The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1940-07-15
Chapter 10
Painting Critic

Painting Critic
DEREK'S mother had kept him
- just long enough to extract a
substantial settlement from Greg
Dry Knowles, then shipped him
back to Eton, a boy disillusioned.
embittered from seeing things he
should not have seen; a sensitive
lad, too interpretive. turning
with all the Jealous starved fer
yor Of his emotional nature to
music.
At eighteen his father took him
% New York to live witn his STEP
mother, a charming, quiet wo-
man who was good to him. Trou-
ole came. Loyal to his stepmother.
hating violently his fathers new
found love, sleek young actress.
ne stayed on with the second Mrs.
Knowles until, inadvertently. he
learned that she, too. was using
him as a pawn.
At nineteen he demanded to go
abroad to study: his accusing, vio-
lent dark eyes meeting his ia
theirs. He listened to copybook
maxims, to fumbling words of at
tempted explanation and recon-
Citation, took his letter of credit
and sailed alone.
But he could not escape being
Derek Knowles, heir to a huge
fortune, rich in his own right, at
twenty-one, from legacy of his
paternal grandmother He was
news. He was the son of Gregory
Knowles, fnancier, capitalist.
Girls clutched at him. fawned
over him, pursued him.
At twenty-one he was a cynic
about women. Until he met Lenore
Page.
"Nuts!" said Derek, sitting up
on the sand. Jams right. It's a
lot of fun to feel sorry for your
self"
About now, he thought, his
father would be hearing from his
lawyers that his son and only
heir was well on his way to
China.
Might as well be-" Derek re-
hected. "Pll never run into any
one know down here. I'm safe
enough. Safe from Lenore and Lea
and all their kind. / like it. I'm
going to stay"
He chuckled to himself over the
fact Of Jan hunting him a Job.
He'd never worked for anyone in
his life, except his music profess
sors; never earned a penny of his
own. 1t would be novel. at least
Certainly. today, he was in no
mood to cast himself into the
water. He wondered if a great deal
of money would spoil Jan. His
smile soured. He had no wish to
find out. She tolerated him; pitied
him, probably; would in all like
llhood try to manage him as she
did Lance and her House; but he
had no intention of letting her
know who he was or how rich he
vas. He'd try to earn enough
money to pay for his food and the
rest of the time, well, the hot sun
was pleasant. Tomorrow? 1t never
comes.
When Jan heard the trap door
lifted she knew it was Derek. No
one else would venture up here
to disturb her solitude. She didn't
want him here: didn't want him
10 see the quite lovely sweep of
beach and sky she had lust
sketched and painted with water
colors. Yet she sensed his coming
here was somehow inevitable.
I've come to bare your soul"
ne announced. striding toward
her, a grin on his arrogant face
You owe ii to me after yesterday
| should have left that piano
alone. ] knew better, but-let me
see your canvases."
Tender Kiss
BECAUSE the day was really
u warm, she had come up here
IN brief shorts and sun halter. AS
she kneeled down to take a half
dozen carefully-wrapped pictures
from the locker she felt Derek's
eyes on her.
you have a lovely figure" he
~0AAAAAGAtG0 Casually. NOE an
ounce OF fat on you"
'Tt must be the Melba Toast
and grapefruit diet, or maybe the
rowing machine in the attic which
l never use"
After all, what is an attic with
out a rowing machine? And fam
lily skeletons"
mo skeletons" she assured him.
~At least not Merriner skeletons.
Not yet anyhow"
Then there's no hope for you.
You can't be glamorous without
skeleton or two TO rattle. Here, let
me help you with those canvasesLD
Unwrapping one painting at
time. she handed il over for his
inspection. He held il I'D in varied
lights and squinted critically. She
tried to read his reaction from his
expression and could not. Fear
mounted In her; the certain fear
that he would confirm her own
opinion.
=Jan," he said, when the last
picture was back in its wrappings,
Il think you're on the wrong
track. You have ability, all right.
and an eye for line and color, but
well, bluntiy don't think
marines are your proper meter"