Man-woman relationships -- Fiction; New York (N.Y.) -- Social life and customs -- 20th century -- Fiction; Young women -- Fiction
Having teased from the coffee-pot a bare cup of coffee, Ida camped down
on the couch, and while waiting for the coffee to cool, applied the end
of her forefinger to the tip of her nose in the way to uplift it
contrary to the gift of nature.
"Ida, do leave that nose alone," said Doré.
"I must have a retroussé nose," said the girl merrily. "This doesn't go
with my style of laughter. All the artist-men tell me so. Ah, this
nose!" And she gave it a vicious jolt, in her indignation. Her coloring
was gorgeous, her lines were delicate, her expressions vivacious and
quick with natural coquetry. Wherefore she was in great demand among the
illustrators, who had reproduced her tomboy smile on the covers of a
million magazines. She was in great demand, but she was capricious in
her engagements--like all Salamanders, sacrificing everything to
pleasure.
Winona Horning, aroused by the sounds of laughter, appeared through the
connecting door, in a green and black negligee, rubbing her eyes, quite
indignant.
"Heavens, child! No one can sleep when you're round! Hello, Snyder.
Morning, Dodo!"
She said the last words in a tone that made Snyder look up at her,
surprised. There was a note of reluctance, even of apprehension.
"Ida's drunk up the coffee; make her give you a grapefruit," said Dodo,
nodding and departing.
When she darted in twenty minutes later, tingling and alert for the day,
Snyder had gone and Ida Summers, curled like an Angora cat on the couch,
was chatting to Winona, who stood in the doorway, undecidedly, turning a
cigarette in her fingers, watching Dodo from under her long eyelashes.
"You certainly made the big hit last night, Win," said Ida rapidly. "Do,
you should have seen her. She gets the men with that quiet waiting
manner of hers. I can't do it to save my life. I have to rush in,
barking like a white fluffy dog, to get noticed."
"Where were you?" said Doré, opening all the trunks and ransacking the
bureaus. When she dressed, the room had always the look of a sudden
descent by the police.
"Up at Vaughan Chandler's studio," said Ida, giving the name of one of
the popular illustrators, who catered to the sentimental yearnings of
the multitude. "Quite some party, too, celebrities and swells. I say,
Do, why don't you go in for head and shoulders? They're perfect
gentlemen, you know ... flirty, of course, ... but it pays well, and
they'd go daffy over you."
"Don't know ... hadn't thought of it," said Doré, who, having decided to
see Gilday and lunch with Peavey, was in a reverie over the subject of
the dramatic costume. "By the way, Winona, raise anything on the
orchids?"
"Only eight bones--hard enough getting that," said Winona slowly.
"Old brute! Pouffé would have given double," said Doré indignantly. "By
the way, Joe's coming at noon. I must dress the stage up for him. What
flowers have you girls got?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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