Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-07-15
CHAPTER NJ
The Country Club Dance

|WoMEN are the stransest things.
| w After my talk with Alice, felt
happier than / had been in several days,
but the night Of the country club dance,
In spite Of the fact that ! was entirely
satisfied with my appearance, ! found
to my amazcment that / was subcon-
sciously watching Norman.
| After his confession to me. feeling
Of peace had swept over me. ! was
nearer to him than I had been even in
the first few days of our marriage. be-
cause 1t seemed that l had passed an
| important milestone. But the minute
Alice swept into the dressing room, and
with an inmitable gesture flung of
her coat. revealing the almost wicked
| lovelincss Of her scarlet and black
beauty, l felt that my own dress Of
silver. gauze looked insipid and school
girlish
Alice did not look like resident Of
Hilton. She was Partisan from the top
Of her sleek dark head. to her slender
feet in their black slippers with rcd
heels.
In vain did fight to regain my self
confidence. At home when had
viewed myself in the glass. l had seemed
| seemed fairly to float around me. and
remotely mysterious.
When had come down the stairs
Norman had risen to meet me, and his
eyes had darkened with quick feeling.
You look like goddess he had
brenthcd. Il am almost afraid tc
touch you for fear you'll vanish into
But when I saw Alice the thought
struck me with sudden force that god
tlcsses are not to be feared. A man
may want n goddess in his home, as
guardian of his hcarthstonc. but the
women to be feared are the warm
blooded. scarlet Tipped. very human
types, like Alice. A man may hesitate
before marrying such Il woman. but he
never fails to respond to n look from
her eyes. or touch from her fingers.
And what an advantage Alice had over
me in other ways. After two months
Of married life, was an open book to
Norman. In spite of the fact that
was sure Of his love. sure that he
honorcd me. l knew that he was not
proof against the fascination Of other
women because Of the mystery sur
rounding them.
When Alice and ]. outwardly the
best of friends. entered the ballroom
together. / suffered moment of in
tense agony. Norman's first lool,
should have been for me. | wanted that
look more than had ever wanted any
thing else, because 1t stood for so much.
l'ut l was watching closely, and I saw
\ormans eyes rest for second on
Alice. In that In Ant of time l saw
his eyes flash. ana knew from the
way Alice flung her head back on her
shoulders that she had seen that look.
and was aware of her power. 1t
sickcncd me. 1t robbed me Of all the
pleasure | had looked forward to that
evening, Gnd when Norman came to me
for the first dance knew that it was
not because he wanted to dance with
me. lie would have preferred Alice in
his arms, but ! was his wife. he owed
the first dance to me, he was merely
executing his duty rs husband, and
although I kept my eyes turned reso.
lutcly away. ! felt. that over my head
his look was following Alice around thr
room. and all his thoughts were of the
time when he would hold her close
against him. At that moment ] was
suddenly sorry that | had ever married
Norman. Perhaps If ! had held off. il
| had kept myself remote and myS-
terious, he might have married Alice.
and would now be pursuing me as the
unattaincd. But even rs the thought
occurred to me. doubt lcapod into my
mind. Alice would never be the wife,
she would never make tn" mistake of
loving too much. She would be selfish.
but aluring. she would take everything
and give as little as possible. while /
was the typical wife, willing and eager
to sink my personality in my husbands.
and to forget that there was such Il
thing as another man in the world.
Sncnont'S Tn:1,,