Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-02-16
THE HEART
OF A WOMAN
By
BARONESS ORGY
cepvrieht. 1911. BY George II. Doran
Company
BARONESS ORGY
CHAPTER XVI.
And the Puppets Danced.

And so he went to meet Louisa and
Col. Harris at the Danish legation. and
found them a taxicab and generally saw
to their comparative comfort.
There was no restraint between the three
Of them. 1t was as natural to them all to
avoid speaking Of important matters on
the doorstep Of q neighbours house. as 1t
was to eat or drink or breathe. So Luke
asked il the dinner had been enjoyable
and the reception crowded, and Col. Har-
ris comfortably complained Of both. He
hated foreign cooking and society brushes,
and had endured both tonight. No doubt
the terrible events Of this night. as yet
mere shadows-hardly admitted to be real
were weighing on the kind old man
usual hearty spirits.
But SO versed were they all In the ART
OF make believe that each one INDIVIDUAL
ly was able to register In the innermost
depths Of an anxious heart the firm con-
viction that the other had not heard
Luke was convinced that the gruesome
and sordid news could not have pene-
trated within the gorgeous mansion.
where Lou in an exquisite gown mad sung
modern songs in her pure contraltO voice.
He felt sure that neither Lou nor Col
Harris had heard that Philip de Mount
ford had been murdered In a taxicab. and
that police officers had thought ut to
speak to him-Luke-in tones or con-
temptuous familiarity. Nay. more! now
that he himself sat thus opposite good
natured, prosy, sensible Col. Harris. he
began to think that he must have been
dreaming, that the whole thing could not
have occurred, but that he had imagined
1t all while leaning against the garden
ratings, trying to strain his ears SO that
they should hear the soft, faint echo OF
that pure contralto voice.
Perhaps the wish had been father to the
thought; while gazing up at those brill
hantly illumined windows, he might IN
his heart Of hearts have wished the nom
existence of Philip-not his death. but the
humiliation Of the past few months. the
non-advent Of the intruder; and, thus
wishing. he may have imagined the whole
thing-the murder in the cab. the police
officer on the doorstep OF the old home
in Grosvenor Square.
A sense of supreme wellbeing encom-
passed him now. Lou sat opposite to him.
He could not distinguish her face In the
gloom. only the outline Of her head with
the soft brown hair. perfectly dressed by
the hand of an accomplished maid: Lou.
the personifcation Of modernity. Of ordi-
nary commonplace life. but exquisite
just the woman whom he loved with every
fiber of his heart, every tendril OF his be-
ing and every sense within him. A soft
perfume Of sweet peas chung to her gown
and was waited to his nostrils. He closed
his eyes and drew in a long breath Of
supreme delight. Now and then as the
cab gave a jerk his knee came in con-
tact with hers. and down on the ground
quite close to his own, there rested a
small neatly shod foot. the sole OF which
he would have given his hearts blood to
kiss.
Oh, yes: he was quite. quite happy: this
was reality-his exquisite Louisa. the out
line of her perfect head, the touch of her
knee, the scent of sweet peas, which in
toxicated him and whipped his senses to
madness and to dreams. It was reality.
and the other was only the wild phantas-
magoria Of a wild imasination-the insane
thought born Of insane desire. In the
darkness which enveloped him and Lou.
he could you see. give free rein to him
self. The world was not gaping: conven-
tionality held no sway within these four
narrow walls; the puppet could loosen
the string which had forced it to dance.
it could lie placid for awhile, dead to the
world. but enjoying its own existence and
it's own vitality.
And Lou, watching him in that same
darkness which concealed him entirely,
save to her eyes of watchfulness. believed
that he had heard nothing as yet. She
vaguely combated the desire to tell him
everything then and there. SO that he
should hear the worst and the best from
her lips rather than through Indifferent
channels later on.
But with that subtle perception peculiar
to her--the modern, commonplace woman
of the world-she OWNED that he was liv-
ing for the moment in world Of his own,
from which it was sacrilege to try and
drag him away.
Just then the cab drew up outside the
Langham Hotel The everyday world had
returned with its f1aring electric lights.
its hall porters, its noise and hustle, and
chased away the illusions of the past
few moments. Luke jumped out, ready
to help Lou down-a happy second that,
for her hand must needs rest in his.
The glare Of the electric lamp above fell
full on his face. which was serene, placid.
the usual mask of supreme Indifference:
only Louisa read beyond the mask. and
as her hand rested in his for just a
thought longer than conventionality al
loxad ho raalizad that he, k1ayz,