The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1921-05-17
THE REVOLT OF
VERA SANDERSON
BY JANE PHELPS
A VISIT TO MADAME LORETTA.

A VISIT TO MADAME LORETTA.
Chapter 20.
81 shall be ready at IL O'Clock to
go to Madame Loretta's with you,''
Margaret said to me.
When is your guest coming?
will put my personal pictures, etc.,
| away before she arrives"
she isn't coming" shortly.
Then you-?" I stopped. Marga-
ret had not expected any guest. Her
complaints about expense, the story of
the expected guest, her father and
mothers visit, were all subterfuge
to get Sallie away. She begrudged my
sister her food. even tho Keith paid
so great a part of the expenses.
cit was just as well your sister
went" she went on. II saw thru your
scheme to marry her to Jack Under
wood. l.
Il never thought of such a thing!"
| marry him! She would make him a
lovely wife"
In your judgment, doubtless"
l made no reply. I was too angry.
AT IL o'clock I seated myself in
| the car with Margaret, still so angry
I could not talk. Usually I liked rid
. ing in the motor that Keith's money
| had paid for, even tho it meant be-
| ing with her. But now my mind was
| so full of bitter thoughts that
Arrived at Madame Loretta's, the
saleswoman ushered us into a fitting
room, left and came back with her
arms full of dresses. We tried the
afternoon gowns first. 1 so wanted
a soft dark blue with Persian trim
ming. But Margaret vetoed it at once
| insisting that L have brown which,
while quite pretty, was not nearly so
becoming.
The evening gowns were next shown
| US. 1 tried on lovely green one-it
was the fashionable shade Just then,
and it was so lovely that L forgot ev-
| erything save that I wanted that par
| ticular dinner gown, wanted Keith to
| see how lovely 1 looked in it. begged
her to let me have it, the saleswoman
| joining me.
| Madame is so charming in it; sure
ly nothing could be more becoming"
I'VE will take the white one," Mar
garet said coldly. Beside the green
one the white was insipid, chafacter-
less 1 said SO and also declared L
| looked too young in it.
| Send the white one" Margaret
me to use MY judgment. not yours,
as to what was suitable for you"
My eyes smarted with the tears L
was too angry to shed. I cared moth
ing that I had pretty shoes and
stockings for both gowns, and that the
| hat was rather becoming, altho it was
| of the same dull brown as the dress
with which it would be worn. never
opened my mouth all the way home
| Had l spoken I should have said
things that would have made living. in
the same house with Margaret impos-
| sible. 1 was still the meek creature
always had been on the outside, hklt
| inwardly I had already begun to re-
volt against the injustice constanHy
| done me. 7
"She is the most disagreeab1e crea-
ture ever knew!" I heard Margaret
! saying, and realized that Keith had
| come in without my hearing. "She
| nagged all the time L was trying to
| select her the prettiest gowns 1 could
| find, then refused to speak to me.
woman is beyond me. I expect she
kept her horrid disposition in the
| background until she caught you I
| don't know how 1 am to endure her.
| You poor boy, my heart aches for
you when I think that you are
| doomed to live with her."
1 dared not let them know that I
had heard. Keith never would for
give me for not making my presence
known But to think that his sister
| sympathiZed with him for marrying
me was terribly hard to endure
quietly.
| When he came up I kissed him a
bit more impulsiveIy than usual. I
| did so love him. SO long to have him
love me.
Thank you for my new things,
Keith"
when will they be here so that I
can see them?"
I'm a couple of days.
| He said no more but I noticed all
/ the evening that the frown remained
on his face-that frown I had so
| learned to dread because it meant
| disa pproval of me.
| We remained at home and, as usual
when we did so, spent the evening
| with Margaret. 1t was another pin
prick in my life, Keith's insisterce
| that whenever we remained at home
| the evening was to be spent with
Margaret-not only that, but in doing
| whatever she wished to do. If she
wanted to play cards, we must; If she
/ wished music, I was obliged to play
| whether 7 felt like it or not; IL she
wanted to talk to Keith-usually
about things of which knew nothing,
and cared less-I was supposed to sit
quietly and listen; if she wished to
| read, we had to read also.
This evening, she elected to play
cards. So we sat opposite each other
and played cutthroat, each knowing
that the other felt nothing but
! hatred in her heart.
| (Tomorrow-Vera meets Mrs. De
| Lisle.)