“The PAINTED LILY”

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 80, Issue 252, 23 October 1937, Page 5

“The PAINTED LILY”

Romantic Serial Story - - by ai! : “ms.'ile ;.,ai Till

Olive Wadsley

CHAPTER Vl.—(Continued.) Holly and she danced, and Ronnie sat back and felt a sweep again—married for money—and it was true. From the far side of the restaurant Iris Warden watched him. and wondered: slic itad had one of Hie blows of a life-lime that afternoon, and Vai had dealt it her. Vai's youth, and power, and position. It had never occurred to her that Ronnie was married. All she thought was that lie must be well off to be at tlic Ritz, and his gift of flowers, of such wonderful flowers, had served Io deepen this belief; then, out of nowhere, there Itad appeared this girl of the people, who had instantly revealed herself an enemy. Iris had spent the long evening alone in trying to fathom it all: she had no idea who Vai was, therefore she could not “place'* her. But that Ronnie was not in love with her, she was certain. That at least was to the goodl Now. to-night, site watched Holly dancing with Vai, and then watched Ronnie’s face. She knew it so well, and it wasn't happy now; really, this marriage was a complete mystery—and it was a mystery, too, where the girl had got. her clothes, not so much “where" as who had guided her taste? Her own party at which Renalucy, the big cinema man, was host in reality, bored her horribly. Renalder’s sleekness, his assurance, his deference, which was so very surface, all enraged her to-night. She said to him suddenly, smiling straight into his eyes: "There are some people I know just going out. Be a lamb, Ronnie, and ask the big fair man, he's called Sands, Ronald Sands, to join us at the Forty Club a> one o’clock? lie’ll do to dance with Violet and I can have you all alone." “Sure, I’ll go,” Renalder said pleasantly; he just caught Ronnie up in the big doorway, and Iris contrasted Ronnie's lean ’weather-beatenness with Renalder's carefully tailored heaviness, Ronnie's hard line of jaw, with Renalder's soft puffy face. She clenched her hand so hard the emerald cut into one finger. Renalder came back jauntily. “Ronnie Sands ’ll come,” he said suflicicntlv loudly for most tables to hear. Renalder had been impressed by Ronald somehow, and he was anxious to let him world know he was friendly with him. tlpstairs, having said good-bye to dolly and walking with Ronnie to the suite, Vai said: “You do mean to go then?" “I'd like to, if you don't mind,” Ronnie said easily. , ~ After all, Iris was his own sort, and she didn't make him feel a sweep, and he wasn’t tired, and he didn't feel like talking things out to-night. Vai seemed all right, very much ah right, if it came to that. She had got o’n with Holly splendidly. He held the door for Vai. “I’ve been given a room just across the corridor,” he said, “had all my sluff moved whilst we dined, so you 11 find all the cupboards and all that free. Goodnight, my dear, hope you 11

sleep " ~ “You're poing out to dance xviln Mrs Warden?” Vai asked, her head up. “Yes.” He was fed up, bored with questiontog. resentful for the first time. Vai laughed. “All right. Go on.” He looked at her, hesitated, turned and went off. Vai entered the suite, and. slamming the door, dashed to the telephone. “Give me Astoria, will you? Ask for Mr Chicjc Buchanan.” There was a pause, then Chick's voice, not very clear: “Lo—'lo —'10. Chick Buchanan speaking. Who the deuce are you?” “It's Vai.’ “What? Say, girlie, is it really you? Wh-a-a-t —will I take you out?—to a night club? You bet your sweet life 1 will. Be round beXore you’ve hung up!” CHAPTER VII. It was Iris Warden who drew Ronald’s attention to Chick’s flamboyant entrance. They were sitting together whilst Renalder and Mrs Randolph danced, and Iris had been talking of “old times.” very effectively, very, very delicately, very cleverly. She touched Ronald's arm now and said with a ripply of laughter: “Oh, <ln look, there’s that impossible youth they call the Copper King —he’s too common for words, I believe, and J hear he’s a frightfully bad hat, dishonest, a general rotter, but he’s tremendously good looking, don't you think?—rather like a hero of the wild west in a Kim! Something like that—spectacular and thrilling! But do look at his gold chains, his pearl sluds: really. Ronnie, mpst of all he's like an advertisement for all the jewel shops in the Rue do la Paix and Bond Street—he positively scint.ilales!” Ronald turned a lazy head, honestly, he was feeling tired, lie had regretted having come five minutes after he had left Vai, and now he was meditating cutting off back to the hotel at the earliest possible moment. lie regarded Chick Buchanan with very flagging interest, and turned back to Iris. “Well-built fellow,” he agreed casually. “He came out to see Vai and me this evening. Just after you’d left. Vai has known him for years, I believe.” Tris lit. another cigarette: the Introduction of Vai's name into the conversation brought her back tn reality with a jerk < all her subtlety, her dexterousness, born of long years of “managing” men. seemed at a loss to help her in this contingency, and yet exasperatingly Ronnie seemed, now, to embody all the qualities of the pal she most needed.

