New Britain herald. [microfilm reel] (New Britain, Conn.) 1890-1976, 1917-08-28
REVELATIONS OF A WIFE
Is Fate Playing Into the Loving Hands
Of DR.. Petit?
by ADELE GARRISON

Is Fate Plnying Into the Loving Hands
Of DR.. Petit?
Something akin to remorse crept
into my heart as I heard DR.. Petit
telling me that he had keen eyes
| where I was concerned. 1t had a
tenseness of emotion I had heard in
| his voice before, and 1t told me more
plainly than ever a truth I had
tried long to disregard-that the
| young physicians interest in me was
something warmer than friendship.
| tried to acqutt myself of any blame
| for this condition Of things, tried to
tell myself that the man was wholly
unwarranted in his feeling as far as
any encouragement Of mine was con-
cered. Then my memory. always re-
| 1entlessly accurate, brought back stray
| words and glances of mine, trivial and
| harmless enough In themselves, but
| which my conscience told me 1 never
should have directed toward DR.. Petit
| when 1 had any reason to suspect the
| nature of his feeling for me.
| I had salved my conscience before
! with the excuse that my wholly In
| nocuous friendship with the young
| physician-if so slight an affair could
| be called friendship-had been
| chapter of accidents, most of them
caused by Dicky's neglect Of me. Our
! meeting at the Madison Square Gar
den, as an instance, on the night OF
| the presidents speech there, was a di-
! rect result Of Dicky's desertion of me
| in the crowd in order to rescue Edith
Fairfax the young art student from
Virginia, whom later, 1 had had so
much cause to distrust.
The remembrance Of Edith Fairfax
brought another painful thought to
my mind. Memory painted faithful
picture of the day I found the little
kodak print of her and Dicky In ms
chiffonnier drawer, and Of the sharp
temptation that came to me then TO
revenge myself upon Dickp by en-
terine into a mild filtration with DR..
Petit. That my common sense had
prevented me from yielding to the
temptation didn't save me from lush
ing shamefacedly as I thought Of that
day.
Forgive me! didn't mean to
! cause you Embarrassment" l heard
the physician say, and the distress in
his voice made me realize that ne
thought my painful flush was caused
by his remark. I searched my brain
wildly for something to disabuse his
mind.
1T wasn't what you said,' I SIAM
I mered, 'in fact, you'll pardon me, but
D I was thinking of something else
, something which worries me-"
1t was the literal truth and it served
its purpose. I saw him draw back, Of
Tended for the moment at my fancied
inattention, then he bent toward me
again.
'You Ask Me That!'
= Are you sure it isn't som ethtng
can help?" he said, there was tremor
in his voice that told me of some
" emotion held down with a. hand 81
steel.
, 7 shook my head I'm afraid not.
y. Think carefully before you say
:, that" he returned. Let me tell va,
z something. If there 3 any snshtes
, way that I can be of service to you
7 will change my plans and stay in thu
r citv for a while instead Of leaving i
permanently"
q looked up startled and dlsmayeo.
:, you're leaving the city, permanent
>, ly," I repeated. "Why?'
:, I regretted the question the momen
:. it left my lips, for his eyes, as they me
- mine, held pain in them, and some
thing else besides. something which
n caused me to drop my own.
'Why?' ne TopcaLeu, =IIiCA1y, GIN
- there was a roughness' In his tom
which betrayed the momentary un
= clenching Of the hand of steel. "Yo'
| ask me that! Don't you know, can
you guess that I am leaving becaus
l cannot bear -
"What Country?"
I Interrupted him hastily, feverishly
Something within told me that h
must not put his feeling into words
! If he did that I never again would b.
able to keep any casual association o
ours wholly in my own hands. Their
n would always be present in my mine
n. the memory of the imprisoned word
H. I knew only too we'll were trembling
n on his lips.
a. please don't tell me anything NOR
!" of your reasons for leaving l said
n. and tried to divest my own voice o
n. any emotion Tell me instead Wher
L. you are going
!. I'm not going anywhere he re
n turned. steadily, "unless you tell m
ID that there's no possibility Of my aiding
y. you by staying
10 Truly. there's nothing anyone cal
Or do for me- 1 returned. But l hop
!. you aren't going far away" 1 added, II
3. a tone meant to make CONVENTIONAL
SO polite.
ITO South America" he replied, la
~ conically.
South America I exclaimed, ex