1 glossies Flos sies native shrewdness wm equaled by her determination she attacked attached with hummingbird persistence anything that roused tier her interest garys carys amusement and bewilderment at this trait grew instead of lessened as he came to recognize its potency somehow he discovered that he followed docilely where flossie led she had married oft our first wife successfully the cary aylesbury Ayles burys purse would be the heavier by fifty dollars each month as a result of her gentle maneuvering now she had time to turn tier her attention to the dormant love affair between her sIster ln hn law and geoff she was fond of them both cynthia for tier her championship of the bride at a time when flossie sorely needed support geoff because he had bad been good to her cary so having called on cynthia and drawn her own conclusions from certain signs and omens in that young ladys demeanor she trotted home took down tier her telephone receiver and dialed geoff can you come right over she asked this he demanded A rendezvous and you not married six months yet fie flossie flat fie I 1 all right she answered imperturbably give me fifteen minutes alone with you and cary can come and stay the rest of the afternoon geoff acoff came truth to tell lie he was glad to get away from his own thoughts it had been a week since lie he had in seen cynthia it seemed like a year she call him up not cynthia Cynt lital I 1 ile he might stay away until he grew bald acquired false teeth and a gold headed cane and she would preserve tier her stubborn aloofness was there ever in the history of the world it a girl so exasperating so endearing so hateful so lova lovable blk ita its about cynthia flossie said directly when lie he had arrived nt at tile the apartment what about her sties not ill III he inquired anxiously no sties all right ive just come from there when I 1 say all right I 1 mean sties not sick or anything you know as well as I 1 to do geoff that sties in love with you and wont admit it 1 I know no such thing lie ile halt half rose from his chair the last time I 1 saw caw her she told me it made no difference to her it if she see isee me for a year yes of course she would say that the thing Is weve got to think up a way its time something happened something that would wake tier up that would make her forget all the grudges sties holding against you that would take her outside herself and send her running in your direction flossie told him floundering in lier her attempt to put into words tier her sense of drama youve done nil all you can I 1 guess and site she do anything more if she knew how bow its time for I 1 guess I 1 menu incan for circumstances something outside of your two solves to take a hand in bringing you together youve been seeing too many movies morler Fl flossie ossle was his disapproving comment 11 buck 91 tile the just press bogn in it a concio of hours what it people a beor or two to niala liti linn li suld what were i fane tn hi have to do now make soma thing happen ourselves as long as nothing outside Is helping us I 1 dont suppose you feel as though you were coming down with pneumonia or anything she asked hopefully no ri flossie ossle nor do I 1 think my hotel will be ra razed feaby by fire and cynthia think im lost in the ruins just the same she said without resentment tho kind of thing you need right now if something give cynthia a shove toward you or you toward cynthia youre never going to get together your artistic soul craves a climax to this uneventful romance geoff sighed well so does mine for that matter but no kindly fate offers to provide one yes why I 1 say have to provide your own it can be done he inquired with interest oil oh rny my besl yes I 1 made a wedding happen to our first wife easy as anything and gary cary be surprised if you knew what made him film propose to me she told him and then added with a little chuckle so would he bel I 1 well flossie suggest something 1 go on suggest something 1 she folded her small hands placidly IN wo I 1 0 have to think of it yourself it be tile the right happening unless you made it happen yourself she elucidated and you be able to put it over right now you think there anything about you that cynthia know anything that would surprise her or shock her 0 or r yes make her kind of mad 1 I mean angry at you so angry shell forget all the little things ashes holding against you what Is she holding against me he asked curiously flossie hesitated sex bex pride was strong in her slie she disliked giving away the secrets of the prison house to a man still it if Cynt hias ultimate happiness depended on it I 1 oh your knowing about the household bills and miss bliss nonas charging things she afford the she said well but good heavens Fl flossie ossiel there was nothing in that that reflected on herl ashes a cary she said simply they stand together like all get out and then you were always right in every single argument you two had no woman could forgive that she explained earnestly lie he rose and took the three steps forward and the three steps back the tiny apartment permitted III 1 I suppose the idea then Is for me to be so wrong in the next argument that it will tip the scales heavily in her favor favo rl 1 sho she sighed oh my no I 1 you must be so terribly much more right than usual that shell fly to pieces with rage and forgive you you just try I 1 it t 11 flossie youre the worlds wonder 1 dut but youve handed me as pretty a problem as ill be likely to be called upon to solve in the whole of my professional fess ional career was his despairing conclusion however no wever ill see what I 1 can do about it theres one thing sure he consoled himself things cant be any worse between us than they are arc now oh yes they could I 1 cynthia might start liking another man Is there does she he be began in alarm than caught tile the significance of glossies Flos sies grin and shook his fist at her so the way you work it Is it did you try that on cynthia prattling of my devotion to other pretty ladles I 1 mean no she said scornfully ayn thias the real thing and im j just an il imitation lie ile stooped and kissed her cheek gratefully youre a mighty kind little imitation anyway I 1 im not so sure you arent a diamond of the first CHAPTER XIV A miracle happens another week had come and gone and geoff had neither telephoned nor called in person Blore moreover over flossie and gary cary had not como come to see sec her all week moreover and this second moreover hurt her absurdly F flossie had called up late saturday evening and asked if tenny might come to them for or sunday dinner tenny and not cynthia with herl cary arrived soon after breakfast to get the child ile he looked embarrassed at this slight to his sister but it was plain he was under bonds to flossie to extend her no 11 invitation tation not that she gibe would go now under any circumstances cynthia told herself proudly it if everybody wanted to disapprove of her ignore her lust just because she dash around to geofry hotel and throw herself into his arms and say please kind gentleman wont you marry