The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1939-09-27

oACCVC oAA0 lil11D WdS VI IlLLlG use.
His hands were clumsy.
Sorry to keep you all waiting,
Tony said. She moved into the
drawing-room, swinging her pale
chiffonS clearly as though she were
cutting through them with her
stride.
She went directly to the table
and opened cigarette box. She Lit
her own cigarette and blew a ring
of smoke into the air. II was look
ing for bauble that / wanted to
wear with this frock," she said.
We'll, come along, dear. We
don't want to be late. Mrs. Brew
ster is. stickler for punctuality.
She said dinner at eight" Olivia
was trying to get her party to-
gether.
what kind of bauble?" Philip
said to Tony.
"A sapphire bracelet. 1t doesn't
really matter only / was quite
sure l had seen it there when l got
out my clip this morning"
you've probably misplaced it."
Philip consoled.
Tony didn't answer. She swept a
deep blue velvet cape over her
shoulders.
It wasn't easy getting a party of
eight off in two cars. Everyone ap-
parently wanted to be Self-sacri-
ficing and ride in the station
wagon. Olivia was mildly exas-
perated and finally m ag e d
things her own way to discover
that she had forgotten her evening
purse when they were ready to
start. Philip went back for it.
ut can't be Vickersport!" Cecily
murmured to Manuel Fernandez
while she stood beside him in front
of the hearth in Mrs. Brewster's
drawing-room.
Page From The Past
CHE slipped her dry sherry - no
- cocktails were served at Mrs.
Brewster's-and played with the
fancy that the station wagon had
been magic carpet. It couldn't be
that outside, within calling dis
lance of these high ceilinged
rooms, there were the familiar
simplicities. Calder's lobster store.
Her own small book-shop. Sim
plicities and informalities. She was
glad that she had never before
seen the inside of this great house.
She would never have dared to in
Yite the auStere Mrs. Brewster to
her own party, served her from
paper plates.
The slender -stemmed glass that
she held in her hand rang with the
touch of fingernail. The design of
it's cutting caught and reflected
points of light from the number
less candles that studded the cut
glass sconces on either side of the
old-fashioned hearth, the chande-
lier that hung from the center Of
the high ceiling. It was amazing
what a brilliant light the candles
gave, how Electrically it set off the
appointments of the room. Horse
hair and needlepoint. Carved rose
wood and black marble. Snuff
boxes and old fashioned photo
graphs in carved silver frames.
There were no aSh-trayS.
At Cecily's left, the long, narrow
windows were shrouded in drawn
damask curtains of rich amethyst
Cecily, slipping her sh Jerry,
thought: IT were to peer through
them ] should not see Vickersport
on mild September evening.
should see Boston's Common
wealth Avenue on a crisp wintry
night in the Nineties. There would
be hanson cab stopping before
the house. would be flufing my
hustle, touching a nervous finger
to my frizzed bang, biting my lips
to make them red because the gen.
tleman getting out Of the cab-the
gentleman in the silk hat, looking
like Richard H arding Davis
would be Locke.
She knit her brows together and
looked into the amber liquid in her
glass as she raised it; the picture
was wrong-Somehow she couldn't
fit Locke into any theatrical pic
lures. twas Philip who fitted the
atrical roles. She looked around
for Philip. She couldn't see him.
She wondered when, if ever,
they were going in to dinner. It
seemed an hour since she had been
presented to Lady Rathbone, Lord
Rathbone, the dusty Misses Smith
ers from Portland.
Tony Richardson crosse d the
room and stood at Cecily's side.
You're quite sure we were in
vited for dinner?" she murmured
Cecily smiled wanly, conveying
her complete understanding.
II wouldn't be bit surprised to
find Governor Bradford on my left
and Governor Brewster on my
right" Tony'S innocent expression
indicated that she was engaged in
the most polite conversation as she
continued, 'What.did you think of
the powder room? can't wait to
get back and look back of things"
Cecily found it hard to keep
straight face. The powder room"
or ladies' dressing room was bed
room. Big. Black. Overpowering.
Gargantuan furniture, a dresser
with a dish of large bone hairpins
and a Jar of talcum powder as
overtures to modern necessities Of
makeup. They had been directed
to it by an elderly maid-servant.
Ladies dressing room on the
right. Gentlemen will please leave
their things in the bedroom at the
end of the hall"
Cecily had wanted to peek into
the rooms she passed in that long,
narrow hall. Echoes of the past al
ways fascinated her.
Later, slipping soup that could
have been nothing less than nectar,
Cecily thought that it couldn't
have been so completely unpleas-
ant living in the Nineties if they