Once she tasted the meal, Gladys was glad she had come. The meat for the main course was chicken, and it was prepared differently than she had ever had. The skin on the individual pieces was brown and crispy, and the inside was juicy and tender. Along with the colourful assortment of vegetables, there was a large bowl of cooked corn, and each cob was skewered at each end with a little China handle.
She had never seen anyone eat corn before. In England, it was only used for silage. However, this corn had been lathered with butter and sprinkled with salt and looked most tempting. After watching his cousins, Eddy didn’t hesitate, and it didn’t take him any time to chew the kernels off a cob and accept another. Gladys couldn’t wait to tell Sandy about the meal, and after complimenting Theresa, she said she would love to have her friend, Sandy, who was going to cook when they had the restaurant ready, meet her cook and exchange recipes.
“I’m sure Bess would appreciate that, Gladys, and goodness knows I would too. Bess and her family come from the south, and although she is an excellent cook, it would be nice to have a little more variety with our meals,” Theresa replied.
Gladys felt at home with the Ruttens. They reminded her of the Watts, the proprietors of the inn in Dover, England, where she had worked when she was a young girl, but she couldn’t think why. The two couples were nothing alike. The Watts weren’t nearly as affable, and they certainly didn’t look alike. Both Laura and Neil Watt were short and stout, while the Ruttens were both tall and stately. That was it! Both couples resembled each other as though they were a set of book ends, or two matching chairs. For a second, her thoughts drifted and she wondered if that would happen to her and Angelo after they had been together for a long time.
We are about the same height, she thought, and although Angelo’s hair is much darker than mine, it probably won’t be long before we are both grey. Then she couldn’t help thinking how nice it was that she had chosen such a handsome man. The thought filled her with desire and she longed to return to their flat, but when they finished their meal Peter insisted they join him in the sitting room for brandy and go over a list he had had Theresa draft of all the things that still had to be done to the building. It seemed he had already bought furnishings for the apartments, so all they needed to do was to have them delivered.
Peter explained that they were lucky to have a restaurant so close to the pier, now that the big steamships were coming to New York. That was also one of the reasons he had decided to redecorate the building. “You can raise the rent on apartments twenty-five percent,” he said. “Heard a lot of Italians coming this year; Lottie, you’ll be busy cooking.”
“Oh, I doubt I will be needed, Uncle. Gladys has brought a cook of her own to do the cooking now,” Lottie said, her sarcasm shocking them all.
“Gladys had nothing to do with it,” Victor snapped back while sending his wife a warning look. “Angelo and I were the ones who asked him, and you shall be glad we did when you taste his food. Anyway, if we are as successful as we hope to be, we shall need both of you in the kitchen.” Lottie didn’t reply, nor did she apologize. Victor changed the subject.
The sitting room was decorated with plenty of expensive furniture and window dressings without being too ostentatious. What really took Gladys’s eye was an accordion sitting on a table beside a piano. She mentioned how lovely both instruments were, then she wished she hadn’t. Peter asked if she played, and when she said she did, he insisted she play for him.
“I had friends who were from Scotland, and this one by Robby Burns was their favourite. I hope you like it too,” she said.
“I’m sure he will, Gladys,” Theresa replied. “Especially if you sing it. You know, Lottie has a fine voice as well. Sing along with her, Lottie, dear.”
“I won’t know the song, Auntie. Besides, I am certain Gladys is used to entertaining by herself,” Lottie replied, meaning it more as an affront than a compliment.
Gladys, not letting on she noticed, sat down at the piano and said, “If you know the song, I would appreciate it if you join in, Carlotta.” Then she began playing and singing.
“Flow gently, sweet Afton, among thy green braes,
Flow gently, I’ll sing thee a song in thy praise
My Mary’s asleep by thy murmuring stream
Flow gently, sweet Afton, disturb not her dream
Thou stock-dove whose echo resounds thro’ the glen
Ye wild whistling blackbirds in yon thorny den
Thou green-crested lapwing thy screaming forbear
I charge you disturb not my slumbering fair”
After the first two verses, she stopped playing and asked, “Do any of you know it?”
Peter, almost shouting, answered, “No, but please don’t stop!”
Even Carlotta was impressed with Gladys’s voice, but she didn’t say anything.
After Gladys finished the song, Peter wanted more. The only way she could refuse was to promise to return soon for another musical evening.
It was a nice warm evening, and Peter had his coachman hitch up a wagon so that everyone could ride home together. Just as they were about to leave, Bess, the cook, came out with two baskets of food for Gladys to take home. When Gladys saw that Bess was also black, she was sure the Ruttens were still keeping slaves, and, as thankful as she was for their kindness, she didn’t intend to be their friend.
Eddy had enjoyed playing a game of checkers with his cousins while they were visiting the Ruttens, and now he was having a good time with them on the way home. As Gladys watched him, he turned and asked, “Mother, why don’t we sing some songs?”
Gladys asked the twins if they had a song they liked to sing, and they said, “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.” Because Gladys and Eddy hadn’t heard it, the twins asked Carlotta to sing it with them. When she refused, Victor volunteered.
