New Britain herald., 1923-06-04
The Method sladge Employed
 to Help Leila

to Help Leila
 ! spent a mest uncomfortable heuT
 during the dinner which l had pre-
 pared for the nuFksss with Hess
 Deans aid There was nothing the
 matter with the ,iands, indeed Ns
 were the recipient of many sNaEEsF' siea compliments upon our culinary skill from Alfred, vhils little Mrs,
 paFkss and Leila voiced their apr
 proyal in no uncertain terms, But the shadows af two unpleasant and difficult tasks leomed before me, Fehr
 ping me Of my appetite and ineFsas' Ing the tension Of my nerves.
 Before the evening ended l must sulfill my promise 10 Mrs parkee that I would tell Alfred and Leila Of Dr. Foxham's verdict concerning an oper. alton for her, thus sparing her the ordeal Of revelation, and l meant also to find out just what mischief Bess Dean was engaged in manufacturing That there was some ssere< between her and Alfred which Leila did not share. I was as sure as l was that the attraction which Bess had for Al fred held nothing in it 10 give Leila cause for real uneasinesS,
 l came 10 these conclusions at the close of the dinner. during which l rurtlvely watched Alfred and Bess Dean. That he admired the brilliant, sparkling girl immensely. was plain iy to be seen, but that his reaction to her was one Of mentality rather than of the emotions. was also evident. On the other hand. Alfred's tender pro- tecting love for his fragile wife was to be seen in every word and glance toward her.
 What siadge Feared
 I suddenly remembered Lillian's trenchant words to me upon an oc- casion when Dickys friendship with Edith Fairfax was causing me uneasi- ness.
 Remember" she had said .'the wife has the game in her own hands if she only chooses to play il"
 But would Leila play the game. or would she spoil everything by betray- ing the jealousy of Bess Dean which I guessed was racking her? Nothing could so surely anger and disgust AL fred, for with the usual masculine blindness to the faults of pretty and clever woman. he patently considered Bess a friend of the family whose af- fronting would be cardinal sin.
 That Leila could not stand the strain of pretence long was sure as I caught the feverish brightness of her eyes and her heightened color when after dinner. Alfred carried her into the living room and deposited | her in an easy armchair before the big fireplace. Her eyes did not leave him while he coaxed the logs into a brighter blaze, and his mother, Bess and I drew our chairs close to the fire.
 Look At That Clock .''
 Tt isn't fair = I said to myself | hotly, noting the cool insouciance of Bess Deans manner, and stirred for Leila against my former colleague as never had been for myself. The two women were most unequally pitted in the contest. Bess Dean was a woman of the world, brilliant, cool, calculat- ing, inordinstely vain. and while not really wicked, I had no hesitancy in 1ubbing her unprincipled In many re- spects.
 Leila Durkee, on the other hand, possessed neither Bess Deans men .ality nor her poise. She was also a trace of the other wom- ms unpleasant traits, for Leila is the ;weetest, gentlest creature in the world, as incapable of mean or un- ierhanded action as she is of fighting Ter own battles unaided. She is one If the women who need protecting III her life, and her husband was lav shing that protection upon her. The .itadel of her life had seemed i'm ,regnable until the inordinate van ty and diabolical cleverness of Bess Dean had made breach in the wall t the only place where Alfred could lot come to her aid.
 With grim determination, masked " smiles, kept the conversation in ny own hands through the hours ollowing our dinner. I knew that .eila would not mind any exchange f badinage between Alfred and me, nd I proceeded to indulge in what tile Mrs Durkee declared to be 1ost outrageous filtration with her on. Tn my mother-ln-law's par ance, did not permit Bess Dean to get word in edgeways."
 T declare, Leila" she said with vinkle in her eye which betrayed to ' le how thoroughly she was enjoying c ess Deans discontinue, T wouldn't II and the way Madge is carrying on \