Page:The Breath of Scandal (1922).djvu/240

 herself for weak prudishness for even momentarily thus making herself Marjorie Hale at the start of her first evening as Marjorie Conway.

Here she was with Jake Saltro—trombonist of the Geyner Quartette, "jazz for dances, dinners, entertainments of all sorts"; and likely she could accompany him in a taxicab and even to Sennen's without risky revelations, if she held herself as Marjorie Hale, a good girl from an honorable, protected home; but that was exactly what she was not to do. She was through with "protection" and false honor; wild, reckless impulses leaped in her to-night; how long had they seemed utterly overwhelmed within her! Ever since that evening that Billy and Gregg came to dinner before the Lovells' dance, when she had come down with white shoulders in her too low-cut dress to shock dear, proper, absolutely safe Billy.

Now, in the taxicab beside Mr. Saltro, and wearing that same dress under her cape, she almost laughed aloud in contempt of herself as she thought back on that "daring" incident at home. Yes, at home and among her friends, chaperoned by her mother and with Billy,—Billy, who instead of taking advantage of her, would protect her against herself; and with Gregg and her other men friends who, as Rinderfeld had said, would consider themselves lower than dogs if they let themselves actually consider dishonor of a girl such as she had been.

What was she now? She asked herself the question and appreciated that her escort was debating with himself the same question; she appreciated that, upon sight of her in this daring dress—which, in those days after her father had been shot, she had never had altered—Mr. Saltro had made for himself a different judgment