The Coolidge examiner., 1936-10-02
m Frances Shelley Wees

mother lifted her eyes and looked
at Pillar frankly. You modern girls
are so honest and open," she said.
"In my day a girl would never have
dared to make such statement
about man. She would have been
afraid of being misunderstood
Misunderstood" Pillar murmured,
ficking open the lighter.
I'm my day." Grandmother ex-
planned, there were few young
men such as our dear Bryn, so
handsome, so eligible in every way,
so fine. If a girl had been his friend
always, as you have been, my child,
then she would have been expected
to marry him. and, indeed, she
would herself have expected to
marry him. | do not quite under
stand the new camaraderie which
allows of such close friendships
without any thought of marriage or
romantic love. In my day, so
queerly uncontrolled was human ma
ture then, the sort of friendship
you mention would have been po-
tentially dangerous if either the
girl or the man-particularly the
man-married elsewhere"
Pillars eyes narrowed the faint
est trifie against the light as she
looked at Grandmother. Grand
mother was sitting up a little
straighter than Deborah had seen
her sit for some time, and there
was little pink in her cheeks. But
her eyes as they met Pillars were
calm and kind, and Deborah pushed
away the thought that Grandmoth-
er suspected something and was
taking her own way to combat the
hint of danger.
Pillar rose and stood for a mo-
ment, tall and liSSOme and full of
grace, beside the door. She was
smiling. Customs are very differ
ent nOw," she murmured, and
begged to be excused, and went out
through the door.
There was d little silence when
Pillar was gone. Deborah looked up
from the puppy to find Grandmoth-
er stitching away placidly again.
her eyes on her material, and Sally
and Madeline looking at each other
with steady meaning. Sally and
Madeline didn't understand. They
didn't know what it must have been
like for Pillar to love Bryn, to have
loved him for years, and then to
have him suddenly marry another
girl. They didn't know what it
meant to love Bryn. Simon and
Tubby were all right, of course, and
perfect darlings, but they weren't
Bryn. Deborah's eyes burned. and
the bad lump came back in her
throat.
There was knock at the door. 1t
was one of the maids, wanting Deb.
orah. The cook would like her or
ders, the maid said respectfully.
Deborah went out and shut the
door behind her.
Deborah stumbled down the hall
toward the kitchen. In her minds
eye she could see herself sitting on
the wall the other night, with Bryn
leaning close beside her. She re-
membered what she had wanted to
do. Bryn's face was so close. and
he was such dear; she had want
ted TO take his face between her
own two palms and bend down and
put her cheek against his forehead.
She had almost done it when he
said Deborah, do you like
me at all?" But now she was
glad she hadn't done it, because he
wouldn't have wanted her to. 1t
was Pillar he loved. He had said
so. He had told her how dearly he
loved this other girl and if
she hadn't been so blind she would
have seen instantly that his telling
her of the other girl was sure proof
that he didn't love her, Deborah.
And if he did love Pillar so dear
ly, then Pillar was very lovely
person. Madeline and Sally didn't
like her, but they didn't understand.
And Bryn's heart must ache, now,
to think that he was shut away
from Pillar for so long; and Pillar
must be suffering dreadfully.
When she was finished in the kit
chen, Deborah went up the back
stairs swiftly and along the hall to
her room. Someone came lightly
along the hall, and she caught her
breath lest it should be Bryn. But
it was. instead, Pillar; and she was
in search of Deborah. for her own
room was down in the other wing
with Grandmother's She glanced
in through the open door.
"Ah, there you are, sweetie," she
said. Il wondered if you'd run
away. Where've you been?"
Il was down in the Kitchen"
Deborah explained, praying that her
voice sounded as usual. Then |
came up to get some embroidery.
find myself with no work at all
TO do these days"
Pillar was watching her. You
are refreshing" she sighed. But
really, Deborah. you must begin to
make some changes in your life, or.
you will be completely bewildered