A Maid and a Million Men

ndence f

ean, it was just like having your mail lost somewhere and then getting it all in a bunch. It seemed to me that the Lord must have just returned from a holiday playing golf with the planets and f

veral months but I had become so accustomed to monotony and so resigned to my fate,

ry. I was overjoyed, because it seemed to me that surely here was an opportunity for excitement and adventure.... And again I was dis

saw he would be caught in the draft he managed to secure a soft job supervising

from the start. The only trouble was that I had to keep thinking that Jay-Jay had practically dared me to join this show and I was so afraid I'd be contaminated by the traditional immorality of show people that I scarcely drew a normal breath while the show lasted. And every time I saw Jay-Jay the old battle was revived. He said he'd do anything to get me-and I believe

tand the gaff and Jay-Jay had given up hopes of skinning the cat by that method. Now he wanted to marr

Elinor and I found her putting bugs in my ears every time I got near her. Ho

of satisfying her demands that he make a hero of himself. The poor fellow hated the thought of war and fighting, loathed the idea of being thrown in with an uncouth gang of comparatively indelicate men, but he couldn't stand the sight of Vyvy going out with men in uniform and he suspected

ision of some kind-and he did, although I suspect that somebody dragged him in for examination and made him sign a paper before he realized what he was doing. Anyway, he enlisted-which proves something or other about girls like Vyvy. He came home actually proud of himself over the fact that he had passe

roughness, the absolute hellishness of being a soldier appealed to me.... Instead of such a prospect, what I got was another, more importunate proposal of marriage from my

unforgettable blaze of glory, so she planned this lavish entertainment at the house the night before he was to leave. And to make certain that people would remember the occasion she conceived the idea of my dancing in the nude behind a sha

bled guests. There was nothing to do but dance the evening away and I proceeded to do this with whoever came my way, which was chiefly Jay-Jay, until Aunt Elinor sneaked up behind me and said she had a young man in tow who wanted to apologize to me. From that point on, life became steadily more interesting and Jay-Jay didn't get all the dances, for the young man was t

unforgettable, a marvelous experience which thrills me even to this day. I was actually serenely blissfully ignorant of time and surroundings. I know such a stat

making a belated apology for laughing so rudely during my dance. And he

most enchanting things ... we went into the garden and I learned for the first time how short a time it requires to become intimately acquainted with a man, if you like him.... I never was the kind to believe in this love-at-first-sight stuff, but I know that I felt at once that Captain Clark Winstead meant all the world to me-and this in spi

n to tell me how sorry he was that we had not met sooner, "For I'm leaving fo

ying that I could write to him after I heard from him. Then he kissed my hands and naturally he didn't have to use force to get me into his arms.... In fact,

scaped from the very embarrassing situation by squeezing the Captain's arm significantly and

a grunt now and then. Oh, but he was mad! And the madder he seemed, the better I felt, because this was really the first time I had ever seen hi

ed with a sarcastic, "You know how I've wanted you, and all the time you've tried to make me beli

w against a woman changi

f you've changed your mind about such t

ld him, "No, I guess your ancestors were Caucasians. In

along and you act like a grammar schoo

nk, really baffled: the incident had hurt his pride so that now he was more determined than ever to win me at all costs. And so it was that when Captain

ady in their car waiting for him, but he didn't hurry. We stood there, my hand in his; his other arm went around my shoulders, and I tried to put into that last kiss all the tremulous fearful affection, all the sickening despair and exalting hop

an a passing fancy to him. I couldn't banish the thought that perhaps I was just a foolish school kid, had been just another night and another girl in the Captain's crowded life. It was such a feeling that makes anyone feel sad and understanding:

d prophesied that I would never hear from him again. Then when he saw that I wouldn't argue with

ing again if I lived to be a thousand: there isn't room in one lifetime to feel like that twice. And I kept telling myself that no man could have a woman thinking of him and dreaming of him every minute wi

an I-told-you-so look in his eyes every time we met. And the night before he left to return to Washington, he popped a novel proposal that I could h

t me that job a

instrumental in turning you loose like that?" he demand

urred to me that I really might be quite happy as Mrs. Marfield, even though I knew I could never love him as storybook heroines are supposed to love their husbands. I guess my Aunt's continental ideas had begun to sink

ne who wanted me and the one I wanted, and whom I hadn't seen or heard from since the night we met. There didn't seem to be any excuse

me time makes you capable of callously letting another go crazy wanting you. The wh

change conditions and what did he do but bring in a man who made me change into a thoroughly girlish girl in one short evening! My prayers were answered, even