Show 1 f tit F F 0 NORRIS 0 nc no q HE STORY SO FAR an orphan since J age of seven charlotte cherry kaw rawlings lings knows almost nothing about her early history judge judson marshbanks her guardian co ith emma haskell hashell arranges for her to leave saint dorotheaa Doro theas and tells her that emma has obtained for her a secretarial position with the wealthy mrs airs porteous porter of san francisco where emma Is housekeeper she is first to go to the marshbanks mansion when she arrives she dines alone with the judge as fran his young wife and his niece amy are dining out kelly coates an artist drops in and cherry feels ill at ease in her convent clothes cherry becomes bitter when she overhears fran and amy make laughing reference to her and her clothes her surroundings are arc luxurious when she takes u up p her job with old mrs airs porter but after several weeks she finds life almost monotonous now continue with the story CHAPTER V so emma and ferny propped her up comfortably and arranged the lights becomingly and were barely finished as the clock struck the half hour after seven when dorothy and her mother came in to preen themselves under the old ladys approving eyes to admire her and be praised themselves and in another half hour three or four mothers were there and quite a little reception was going on in the upstairs sitting room at cherrys chernys Cher rys suggestion the arriving guests were to be sent upstairs in detachments she went below at half past eight to find sixty of them milling about enjoying a succession of cocktails and was reminded of old days at saint dorotheaa Doro theas and school theatricals as she sent them up in parties of six unexpectedly cherry found amy marshbanks in the center of an admiring circle and hated herself for the wretched little prick of jealousy jealouS 7 that rose even through her newfound d sense of ease and power she looked for fran and kelly coates but they were evidently coming later they were not in sight when the time came for her to say to amy that if she would please would any four of them go upstairs and say good evening to mrs porter amy stared at her amusedly entirely without recognition and said in an undertone to an adoring boy beside her the big idea Is nursey telling us to say we had a nice time tiffie there was a small library known as the den tucked away avay under the wide turn of the stairway the door into the hall was open b bul ut when cherry approached it to answer the telephone in the hall near it she had no idea that anyone was in the room the voice on the telephone was vas C I 1 hat at of an agitated gentleman who aas as bringing a lady up from HUI hill ilo cS orough and had had the misfortune to break a spring while driving they had sent for a taxi tax cherrys chernys Cher rys eyes moved absently to the open door of the den and rested incuriously upon a pair of satin slippers that in their turn were resting upon one of the tasseled tasse led babore tabo ts that stood before the fire the wearer of these slippers whoever she was vas was sunk so deep in a great chair in the comfortable position she had assumed her heels were I 1 at least as high as her head the firelight twinkled on the slippers and on the swirl of her vermilion velvet gown she was evidently whispering for cherry heard no words distinctly cherry went upstairs with her lessage pes lessage nes sage that miss trotter and mr addy brown would be a little late 10 X M A ea 45 1 A X f X al f k t 4 41 N Q gi x I 1 N Z couples were leaving the dining room to dance for a few minutes to find the detachments coming and going between the downstairs rooms and mrs porters apartments and any serious consideration of dinner anner as tar far removed as ever emma said with her usual air of stern but repressed annoyance that this would never do and just as the delayed couple arrived from hills borough at twenty two minutes past nine the eight dinner began to take shape and form guests straggled toward the tables and looked for name cards and waiters began to serve smoking cups of it was at this moment that the couple whose privacy she had observed sauntered from the den cherry halfway up the stairs to find keno and ask the little japanese maid to keep an eye open for a lost evening bag of silver and amethysts happened to see them come out she paused on the stairs to watch them make their leisurely way toward tle the dining room they stopped once in the lower lover hall the man speaking earnestly the woman listening with a bent head giving him only an occasional swift sv ift upward upward glance R kelly elly and fran kelly and fran the sight made cherry feel first a little weak and then heartsick they had come supposedly to keep an eye on the younger crowd to help with the party they had really come to seize an opportunity ot of being alone and unobserved together of course of course all her bright vague hopes for what this evening might bring were destroyed instantly everything was a dull and dreary blank now cherry hated every detail of the party dragged herself through the next hour or two by sheer force of will there was plenty for her to do for the cocktail hour had been a time of great confusion and the downstairs rooms were a scene of wild disorder during this busy hurried time messages were constantly coming downstairs from mrs porter up to whose room cherry ran a dozen i times her employer wanted bland ly to know if everything was going nicely was enthusiastic as to her own share of the festivities and would like another cup of that delicious ming wo we so rarely made and she had always been so fond of it the dinner party had progressed to the breast of milk fed chicken with virginia ham and mushrooms and to procure another cup of the soup was like returning to some event of the dim past when that was accomplished mrs porter was delicately picking at some rich concoction of crab meat and allowed the soup to cool untouched bridge and backgammon had been set out in one of the parlors now the orchestra concealed behind the inevitable palms was playing provocative dance music couples were leaving the dining room to dance for a few minutes were returning to play absently with alligator pear or frozen pudding cherry looked into the upstairs bedroom to find alma and hatty deep in a muttered conversation doin bothin but makin fun of the old lady said hatty her champagnes champagney champ agnes good