the little clerk front from the he gift shop why they could it was perfectly all right with her however tier her heart libart began to pound ridiculously when she heard geoffr voice at tile the door of the apartment soon after tennys departure how toll tall and clean tind kind and ine alne lie he looked standing there in the frame of the door boort I 1 and oil oh doggone III it I 1 how glad she vasto see him I 1 site she disguise her ber pleasure decorously how ore are you geoff 1 its been several days das since ive seen you it ile he eyed her sternly its been eleven endless unspeakably terrible days and you ou know UP it the weight upon her bar heart took ft wings ings and soared away the smile he loved the smile ho he so BO seldom saw quirked her lips and shone in her eyes surely those were the bluest clearest most luminous eyes mortal girl ever possessed for the undoing of mankind I 1 youre coming out with me for the day he said abruptly A picnic dinner put your riding things on cynthia thia anti and take your heavy sweater well steal a day from spring she had meant to be very dignified with him when he finally appeared very absorbed afis orbed in her shop vague about future engagements with him just barely aware that there had been a geoff elsloo who once had bad had some trivial connection with tier her hut but the bait lie he held out was too allu alluring t she was homesick for a day in the mountains there was nothing to keep tier her besides one could be just as casual and dignified riding beside geoff on the winding mountain road as one could in ones own sitting room or so she thought but with the donning of her riding clothes and A he rose roe in so leisurely a fashion that she WM was entirely unprepared for what happened sweater came a change of 0 mood she felt like having a grand good time today winter had granted a days armistice armist leb why she dinner she asked as she rejoined geoff in the sitting room in a hamper in the car also extra robes in case it should be too cold up there come along Cynt cynthia bial 1 ill let you drive and everything 1 the spell the mountains had wrought upon cynthia that memorable day last summer was again at work when cynthia was pleasant geoff thought she was the pleasant est person hed ever met she was pleasant all through dinner pleasant while he packed the basket with the remainder of the food declining her offered assistance very pleasant when he brought the seats from the car and made a sort of couch on the flat fat rock and insisted on tier her stretching out upon it for rest ill sit here and smoke for a while you snatch a nap if you can ive got something to think out so I 1 wont bother you talking she did not sleep but she lay there resting resting the light clear air made tier her a little dizzy after the stuffy heat of the shop and the apartment tile the sense of space of power eased her own burden of what did it matter she thought dreamily whether geoff still loved her or not it would be all the same in another hundred years a trifling century added to those already heaped upon that barrier of rock but it presently appeared appen red that it mattered a lot to geoff when she sat up witt with a long sigh and raised a hand to put back the straying curls of her hair he began to speak at first in so low and gentle a voice that she did not comprehend the outrageousness outrageous of what he was saying baying im leaving for new york wednesday cynthia the chief told me a couple of weeks ago that id accomplished nil all that Is nece necessary Esary here im needed back east ive got all the arrangements made well be married wednesday morning and take the annon train well oe ae geoff ensloe have you lost your mind no dear he answered gently just my heart but as long as you have it its all right I 1 enn can always put my hand on it when I 1 want it tenny comes with us of course he continued well leave her with mother iother and bliss nona and well go to bermuda for our honeymoon it takes a very prett girl to look pretty when tier her jaw has dropped which made it a good thing that ayn thin was very pretty for her mouth was even a little open her lips were parted with surprise Is tho the conven comen thonol way of putting it about the shop he went on in a businesslike fashion ive made all the necessary arrangements but I 1 thought you might like to talk them over before they go into effect youre too kind she gushed III 1 I dream of spoiling or even criticizing any plans you may have made good because you see cynthia ive agreed to let elsie buy the odds and ends im lending her the money to do it with because she have any of her own shell pity pay me back in quarterly installments and I 1 wont charge you any c commission on tho the deal at all and you bother about tile the wedding breakfast or whatever you would like to have flossie will sea to all that flossie I 1 her sister ln in laws name seemed to release tier her front from the trance of astonishment into which site she had fallen 1 I begin to see now she put you up tip to this P indeed she he answered composedly so tar for from doing so BO she told roe me id have to work out my own oven climax Is that what you call a climax oil oh lord yes he sighed 1 I have such a gentle nature that its agony to me to get myself all worked up to being masterful with a woman but once I 1 nm am worked up nothing can st stop 0 lp me lie ile gestured toward the alg rigid walls of audubon you have just as much chance of moving that of old chap a couple of feet or so before we go back down cynthia Cynt hin as 88 you have of keeping me from marr marrying ying you her own voice grew gentle almost tender oh I 1 think not geoff lave to be papers to sign in the matter of the shop you know I 1 wont sign cm am and I 1 never heard of a clergyman or a justice of the peace elther either who would marry a girl that flint simply kept her mouth shut when she was asked do you take etc it would be an obstacle he admitted but not an insurmountable one Ilo however wever there ore are preparatory measures that can be taken lie he rose in so leisurely a fashion that she was entirely unprepared for what happened ile he picked her up from the rock as though she had been tonny tenny pressed her head against his shoulder with one hand and sat down now he be said im going to kiss you and keep on kissing you until you stop acting like a silly child and say marry me and youve got to say you love roe me first lie he went on doggedly you played fair with me cynthia you promised roe me that last morning in the old house that when you found you were lu in love with me tell me so 1 I promise dont quibble he said sternly you promised with your cyerl lie he kissed them one after another and im not in love with you youl P cynthia cynthia Cynt hial 1 such lovely lying lips ile he kissed her lips 1 I hate you I 1 all right all right he soothed her so you shall it if it gives you the least bit of pleasure I 1 always planned to make my wife happy ill not be your wife III and at that the floods were loosed the storm broke she felt his heart begin to pound heard |