Eddy couldn’t stop laughing when he heard the lyrics and begged them to sing it again, so he could join in, especially the first verse.
“Row, row, row your boat,
Gently down the stream.
If you see a crocodile,
Don’t forget to scream.
Row, row, row your boat,
Gently down the stream.
Throw your teacher overboard
And listen to her scream.”
When it was time for Eddy to pick a song, he chose “Froggie Would A-Wooing Go.” The twins listened attentively to the song, but it wasn’t finished when they arrived at Victor and Carlotta’s house, and since they didn’t want to miss any of it, they asked if they could stay in the wagon until it was over. Carlotta said it was too late, but Victor came to their rescue again.
“I want to hear the rest of it too, Lottie, so please keep on singing you two, or we shall never get any sleep tonight wondering what happened to Mr Froggie!” Isabella agreed and when the song was finished, everyone but Carlotta offered a hearty farewell.
They hadn’t gone more than a few blocks before they arrived at their building, and the coachman helped Gladys and Eddy down off the wagon then drove off.
“Well, here we are: our first home!” Angelo said proudly as he opened the door to the apartment. “What do you think, Tiger? Do you suppose you will like it here?”
“I should say so,” Eddy said as he ran to the window. “Look Mother, if I open the window and look out, I can see the ships. It shall be great fun spending time down on the docks with all the sailors.”
“Oh no, you shan’t!” Gladys said emphatically. “You are not to go down there by yourself. Do you understand?”
Eddy shrugged his shoulders. “Well, may I go with Paulo and Louie?”
“We shall see. Now let’s see if there’s anything in Bess’s baskets that we can have before we go to bed.” Bess had put in almost everything they needed, including meat and eggs for breakfast, fresh milk, chocolate, and cookies.
“It�
�s like Christmas, isn’t it Mother?” Eddy said, grinning from ear-to-ear as they unpacked each item. But as excited as he was, he could barely stay awake long enough to drink a cup of hot chocolate and eat a cookie.
“It’s been a long day for him but such a happy one,” Gladys said after Eddy had gone to bed. “That was so thoughtful of Mrs Rutten to have Bess put up those baskets. I only wish I could be friends with her.”
“Why on earth can’t you? Is it because she’s too rich?” Angelo asked.
“Of course not! Why would that that bother me? You must have noticed that they keep slaves.”
“If you’re talking about their butler, their cook, and the man who drove the wagon, well, they certainly are not slaves. They all work for wages, and they’re lucky to have a job. Most people in New York refuse to hire them. There are a good many who are so poor they’re practically starving to death.”
“Why won’t they hire them?”
“I’m not too sure, but I have heard it’s because they are taking jobs that the local people need, and there are some people here who still believe in slavery. But whatever the reason, the Ruttens support that fellow, Lincoln, and they haven’t owned slaves for many years.”
“Thank heavens! I hope we can visit with them often.”
“Well, you promised to play for Peter again. My God, Gladdy, I never knew you could play and sing like that! It makes me realize that there is a great deal we have to learn about each other after all.”
“We weren’t much more than children when we last saw each other, so in some respects, we are strangers.”
“But our love for each other is just as strong as it was back then,” Angelo said as he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. “At least it is for me. And now I have everything I’ve ever dreamt of.”
Whether it was because she was tired or because of the sound of smugness to Angelo’s voice, Gladys couldn’t help but feel resentful. She slipped out of his arms and snapped, “Well, good for you! It’s too bad we can’t all have everything we want.”
Her change of mood shocked Angelo, and he threw up his hands. “Now what have I done?”
“You have no idea, do you?”
“No. So suppose you tell me.”
“You stand there and say that now you have everything you’ve ever wanted and expect me to feel the same. Don’t you realize what your happiness has cost me? I’ve left my daughters to come here with you, and my heart is breaking. But as long as you have everything you want, I should be dancing with joy.” She didn’t wait for a reply but ran into the bedroom crying.
Angelo waited for five minutes then he went in. She was lying on the bed and he lay down beside her but didn’t touch her. “I am so sorry, Glad. It was thoughtless of me, I know that now, but I just felt so happy. I will never forget what you have done for me, and I’ll do everything I can to see you are with them soon.”
Gladys turned over and put her face on his neck. “I do love you. I guess I am just tired and feeling sorry for myself. I’m sorry, Toughie, oops, I mean Angelo. Oh, fiddle! I’ve been so good about calling you Angelo, but sometimes I feel like we are still those two kids back in Old Nichol.”
“Actually, I don’t mind if you call me that sometimes, and Eddy really gets such a kick out of it.”
When they were getting ready for bed, Gladys remembered to ask Angelo if he had noticed how cold Carlotta was toward her.
“I think she is jealous, and I can’t say I blame her,” he replied.
“No, that’s not what it is. I’m sure it has to do with her sister: your wife, Rosa.”
“You may be right, but she’s really not a bad person. I’m sure she will get over it when she gets to know you.”
“I doubt it, but I hope so. If she doesn’t like me now, she will like me even less when she finds out about Dolly and Eliza. You know, I think under different circumstances we could have become good friends. I like the way she says what she thinks. She’s actually quite beautiful, isn’t she?”
