Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-07-21
she spoil the day by an hour Of disillusion-
I'd Rishon

she spoil the day by an hour OF diSlluSlOn-
ment with Leonard Bishop.
| 1t was indeed enough Of a shock to re-
ceive before luncheon a large box of
orchids from Mr.. schelling. The Nrst
marked attention from Mrs Writings car,
! didate filled Mary with dismly. it would
be an additional rerplexity l.. size had 10
| reject the huge nagnate advances in the
| face Of Mrs. Writings open support and
| lunch table. where Mary AMI Mrs. Whiting
sat In state. and the ostentation of the
orchids. a splendid Gift in beauty and
quantity, besides the heavily crested en-
velope which inclosed the accompanying
card. betrayed the giver even before Mary
| announced 1t in a cherries voice.
Mrs. Whiting raised her lorgnOn. ''l5eau-
tiful!' she commented, land In excel ,nt
| taste. Mr.. Schelling makes few mistakes
| for a man who has never cared 70" so
| ciety.'
Mary waved the box away, telling The
| servant to put them in water AS he dis
| appeared the older woman turned her small
| eyes full upon her.
MY DEAR" she said. 'aa atte1t')I from
| a wdower Of Mr.. Seedlings caiiber Is al
ways significant. You know l invI-ed him
here on purpose I hope you are not think
| ing Of letting such an opportunity Slip
Thank you, said Mary, with a bleak
| smile; but fancied he was rather a so
| ciety man after all. sort Of dancing bear;
| l saw him in attendance upon Christine
Jerome"
Very likely replied Mrs. Whiting dry
| ly; christine Is trying to rope him In to
| vex Capt. Jerome into jealousy; Christine
has tried to do that for years but no one
| ever heard of Jerome being jealous hut
once. and then 1t was mere fiction. be
| cause he wanted to divorce her TO marry
some else. Schelling Is in earnest; he
| has built house in New YORK which has
cost half million or SO. and he Is looking
| for a wife who hold up his social as
! pirations; of course my niece could Go
that"
-,
an amused recollection Of commonplace,
fiat-faced May Hadding.
Mrs. Whiting closed her lips with GER
tain evaporation; the return Of he butler
precluded further condolences, and she
found herself defeated again by the curious
Indifference of her niece. She already be-
gan to regard her as possession. a crea-
ture of her own creation; and II annoyed
her sharply to find her puppet unconcerned
and aloof In her bearing when she touched
on a matter SO vital as matrimony. She
studied the girl furtively through the re-
| mainder of the meal and engaged in some
rather disturbing reflections. 1t had &C.
CURED to the old womans shrewd mind
that. perhaps. there was some early at
tachment, some Jack-and-Jill affair." which
was interfering at fatal moment III her
niece's destiny. but the girls peculiar reti-
cence her guarded manner, turned aside
all inquiries as easily as plate armor used
to turn the yeoman's arrows.
Mary, meanwhile saw nothing. being sb-
sorbed in her own thoughts of Leonard
Bishop, and the possibilities Of smothering
his prediction for gossip, and at the same
time. Of Kidding herself Of Schelling and his
orchids without offending Mrs. Whiting. In
the midst of her anxieties her sense OF
humor made her amusedly conscious that
when she had undertaken to adopt an aunt
she had not included a bargain to marry
! to please her, and to marry an alephantlne
millionaire with doubtful reputation Of
having acquired his wealth by squeezing it
out of the poor and the helpless by
| methods that would not bear inspection.
The slight coldness that had developed
| over the box OF orchids proved a rift In the
| lutte, and Mrs. Whiting and her pseudo
\ niece went to the embassy without anv
| further condolences
| Once there Mary speedily forgot Mira
| Writings displeasure and Schellinx's pre-
| tensions. The house, which was owned by
| Portucarrero's government. was, like most
| of the embassies in Washington. neither
| very spacious nor imposing, but the am
| his own personality and being a man of
| large private fortune he had added his own
| collection Of pictures, Including many by
| the noted painters of Europe. his own
books and carvings, his oriental rugs and
! brasses. his screens, acquired during a So
journ at Picking. and sngularly beautiful,
| and his furs which he had collected in
| Russia and Siberia In spite of the sharply
| contrasted collections there not an in
| congruous touch in their disposition. from
! the large ballroom and drawing rooms to
Portucarrero's library and study. The
rooms did not all communicate, and there
| were charming irregularities and hooks and
| corners where there were delightful sur