“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Harley gulped the gin. “Yes, you do. It’s been on your mind ever since we drove away from Blythdale. I saw you this morning at the bakery.”
The boy behind the bakery counter had big blue eyes and dark, curly hair. He had talked to Harley for a little too long, and when he handed Harley his loaf of bread, their hands touched.
Pandora glanced down at her wedding ring. Harley was right. She had been jealous. She needed to learn to control her emotions.
She wondered what Harley would say if he found out about her night with Archie. Would he be jealous, or would he feel relieved that Pandora found passion with someone else? The thought filled her with despair. She truly loved Harley. She never wanted to give him a reason to doubt her.
“You’re imagining things.” She soothed him.
Harley put his glass down and sank onto the bed.
“You wish I was like other husbands who can’t wait to go home and make love to their wives.” He gazed up at her. Grief and resignation were in his eyes. “Pandora, you know I love you. I want to make everything all right.”
Pandora walked over to him. She leaned down and kissed him on the cheek.
Harley didn’t say anything. He stood up and unbuttoned his shirt and took off his pants.
Pandora watched him. His calves were narrow and sinewy, and he had wide, muscular thighs. The hair on his arms and legs was golden, as if he spent every day of his life in the sun.
Harley drew her toward him. She thought he was going to kiss her, but instead he reached down and stroked her breasts. The exquisite tingling, the darts of pleasure she experienced with Archie, unexpectedly filled her.
She was about to kiss him, but she held back. Some instinct told her to wait.
Harley fumbled with her buttons, and the dress fell to the floor. He didn’t stop to pick it up. He kissed her neck and pushed her hair from her shoulders.
Pandora let out a gasp and leaned against him. Harley pushed her down on the bed and lay beside her. She wanted him to kiss her deeply the way Archie had. Instead, his hands moved down her thighs.
Then his body was above her, and she waited for him to enter her, for the waves to begin. Suddenly he slipped and fell on top of her breasts. He lay there for a minute, and Pandora waited for him to try again. His breath became even, and she knew that he was asleep.
She thought again about her late period. If she was pregnant, and the baby was Archie’s, it could destroy her marriage. How could she have done such a thing? And what made everything worse is that for the first time since her mother left, when Archie held her and whispered that she was beautiful, she had felt like she was enough.
Whatever happened, she would have to live with the consequences. Harley was so drunk; he wouldn’t remember anything in the morning. All she had to do was convince him that they had consummated their marriage, and she’d be safe.
Chapter Thirteen
September 1927, Hyde Park, New York
In early September, Hyde Park shimmered in the heat. The sidewalk outside Ruby’s Ice Cream was so hot that an ice cream cone melted in minutes. Women wore large floppy hats, and the cars parked along Main Street were too hot to touch.
Pandora walked down the steps of the doctor’s office. She had known what Dr. Bancroft would say before he examined her. Pandora was almost three months pregnant. The baby was due in February.
After their one failed attempt to consummate the marriage in Lake George, Pandora and Harley didn’t try to make love again. The baby couldn’t be Harley’s.
Pandora and Harley were living at Blythdale until their new house, Summerhill, was furnished. The familiar surroundings—the gardens where they strolled during their engagement, the rowboat they used for picnics—made Harley relax, and they enjoyed each other’s company. The marriage was working, and they were happy.
Harley stayed at the townhouse in New York with his father on weekdays and came to Blythdale on weekends. Pandora expected him to be miserable after working all week at the bank, but he arrived home smiling and full of stories: The little girl who came in with her father to open a savings account and got lost and found Harley’s office. Harley gave her a Bit-O-Honey and told her to come see him when she was older. The young couple who asked for a loan on a house in Westchester. Harley approved the loan, and the following week they asked him to dinner.
Harley liked people, and people liked him. Perhaps he was where he belonged, after all.
Pandora herself was so busy she needed to keep a diary. Adele gave Pandora a lavish luncheon introducing her to Hyde Park society and another smaller one at the townhouse in New York. She had afternoon teas and shopping excursions to Kingston. Pandora sewed the evening gown Vivian Clarkson had requested, and in her spare time she looked at spaces in Hyde Park to open a boutique.
She also spent time with Adele and had recently accompanied her to a committee meeting at Grand Street Settlement House. Afterward they visited Millie at her new offices and took her to lunch at the Hotel Algonquin. They talked about world events, and Pandora made a mental note to read the newspapers more often so she could be as well informed as Adele and Millie. It was refreshing to discuss current events with other women. The society women in Hyde Park occupied themselves with their afternoon teas, and working women were so exhausted from long days spent in an office or factory, they didn’t have time for anything else.
She thought about Virginia’s belief in education for girls. Women would never have the same opportunities as men if they didn’t learn about the world around them.
Pandora marveled at her own good fortune. She had a caring husband, a comfortable lifestyle, and a beautiful home.
And now she was having a baby. Except the baby wasn’t Harley’s.
Soon Harley would notice the changes in her body. Her breasts were larger. For the first time in her life, her waist wasn’t small, and her stomach wasn’t flat. Pandora would have to lie about the due date.
And then there was Archie. She’d barely seen him since the wedding. He’d been at the Vanderbilts’ house in Maine with Lucy. She missed him more than she had imagined she would. She missed their easy camaraderie. She missed his mischievous, boyish attitude. Archie never took things too seriously; he always cheered her up.
The happiness that had washed over her in Dr. Bancroft’s office soon disappeared. Despite the heat, she felt a slight chill. She had created such a mess; she couldn’t be more ashamed of herself. If anyone discovered the truth, it would create a scandal greater than anything to do with Harley’s homosexuality.
She wasn’t just worried about what people would say. Archie was Pandora’s oldest friend, and Harley was the man she loved. She couldn’t bear to hurt either of them.
Her hand instinctively went to her stomach. The baby came first. The rest she would have to figure out.
Adele was sitting in the morning room at Blythdale when Pandora returned from her doctor appointment.
“Pandora,” Adele said in greeting. “I was hoping I’d see you before I went into New York.”
Pandora took out her packages.
“I bought a jar of Harley’s favorite lozenges. He keeps them on his desk so his throat doesn’t get dry when he talks to clients.”
“Harley appreciates the little things you do for him,” Adele said. She patted the space beside her. “You’ve made him so happy; I can’t wait for you both to move into Summerhill.”