Her Infinite Variety by Louis Auchincloss, Louis S. Auchincloss Read Free Book Online Page B

was always a gambler, but not before he had erected that palace on the dunes, which you rightly describe as vulgar, and married three of his pretty daughters to Episcopalian socialites. The Hamptons back then represented the soft underbelly of the blue bloods; the Murrays and MacDonalds got their start there, too."
    "So he left you nothing? Not even the other gold piece?"
    "You know it's just what he
did
leave me? He had kept it as a good-luck token. I used to imagine it might have been what I brought my better scoops as a reporter on the
Morning Star.
"
    "And what may bring you victory in November!"
    "Well, that's a tough one. It's a Republican stronghold, you know. But who can tell? My opponent made an awful gaffe the other day, when he criticized the cardinal."
    "You're a Catholic, of course."
    "When I'm not being an atheist." Polly now appeared with his drink, and Clara rose. But he seemed to want to hold her. "Tell me, Mrs. Hoyt, would you really like to do some chores in my campaign headquarters?"
    "Do you mean it? I'll be there tomorrow!"
    ***
    Clara came home the next day from the O'Connor campaign headquarters on lower Madison Avenue prepared for the battle of her life. She had agreed to start work for the Democratic candidate the very next morning; she would be a part-time receptionist and part-time secretary; she had learned typing and shorthand at Vassar and was ready for any task meted out. But the Hoyts, she was beginning to learn, were not a family to be easily evaluated. She was almost disappointed at the mildness of opposition to which she now realized she had been almost looking forward.
    "You know," Trevor announced, after listening to her without interruption, "it might be a great experience for you. It really might. This election is airing a lot of issues that haven't been thought out by the voters. To be in the thick of it and find out just what makes a guy like O'Connor tick could be a liberal education in itself."
    "Well, I'm not planning to be a spy in the enemy's camp if that's what you mean."
    "No, of course not. What an idea! Work your tail off for him. That's the game."
    "Do you say that because you're so sure he'll lose?"
    "I'm sure he'll lose, yes. But that's not why I say it. If I should ever get into the political arena myself, it would be a great asset to have a savvy spouse. Go to it, kid."
    Which was the same note that his parents struck. They were almost proud, it seemed, to be able to point to a daughter-in-law so strikingly, so interestingly, independent. And Rory O'Connor, after all, was no wild-eyed red. He was a brilliant and able orator whose aunts were known to society. One of them was even something of a friend of Mrs. Hoyt; she had attached herself flatteringly to the wife of the great banker. And besides, he was bound to lose. He might even, like Norman Thomas, receive some right-wing protest votes from those who were weary of the long-term Republican incumbent.
    If Rory himself seemed at first to have little to do with his new office worker, Clara soon discovered he still had an eye on her, for one day he brought his midday sandwich over to eat it at her desk and congratulate her on her good work.
    "I didn't know you were even aware I was here," she observed.
    "I wanted to be sure you were serious."
    "And not just 'a girl like me'?"
    "Can you blame me? We've had our share of kooky volunteers from the Social Register. How would you like to take some of my dictation?"
    "For speeches? Of course, I'd love it!"
    "And I'll want your comments and suggestions, too."
    "You mean I'm to be a speechwriter?"
    "Not quite. But you can tell your friends that."
    "You mean I can tell my father-in-law?"
    "You read my mind."
    After that they were thoroughly congenial. Clara sometimes now took her own sandwich to his office, and they would eat together. She
did
offer him some suggestions for his speeches, but only because he had asked for them. She knew he didn't really want them. She knew perfectly