Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-05-26
And So They
Were. Married
By HAZEL DEYO BATCHELOR
Copyright, 1910, bv Public LEDGER Co.
START THIS STORY TODAY

'hS WoIius ECne uhu 10 ulSCOuIuse lHt
attentions of man who fattered her
vanity in one fell swoop. She liked
Jacks admiration, but she must make
up hef mind to do without It. Natale's
confession had revealed the true state
of affairs, as Hclcn's interference and
Scott's stray remarks had failed to do.
Ruth did not know whether Jack would
ever care for Natalie or not !; that much
she couldn't tell, but she intended to do
everything she could to make him care,
and that was certain.
As for Jack after Mrs. Jergens left
his Office, he felt strangely uncomfort-
able. Little things about Natalie kept
occurring to him. How had he jumped
to conclusions that way and what
woman in a thousand would have kept
that matter of the letter to herself?
For the first time in his life he began to
think of Natalie seriously. lie rcmem-
bcrcd her during the first days of their
mar iage, her half f-shy surrenders, her
eagerness, her childish cffusions which
had bored him so soon. Then had come
the aftermath of all that when Natalie
had gone through her petulant stage,
when she had tried to pay him back for
his sights and neglect by criticizing
him before people, when he had kept up
running flow of querulous small talk
which had made him like her still less.
Then had come that experience at At
lantic City and Natalies complete
change, her handling of the situation.
her holding him at arms length. the
piquing of his curiosity, but still there
had been no deeper feeling. Now there
was something else, feeling of pride
that Natalie could suffer in silence, that
she would not contide to her mother
any OF her suspicious, groundless as
they were. And they were groundless,
for Jack was not i'll love with Ruth, not
to the extent of doing anything foolish.
He was simply playing with fire. She
had been engaged to him once and there
was bond of intimacy between them
founded partly on that fact. The mem
ory of old kisses, that faint perfume
that Ruth always used and that con-
jured up what might have been, when
ever Jack was near her, the entire
story like romance, stirred up old
ashes and made Jack want what he
didn't have. A man rarely wants what
he thinks he wants. 1t is the intan-
gible thing just out of reach that is al
ways most interesting to him, that is
all.
Jack had Mt first been furious at Mrs
Jergens's attempted interference, but he
had cooled down very quickly when he
discovered that she really didn't know
thing but that Natalie was unhappy.
He began to think little bit about
what fun it had been to show Natalie
things. She was such child. Perhaps
if it weren't for Ruth he might have
grown to care for Natalie; at least, he
decided he could be decent to his wife,
take her about more. Plenty of men
had discovered after marriage that they
loved another woman and had still tried
to do the right thing.
That was why during the next few
days that his manner changed toward
Natalie. 1t was gentler and more con-
siderate. He made an effort to do things
to make her laugh, and the first time
she did laugh outright he felt as if he
had won a personal victory. But he
did not make love to her he did not see
her as q woman to make love to. Ruth
was the woman he felt that way toward
and therefore that part of him was
dead.
Now psychology is a queer thing
Natalie, in her childish, undeveloped
stage before marriage, caring only for
fripperies and fashion, would have
thought the present Jack an ideal hus-
band. He was exactly as her mother
had wanted Natalie's husband to be,
kind and considerate, willing to pay
bills, appearing places with her. Nata-
lie, in a word, if she had been the girl
she once was, would have been entirely
happy now; but Natalie was changed
and the same things no longer satisfied
her. What she wanted now was Jack s
love. She cared what she wore because
she wanted to be beautiful to Jack she
loved her pretty home simply as set
ting for their lives. She could imagine
her life romantic love story If Jack
loved her as she did him. Natalie had
at last walked up those things do hap
pen even to society girls occasionally.
Life grew to be an exciting game.
Over the candle lighted table Natalie in
some simple little gown artfully made
would bait her husband with personal re-
marks, she would flirt with him breath
lessly, and in the soft light Natalie's
blondness took on a fairylike appear
ance, her ashy hair shone like silver,
her eyes looked elin under her lashes,
she was piquant and interesting and
Jack found himself looking forward to
coming home evenings, to taking Nata
lie places, to watching for that slow
smile and that upward 'flutter of eye
lashes when she looked at him.
Natalie was playing a game; her
heart was set on just one thing, and yet
try as she would she could not wake
Jack to any demonstration of affection
for her. There were times when she
felt that it was foolish to try when she
was certain that he cared for Ruth and
always had. OF course he had changed
of late, he had been so dear to her.
She wondered why, thinking, of course,
that in some way Ruth as a, result of
that conversation had managed to do
something. Natalie did not know that
her mother had gone to Jacks Office and
that it had been Jacks discovery Of her
loyalty that had awakened him to a
sense of duty toward her.