The
editor told me, with that nameless look of the cynical
scandalmonger, that if I wanted to learn anything about
Huntington Close I had best watch Mrs. Frances Tulkington, a very
wealthy Western divorcee about whom the smart set were much
excited, particularly those whose wealth made it difficult to
stand the pace of society as it was going at present.
"And before the tragedy," said the editor with another nameless
look, as if he were imparting a most valuable piece of gossip,
"it was the talk of the town, the attention that Close's lawyer
was paying to Mrs. Close. But to her credit let me say that she
never gave us a chance to hint at anything, and--well, you know
us; we don't need much to make snappy society news."
The editor then waged even more confidential, for if I am
anything at all, I am a good listener, and I have found that
often by sitting tight and listening I can get more than if I
were a too-eager questioner.
"It really was a shame,--the way that man Lawrence played his
game," he went on. "I understand that it was he who introduced
Close to Mrs. T. They were both his clients. Lawrence had fought
her case in the courts when she sued old Tulkington for divorce,
and a handsome settlement he got for her, too. They say his fee
ran up into the hundred thousands--contingent, you know.
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