A Collar of Jewels

by Pamela Pope

  ‘I feel as if I’m flying,’ she exclaimed, laughter now transforming her face. Her eyes shone and she clapped her hands.

  Max kissed her. ‘I knew you would like it.’

  He dropped the inconsequential kiss onto her mouth as if it was the natural thing to do. It was only the lightest, briefest touch, but so unexpected Ellie recoiled with shock. Perhaps he had misinterpreted the signals.

  ‘Impertinent man!’ she cried. She was quivering from head to toe, but he would have bet his last dime the blush on her cheeks was not caused by anger. ‘We’re hardly acquainted. Don’t think you can take liberties with me.’ He smiled at her imperious tone and watched her brush her lips with the tips of her fingers as if to sustain the sweet sensation.

  ‘We know each other very well, I think,’ said Max. ‘We were once so close I could see myself in your eyes.’

  How could he have forgotten her? She’d been playing at being grown-up that day of the disaster, he recalled, but she had been lovely even then. And now the promise of great beauty had been fulfilled.

  He didn’t look for Drew Harvey or his brother when the ride was over and Ellie walked with him alongside a lagoon chatting freely about her French education, her birthday party, and the extravagant living she accepted as normal. They rubbed shoulders with girls in gingham dresses and young men with coat-tails swinging. Ellie stood out among them like an orchid in a daisy field, and when she asked him about his family he found himself wanting to shock her.

  ‘I saw my mother dragged from our house in Russia,’ he said. ‘She was beaten because she was expecting another child and she lost it. I saw her almost bleed to death and she could never have any more. They said there were too many Jews in Russia. My father was whipped for sewing new seed and my brother and sister and I were made to watch with our wrists and ankles bound.’

  Ellie was horrified. Max saw tears gather in her eyes and was slightly ashamed. In her protected world she knew nothing of such inhumanity or what hatred could do. Not that he elaborated. It was not the time or place for morbid recounting, but it set the scene to his background just as Ellie’s description of her party had proclaimed hers.

  ‘You make me feel it’s wicked to have so much money spent on me,’ she said. ‘Yet I’d die if we were poor.’

  ‘Money can’t buy everything,’ said Max.

  He took her to see a map made out of pickles with vinegar lakes and rivers; a Bolivian who was over nine feet tall, and midgets in a village of their own. He bought her sweetmeats, and an Irish lace handkerchief. They saw tapestries which Queen Victoria had loaned from her castle in England, Zulus showing how diamonds were mined, and they had drinks served by Dutch girls in national costumes.

  And then there was the Transportation Building where Pullman cars were on view. One was the ‘Santa Maria’, a car of such luxury that even Ellie Harvey seemed impressed. Along both sides were armchairs thickly quilted in rich velvet and with silk tassels to cover the legs; chairs so beautifully designed they would have graced a palace.

  ‘This is the work I do,’ said Max, indicating the magnificent upholstery. ‘I’m beginning to design furniture of my own.’

  ‘I’m very pleased.’ Her smile was gentle, as if she knew it was what he would be doing. He’d always been grateful to Conrad Harvey for finding him work in Pullman’s upholstery shop, but he had often wondered what had prompted him to do it. ‘Recompense’ was the word used — a reward for putting his life in danger to save the young Elena, but it was a mystery how the Union Atlantic President had known exactly what job would suit him. It hadn’t occurred to Max that he might have told Ellie of his ambitions while he was lying dazed with pain. Now he understood, and he felt vaguely uneasy.

  ‘Come, and I’ll show you where I live,’ he said.

  By the main entrance was a large plaster of Paris model of Pullman, the company town George Pullman had established so that his workers might live in a well-ordered community free from all bad influences. It was laid out to scale, showing the factories, the tenements, the Arcade Building and library, the artificial lake and the parkland landscaped to give the place a rural appearance. Max pointed to one of the tenements.

  ‘I share this with my sister Katrina and her husband. She’s married to an Irishman.’

  Ellie was surprised. ‘Is he Jewish, then?’

  ‘Lord, no! Oliver’s as Catholic as they come.’