“Lottie? I never noticed.”
“Well, I shall just have to hope I can win her over. Did you give my letters to the postman that we saw at the dock?”
“Yes, and he said they would be going with the mail ship tomorrow. Now get in here, woman. I’ve waited long enough!”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
As soon as they finished making love, Victor would have liked very much to fall asleep with his arm over Lottie and his hand on her bosom, but she wasn’t about to allow that to happen until she gave him a piece of her mind. Pushing his arm off her, she rolled over to face him.
“Now I want to hear what in Hades went on while you were over there!”
“Let’s talk about it tomorrow, luv. I’m properly knackered,” Victor replied, hoping his use of slang would put her in a better mood.
“I don’t give a damn if you’re knackered, knockered or, or, whatever. You owe me an explanation, and you are not getting any sleep until I get one.”
Knowing she meant what she said, Victor got out of bed and put on his dressing gown. “We may as well have a cup of tea then.” Lottie was going to tell him to stay in bed while she made it, but she knew he would fall asleep if she did. She followed him into the kitchen and got out the cups, cream, and sugar while he put the kettle on.
Victor was the first to begin. “Before you start, I want you to know that I only found out about Gladys two weeks before we left England, when she and Eddy arrived at the inn where we were staying.”
“Then when were they married?”
“I never asked, but, to tell the truth, I don’t think they are married. I think they intend to marry, but I suspect she is already married to someone else and is waiting for a divorce. Now that’s only a guess, so don’t repeat it.”
Lottie stared at him with her mouth hanging open for a second before she could answer. “And you went along with their charade, knowing she might be committing adultery?”
“I can see that they are in love, Lottie, and that’s what really matters, isn’t it?”
“No, that’s not what matters! They are living in sin, and they even lied to your mother. Surely you can’t condone that.”
“Lottie, we were no angels before we were married, if you remember.”
“That’s not the same. That boy, Edward, must have been conceived at the same time we were in London waiting to come to America and the same time that Rosa was with child. I’ve thought about it, and I remember Angelo saying he was spending his last nights in England with his friends. He must have been with her the whole time while Rosa was waiting with us. I wonder if that’s why she became so sick on the boat. Maybe she knew he had a lover, and she didn’t want to survive. They killed her, Victor!”
“They did not kill her! Rosa was never well, and Angelo never left her side on the ship until she passed. You remember how genuinely sad he was. If he had an affair with Gladys, I’m sure he didn’t intend to continue with it. Angelo and Gladys went through so much together when they were young, and then, when she recognized him at the theatre and left a note for him, I guess he felt he had to see her for the last time. They hadn’t seen each other since they left that horrible place called Old Nichol, and they were very fond of each other.”
“So you knew about their rendezvous. How could you allow it knowing how frail Rosa’s condition was?”
“Listen, Lottie. I didn’t know he spent that night with her. I thought he really was spending it with friends. Anyway, whatever the situation, I want you to keep out of it. And I wish you would be a little more civil to her from now on. Angelo and I are not only family, we are partners. We shall have to forget our differences if we are going to work together.”
“Hah! I can’t see her ladyship getting her hands dirty. She’s probably never done a day’s work in her life. I just hope for her sake that she stays out of my way. I’ll n
ever forgive either of them for what they did, and I’m sure when I tell your mother and Aunt Theresa what sort of a woman she is, they won’t be so fond of her either.”
“Don’t you say one word to them, you hear? Things are running smoothly now, and that’s the way it has to be. We need all the help we can get from your aunt and uncle, and as for Mother, well, she has never been this happy in years. Darling, I know how this has hurt you, and I do understand, but we must think of our future and the twins. Please try to carry on, and remember none of it is Eddy’s fault. We mustn’t take it out on him. Come on, luv, I’m home now and I am staying, so let’s go back to bed and forget everything but that, at least for tonight.”
Lottie knew it wouldn’t be easy, but it was so wonderful to have Victor home for good, she said no more.
Isabella had woken and heard voices. Thinking one of the boys might be ill she had risen and was just opening her door when she realized Victor and Lottie were having an argument. Although she knew she shouldn’t eavesdrop, she remained where she was with her hand on the door knob. What she heard was not surprising. It seemed Victor, like her, had suspected that Gladys and Angelo were not legally married.
After she heard Victor order Lottie not to tell her aunt about Angelo and Gladys’s affair, she went back to bed. As she lay there, she went over everything she had overheard, and she couldn’t help but feel sorry for Lottie, since she knew how much her sister had meant to her. Lottie had been twelve when her mother, a widow, died and left her to look after her little sister, Rosa. To make matters worse, Rosa was a victim of cerebral palsy and didn’t have full use of her left arm and leg.
Lottie had married Victor when she was just sixteen and he was twenty-five. She was a good Italian wife and Isabella could find no fault with her. That was, until Victor brought Angelo home and Lottie began scheming to have him marry Rosa. Whenever Lottie made up her mind to do something, nothing short of death would stop her, and before they knew what was happening, poor Angelo and Rosa were married.
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