Free Babe by Joan Smith Page A

would be done in private, for making her once again the center of attention was not his wish. She had already been seen with Gentz, so the best course was to seem to be aware of her coming. No one would believe it, sitting with that motley crew of foreign nobodies. Agnes leaned over and poked his ribs. “Larry, what are you going to do?” she whispered.
    “I am going to enjoy the play, and suggest you do the same,” he told her, in a damping tone.
    All through the first act, Barbara kept darting peeps towards her guardian’s box, wondering if he had not seen her, and knowing full well he had. She was first deflated, then curious, and finally uneasy in the extreme. The first intermission seemed a very long wait, but at last it came, and she tensed herself for his visit, certain he would come to her. He left his box. When Gentz arose to do likewise, she told him she would stay behind, and was unhappy when he elected to stay with her. She waited, but when the door opened, it was only Lady Withers and her husband who came in and took up the seats vacated by the Russian and his friend. They were coolly polite, so distant that one wondered they should have bothered coming at all. They remained till the intermission was over, saying nothing about Clivedon, nor did Barbara.
    When Agnes returned to her own box, she said to her brother, “I have done as you suggested and tried to lend her an air of respectability, but pray don’t ask me to repeat the performance at the next break, for I couldn’t think of a single word to say.”
    At the recommencement of the play, Barbara again risked a glance at Clivedon. He did not so much as turn his head towards her. What was going on? She could not believe he was going to ignore her move. Her nerves stretched taut as she fidgeted in her seat, having a perfectly miserable evening. She was grateful it was not a comedy being performed, for to have to try to laugh at such a time would have been impossible. The frown she wore was in keeping with the general mood in the theater, but its cause was unique to herself.
    At the second intermission, she could remain cooped up no longer. She took Gentz’s arm to go into the lobby for a walk, and saw Clivedon standing with a large group of the very tip of society, chatting unconcernedly. Lady Angela, she noticed, was of the party. And still no attention was paid to herself. The uncertainty mounted, till she could stand it no longer. She started walking towards the group, Gentz clearly unwilling and trying to hold back, so that she was required to take his arm most forcefully, while her own insides were quaking. As she got up to the large party, she looked to the left, as though she had just that moment spotted Clivedon.
    “Good evening, Lady Barbara,” he said over his shoulder, in a polite tone. “Enjoying the play?”
    “Very much, thank you,” she answered with a challenging smile. “No doubt you are surprised to see me here.”
    “Not at all,”’ he answered, and turned his head away.
    “I made sure you would be surprised, as you ordered me to stay at home!” she said in a loud, sharp tone. There was an uncomfortable silence over the group, as the well-bred collectively wondered how they should pretend not to have understood her.
    “Come along, Babe,” Gentz said, urging her past.
    “No! I want to hear what my guardian has to say,” she answered, with a bold, questioning look at him.
    “Your guardian will deal with you later,” was all he said, still in a pleasant tone, though there was an edge creeping on to it. The black eye he turned on Gentz was less pleasant still.
    “You see, you have been frightened for nothing, Theo,” she said, with a mocking smile at her alleged protector.
    “I was not frightened!” Gentz felt compelled to announce.
    “Lady Barbara’s guardian will deal with you later as well, Colonel,” the guardian said, in a low tone that sounded absolutely menacing.
    Even the well-bred gave up any pretense of