The herald., 1922-05-18
CHAPTER XVI.
IL

IL
,,ar that life took on a mysterious
ha ~ and beauty that made every
, A. il an intoxication to the mas
.. sDI and mistress of Crownlands: The
st that their secret was al the III own .H
D" m tbe more enchanting. To the
y, 'a1sstIc staff, to the children, to the
o s",.lde world, life went upon ITS uSual
VIII way. Mr.. Carter would be IN
..sT tonight, Mr.. Carter was detained
psl . ofics Mrs. Carter was chaperon-
=. no Young people, there were ilow-
y = FOR Mrs. Carter. That was all Bot
,onIey and Pilgrim and WARD ana NJ
o., ~ Harriet and Richard the de-
Nam. secret game Of hide-and-so-seek
"a. everything else in the world In
..-Iscsnt Harriet opened the boxes
ssowers he sent her with a heart suf-
....anr with Joy. Richard consented
10 absent fres the dinner table
-, which she presided with an az
w. ~ renunciation that almost made
a, ,eel m. When he CHANGED one day
= moot her with Nina, in breezy,
.rn,pged summer restaurant, the
.,b, Of the slender figure thrilled him
:, no had never been thrilled by any
,omsn he had ever known. He was
"a sreak 10 her, to hear her voice! One
Ar he bought her shoes; in the shop
,bs looked at him for approval. He
AOush the shoes, low shoes with
,rrsles that showed the silk-clad an
M yery suitable and pretty. He was
t,oxr into sudden confusion when
,bs shce clerk turned 10 him with
uurmured mention Of the price.
Ten dollarsl Richard fumbled for
Ms purse. He had met her walking
alone In the Avenue; she had said that
se must get shoes. Hundreds OF other
men we're presumably buying their
vEs shoes, up and down the bril-
liant street. But Richard found the
adventure shaking to the soul.
They're lovely Shoes" Harriet said,
q they walked out into the sunshine.
( She told him that she was to meet
Nina at his mothers at five. Richard,
with sudden eagerness, wondered If
she would spend the interval In hav-
Ing tea somewhere, but instead they
vent into bookshop, and she carried
anew book triumphantly away. ITS
ithghtful day In town." Harriet said,
and II we're little early we may
tl get away to the country that much
Doner!"
She established herself contentedly
beside him when they did finally start
is Crownlands. Ward, beside Han
Rn, did most Of the talking; Nina was
alent and Harriet noticed that she
Wa very pale. Richard was repeat
NC to himself one phrase all the way;
phrase that he found so thrilling
md absorbing that IT was enough to
isep him from speaking aloud, or lis
tnlng to what the others said.
Hove her-I love her-I love herr"
thought Richard. And sometimes he
tAhced sidewise at her, her beautiful
hr ripping In thick waves under the
uh veil, her face a little pale from
ne neat Of the day, her glorious eyes
nnty shadowed. When the swift
Movement Of the car brought her
aouder against his, their eyes met
Mtsmiling second. and it seemed to
neaard that his heart brimmed with
Wnost delicious emotion that he had
ssr hown.
sna complained Of a headache
nu ney reached home, and went
Wy % bed. Harriet, when she had
''0Oed and changed to an evening
M glanced In at Nina, and thought
pn asleep. There were men
ssau Tor dinner, and afterward there
- ondss. Harriet sat with Madame
-. s i0r awhile, for the old lady had
uned upstairs, went about the
upon her usual ,errands, and.
70 hsr own room, found Nina
ls at about ten o'clock. Nina
ane In. 10 h"iie'
-. s oo0r that led to Richards room
- not only unlocked, but actually
a.. harriet gave 1t a surprised
- ana SPOKE to Nina, IN the next
\. Mn. did you unlock this door,n
doorr Nina called. ooh.
rA ne added At did"
.- IN. Harriet murmured. And she
49, 49, 70 the door. and looked into
vas sort of upstairs SITTING
s,s,., ie,nished simply, in man
- 49,. .. with deep leather chairs on
anu ~ s'ae o. the fireplace, broad tas,es
sh,,.s only the essential lamps and
N ~. shabby desk where Rich.
~, ~ PERSONAL papers. and boot.
~ -. qammed with novels. Har.
r. -, ANN, IN timid round. saw Bal. |
s,,r ~ u Dickens, Dumas and Fieldinr
S,ss, ' .snakespeares and a comnIats
sNIs ' = ,ostllng elbows with modern
lNsss "a 10. bright jackets, and Yellow
own a FINANCES losing their paper
"a. sa her heat turned to wafer
b ~ -! sound in the silence war;" worr'
s,, mat some one had entered tered
y, so sed discovered here in the
nat I ~ Of his own private apart.
n ,v, DC was standing not D tSree
- s way from her. For I = se smres
~