“The problem with your family is they’re assuming you should maintain the same standards of conduct as you did in England,” Martha said. The two women were in Ella’s cabin. Martha was assisting Ella into a corset and dress for her appearance before William.
Ella enjoyed Martha’s company, but this trip was proving to be a nightmare, and Martha’s inspirational banter wasn’t making her feel any better.
“I have no idea what you mean. And right now, I’m in no mood to decipher. Believe me though, my father is thoroughly American,” Ella said standing with her back toward Martha so she could tie the stays of her corset.
“You spit out American as if it leaves a bad taste in your mouth.” Martha pulled the last stay of the corset so tight Ella gasped. “Your family doesn’t realize we live in a different world than the one you came from.” She finished the ties and grabbed Ella’s dress off the bed. “You have lived here for over five years now. America is not England. Enjoying yourself with friends around campfires unaccompanied by your brother or another male family member doesn’t make you a social outcast.” She held the dress out for Ella to put on. “And besides, you’re hardly a maiden anymore, my word! You’re almost thirty. You should be allowed to come and go as you please. Your brother and father’s disapproval of you traveling to New York City unaccompanied is rather odd.”
“They don’t like not knowing my whereabouts. Father especially wants to control who I socialize with as friends,” Ella said as she put one leg and then another into her gown. She lifted the straps over her shoulders and put her back toward Martha again to button up. She glanced at Martha’s reflection in the mirror and held her tongue. She dared not offend her friend by telling her that Papa also disapproved of her friendship with a divorcee. Ella had met Martha at a writers seminar for women in New York City. Ella had been thrilled to be part of it even if she did feel like an amateur amongst the other writers. The women that attended the seminar were mostly single: spinsters, widowed, or divorced, like Martha. Dr. Durant didn’t approve of Ella attending, calling the event ‘frivolous and a waste of money.’
“Didn’t you tell William you were coming here?” Martha said.
“No. He had no idea. I didn’t think he would be here. I thought he was in Saratoga on railroad business. It’s just like him to show up unexpectedly.” Ella thought of Louise and the cabin in the woods. Wait until her father found out that William was harboring Louise there, year-round.
“I can’t imagine why William would be so upset with you for enjoying the camp. From what I hear, the man spends countless hours at the clubs in New York bragging about this place. Why shouldn’t you get to enjoy it as much as he obviously does?”
“My father instructed that the camp stay closed this summer while the workers carried out construction work.” She wasn’t sure why, but Ella felt it necessary to defend William.
“Well, then Ella, you are in trouble. Good luck.”
Ella knew there was more to grovel about than why she defied her father by coming to Pine Knot. She was nervous when Louise came to tell her William was in his cabin waiting to see her. What had Jerome Wood told him?
“William is going to throw a fit I know it,” Ella lamented to Louise as they walked to his cabin.
Louise linked her arm with Ella’s and patted her hand. “You must tell William you love Poultney. He will understand. William has told me many times how much he loves me.”
Ella was concerned by her enthusiasm. As smart as she was, Louise was so naïve about the world the Durants inhabited. Was William leading this poor girl on? He had to know their parents would never allow him to marry an Indian girl from the Northern Woods.
They stopped in front of William’s cabin just as dusk placed its veil over the forest.
Poultney was standing at the rear of the room when they entered; Ella could barely make him out in the gloaming.
“Sit down, Ella.” William was also standing.
Ella looked around. William’s cabin was better furnished than any other. He had shelves built into the walls and above each door where he kept his many books on architecture, foreign lands, and hunting. Red curtains framed the windows, bear rugs cloaked the floor and hunting trophies of deer head were mounted on the walls. His desk was sided with inlaid twigs and the front was decorated with a large sheath of white birch with his initials WD carved into it. Her eye was automatically drawn to the commanding fireplace, surrounded by stone and a huge mantel made of some piece of wood from the forest. Considering he was supposed to be working in New York City and Saratoga mostly, William was keeping busy at Pine Knot. Ella sat down in one of the rocking chairs.
William wasted no time getting to the point. “Jerome has told me everything. In light of these events, and your inability to follow father’s orders, I have no choice but to tell him that you were here with your friends.”
“Is that all?” Ella said. Why was Poultney just lurking in the corner? Was he not prepared to defend her honor?
William cleared his throat. “Your relationship with Poultnew is over.”
“What?” Ella stood up quickly.
“I told you what. You and Poultney are over. He will not be welcome here again and you’ll not see him in New York. You either listen to me on this or I tell father everything.”
“Tell him what exactly, William? That I’m in love?”
“Really Will,” Poultney came out of the shadows, “Ella and I are,” he stopped, searching for the right word, “friends.”
For a brief moment Ella felt as if her heart stopped pumping the blood in her veins. Then, in one swift rush it all went to her head, carrying everything with it: all the pent up rage she had been feeling since leaving England: Basil Napier’s death; being left out of family plans, her life plans in ruins; trapped like an exile in a small, backwoods, nothing town to rot while her parents, friends and brother lived it up in New York City; only to be told by Martha that her upbringing was not adaptable to life in America, and the hypocrisy of William condemning her while having a secret affair with Louise. And now, to top it all, Poultney was denying her. Outrage consumed her.
