Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-04-12
CHAPTER XXXIH
The LIGHT THAT Lies

TN spite of Anne's marked social success, in
4 spite of the girls natural sweetness and
Il the fact that Steele was madly in love with
her, his mother did not feel close to her
daughter-in-law. If she had been asked to do
so, Marcia would have found it difficult to eX-
plain the reason for this, but it had something
to do with Anne's reticence, the mystery sur
rounding her, and the fact that John loved
her too much.
Facing the question in her own mind
Marcia felt something uncanny in Johns feel
ing for his wife. 1t was as if the girl had be-
witched him, as if she had cast spell over
him. There did not seem to be any of the
serene attachment between them that to Mar
cia spelled marriage. John was too 1nfatu-
ated; he was like boy in love for the first
time, and Mrs. Steele was not satisfied that
things should be this way.
What she wanted was the safe husband
and wife business that would have existed
had John married Katherine. Katherine
would have made real wife, while Anne was
too exotic. She made of marriage restless
thing all right in romantic novels, but some
how not quite normal in real life
AS for Steele, he, too, felt this divine rest
Iessness.' He never was able to relegate Anne
to the position of wife She was never out
of his thoughts. When he was at the office
he could not put his private affairs out of mis-
mind. He could not throw himself into his
work as he wanted to, because Anne was al
ways before him, and it seemed to him some
times that all he lived for was the moment
when he could put aside his work for the day
leave his office and go home to her.
Once she had dropped in to see him without
letting him know that she intended to do
such thing.
He had looked up from his desk to see her
standing before him, her head thrown back
smile in her eyes and with an exclamation
he had sprung to his feet.
For a moment he forget the presence OF
Miss Reeves, the secretary, who sat with her
pencil suspended in the air, staring at Anne:
H. he
corning SteeIe's wife, and this was the first
time any one had seen her. Miss Reeves was
an incurabe romantic. She had invested
Steeles marriage with all kinds of romance,
but in her widest imagination she had not
pictured him married to anyone like this. She
sat there thrilled and breathless, her eyes
wide as she looked from Anne to her en-
ployer.
And then suddenly Steele recovered him
self and with few curt words, dismissed
her unceremoniously. She rose reluctantly
and left the room, but outside she engaged
Miss Joseph, the filing clerk, in conversation.
'"Talk about your love stories" she calculated
breathessly, my dear, wish you could have
seen him. He didn't know l was there; he
didn't have eyes for anything but her. If
hadn't seen it myself I wouldn't have believed
it possible"
Miss Joseph thrilled appropriately and for
a few moments the two conJectured wildly
about the match, the eyes of both girls fixed
eypectantly on the door of Steele's private
office.
Inside, Steel, with an effort had recovered
himself He had crushed back the impulse to
sweep Anne into his arms, and while she
chatted lightly of wanting to see where he
worked, and hoping that she hadn't inter
rupted anything important, he was arguing
sternIy with himself. He had said good-0y 10
Anne not two hours ago at the apartment. He
was behaving idiotically, like schoolboy. He
mustn't let himself go like this. And yet
the fact remained that he didn't care Her
presence stirred him to recl1lessness, aud all
his dignity was swept away by the elfn APP
peal in a pair of long-lashed tawny-cOlored
eyes.
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