  ‘But I thought …’

  ‘That Jews only married Jews? My father and mother were very upset, but Katrina’s happy and they’ve forgiven her. They try to understand that in America it’s necessary to become American. My brother Laban has a good Jewish wife, and they give thanks for that.’

  ‘We’re Catholic, too,’ Ellie said.

  He liked Ellie. She was intelligent and charming, and though obviously indulged by her family she was not affected. So his present success was due to her. It amused him the way she had conspired with her brother, and he was flattered. He was also self-complacent. If he continued to please her, who could tell what fresh opportunities might come his way. In spite of somewhat radical views Max had a lot of personal ambition, and he knew it would be prudent to keep in with the Harveys.

  Lionel appeared along the path a few minutes later with his friend. His young face was contorted with rage, and the element of surprise enabled him to grab Max by the lapels of his coat.

  ‘What’s the idea?’ Lionel demanded. ‘Is this how you repay my father’s generosity, by kidnapping my sister? Oh yes, I remember you — the waiter who got lucky. Well, you won’t get away with this!’

  ‘Lionel!’ Ellie cried. ‘Have you gone mad?’

  ‘Take your hands off me.’ Max’s tone was cool and dignified. He was a head taller than his assailant and he flicked him aside as easily as swatting a fly. ‘Money obviously doesn’t breed manners.’

  ‘Shall we teach him a lesson?’ asked Randolph, who was a baseball hero at University.

  ‘Where did you meet Drew and how did you bribe him to bring you here tonight? What more do you expect to get from my family?’

  Ellie was furious. ‘Stop all this nonsense. What have you got against Mr Berman?’

  ‘He’s a Jew.’ Lionel spat the word out as if it were unclean. ‘We all know the lengths they’ll go to, to get rich.’

  Max’s eyes narrowed and a muscle moved in his jaw. ‘I trace my roots back to Abraham,’ he said. ‘If you could do the same I would respect you as an equal, but I doubt if your family even knew the Columbus this fair commemorates. Don’t tangle with me, Harvey.’

  ‘Leave this man and come with us, Ellie,’ Lionel commanded.

  ‘I won’t,’ said Ellie. ‘Where’s Drew?’

  ‘Drew has taken off with Clarissa.’

  ‘And you are jealous … well, don’t take it out on me. I’m an adult now, Lionel, and you can’t tell me what to do.’ She was wrenched from Max’s side. ‘You’ll behave properly, miss. I’m responsible for you and I say you’ll stay with me, not gallivant with any riffraff that takes your fancy. Especially a Jew.’

  Max struck him. He knew immediately his fist made contact that it was the most foolhardy thing he could have done. The blow landed just beneath the cheekbone and Lionel reeled from it. Randolph was the one who retaliated first, bringing Max to the ground in a tackle which would have won applause in a sports stadium. Ellie screamed. A whistle blew.

  Crowds gathered as the three men struggled, and the police had a job to get through. Lionel immediately addressed the law, his good looks marred by a red swelling of the cheek which he nursed with a cupped hand.

  ‘I’m Lionel Harvey,’ he said officiously, and pointed at Max. ‘Arrest that man! He attacked me.’

  Two policemen took over and hauled Max aside. ‘C’mon. A night behind bars ought to cool you off, mister.’

  Max was held prisoner but no one could rob him of his dignity. ‘You’ll regret this,’ he said to Lionel. ‘I warn you, o
ne day you’ll have to come to terms with all I stand for.’ As he was led away Ellie bent to retrieve his boater which had bowled to her feet and she refused to give it up to anyone.

  *

  No charges were laid against Max Berman, and he was allowed to walk free from the police cell later that night with no more than a warning not to let it happen again. He suspected that Ellie was responsible for his quick release, but he was as yet only partly aware of the power of her persuasion.

  ‘Thank you, Papa, dearest,’ Ellie said, when Conrad replaced the telephone after speaking to the most senior officer on duty and explaining it had all been a family misunderstanding. She dried her eyes on a delicate lace handkerchief. ‘I knew you would be as upset as I was at the way Lionel provoked poor Mr Berman. It was unforgivable. Mr Berman of all people, to whom we are so indebted.’