She lunged at him. In three strides she was close enough to pummel him. Poultney lifted his arms in defense against the barrage of punches she rained down on him.
“Friends, Poultney? ‘Just’ friends are we? Liar! Liar!” She struck him with all the force she could muster.
It took William a moment to register what was happening, and when he did, he moved between them. He grabbed Ella’s arms and pinned them to her waist. “Ella! Get a hold of yourself.”
She struggled to break his grip. “No!” she yelled at William.
William was shaken, he knew Ella had a temper but he had never seen her like this before. “Ella, calm down.”
He was surprised at the effort it took to prevent her from wrenching out of his grasp. For a moment he thought he might have to slap her when, out of nowhere, Louise intervened. Unbeknownst to all of them, she had been there the whole time. Without a word, she stepped up to William and lifted his hands off Ella. The men stood helpless as Ella collapsed into Louise’s embrace. Louise glared at William and led Ella out of the cabin.
“Whew, that woman sure has some temper!” Poultney said. William stared at the closed door, humbled to the quick by Louise’s look of remonstration. He turned around to face Poultney, staring up at him with a smug look on his face. William struck him so hard he went flying across the floor.
After a moment, he walked over to Poultney, took the handkerchief from his pocket and threw it to him. “Here,” he said.
Poultney took the linen and wiped the blood from his face and lips.
“Hit by two Durants in one day, that is quite an accomplishment,” he quipped. William went to the small rustic table that served as a bar and poured whiskey into a crystal tumbler.
“You want one?” William raised the glass filled with the brown liquid at Poultney.
“Yes.” Poultney continued to dab at his mouth as he worked his way into the rocking chair. William brought a tumbler over to Poultney. They raised their glasses in the air in a salute, put the tumblers to their lips and washed the drink down. Poultney winced at the stinging sensation the alcohol left on his cut lip. William retrieved the bottle and pulled up a chair next to Poultney.
“You know I can’t marry her,” Poultney said.
“I know. But did you have to lead her on, you bloody fool?” William observed his glass was empty and refilled it along with Poultney’s.
“It’s not that I don’t love her.” Poultney said as he wiped the blood from his mouth. “It’s just that I can’t have her. I can’t marry a woman that has similar ambitions to mine. We would be competing with each other all of the time, and I would lose.” He started to laugh at the irony of his statement, then stopped. It hurt his mouth too much. “Besides, your father would never allow it. I don’t have, how should we say, enough capital to bring to the union.”
William said nothing. There was nothing to say, Poultney was right.
“What are you going to do about Louise?” Poultney asked.
William’s anger flared and he scowled at Poultney but quickly squashed it, realizing Poultney was pointing out the obvious.
“I’m not sure yet,” he sighed into his glass. “But if history is any indication, probably what I have always done with the women in my life. Protect them from my father.” He and Poultney finished their drink in silence.
Ella and William’s relationship remained tepid after Poultney and Martha departed. They rarely spoke, preferring to ignore each other’s existence while going about their daily routine. Ella continued her writing while William worked on Pine Knot. There was always something to do. A new wing on a building, repairs to stonework, a change of plans because William didn’t approve of a craftsman’s work and ordered it to be done over. As time went by William had mostly forgotten about Ella’s indiscretion until his cousin Charles came to visit and informed him that Alvah had pulled a gun on him and his workmen.
“I’ve already put at least $1,000 dollars into it!” He paced the floor of William’s cabin in a fit of rage. “How dare he tell me I can’t build. Who is the squatter here after all? I have offered him a square deal to move on to another location. His run-down ramshackle house is falling apart as it is. And he has no money to fix it. I say, rebuild somewhere else where no one will notice. He hates Raquette now anyway, always complaining there are too many tourists.”
William sat and listened to his cousin’s rant. This was not good. His father was on his way to Pine Knot and if he heard what Alvah had done, he’d send the cavalry to boot him off Osprey. It would not go over well with the natives. “Charles, sit down and let’s think.” He coaxed Charles into a chair.
“What’s to think about? Your sister and her friends have riled the man up! He told me as much when he was pointing a gun at my head. Said something like, ‘Ella and her New York friends agree I should stand my ground here’.”
Christ, William thought, Ella hadn’t told him they conversed with Alvah, much less that they excited him into believing he had rights to the island. How would he explain this to his father? There was only so much he could do to keep Ella from drowning in her own stupidity.
“Let’s keep that to ourselves for now, Charles, while we think this through.”
“Think what through? No, I have done enough negotiating with that man. It’s time to take action. I can’t leave my half-built house and investment without a fight. Who’s to say Alvah won’t take it over?”
“He wouldn’t do any such thing. He may be belligerent, but he is no thief, I assure you, Charles. My men know him well and think highly of him, even if he is anti-social.”
Jerome Wood appeared at the door and cleared his throat to announce his presence. William wondered how much he had heard of their conversation.
“Dr. Doo’Rant is here and requests to see you, sir.”
“Tell him I’ll be right there, Jerome.” William turned to Charles. “Keep your head about this. We’ll figure it out.”