Show BEAUTYS DAUGHTER v by KATHLEEN NORRIS C ahleen norris service SYNOPSIS victoria Berren herrendeen deen a vivacious little girl had been too young to feel eel the shock that came when her father keith herrendeen lost his fortune A gentle unobtrusive soul he Is now employed as an obscure chemist in san francisco at a meager ineader salary his wife magda cannot G adjust herself to the change she Is a beau ia woman fond of pleasure and a mag net joet for mens men attention magda and victoria have been down at a summer resort and keith loins joins them tor for the weekend week end magda leaves tor for a bridge party excusing herself tor for being such a runaway later that night victoria Is grief stricken when she hears bears her parents quarreling the herren deens return to their small san francisco 0 apartment part ment keith does docs not approve of magdas mad social life and they quarrel frequently ly magda receives flowers and a diamond from ferdy manners a weal wealthy man from argentina whom she had met less than a week before manners arrives a few hours later magda shows him a valuable chinese shawl that has been in the the herrendeen family for many years vie in I 1 shocked chocked when she learns her mother had contemplated selling it magda tells manners a dealer had offered her tor for the shawl magda takes victoria to nevada to visit a woman friend who has a daughter earned catherine there she tells her she Is going to get a divorce victoria soon baths I 1 Is in boarding school with her friend catherine erine magda marries manners and they spend two years in argentina victoria has studied in europe and at eighteen she visits her mother when ferdy rents a beautiful home magda Is unhappy over ferdy drinking and attentions to other women vie dislikes him but tor for her mothers sake Is nice to him when her mother and stepfather return to south america victoria refuses to go with them because of berdys unwelcome attert attentions ions to her magda returns and tells vie vic she and ferdy have separated meanwhile keith has remarried victoria Is now a student nurse magda has fallen in love with li clus aclus farmer a married artist while she and vie vic prepare tor for a trip to europe ferdy takes suite in their hotel CHAPTER IV FV 6 victoria looked sympathy distress well be gone ir in a week mummy then wont it be better belter magda looked at her daughter somberly im forty two vicky and ive never liked anyone before magda faltered with a little difficulty it only myself truly vie vic it but its to hurt him so horribly to ruin his life now when hes just beginning to succeed what kills me magda whispered but youre separating mother well be gone in a few days help victoria said forcing herself to gentleness and sympathy Y just it vie vic kill him tears came to magdas eyes but hell have his work and his wife and children 21 victoria began and stopped his wife means absolutely noth nothing to him vie vic been noth ing to each other for five years he told me so but mother she presently offered doubtfully a man belong to his wifel wife d to this magda superbly made no answer with an expression of patient endurance she rose and swept into her room when the bright soft morning came magda was exhausted her face was bleached and blotched with tears her eyes swollen and the hair that had so often been pushed off her forehead during the fevers of the night hung in careless locks and showed darkness at its roots victoria was dressed in silk pajamas having her own breakfast when her mother awakened she set magdas tray on the tumbled bed before her but her mother could not eat she drank a little coff coffee ee set the tray aside vie vic she breathed what shall I 1 do mother you cry so eferds coming up this morning hell be here for lunch ferd knows her mother whispered not opening her eyes well what does he think Is he what does he say nothing it amused him I 1 think magda said with more bitterness than thais victoria had ever seen in her before you like to divorce ferdy victoria asked doubtfully it lucius got a divorce he wont hear of it ferdy it was an exclamation no hes frightened to death of that campbell woman ashes going to be on the loughborough yacht he knows that the minute im out shell be in hes tiring of her already or if hes not hes beginning to feel that he will some day As long as hes married to me hes bes safe she was silent staring into space with narrowed somber eyes that were reddened with tears mummy I 1 have to remind you that berdys coming up today he has tickets and things he said can you talk to him vicky dar ling do a lamb magda said gayly tell him I 1 had to go down to burlingame and that I 1 felt terribly magda was rummaging about in a bureau drawer she spoke absently today and tomorrow are our last days she said and presently she gave vicky an absentminded absent minded kiss and was gone it was five when victoria got home magda had evidently preceded her by only a few minutes and was lying flat on her bed vie vic we had a very serious talk this morning you poor chicken and ive been thinking about you all day magda said her eyes rounded over her teacup ill tell you happened and what we decided were not children this a first affair and there are a great many other persons to consider so so the upshot of it all is vie vic that you and I 1 sail on saturday and that its all overl over magda was a little subdued and pale in the morning but showed no other signs of her recent emotion the day was exciting with final purchases much talk of wardrobes and plans vie wandered out to the balcony looked down at the waterfront over which the mist was softly closing through the cold dusk the fog horns were steadily sounding horrible weather to go through the gate what makes you say that magda asked looking up from her letter heavy fog you cant see the konagel Kon alei alel maybe she going I 1 I 1 vie vic awakened with a start with h sense of something wrong along now I 1 hope ferdy made hert berl wait for ferdy they may not even sail what is this darling the eighteenth tomorrows the twentieth of course magda reached for the trilling telephone tell teil mr farmer to come up she said immediately and then to vie vic im going out with him for just a little while call me if im asleep when you get back vie vic answered going toward her room she heard lucius voice a few moments later her mothers voice one more day of this she said to