  The state of her father’s feelings was dubious, but Ellie had played upon them until the desired result was achieved. She had marched indoors ahead of Lionel, Randolph and Clarissa, determined to present her side of the story before anyone else had a chance. Her defence of Max had been breathtaking, and it had left Lionel in a position where anything he said made the case against him sound worse. Conrad Harvey had succumbed.

  ‘And now, Papa, we’re again in Mr Berman’s debt. He’s brought Drew back to us — isn’t it wonderful?’

  ‘A coincidence that they met,’ said her father. ‘Nothing more.’

  ‘It was meant to be,’ beamed Ellie. ‘Now I will tell you the most wonderful news of all. I spoke to Drew and I’ve persuaded him to come home, if you’ll not be hard on him. I know he regrets the mistake he made but I said you’ve forgiven him and want to make a fresh start. You’ll do that, Papa, won’t you? You’ll take him into the company and not be angry any more?’

  ‘I’ll hear him say first that he was wrong to defy me.’

  ‘No, Papa. You’ll never get him back if you do that.’ The lace handkerchief fluttered again as Ellie’s voice trembled. ‘I know you miss him more than anybody. And I want him back more than anything in the world.’

  A week later Drew Harvey took his place on the Board of the Union Atlantic Railroad Company.

  Four

  Her experiences at the Exposition had plunged Ellie into a dilemma. The meeting with Max Berman had confirmed that her emotional obsession over the last three years had not been wasted. Seeing him again had brought fresh life to her fantasies, only now they had become reality. She had nearly fainted with desire when his lips had touched hers in that brief, exquisite kiss, and she wouldn’t rest until the contact was repeated, though she was at a loss to know how that could be managed.

  Now that Drew was back in the family fold it was unlikely he would have any further contact with Max, and so there was no hope of another chance meeting even if she took Drew into her confidence. Ellie racked her brains for a solution but came up with nothing, since it was out of the question for her to approach Max in person at his place of work. She thought of asking her godfather to help, but he was away on one of his visits, and even if he had been available she wouldn’t have known what to say without arousing suspicion. There remained only the option of writing a letter.

  Ellie stayed in her room the whole of one morning composing a missive which would let Max know she wanted to see him again, yet without seeming to be a cheap invitation. When she finally sealed the envelope and gave the letter to Prudence to post, she felt reasonably confident that her words wouldn’t be misinterpreted, but her nerves were raw nevertheless.

  ‘Dear Mr Berman,’ she had written. The paper was decorated with pink rosebuds all down one edge. ‘I feel sure my brother Lionel will not apologise to you for the terrible things he said, so I am taking it upon myself to let you know that his sentiments are not shared by anyone else in the family. Please can you find it in your heart to forgive his behaviour? I couldn’t bear it if you were to think I hold the same opinions, for it doesn’t slip my mind for a minute that were it not for you I might not be here today, and I am eternally grateful.

  ‘How extraordinary that you know my dear brother Drew. It is surely Fate.

  ‘It would put my mind at rest if you could let me know that you do not bear a grudge. Yours in anticipation, Elena Harvey.’

  She didn’t know whether he would even reply. He’d been very angry that evening at the Exposition, quite rightly so, and he might not want anything more to do with the Harveys. At night she clutched the corner of her frilled pillow for comfort the way she had done when things had worried her as a child, and willed him to understand that she very much wanted to see him again.

  Three days later Ellie was coming down the curved staircase which was such a grand feature of the house in Prairie Avenue, and she almost tripped when Prudence called up to her from the hallway.

  ‘Telephone, Miss Elena,’ Prudence said, holding out the earpiece. ‘Gentleman by the name of Mr Berman.’

  Ellie took a deep breath, then swept down the remaining stairs with a nonchalant air which hid an inner quaking.

  ‘Good evening, Mr Berman,’ she said. ‘This is Elena Harvey speaking.’

