ceremonies, duly informed that you are ready, will ask the winner and her first partner to bring their interview to a close.'
“'It all seems admirably ingenious and well planned!' I said, Marcia, 'but is it always the ladies who get the benefit of the lottery?'
“'Not at all,' my friend retorted. 'Didn't I tell you that we sometimes have an evening at which the guest of honor is a woman? When that happens, everything is transposed. The symmetry is complete-the lottery, the winner's privileges, and so on-but it's the man this time who rules the roost. The only point in which the parallelism breaks down is that the young person who superintends the ritual toilet remains the same. It seems to us it would be better so, and the ladies concerned don't seem to mind. Women are more adaptable in those matters than men.' ”
“Now there's a pretty compliment to my sex,” chuckled Marcia, sitting near to him and giving him a passionate glance. “I'd say it was indeed very ingenious and well planned. But tell me how did that famous evening actually turn out?”
“Better than even my friend had led me to expect, Marcia.”
“Oh, now, you're generalizing! You must absolutely detail everything! I shall be vexed if you don't.”
“I see you mean it. Very well, I've no intention at all to hide anything from my lovely wife. The atmosphere, darling, was one of politeness, good breeding, perfect ease-nothing at all resembling a squalid orgy. And the only effect of the drinks the company took was to make them more careful than ever not to indulge in vulgar excesses, and the more daring the situation became, the more ceremonious were its participants. I noticed no relaxation in discipline such as even my introducer had intimated might take place.”
“And-and-you really, Max dear-you really were made a lottery prize?”
“Certainly I was.”
Marcia made a face that was supposed to suggest pique. “How did you like it and who won you?”
“A lady of title, actually-I'll say a marchioness — but of course would never reveal her name. She was a lovely golden-haired creature. If I'd met her in the street, my darling, I should have thought her a bit grand-not exactly my type, but deliciously slim, provocative in agile movements. She had, Marcia, gorgeous blue eyes in a face that looked almost as innocent as a child's. I got the impression, too, that she regarded our rather peculiar form of amusement, with which, I gather, she'd been familiar from the first days of her marriage, as no more immoral than ballroom dancing. That attitude, as you can guess, made a definite impression on me. It gave me at once a certain depth of acquaintanceship to our meeting and made me, for one thing, feel less nervous than otherwise I would have been. Yes, she appeared to rank its complications with the other elegance of social life. It may startle you to know, Marcia, my sweet, that I can perfectly imagine her and her friends organizing a party of the kind I have described to aid charity. The only difference in that case would be that the numbers drawn from the bowls would cost ten guineas each. You can have no idea how gracious she was in all her dealings with me. Wait, I'm not going to skip anything, as you wanted, but you must let me tell this in my own way, as it happened, as it registered on me. When the ladies were told they could look at their numbers, hers was number two by the by. She came over to me and said, in a slightly husky voice, 'This is a great happiness. I'm glad that luck has favored me tonight of all nights.' Then she went with her partner like all the others for the first part of the program. She managed to get close enough to me to say, 'Don't worry, I won't keep you waiting long.' And she was as good as her word, Marcia, for no sooner had I been led back into the drawing room dressed in my fine silk robe, than she appeared.”
“How was she dressed, Max?”
“To be sure, she wasn't as appetizing as you are now.”
“Wicked flatterer, I'm not impressed so don't tell me, and don't have any ideas-yet. Now tell me.”
“She was dressed also in silk. Everyone in the party now wore clothes of uniform cut and color, Marcia-not a false note anywhere. She came over to me, kissed me-that's all part of the ritual, I gathered-and whispered in my ear, 'Tell me what you'd prefer. The others, naturally, hope that we shan't shut ourselves away. Here they come, you see, now that they know we are ready. But I will do exactly as you wish.' This being my first time, I preferred a certain amount of privacy. The others, therefore, had to remain content with witnessing our extremely long kiss, after which we withdrew to an upper floor. She took me into a very quiet room, well furnished, probably the one she'd just left, and said, 'Don't lock the door. That is strictly forbidden. Anyone who likes has a right to be present at our meeting, my husband or the others. But I'm pretty sure that they won't avail themselves of the privilege; I made a sign when we came upstairs.' And sure enough we weren't disturbed. The door was only partly closed, Marcia, for form's sake and it added, I can say, a note of spice to which I was certainly unused.”
She flushed beautifully then murmured, “And the interview?”
“Quite exquisite, my love. The lady was at once passionate and obliging-exceptionally so. Of her own accord she offered me opportunities that I should never have dared to suggest. Though of course my role was that of the obedient servant. And then, when I seemed anxious to throw discretion to the wind-and you must recall, I hadn't then met you, my love.”
Again Marcia blushed and squeezed his hand. He went on, “Yes, Marcia, I admit she tempted me greatly, but as I sought to forget what the future might hold, she said to me very sweetly in that lovely cooing voice of hers, 'Look darling, I simply can't keep you to myself, the other girls are counting on my not being selfish. One at least,' she added with a shy smile, 'or possibly two, are going to take advantage of your presence among us. I really should feel awful, it-it wouldn't be you they'd blame, but me. So we must be careful.' A little later, we went down the stairs and she announced, very charmingly, that their good fortune in having an American as their guest was so great she felt she couldn't refuse to share him.”
“Where were the others, Max dear?”
“Most of them, my love, were drinking and smoking in the drawing room. Two couples were entertaining one another elsewhere, but they had been warned and put in an appearance almost immediately. The ladies didn't want to miss the new lottery, again most flattering to me.”
“You were put up again-I think the phrase is?” She, flushed.
“Ah, yes-twice.”
“Twice-running?”
“Oh, no,” he chuckled, “even being younger then, one had consideration for-shall we say- waning of enthusiasm?”
She nodded and, with a teasing little smile, put her hand on his knee. He shivered exultantly at her ecstatic attentiveness.
“No, there was an interval of an hour. But in her little speech, the first winner-my charming little blonde-had announced that there would be two other lucky ones beside herself.”
“How nicely you put it-but you must not spare my girlish modesty, my love, for I asked for this. Now, there's someone you haven't mentioned yet — the young woman. Shall we call her the officiating priestess whose duty it was to prepare the- victim-for the sacrifice?”
“She, too, did her task superbly. I assure you, time did not hang heavily on my hands while I waited for the first lottery pairing in the person of my blonde.”
“But,” insisted Marcia with keen interest, “didn't that-wasn't that preparation-awfully exciting? Wasn't there a temptation for you both?”
“Now it's my turn to say how nicely you put things, honey. No, her adequacy was remarkable, quite remarkable, and if I may say so, she had a keen sense of the limitations in which she might do her work. So far as I was concerned, the fact that she faintly resembled a cute hospital nurse helped me not to lose my head.” He paused, regarding Marcia.
“A cigarette, please, dearest,” she murmured thoughtfully.
The supply was exhausted so he rose and walked over to the glass-covered coffee table in the center of the room and brought back the silver-plated humidor and his lighter and lit a cigarette for himself and one for her.
He stood back, looking down at Marcia, who had leaned back, her head resting on the edge of the circular loveseat. Her left hand was languidly extended in her lap, palm upward. The right hand held the cigarette. Then her eyes turned to his. She murmured vibrantly, “But Max, that is only the beginning. Surely you are not going to leave it at that?”
He studied her pensively before replying. He was orienting himself to this new exciting personality. It had only been half glimpsed at their meetings before the wedding; her kisses, her embraces, had been quite indicative of a passionate and candid temperament. But nothing had prepared him for this intense curiosity in his erotic past. Few
