CHINA
FRIDAY SUPPLEMENT.
MANY times before to-
Hay, Coral Thornton won-
dered, looking down from her perch on the high step ladder with a pencilled library catalogue in her hand, had shẻ seen Stephen Con- way sitting as now at his table in. the oriel window, a shaft of after- noon sunshine outlining his hand- some profile and glinting on the faint patches of grey about his temples?
More times than she
could count, after working for threa months as his secretary. And yet to-day.
Suddenly he looked up, his blue eyes alight in a slightly Worn face. Her heart gave a strange little leap.
"Are you tired. child?" Conway asked kindly.
Coral shook her head. “Oh, no! But I've finished this shelf. What shall I do next?"
"Come down!" he laughed. "Type a letter for me, and then be off to enjoy yourself. You don't want to be shut up here .with musty old volumes on a summer day like this!”
"Yes, I do!". The colour rose faintly in Coral's camellia-pale face with its red lips and wide dark eyes. "I like cataloguing of I shouldn't have taken my If- brarian's course.".
"Come down, anyway," he re- peated. "Or must I fetch you?"
The blue eyes held the dark ones challengingly for a moment be- fore Coral started obediently to climb down the steps.
Short Story
Neither knew quite how it hap pened, but suddenly she slipped or caught her heel. Another se- cond and she was pitching for- ward into space--and into Stephen Conway's arms at the bottom. There was a moment while she clung to him too scared to think of anything but safety, another while she realised that he holding her strangely close. Then he had bent his handsome head and his lips had fallen warmly and passionately on hers
was
For a long minute he held her, realising that she, too, was hold- ing him, her kisses answering his own, while both were lost in # passion that had overwhelmed them. Then abruptly he released- her.
"Forgive me, dear!" His voice was hoarse. “But you're so sweet. I love you so, that I forgot—”
“And I love you too," Coral just breathed, drawing close again. "There's nothing to forgive, is there?" Her eyes sought his. ~"Darling!” he groaned. “I want you for my wife. And I'm too old for your lovely youth. Fought not to have "
"Why not?" Coral was lifting her lips to his again. "You're not old. And if we love each other does anything else matter Stephen ?"
The colour flooded her cheeks as she pulled his arm about again. All the Ardour
her
her
FEBRUARY 4, 1938
"NOT ONLY YOUTH"
young first love was his, too strong for any man's resistance, and after a brief struggle Conway gave in, ́
"Heaven knows. 1 want you, child!" he whispered with his lips against her cheek.
The engagement was to be se- cret for a while they decided.
It was Coral's wish and. Con- way could deny her nothing. He gave her a little posy ring that had been his mother's, to keep for the time being. Thrilling all over with childish delight she hung it on a fine gold chain ̈ ̈ ̈she wore Ground her neck for the mascot at- tached to it, smiling radiantly at the giver as it slipped to its hid- den place beneath her frock.
"Our secret!" she said with
glowing eyes. "Just yours and
mine!"
"Hullo, child, how late you are! Not overworking, now, are you' Dr. Thornton's eye ran enquiri ly over his daughter, who for once had not home to find her father back from his rounds before her.
Coral shook her head.
“Oh, no, I enjoy the work. We --we are getting on first rate with the library!"
Something in her voice made · the doctor glance rather sharply towards her.
"Does Conway work with you at that?"
"Sometimes. He's often away in London you know. To-day he
By Eva Bretherton
was down here.”
In spite of herself the colour had risen suddenly in Coral's cheeks and she turned quickly away.
"H'm! Has he no sons or daugh- ters to come
down and see him? I know he's been a widower some years.
**
"He has no family,” Coral said stiffly. "I think he's lonely some- times."
"I hope you're not getting fond of him or anything!”, Dr. Thorn- tor eyed his daughter uneasily again.
"I-I do like him very much- Coral admitted slowly, "I think he's wonderful in some ways" For a moment she confession
trembling on her lipe e
Only to have the impulse shat- tered by her father saying brisk- ly, in the relief of discovering, as he thought, mere hero worship on her part:
"Well, let it stop at that then, my dear! For anything more would never have my consent or approval. I want to see my daugh- ter married to a man of her own age some day!"-
He bustled off to his surgery, while Coral stood silent and un- happy by the window, seeing ahead of her the moment when she must battle with her father for the
· man she loved."