  ‘I received your letter, Miss Harvey,’ said Max. There was humour in his voice. Surely he hadn’t thought it funny! ‘Please don’t let your mind be uneasy any longer. I bear no grudge.’

  ‘Oh, thank goodness.’

  ‘I hope our association at the Exposition didn’t cause you any trouble.’

  ‘Oh no,’ said Ellie, now a little breathless. ‘None at all.’

  ‘I was afraid your father might be angry that you became separated from your brothers.’

  ‘Well … just a little. But I reminded him that I was perfectly safe with you.’

  ‘You hardly know me.’

  ‘No, but you once saved my life. In whose hands could I be safer?’

  ‘I don’t wish to hear that little matter ever mentioned again,’ Max said, sounding vexed. Then he laughed. ‘And I’m sure I have you to thank for my prompt release from custody, so please consider the debt cleared. Now, I won’t keep you — I know you must be busy.’

  ‘No …’

  ‘I’ll bid you goodnight, then.’

  ‘Goodnight,’ murmured Ellie, as the line went dead.

  Oh, the disappointment. He hadn’t even expressed a wish that they might meet again some time in the future. Nothing. When the gong sounded for dinner, Ellie entered the dining room knowing it would be impossible for food to pass the lump in her throat, and she had to excuse herself on the pretext of being unwell.

  The following evening Drew waylaid her in the conservatory where she had languished uncharacteristically for most of the day.

  ‘Little one, I know the symptoms,’ Drew said, drawing a chair close to hers. ‘Would a fellow by the name of Berman be the reason for this attack of the doldrums?’

  Ellie flushed crimson. ‘How did you guess?’

  ‘As I said, I’ve suffered myself.’ He picked up her hand and traced the heart line deeply etched across the top of her palm. ‘Tomorrow evening I’ve asked Clarissa’s parents if I may take her to a concert given by the Chicago Symphony. I’m afraid I took the liberty of saying that you would come with us as chaperone. You will come, won’t you, Ellie? It’ll take your mind off things.’

  ‘You’d no right —’ she began. Then she saw how disappointed her brother would be if she refused, and fought against her disinclination to do anything. ‘You never used to like Clarissa.’

  ‘She was gawky and freckled. How was I to know she would grow into a red-headed beauty while I was away?’

  ‘She adores you, Drew.’

  ‘Of course! Doesn’t everyone?’ He teetered backwards on the chair when she pushed him for teasing, but when he righted himself he was serious. ‘I’m glad to be back home, Ellie, for many reasons, but one of the main ones could be Clarissa.’

  ‘I’m glad. And of course I’ll come tomorrow.’

  Ellie
dressed with care for the concert in a gown of apricot silk. She longed to wear dark velvet like Mama, which would have made her look older and more sophisticated, but Mama had said that at eighteen pastel shades were more becoming and had refused to let her even try a fabric of midnight blue against her pale skin, yet Ellie knew instinctively that with her colouring it would be striking.

  Drew was allowed to use the new vis-à-vis carriage with curtain quarter which had been made specially for Papa by Brewsters of New York, and they arrived early at the concert hall where the great Theadore Thomas was to conduct the orchestra. Clarissa, in turquoise satin, clung to Drew’s arm with excitement while Ellie walked on the other side of him, feeling that she was decidedly in the way.

  The foyer was already overflowing with elegant concert-goers. Drew bought programmes and sweetmeats, and as he had predicted, the atmosphere lifted Ellie out of her misery. She loved coming here and looked around with pleasure at the well-known society figures with whom she was sharing the evening. A Theadore Thomas concert was not to be missed, and it was almost a social obligation to be seen at one. It was amazing, therefore, to spot Max Berman shouldering his way through the crush, his head proud, his eyes seeking someone. Ellie was suddenly so hot she thought she was going to faint. It was the last place she would have expected him to be.

  He came up to them while she was still fearful of seeing him approach some female other than herself. That he was to join them was too good to be true.

  ‘Max,’ said Drew, attracting his attention. ‘Glad you’re here. I didn’t tell the ladies you were coming just in case you couldn’t make it.’