The Wilmington morning star., 1947-07-02
CHAPTER EVE

had stopped of at her studio.
CHAPTER SEVEN
John had wakened to find Henri.
etts smiling at him and making
tea and he had smiled back al
her.
mot at all according to plan,'
he said.
Does it natter"
mo. No. You are rather a nice
person, Henrietta His eyes went
to the bookcase. eff you're inter
ested in this sort Of thing, I'll gel
YOU the proper stuff to read"
I'm not interested in this sort
Of thing. I'm interested in you.
John"
"You can't read Scobell." He
took up the offending volume.
The mans a charlatan."
And she had laughed. He could
not understand why his stric'
lures on Scobell amused her SO.
But that was what, every now
and then, startled him about Hen
rietta. The sudden revelation, dis.
concerning to him, that she was
able to laugh at him.
He wasn't used to it. Gerda took
him in deadly earnest. And Veron-
lea mad never thought about any
thing but herself. But Henrietta
had a trick o. throwing her head
back, and looking at him through
half-closed eyes, with a sudden.
tender, half : hooking little smile,
az though she were saying: lie
me have a good look at this funny
person called John. Let me
get a long way away and look a
him"
1t was, he thought, very much
the same as the way she screwed
UP her eyes to look at her work
or a picture. 1t was-darn it all
it was detached. He didn't wan
Henrietta to be detached. HI
wanted Henrietta to think only o:
him, never to let her mind stray
away from him.
C"Just what you object to il
Gerda, in fact" said his private
imp, bobbing up again.)
The truth of it was he was com
pletely Illogical. He didn't know
what ne wanted.
q want to 60 home. VIVA
an absurd, what a ridiculou!
phrase. 1t didn't mean anything.
In an hour or so at any rate
he'd be driving out Of London
torgttting about sick people witt
their faint, sour, wrong smell
=. shifting wood smoke and pine:
and soft autumn leaves. The
very motion of the a would be
soothing - that smooth, effortles:
increase of speed.
But it wouldn't he reflected sud
denly, be at all like that because
owing to Z slightly strained wrist
Gerda would have to drive, ane
Gerda, heaven help her, had new
sr been able to begin to drive g
car! Every time she changed
gear, he would sit silent, grinding
his teeth together, managing mo-
10 say anythin because he knew
by bitter experience, that when he
cid say anythin Gerda became
Immediately worse. Curious tina
no one had ever been able tt
teach Gerda to change gear-no1
even Henrietta. He'd turned he1
over to Henrietta, thinking tina
Henrietta's enthusiasm might dc
better than his cwn irritability.
For Henrietta loved cars. She
spoke of cars with the lyrical in
] tensity that other people gave tt
spring, or the first snowdrop.
Isn't he a beauty, John:
Doesn't he just purr along? Fo1
Henrietta's cars were always mas
cullne.) He'll do Bale Hill IN thire
not straining at al-quite effort
less. Listen to the even way he
! ticks over"
Until he had burst out suddenly
and f~uriously:
Don't you think, Henrietta, you
Could pay some attention to me
and forget the darned car for q
minute or two!"
He was always ashamed Of
tnese outbursts.
he never knew when they Woulc
come upon him cut Of a blue sky
1t was the same thing over hel
work. He realized that her work
vas good. He admired it-anc
mated tat the same time.
The most furious quarrel he hao
lad with her had arisen over that
Gerda had said to him one day;
Henrietta has asked me to ST
for her"
"What?" His establishment hac
not r he came to think Of it, beer
Nattering. "YOU?"
Yes I'm going ever to the stu
co tomorrow"
! What on earth does she want
YOU for?"
No, ne hadn't been very polite
aoout it. But luckily Gerda hadn'1
Isallzed that fact. She had looked
LEASED about it. He suspected
henrietta Of one Of those i%nsincere
4 h1honesses Of hers-Gerda, per
b Eraps' had limited that she woulo
Il IKE to be modelled. Something Of
that kind.
q linen, about ten days later, Ger
"a mad shown him triumphantly a
'NIall plaster statuette.
e ~. IN was a pretty thing - techni-
saAs skillful like all of Henrietta's
ID r~ofk' 1t localized Gerda - and