She looked at him, studying him attentively, closely, as he gazed at the dancing crowd. How awfully goodlooking he was! lie had always been that: but having to hit up against things, had given his face something

new, a certain recklessness, almost hardness. His hands, too. looked hard, capable of any toil, not a bit like the hands even of the Guardsman who had come back from the trenches, lie looked so marvellously fit—even the whiles nf his eyes were a sort of eggshell blue*

As if he felt Iris' wok. Tie turnon mil said wilh a smile. “Penny for cm I” ••They're worth much more, they vere about you," Iris said. "D'yoii mow. Ronnie, you're astonishingly mod-looking’, and I'm realising it a.l ver again?" Ronnie looked self-conscious Hum — .ell it. but some note in her voice, for di that, took him back ten years; he remembered. He pulled himself up sharply. dance, shall we, or are you too tired? he asked. “I’d love to,” Iris said eagerly. Ronald realised the mistake he had made the second she was in his arms. He had suggested dancing, because he had felt stirred, vaguely distressed even, for a moment, by memories ol the past: this dance was like a memory oecome tangible. It was Iris who broke tlio spell which Ronald was unwillingly, angrily admitting: she gave a little half turn, away from him, and said, clutching his hand tightly, “Oh, look!” Ronald looked, and saw Vai dancing with Chick Buchanan, in such an exaggerated way, that half the crowd was laughing, the other half looking supercilious. One glance at Buchanan's face was sufflicent to account for his travesty of dancing. “He can scarcely navigate, Ronnie found himself thinking, disgustedly. “I'll rescue Vai in a minute,” he said composedly to Iris. It was at that moment that Chick, performing a series of movements which served as battering rams to anyone who had the misfortune to get in his way, charged down upon Ronnie and I-ris. He brought up so close to them that his face was within a handsbreadth of Ronald's; his eyes were glittering, and his teeth showing in a half silly, half sneering way. “Hullo,” he said noisily. “Look who’s here. Vai!” He lurched a little and said directly' to Ronald: “Lucky you don’t care for taking your wife out—gives those who do a chance! Say, you know my partnei, what about making me known to touts, eh?”

j The room was patently intrigued; I everyone was listening. Ronald could i cheerfully have hammered Chick’s imipudent young face; instead, he said, I expressionlessly: i “I am going to take on your duly, i if I may, Buchanan, and see Vai home. 'She’s tired, and I am.” He put a hand on Vai’s, and in a ■second Chick’s came down on both, i “Oh, no, you don’t,” he said, with !a snarl, “Oh, no, you don’t! Vai rang ' me un and asked me to take her out, : and she’s with me. C’mon, Vai.” • lie had swung her away before Ronald could speak again; he watched them for a moment, then said to Iris: i “Let’s finish the dance, too, shall

They danced without speaking. Now and again, above the music, the laughter and talk of the other dancers, Chick's laugh would ring out. When the band stopped. Ronald took Iris to the table: Renalder had returned. “Say,” he said at once with a grin, “have you two seen the perfect peach the Copper King’s picked up? Some looker, eh? Wonder who she is? Everyone’s wondeHng in the room.” Ronald rose am lowered above sleek ’Hile Renalder. "I am in the enviable position of being able to satisfy a universal need, apparently!” he said lightly. “The lady is my wife, Mr Renalder. I’ll introduce you to her in a minute.” He turned, and crossed to the table where Chick was openly defying the law by pouring whisky from a goldtipped flask into his glass. Ronald met his upraised, challenging stare coolly. “I say, Vai,” he said to his wife, “some people here want to know you; will you come along and let me introduce them?” Chick burst out angrily and indistinctly with: “You go an’ play on your patch, see? Vai’s out with me, can’t you get that?” “Coming?” Ronald asked Vai and smiled at her. She half rose, and then Chick did a very unwise thing; he caught hold of her and pulled her down. “Wait here just one minute,” Ronnie said to Vai.

The table was quite close lo the door; he measured the distance, thought he could do it, then, so swiftly that Chick had no time to protest even, he caught his arm in a grip of steel, half lifted him out of his chair, and got him outside. It was a roof garden, and the lift was waiting across the small landing; Ronald and Chick landed in it together, and Ronald pulled the iron grill down. As he did so Chick hit him, furiously, with immense force. “All right,” Ronald gaSped out. He crouched, waiting to get his brealh back, for the dizziness to leave his head, then he closed with Chick. They fought, almost noiselessly in that liny space. Chick hitting anywhere, unconscious of fairness or fouls, Ronald wailing for his chance which came sooner that he had expected. lie was in a corner, Chick was lunging across, his back braced against the lift. Ronald let, him strike. Then in a flash his fist caught Chick’s jaw, clean on the point. He sagged down slowly, while Ronald, doubled up, panted heavily. He heard voices. Some people were coming out of the ball-room. He managed to move the lever and Hie lift slid down; two floors below he bundled Chick out, look his collar off. sent the lift, up, and prepared to walk up to the club. He frit very groggy, but. he persevered and reached the* clonk room, his face pretty well untouched, one scarlet bruise, on one car, a hit of a cut over Hie left temple. He tidied up. took his hat and went back to the ball-room. Vai was sitting just where he had left her. She started violently Ronald asked her gently, “Ready?” and held out his hand to help her with her cloak. (To be Continued). J