herself vie vic awakened with a start with a sense of something wrong the telephone was ringing and someone was knocking at the door the room was filled with dusk and fear and confusion at the door it was otto with the dinner card on the telephone was mollie jervis saying goodby good by victoria answered both claims order ordered ed oyster stew and brown toast and meringues snapped up lights but she still felt frightened and bewildered her forehead sticky with perspiration her throat thick goodness what horrible dreams she went to her mothers door saw only dusk and confusion on fusion and emptiness within ashes late vie vic yawned dawned seeing a clocks hands at seven maybe ashes taking a bath the bathroom was empty too perhaps mother was going to have one last dinner with her lucius perhaps she had left a note somewhere it might be in her rooms victoria went in there lighted lights she saw the note on the dressing table a large square note addressed to vie vic and even before her eyes reached its first words my darling darling you must forgive me somehow she knew 1 I never thought of she whispered aloud in the tumbled desolation that seemed now like a deserted battlefield like an ocean after a wreck her glance went on she saw the word tahiti the word malolo tv the words snatch our few years of heaven 11 victoria went to the balcony and sat eat down in a green iron chair her legs had failed under her she felt cold but her face was burning one trembling hand clung tight to the note in the empty hotel rooms behind her the lights shone brightly over the packed handsome trunks with their bands of white and blue coming into the diet kitchen at six on a summer morning florence flood dickenson discovered it empty except for a solitary figure at the end of thelong table the girl raised her head and showed a weary face that was waa yet keen with sensitiveness and sympathy and lighted with a tired little smile hello dicky she said in a hoarse sweet voice oh is it you herrendeen miss dickenson asked have a nice vacation marvelous hows everything gone oh beautifully we missed you ot of course but every everything things a gone marvelously two probationers came in with trays A boy put his head in the door said miss rockwood and vanished the hospital day had begun vicky tell me do you like dr hardisty louise mary keating asked interestedly a few days later very much vicky said abstractedly edly vicky ill bet youre in love with himl they say every woman he meets is in love with him miss keating bit into a chocolate looked at its filling thoughtfully 1 I to touch these she said ill bet vie vic hates to give up the keats kid helen geer observed watching her you wont see dr hardisty any more now after tonight vie vic 4 well as a matter of fact I 1 will V vicky icky said beginning to smear her face with cold cream after tying a towel over her tawny hair when little kate keats goes home I 1 go w with ith her ive been there before you know and mrs keats asked me yesterday to come back her mother very well and if she goes away with the doctor she always leaves a nurse with the children and then will you see dr hardisty every day vie vic not every day but g great reat friends A lot of good it would do me to fall fail in love with quentin hardisty victoria went on practically he know I 1 exist the keats home stood out on pacific avenue with the long lines ot of the presidio eucalyptus trees and the golden gate below the drawing rooms northeast windows and a sweeping view of the bay and the mountains that framed the bay from the upper floors victoria liked the atmosphere of the house she said it reminded her of a book victoria who had gone to them from the hospital as kates nurse had been kept on after kates recovery because of dunas scarlet fever and after that because ot of the feeble age of mrs chauncey clements the childrens english grandmother gently agreeably without any unpleasantness granny was dying victoria had a small room next to the old womans comans luxurious one on the first bedro bedroom orn floor and the easy task of watching her dignified departure from a life in in which she had behaved for eighty years with admirable decorum violet keats was in her early forties her husband perhaps ten years older she adored the small blinking man with his fluffy gray mop 64 as only an english gentlewoman can adore a man vie vic told catherine erine were dining alone victoria you and I 1 mrs keats said one day in her crisp brisk way 1 I want to talk to youl it was when they were seated at the little table downstairs an hour later that she made a first attack upon victorias confidence youre so perfectly charming with the children that I 1 shant feel quite happy until youre in a fair way to have a few of your own she said not it II vie vic smiled shaking her head you dont mean that no girl means that most girls dont I 1 dare say but I 1 do ive had a queer education along those lines victoria added half to herself you mean your mothers life not only mother but au all her crowd all women who make love passion so important who persuade you or almost persuade you that it is right to go wherever your heart goes its au all so artless you ought to set your cap for quentin vie vic hes as completely disillusioned as you are dr hardisty certainly he is in his heart he despises women he thinks johnny tells me that he thinks that all alike weak and selfish and ready to breakup anything or any blodys life for a little pleasure did he tell dr keats that the impression he always gives that amazes me victoria said because it if ever any man had his way with women it Is dr quentin Hardi hardisty 1 yes but it mean any thing vie VIC you knew his first wife very well id left her ber or rather shed left me downtown about ten minutes before she was killed she was driving her own car she drove like a crazy woman everything she did was wild and she had this crash they got her to the hospital and poor little gwen was born an hour later Quen quentina tins wife was a terrible girl rich and spoiled and andoh oh I 1 dont know flighty hes never been very happy poor boyl boy theres johnny at the door now vicky she broke off to say ah and quentin with him come in both of you are you frozen have you had anything to eat were starving ill 1 dr hardisty shedding outer garments in the hall said in his deep voice Vic kyll go get us some eggs wont you vicky I 1 TO ato KE BE CONTINUED |