New Britain herald., 1928-01-24
M@~1 @,o By Beatrice Burton lvlOllCV LOv S Shoulders"
 The
CHAPTER LIV

, ctdIty 0dt OU"u Nt tuo OIcAhIaD table, pushing back an egg stained plate and a soiled napkin to make i. a place for hts pearl gray hat. He was curiously out of place 1T . the room that never had had . real ly good cleaning since Lily had beer at home. For Mrs. Lexington, whe was a born commander and knew how to get plenty of work out oi everybody else. did not know how tc make herself work.
 And 70 the silver was dim on the
 buffet, the table cloth was none too clean. and the furniture did not
 shine like dark brown glass as il
 had in the old days.
 Against that background Staley was as sleek and well-groomed as a chorus man. His skin was pink from a recent bath and shave, his hair and his little blond mustache glistened from some kind of pomade. His col lar was spotlcss. His necktie looked as if it never had been tied before.
 But the sight Of him did not thrill Lily as the sight of Pat with grease on his overalls and grease on his face always thrilled her. Pat! She put him out of her mind. She was through with him because he was through with her, and that was the end of it. The end of an adventure that had gone on the rocks.
 No use thinking about it," Lily decided. setting down her coffee cup and giving Staley one of those quick. brilliant smiles that made her lovely face even lovelier than when it was grave and unsmiling.
 T suppose you mean he came to see me about getting . divorce your lawyer friend, Staley." she said, and then she drew deep breath well, I'm ready to talk to him."
 That surprised Staley. She saw the look of astoniShment and relief that swept across his face.
 Well, I'm certainly glad to hear that" he said. There's no use de- laying things, now that you've made up your mind at last"
 Now that I've made up my mind." Lily echoed and got up from her chair. Well, let's go and talk to him. Whats his name. Manton?"
 The lawyer was a ferret-faced little man with . sharp nose. sharp blue eyes. and sharp chin below Ia perfectly straight mouth. He look ed as sharp and clever as Staley had always said he was. i But Lily did not like him. How can I talk to him about Pat?" she asked herself as he shook her hand with his cold dry one. What busi- ness is it of his that Pat and I didn't get along?"
 If he had been . special enemy of hers. she could not have disliked him any more than she did. sitting down with him ill the dusty living room Of the house.
 Now, Mrs France" he began lay Ii ing the pale thin tips of his fingers together, II understand that your husband would not provide . home of your own for you when you first married him."
 ~"Who told you that?" asked Lily sharply, and from the look that the lawyer shot at Staley she knew that he had told him.
 Never mind. Go on." she said quickly.
 The lawyer gave a small. sour looking smile. Perhaps you would better tell me all this. yourself. Mrs. France" he suggested. Tt might be better if you would start right at tho beginning of your marriage to Patrick Franco and tell mo every thing about it.
 Lily opened her lips to speak and then closed them again. What was there that she could say against Pat in all honesty? She searched her mind and could think of nothing except his friendship with Elizabeth Ertz. And there really was very little to that. Only. of course. she had been in his apartment that day . month ago when Lily had made up her mind to go back to Pat and stay with him. Surely that had not looked 70 we'll.
 Let me talk to you alone" she said finally to the lawyer, and turn ed her head to staley. You under stand. Staley, that it is very hard for me to go into all this, don't you. l and you won't mind if l ask you to go out of the room. will you?" Staley probably did mind. but he did not say 50. He simply shrugged his shoulders and went sauntering out of the room whistling a little tune.
 When he was gone Lily got up and stood before the lawyer. She drew a deep breath like a | runner getting ready for race OF a swimmer for . dive. { For the first time in her life she was going to tell the truth when it was hard to tell the truth. When, at any other time in her twenty three years, she would have dressed up the truth to suit her own pur- poses.
 But now she simply could not lie about Pat. She found she simply could not blacken lis character 10 this lawyer. She could not make i! him out something that he was not. even though to do 50 meant her ! freedom and her marriage to Etalev