Page:Angna Enters - Among the Daughters.djvu/476

 the chambermaid came and could bring in the tray from outside the door.

On the third morning, the chambermaid asked, "Are you feeling all right, Miss Claudel? You look very sick."

"I'm just fine," Lucy replied fretfully, "I'm just resting after the flu."

An hour later there was a tap on the door and, as Lucy did not answer, a key was fitted into the lock. Lucy jumped from bed and clutched the telephone. If it was Hugh, she'd scream.

"Excuse me, Miss Claudel," the housekeeper said soothingly, "I was checking the linens and cleaning. Are you all right? Would you like me to ask the hotel doctor to come and see you? I understand you're not feeling well."

The chambermaid must have told. "I've had the flu, and I'm resting where people won't know where I am and I won't be disturbed," she said resentfully.

The thing to do was to phone Vida but not let on everything; wasn't just fine.

"Where are you, I can hardly hear you," Vida said brusquely.

"I'm out of jail, I'm at the Athenée, come over now."

"It's the busiest time, I can't."

She could tell Vida thought her a nuisance. "Come at lunchtime,"she begged.

"I will if I can. I can hardly hear you, it's a bad connection."

"Try, try and come," she pleaded and hung up.

"I'll have a newspaper sent up to kill time," Lucy said out loud to herself. Funny how less alone you seemed, or was it more alone? when you spoke to yourself out loud.

When the newspaper came, she turned the pages back and forth and back mechanically. On the theatre page she saw Beman's name and stopped to read. It was an item stating his decision to go into production of an unusual play concerning a dancer immediately following the opening of a new Cravenes comedy next week.

She sat stunned by the loss of the last hope for the role she had craved. When she looked at her watch it was almost three. Vida was not coming. She went to the dressing table for a cigarette and a strange yellow face with lank hair stared at her from the mirror over half a glass of water and a bottle of sleeping pills.

She nodded to the poor stranger and said, "You take some. Enough for a long sleep. Then maybe you won't have to scream." 464