“Miss Prim and Practical,” Mr. Bryant added. In the six weeks she’d worked here, he’d barely smiled, but now it looked as if he was battling a laughing fit.

“What’s going on?” she asked. She needn’t have worried about getting attention for the magazine article, for she spotted at least three copies of Good Housekeeping floating around, and this male-dominated department certainly didn’t make a habit of reading ladies’ magazines.

“You didn’t tell us you were going to be featured in the magazine,” Mr. Bryant said.

“I’m not.” She had read the article several times last night, and there was not a single mention of her or Gray’s name. Exactly how they wanted it.

“And yet you are half of a thoroughly modern couple!” Horace chortled, handing her one of the magazines opened to an article near the back.

Her mouth went dry, and her heart skipped a beat. She hadn’t read anything else in the issue, and her hand shook as she took the magazine from Horace.

A Thoroughly Modern Couple

By Mrs. Eleanor Sharpe

On a perfectly ordinary day in August, a most unusual couple paid a visit to the testing kitchen at Good Housekeeping. As our nation embarks on a new century, we expect to see new types of romantic pairings. One couple that personifies these changing times is Miss Annabelle Larkin and Mr. Gray Delacroix.

Readers of this magazine will already know the Delacroix name, as it is proudly affixed to the finest jarred spices in the world. Readers may not be familiar with the man at the helm of the company, an experienced traveler who personally visits his spice fields around the world but still has time to supervise a modern spice production facility in Virginia. He combines culinary excellence with the roving spirit of a renaissance man.

And what sort of woman has captured the heart of this international business magnate? She is a homegrown woman from the American heartland, raised on a wheat farm and educated at Kansas State Agricultural College, a school with a long and admirable record in granting women the same educational opportunities as men. Miss Larkin is the epitome of everything Prim and Practical. She perfectly offsets the roving, romantic adventurer of Mr. Delacroix.

Miss Larkin and Mr. Delacroix each have vivid personalities and are not afraid to flaunt them. They are a perfect combination, like oil and vinegar. Unpalatable on their own, but delightful when sampled together.

The story rambled on, but she couldn’t read any more. She lowered the magazine and wished the floor would open and swallow her whole. Everyone in the room watched and waited for her reaction. She forced her embarrassment down and put on a serene expression.

“Mrs. Sharpe certainly has a colorful writing style,” she said.

Horace pulled up alongside her. “Oil and vinegar? How long have you been seeing Mr. Delacroix?”