Max Brand

“ John still cares for me; he lives with the great illusion. No, I don't pretend with him, any more, but he takes me for granted and he's happy as I used to be. Do you think I could rob him of that? I'd rather commit murder! When the thing dies in him—then I'll go and we'll try the big adventure together. It won't be the old star-stor (illegible text) joy, but at least I could never be weary of life with you.”
Van Siebert was afire.
“You're waiting for it to die in him? Good heavens, Valerie, don't you know that it's been dead in him these many long months?” ”

“ George Swain Van Siebert watched Valerie with a careful eye, but she showed no intention of lagging behind. In fact, she was up there at the very heels of the hounds, with the crowd clustering closely around her. So, she was putting him off again. He waited until the hunt entered a wood and there he sat down on a stump under pretence of tying a loose shoe-lace. Almost instantly the crowd was out of sight among the trees, but when he started up to go back to the house he found himself standing face to face with Valerie. ”

“ So in the third season these two splendid fellows were running neck and neck, and even Valerie could not help but show her partiality toward them. Toward the spring she went up into the mountains, and every one said: “When he comes down she'll have made up her mind.” They were perfectly right. When she came down from the mountains she had made up her mind; she was married; and she was married to John Smith.
People naturally gasped at first, but society is much more tolerant than we are told in the Sunday papers, and now society said nothing, but sat down to await developments. ”

“ It's a rare child that will give up even a broken toy to another without a struggle, and that evening, to the astonishment of Van Siebert, Valerie had not a glance or a word for him. She concentrated entirely on her husband. He watched the results rather anxiously, but John Smith could not have answered better if he had been coached to the purpose. ”

“ Gregory Sloan. “There are women who are woed, women who have been woed, and women who might have been woed. Valerie is like you, my dear!”
At which Mrs. St. Vincent flushed in her own delightful way and disappeared into a crowd—of men.
The rush to get Valerie, which began that night, lasted three seasons and was of historic density throughout. The first season she threw away a title; the second season She laughed at a hundred millions; the third season—
Well, in the third season two men stood out above the crowd, and they were Lloyd Gandil Maury and George Swain Van Siebert 2nd. ”

“ Every one is beginning to watch; they're hungry to make misconstructions, John is the only one who sees nothing. Can't you give me a little more time?”
“Time?” cried Van Siebert. “My God, Valerie! Can't you say yes or no? ”

“ HER name was Valerie Eloise St. Vincent and she married John Smith. The names tell the story, but it may be expanded.
Valerie St. Vincent was a masterpiece; like a Greek tragedy or a Chopin prelude she gave that classic feeling of completeness—which means that every detail of her was finished. Every one has seen beautiful French women with large ankles, and beautiful English women who become flabby at thirty, and beautiful American women with bony hands, but Valerie St. ”

“ It was not hard to do. The closet door opened without squeak or groan and she found the clothes he had worn that day. John Smith would never let his man take anything from the pockets of his clothes; neither would he change his suit more than twice a week, for such attention he called 'society nonsense.” So Valerie found the pigskin case in his breast pocket and carried it over to the window.
When she opened it, she was looking at herself.
It was a miniature Sarrony painted shortly after Valerie came out. In fact, a published copy of that picture had brought John Smith east to their meeting. ”

“ You're growing worse every day—your eyes follow me about in such a way. Only yesterday Mrs. Redding said: 'I don't know which is the more patient, George or your husband.' Yes, if we don't come to a decision we'll come to a scandal. ”