“Robert, you will enjoy this,” Ruth said as brightly as she could, knowing that she should be glad that her father took an interest in Robert instead of hurt that, as usual, he excluded her. “Father has the largest medical library of any private home in the country.”
“Larger than some universities,” Bernard added as he ushered Robert out of the living room and down the hall. A painful sense of déjà vu overtook Ruth as she watched her fiancé and her father head toward the wood-paneled hallway. She felt as though she had spent her entire childhood on one side of the double doors while, on the other, Harry and Bernard had discussed everything she found truly interesting: contagion, virology, surgical innovations, and treatment trials.
Ruth and her mother sat for nearly an hour, Helen growing agitated about dinner and Ruth suffering through tales of the tribulations of this season’s party schedule. “It is widely known that the Rockefellers host the first party of the holiday season. But this year, that Woolworth girl—you know, Barbara Hutton—stole the season right out from under them.” Ruth looked at her mother, perplexed. “Oh, for heaven’s sake, Ruth! Do you pay no attention? I am certain I told you about the event after you refused to attend with us—at the grand, new Ritz-Carlton? The eucalyptus and silver birch trees imported all the way from California? Four orchestras? It was a bit garish, but it was the absolute talk of the town. A party unlike any other. Of course, now Abby Rockefeller is simply beside herself because her Christmas ball will seem so pedestrian in comparison.”
“Such a shame,” Ruth said without intonation as she stared at the archway, waiting anxiously for Robert and her father to return.
“Why, yes, it is! And now Madeleine Astor Dick is talking about hosting an additional ball here in New York—she says it is all the rage to have more spontaneous parties. Honestly, I am not sure we will ever get to Palm Beach.”
How could Helen possibly think that Ruth cared about any of this? What did it matter who hosted which parties and where, when people struggled every day just to stay warm? She knew the answer, of course, but somehow it never failed to hurt a little. Much like Bernard, Helen didn’t see the woman who was actually sitting in front of her; instead, when forced to spend time with her daughter, Helen simply pretended Ruth was the person Helen wanted her to be. Just at the point when Ruth felt she might actually explode, the men returned. They had a relaxed energy between them, and an undercurrent of excitement that Ruth rarely saw in her father.
“Bernard, the entrée is likely to be entirely dried out at this point. Honestly!”
“Sorry, dear, but I have a feeling you won’t care in a moment.” Bernard stood behind Ruth and she almost jumped as he placed his hand on her shoulder. “Some good news! Our Ruth is finally getting married.”
“Married?” Helen looked as if she was trying to mask her shock and contain her relief. Ruth knew she had long ago given up hope that her daughter would actually find a suitable mate.
“It is true. This fine doctor desires to make Ruth his wife.” Ruth tried not to notice the slight sound of disbelief in Bernard’s tone.
“Mrs. Emeraldine, I think your daughter is a magnificent woman, inside and out. I have found, in her, an unexpected partner. And, with your permission, I would like nothing more than to share my life with her as husband and wife.”
“Oh my, yes!” Helen leapt up, clapping. “Yes! Yes! Yes!”
Chapter Five
Ruth had little time for or interest in frivolous friendships. She was collegial with the staff at Emeraldine, and she occasionally attended informal reunions with her classmates from college, but after Harry died, there was only one person in the world whom she considered a true friend: Susie Davenport. Besides the fact that she shared Ruth’s desire to help the less fortunate—working as a social worker and an advocate for the poor in Manhattan—she understood Ruth implicitly, never pushing her to feel or be anything other than what she was. Ruth cherished Susie like a sister. Hers was the only opinion that Ruth trusted. So, when Susie insisted that it was time to bring Robert to Magnolia Bluff, Ruth knew she was right. Still, she hesitated. Before Robert, the happiest days of Ruth’s life had been at Magnolia Bluff with Harry. She needed Robert to love it as much as she did, and she wasn’t sure that he would in the off-season, when the estate was largely closed up, cold, and unstaffed.