Beverly banner. [volume] (Beverly, N.J.) 1877-1964, 1924-10-31
JOSSELYN'S WIFE
CHAPTER TX

4
ten days, like everyone else in the
house she had been undergoing ire
mendous mental adjustments. But
more sensible or more adaptable than
I the others, she had disciplined herself
| to accept the new order of things.
Ellen had the advantage of some prep
aration, whereas the events of the
memorable Wednesday had fallen upon
the others like a thunderbolt. She had
suspected, doubted. and dreaded, for
many heartsick days and weeks be-
fore the crisis came, and now, while
they all suffered in their separate ways
from the shock, Ellen even experienced
a desperate satisfaction. 1t was over:
Gibbs loved her no longer, and he
knew that she knew 1t.
| For a few days the repetition of this
| fact gave her an empty, vague feeling.
and sensation of fatigue. She was
always tired, and her head felt always
confused. Gibbs loved her no longer.
| Well, what next then? She had
faced terrible things before. The old
leather harness, for instance, and the
feverish days of pain in the old dining
room, by the alright stove. And later
winter days, in Paris now, when she
had reused in the night to listen to
the baby's uneven breathing and had
wakened to remember that the crib
was gone, that Rose was gone-Rose
was gone!
And now she must keep sane, and
face these new, strange things. Gibbs,
her own husband, loved another wom-
an more than his wife, and Joe, the
| little brother whose simple, sturdy
integrity had seemed to shine in so
brilliant a contrast to this life of n.y.
pocrisies and affectations, Joe had
caused misery and harm, and must
take furnished record into his new
| life as a husband.
| Brooding on these things day and
| night, yet Ellen forced herself to a
certain desperate courage. She dressed
in her usual scrupulous, quaint way,
she made herself walk and read, and
enter into Tommys life She met
Gibbs stern and moody unresponsive-
ness with tranquil gravity, with his
father alone she was more like her
! old sunshiny self. Lillian and Ellen
barely spoke to each other, except for
the unavoidable civilities whose omis-
sion would have caused talk among the
servants.
Josselyn, Senior, had somewhat
withdrawn into himself since the trip
to the studio, and had asked his wife
to cancel all engagements for week
or two. Lillian amiably obeyed and
after that the silence and chill of hid
den anger and suppressed fear fell
upon the "villino dell Orto" Once
George Lathrop came to dinner, and
for few hours the shadow lifted. and
now and then Joe came in, perceiving
that something was wrong, but assun-
ing, as they were all assuming, that
everything was normal and pleasant
between the Josselyns. Otherwise
they were alone.
Lillian was bewildered and made
little uneasy by the suddenness with
which this change in atmosphere had
come about, because, as she told her
| self a dozen times day, nothing had
| happened, after ALL When Tom and
Ellen had SO abruptly entered the
studio, on that eventful Wednesday
morning, she had been ready with her
laughing explanation of her presence
there and she had seen that they &C
cepted 1t. Lillian was not the woman
to be caught unprepared In such
situation.
The smiling greeting with which she
| had risen to meet them: "Ah, now
you've spoiled 1t ALL" was daunting in
Its bright sincerity. She had had
| kiss for her husband, she had had an
arm about Ellen as she elucidated:
TON, darling, we've been scheming
and scheming for chance to get my
picture painted for your birthday
what bad luck brought you in today?"
And Gibbs had promptly and con-
cernedly followed her lead.
"And how'd you get In, Dad? The
car broke down with Lillian yesterday
on the Great Neck hill-Torrens got
in as far as the service station-did
he telephone your"
"And had to telephone the Wal
laces.' Lillian added, wide-eyed, "and
Tom, I simply invited myself to stay
with old Mrs. Pepper at Great Neck all
night didn't telephone you because
had this date for an early sitting
with Gibbs" ses
"Take a look at itr's Gibbs said, at
the easel. "Awfully rough now. of
counsel It's just laid in" The old
man, studying the canvas, nodded.
"Still, you've caught itw he said.
Gar broke down. ehy'
"No. 1t was skidding," Lillian. at
her husbands side, also looking at the
portrait, explained. "The ROAD was
simply lined with cars, Tom. Il was
showing hard, you know. and got
| terribly nervous. Finally Torrens gave
1t up, too. He's been talking about
l 4 l.