Evening star., 1938-04-17
A story you read twice

with a warm, tawny glow. A few
moments before when Louise, the maid, had
come into the room she had thought it empty.
As she made the usual round, watering the
potted plants and ferns, she came upon the
Comtesse Freya stretched out eyes closed,
on the petit point couch which faced the half
,opened French windows.
"Tiens tiens Louise muttered dis
Rapprovingy under her breath
As the heavy door closed behind Louise,
the Comtesse Freya stirred and stretched her
lovely body in the sunlight grateful for its
.warmth and cheerfulness. Well. indeed, might
Louise have muttered, ITEMS tiens -.
tunder her breath But Louise's shocked
tsensibilities or her problems of household
management were of little concern to the
:Comtesse Freya.
1t was good to lie in the sun on Pierres
sofa, in Pierre's book filled room. with his
things all about her. The years she had
spent with Pierre had not dulled the pleasure
she found in just being surrounded by his
possessions Next to being with him, to be
with his things gave her sense of security
and JOY
And vet today she was afflicted with a
Whenever he went out she was always
impatient for his return, but today his absence
seemed longer than usual.
Did Pierre still find her lovely? Would he
always want to caress her sleek soft throat
with his fingertips? Did he still find JOY in her
chiseled features?
The Comtesse Freya drew her shoulders
together and her long slim face quivered
slightly as she looked across the Seine. Where
was Pierre? Why did he not returno Perhaps
it was foolish, she pondered, to let her happi
ness be wrapped up 50 completely IN one
human being, but Pierre had never betrayed
her faith
Her thoughts, as she lay there, wandered
back to her husband with complete lack of
emotion. Hers had been marriage of con-
venience Thorwald had been good fellow
but not overly intelligent. The supreme
passion of his life had been his army corps
For it he had lived and in it he had died.
She had really never known fufllment until
she came to live with Pierre. How we'll she
had been staying at the old Generals palace.
He had been her guardian from her earliest
youth, and the guardian Of her children. His
ideas were strict, and he took his guardianship
as seriously after Thorwald's death as he
had before her marriage.
OF course she had deep affection for the
old General, but she was still young then, and
romance still beckoned to her.
On that particular day, heady with the
scents of spring. she had stolen, alone and
unobserved, from the palace. She could
remember with pleasure, even now, how soft
and springy and free the turf had felt beneath
her feet as she walked along the tree shaded
alleys of the bois. She had come to a little
hidden place in the forest, where grassy bank
ran down to little pool circled by sweet
Towering shrubs.
She must have been lost in the spirit of
the forest, trying to understand herself and
the things that were surging within her, when
she came upon Pierre.
How we'll she could recall that first sight
of him, sitting on bench in that enchanted
spot, looking so lonely and so appealingly
young. She had passed him self-consciously
and been slightly shocked to realize that she
half hoped he would speak to her. She was
forever being spoken to on the street. but
always she had been superior to such en-
counters.
She realized, though, that if this man spoke