Evening star., 1933-11-06
BARGAIN IN L0yE&l
by JANE DIXON ES5sI,A

long this farce. There's no need Of it,
now that we're-we're-married."
The Puck in Mathilda wanted 10
laugh. She submerged Puck.
But now that you are married" she
said, there's very good reason for
Jeffrey's remaining"
There's no reason" She turning the
! passion of her protest toward Jeffrey.
We're not married-really. We went
through some stupid motions I'm not
! hurting myself into the arms of any
man, not even for Tommy, not for my
mother, not for-Oh. Godl What's the
use. The whole thing is q joke. A
horrible, revolving joke"
jeffrey stood still for moment, his
feet apart as though he braced himself
against blow. Danger signals fared
behind the granite that was his face,
rough-hewn, jutting
Better turn in, Sue" he said. eff
you should need me, I'll be in Mathilda's
room. For the benefit of the servants
or any one who might be curious, your
head is troubling you. Mathilda's look
ing after you"
Sue, witheringly: Don't bother about
/ my head. I'll take care of it, or what's
left Of it, after your relatives stop trying
to knock it off my shoulders. As for
the marriage joke, it ceases to amuse
me. The sooner it is ended, the sooner
shall be able to enjoy a real laugh"
What was she saying? Why was she
flagellating herself with bitter words,
hurting them at jeffrey?
Ring for the maid" jeffrey raped
out the order. Ask her to bring ice
and congresses If you don't need them,
theyll make convincing DroDS. I'll ar
range tomorrow to be called to Mexico"
The outer door closed Not too
gently.
Dawn oozing through the windows,
damp and chill. Sue. moving cautiously.
She must not disturb Math1lda. Out of
bed, across the thick pile of the
carpet as softly as cat stalking
bird, and she was in the living room of
the suite.
The night had been interminable,
without the healing balm Of snatch
Of Sleep Forced inaction, while her
mind spun crafty, had cramped her
body and soul. She had insisted that
Mathilda share her bed Mathilda's
comfortable bulk close beside her was
tangible. All else illusion!
Jeffrey was leaving her Jeffrey was
going to Mexico. To those mines he
had told her about on the ship. Tomor-
row, the next day, maybe today, Jeffrey
would be gone. Inexorably.
Well, why not? Wasn't that the bar
gain? He did not contract to remain
with her once they were married. A
month, two months, three months some
place or other, some resort worthy a
Randall, no doubt, and she'd be free.
Free and independent. Free to come
and go as she chose. Paris The Riviera.
Egypt. She had always imagined Spain
must be the most romantic country in
the world-Moorish Spain. Shed take
Tommy with her.
But she couldn't be Juggling Tommy
to the four corners of the earth. Tommy
would De in school, preparing to be a
lawyer like his father. Preparing to do
Things. Big things. Honorable things.
Shed have to travel the gilded way
alone, or share it with strangers Oh,
she'd meet plenty of fascinating strang-
ers Shed be gay and giddy and ex-
travagant and-a little wild. The enig-
matte but, oh, so alluring Mrs. Santry
Randall. No. Mrs. Sue Santry. The
Randall must be dropped. Wiped out so
that not even an imprint of the pencil
on this page of her life remained.
Trunks. Three of them. Over by
the windows. She hadn't noticed them
before. Why had they been left out
here? Three trunks filled with beauti-
ful expensive clothes The kind of
clothes she had dwadled before shop
windows coveting ever since she had
come to work In the city. ~
Her mind raced again. Alarningly.
Shed have to stop it. Stop, mind. You're
trying to cheat me. You can't cheat
me. have right to those trunks, to
everything in them. I'm paying. III
go on paying. Oh-what have done
you've got to stop torturing me
Sue. shuddering, hiding her face In
the pillows Of the couch. Conviction
stared at her across her shoulder
Laughed In her face. Shrieked with
laughter. She could not stop her ears
against those shrieks: "You don't want
the clothes in the trunks. Now that
you have them, you don't want them.
They're so many rags. Paris. Egypt,
Spain? You don't want to go. You
want to stay here. You can't. Here
is not In the bargain. Fooll Thought
you could buy happiness, did you? It's
not for sale. You win ii, you earn It,
It's in your heart. Your heart goes
with you, no matter what you wear, no
matter how far you go. Stronger than
fate. are you? Ha, ha, ha,-you lose.
You lose Jefflp
Sue. leaping to her feet fleeing into
the room where Mathilda's comfortable
bulk offered mound of refuge Under
the covers. The shrieks died away into
ghost echoes. Sue slept the sleep of
utter exhaustion.
(To be continued)