Evening star., 1925-12-07
CONTINUED from Yesterdays Starr
CHAPTER XIII.
Startling News.

Had young Lord Dorminster been
| looking into Joannas face when he
finished he would have been puzzled
by what he saw. She had been fire
white while he told her that they"
We're saying she had stolen all of
| Yvonne Coutant's lovers. Slowly the
brown sheen of her eyes had crept
back until they were almost black.
The round red lips had set in a
straight line. But Teddy didn't look
at the girl beside him. The echo Of
his last words hardly had died when he
went into a funk with himself. He
looked straight ahead, between his
mounts ears, and inwardly cursed.
| Teddy Dorminster was not the kind
to say that sort Of thing about any
body, to anybody, much less repeat 1t
as the gossip Of others. He was
sorry, and damned his lapse. When
he did glance. timidly. at Joanna her
| face had cleared, the brown had come
back between her lids, and her lips
had relaxed. She detected his chagrin
at himself and was conscious of his
sidelong glance. In mute acknowl-
| edgement of both she reached across
with her riding crop and patted his
! sleeve lightly.
They came, just then, upon the ap-
| proaches to the little wooden shrine
of st. Devote. BY common impulse,
and wordlessly, they pulled up their
mounts. Dorminster held his hand
! for Joanna's foot as she stepped to
the ground. He tied the bride straps
together and followed her when she
| strolled to a stone bench under clus-
| ter Of pepper trees.
Il say" he exclaimed shyly, I'm
cut up, YOU know, about popping OF
| like that, l shouldn't have fouled
kenilworth. and as to Yvonne-''
She interrupted him. And I shouldn't
have asked YOU she comforted him,
Ito tell me the things people are say.
ing. Because, you see, / have known
| right along. l was only curious TO
| hear If there was anything new. That
about Prince Michael and me was"
Just the same" he insisted. ''it was
! rotten of me. III have TO see Kenil.
worth and tell him what I've said to
you. It's the only way"
You're a stickler for hono-, aren't
you, Teddy"
For the sporting thing, anyway"
! Il wonder sometimes II you don't
think it's just the sporting thing TO
do to make believe you are in love
| with me. and that, if I'd let you.
you'd make me your countess and be
az true as YOU could be forever after?
I'm vain and wicked and frivolous,
You know, and I fancy YOU think II
would be sporting to take charge OF
me, who am all alone. and keep me
out Of the abyss
His protests were hot at his lips,
| and his throat was crammed with
things he wanted to say. But her
calm look invoked a sudden change
OF mood. While she waited for him
to find the words for which he seem
ed to be scraping the ground with
his crap the st. Devote woods We're
very peaceful, only the busy chatter
Of birds breaking the stiffness.
NO" he said at last slowly. as if
he carefully weighed his conclusions,
there's nothing sporting about q
mans regard for woman. It's
either honest or it's not You can't
| make a sporting deal out of it either
! way. I've watched you since that
time, a year ago, when ! stumbled
onto you in Yvonnes drawing room
in New York. I've seen you fight
for understanding Of all the crooked
things that went on about you I
could have helped you learn many
times, but I knew you'd fathom
everything in your own way. A girl
| does that nowadays. There's a lot,
perhaps, that I don't know about
| what's really inside Of you, but I've a
heart that doesn't grieve over any.
thing my eyes can't see. / wouldn't
care, you know. whether you fell into
the abyss, or whether you were so
innocent you didn't know that any
| thing that shouldn't be could be
However you are, I'd like awfully to
have you marry me. I'm honestly in
love with YOU
y whimsical smile played with the
corners of her mouth. Il remember, "
she said, that you promised me that
first Gay at Yvonne's that you would
be awfully fond of me-" The smile
disappeared and left her wistful "And
l rerrember, too, that you are the only
one. Teddy, who has turned out to
be just what 1 thought you would be
All the rest are different from what
| I expected"
Are you, too. different from what you
thought you'd be-"
She laughed gayly, but all she said
was. Heaps" After a while she
added. but we mustn't reminisce
Teddy. 1t may transpire that some
riminiscences. If that happens. III
want them all saved up. You'll be one
of the best Of them"
He caught her hand when she rose
and held her. She did not draw away
but stood quietly, her eyes meeting
his. She was so close to him that
he felt the warmth and tenderness
| OF her and that she was almost
breathless. For one brief instant his
brair: went into a riot and he was
| dizzy. When his head cleared he felt
her crushed against him and realized
that it was his own arms that were
holding her there, holding her SC
tightly that already her lips were pal
ing. He would have dropped his
arms and released her. but she
caught them and let him understand
that she was yielding. She was even
holding her pale lips to him. wher
at last she stirred he kissed her
again and then freed her. Before she
drew back she said to him:
II would like to love you. Teddy
and II could I would. No one has
ever said so fine a thing to me az
you have-that you'd not only wan,
me, but take me however I am. Tha,
is so different from being told thai
I'm wanted, but mustn't he had' I'l