enough for them and her dinners good enough tor for them but oh aint she a scream and aint this a queer old vault and lord my dear you let me into this I 1 never would have come an they says how early can we get out and go somewhere and dance added alma cherry was the more disturbed to hear the maids views because they confirmed an uneasy and ashamed impression of jerown her own an impression that the flattery and kisses that went on in mrs pore por room were not sincere that behind the old ladys back there were patiently resigned sighs and shrugs and a good deal of the raising of amused and contemptuous eyebrows mrs porters dinner dance for the debutantes would be long remembered but not with the gratitude she imagined the words horror and awful and lousy and just about the limit would be used more often than more complimentary terms cherry felt a sudden rush of resentment of pity tor for her employer stepping back into the hall and gom going g to look down at the lower floor to see if the dinner was about over cherry was shocked suddenly to hear the sound of sobbing who wh 0 was crying it came from dorothys dorothy s room cherry went softly toward it il and as the door stood open a rack crack c she pushed it further open and went in in dorothy her party frock crushed into stringy limpness was lying across the bed crying bitterly she had a chiffon handkerchief pounded into a wet ball in her hand and was digging at her eyes with it and snuffling and sobbing like a heart broken child of three the endless evening dragged its way to midnight and the guests began to disperse mrs porter when they came in to say their goodbyes good byes protested kindly it was early yet yell why when she was a girl they had often danced right into the morning but the pretty girls and the hoarse polite young men were firm some of the boys were working they explained pla ined they had to keep early office hours by twos and fours they dwindled away cherry knew that they were all going oft off somewhere else to dance she heard thern them promise one another to meet later she heard them laughing at their evenings entertainment and their chews ws of relief as they disappeared into the darkness outs out side the front door the whole thing had been ridiculous and a failure uie she decided going downstairs for the twentieth time that evening to see it if the bridge players were still at their game fran was playing hard two other e tables were deserted littered with cigarette ashes and chocolate frills scribbled scores and torn paper she was returning upstairs again forthe for the purpose of asking emma if she could stay up to put out lights when kelly coates came down stairs met her halfway smiled at her and arrested her with a sand hand on her arm sit down here a minute he said immediately seating himself on the landings top step hows it gone had any fun out of it ive seen you coming and going and know whether it was any f tun M for you or not get your candy bandy oh it was wonderful mr coates not your first box of candy I 1 suppose cherry was too dizzy to know what she said by the way vay of reply she tried to make it grateful but merely talking to him confused her the lost evening was suddenly aglow with color and light she was to have her moment after all in her agitation she said exactly what she would have wished not to say swallowing hard and with a nervous quick laugh she asked mrs marshbanks look lovely tonight for a minute his expression was vas so odd that she was ter terrified rifled he like her saying that then he said briefly lovely blundering on in spite of a halt half defined feeling that he would not like to talk about her cherry said 1 I used to think she was almost well homely but bu t when you know her face you see that ashes beautiful at he had folded his arms in a favorite gesture of his and was looking at her seriously fran he said simply but the word brimmed with some secret magic tor for him and she felt its echoes reach her and was chilled the randalls are taking her home he added ive got to be on my way back to sausalito Sau but you what kind of time have you had he asked after a moment rotten she said suddenly hungry for his sympathy and understanding it was unwise it was impulsive she knew it even as the ground slipped away from beneath her feet 1 I hate that amy she said that is I 1 dont hate her she amended it but she treats me as if I 1 there count 1 I suppose so he conceded with a thoughtful look give it time he went on with a little stress on the last words give it time bolf 11 leave amy behind you some day and then this will all seem very small girl stuff patience cherry his use of her name his serious consideration for her ill timed outbursts destroyed the last shred of her reticence she was tired excited jealous lonely she wanted somehow to hold him and blindly reached for whatever claim upon his interest she could find no matter what I 1 did she said looking down shyly and fingering the ornamental end of one of the brass rods that held the stair carpet in place no matter what I 1 did I 1 would never matter to you I 1 know that never think of me as anything g but a girl from saint doro theas who count go in love with mrs marshbanks of course cherry floundered on wretchedly 1 I know ill never be like that dressed that way and playing bridge and all ashes been in europe but if I 1 had clothes and money if my husband was as wonderful as judge marshbanks I 1 nt I 1 know I 1 she stopped in a terrifying silence she could not raise her eyes As kelly got to his feet she rose too but still she could not look at him im sorry she said thickly when she could not bear it an instant longer well the man said dryly on a surprised breath as she came to a horrified and frightened pause and forcing herself at last to meet his eyes cherry saw that he was smiling in a sort of annoyed indulgence as one might smile at a forward child at the look her soul foul died within her those eyes could never again hold anything but contempt and dislike for her presently with a nod and a quiet good night he left her descended the stairs then the front door closed and he be was gone for the first time in her life cherry spent an entirely wakeful night her wearied mind thrashed over and over again the last episode ol 01 the ill starred party her weary body twisted and struggled in a physical misery that matched the tha torture in her soul TO BE CONTINUED |