Half the night she tossed wake- fully, wishing she had a mother to intercede and make things easy
for her. Towards morning idea flashed into her mind.
an
́Her godmother, Susan Dacre, her dead mother's - oldest friend! She'd come! She always had come when Coral wanted her. London was not too far away, and surely in this moment of need—
The letter Coral wrote and slip- ped into the box next day was al- most an S.O.S. in its urgency. She gave a sigh of relief when it was posted once and for all.
Three days later the answer came, discreetly worked as she'd known a letter written by Susan Dacre would be.
Mrs. Dacre it appeared was feeling the heat in London. She thought of coming down for a week or two to the country house hotel whose grounds joined those of the doctor's house. She look- ed forward to being near her god- daughter and hoped that all was well with the lattere
That was all. But Coral hand- ed the letter to her father as she was meant to do, feeling, a weight of anxiety lifted from her mind. After which she returned to the dream world in which she had liv- ed since her secret engagement to her employer.
In all her busy young life, full to the brim with school and col- lege interests she had never really been in love before. In addition to which, the secrecy of the en- gagement added a strange glamour to her visits as secretary to the big house, whose owner waited day by day to take her eagerly in his arms when once the library door had closed.
A
In spite of her desire to see her god-mother it came almost as shock to realise that the day of Mrs. Dacre's arrival was here.
When she got home in the after- noon she found an immensely long Talbot car drawn up outside the door, and Susan Dacre, charming and beautifully dressed, as Coral always remembered her, waiting on the doorstep.
By the car was a young man, sunburnt, broad shouldered, bare- headed, his crisp dark hair Just ruffled by the wind...
Coral caught a glimpse of him as she hurried eagerly to be en folded in her godmother's embrace. A moment later they were shak- ing hands, to Susan's murmured.
"Darling-this is Ronald, my boy, just over from Canada for a month or two. He brought me down.”
Coral met the smile in a pair of frank grey eyes, felt her hand held in a big strong hand that seemed loth to let it go... Then they all
went into the house together.
Over tea Coral gathered that Ronald Dacre proposed staying on for a few days to explore the country in his car. And somehow. vaguely, the information did not please her as it might have done. Was it only that she wanted her godmother to herself? Or was there something vaguely disturb ing in Ronald's aggressive virility, his look of suppressed energy and youth?
When he'd gone away round to
the hotel with the luggage, the room seemed suddenly empty. But at last Coral was free to pour her difficulties into Susan's sym- pathetic ear-Susan being one of those who invariably get told things.
"Let's not do anything yet, dar- ling!" she advised. “Wait till I get to know--by the way you have not told me his name? Stephen Conway! Why I knew a Stephen Conway once. Before you were born, dear child!",
And
Coral winced ever so slightly. "Perhaps it was not he anyway I told you he was much older than I am. It makes no dif- ference at all! You'll see it does- n't when you know him and ”
Their talk was cut short by Doc- tor Thornton's usual brustling entrance. A moment later the purring of the Talbot sounded from outside again,
"Here's Ron back!" Mrs. Dacre sighed. “Just aching to try out this new car of his in it!
Coral, chil without me
take him somewhere where he can drive at seventy miles an hour while your father and I look after each other!??
But forceful and energetic Ron-" ald was already on the spot to speak for himself.
"Please! You've got to come! The car's a marvel-I must show someone what she can do! You've all ready too--”
Strangely reluctant Coral gave in. Ronald, beaming with, de- light, swept her proudly out to the shining new car, put her in and took his place beside her.
As with his strong, sunburnt hands on the
Wheel they roared away down the road, he looked at- Coral and laughed.
"Great, isn't it! A good road too. They are good in England ! But you've no idea what a real baby country this seems to me Cosy, like some nice littla motherly woman! You should see Canada though! It's fine!"
now.
His grey eyes came to life and glowed with enthusiasm as he pro- ceeded to open out on Canada. It was only after some ten minutes of rapid talk that he said peni- tently.
"But I reckon you've got to forgive me a lot when I get talk- ing Coral. You've been real sweet to listen. Where shall we go now?"
---- Coral had thought of saying “'home - But he looked so happy sitting there with his thick hair blowing back in the wind that com- punction seized her.
She mentioned the name of town twenty miles further ahead. He seized on it eagerly.
"Right, let's go there!”
They swept on again. Instead of talking about Canada, Ronald sud- denly became interested in Coral's own life"
“My word!”” he said impatiently after a while. "A lovely thing like you shut up doing secretarial work for a country squire! Can't you do better than that? Get out somewhere and breathe?"
"Not very polite, are you ?”
(Continued on Page 6)
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