Chapter Seven
“You’re a very difficult man to run to ground.”
Lifting his head from the contract he’d been working on, Jack pulled off his spectacles and narrowed his eyes at Walter, who was winding his way through the small tables at the outdoor café directly across from the Palmer House in Chicago, where Jack had taken a room. Following directly behind Walter was Ruthanne, and directly behind her was another Harvey Girl, Opal Chapman, if he remembered correctly.
Jack stood up and shook Walter’s hand, then nodded to Ruthanne and Opal as Walter pulled two additional chairs up to the table and helped the women get settled. After they’d taken their seats, Jack sat down again, Walter taking a chair beside him.
“What are you doing in Chicago?”
“I already told you,” Walter said. “We’ve been trying to run you down, and we’ve had quite the time doing that, since we’ve had to trek across the country.”
“It’s been an adventure,” Ruthanne added. “One where I got to meet your mother, Jack. She’s a lovely woman and wanted me to tell you that even though you’ve apparently made a complete mess of things with Myrtle, she’s confident you’ll put all of what she called ‘that nasty business’ to rights in the end.”
Ruthanne smiled. “I have, and again, she’s a lovely woman.”
Jack frowned. “But why have you come with Walter to run me down? Won’t you and Opal be in trouble for missing your shifts at El Tovar?”
Ruthanne waved that aside. “Walter arranged everything. He convinced Mr. Eliot to allow Opal and me to take a few of our vacation days, even though they certainly weren’t planned. I do think Walter might have slipped Mr. Eliot some money to convince him to allow us the time off.”
“I’m here as Ruthanne’s chaperone,” Opal said, fanning herself with a menu. “It would have been a big scandal if she’d taken off with Walter without one, what with them not being married and all.” She smiled. “I saw it as my Christian duty to volunteer to accompany them.”
Ruthanne released a snort. “You volunteered because Walter offered you a tidy sum to come with us.”
Opal’s smile turned into a grin. “Well, there is that, but God would have expected me to volunteer even without the money Walter gave me.” Her grin faded ever so slightly. “I was worried, though, that I wouldn’t have a job to return to after this adventure is over once it became clear that our time away from El Tovar was going to be longer than expected. Mr. Eliot isn’t known for his understanding nature, even if he did agree to allow us to take a few vacation days without notice.”
Jack frowned. “You’re worried you’re going to be fired?”
Opal’s grin returned. “I was worried. But when your brother learned I have a talent for organization and typing, he offered me a job at Daggett Industries as a secretary.” She nodded toward Ruthanne. “Ruthanne’s been offered a job as well, although I don’t imagine she’ll need to take it, not since Walter got up his gumption and asked her to marry him.”
Jack caught Walter’s eye. “You and Ruthanne are engaged?”
Walter nodded. “We are, but I’ve yet to get her a ring, since we’ve been occupied with trying to find you.”
After telling Ruthanne congratulations, and then kissing her on the cheek and giving Walter a hefty pat on the back, Jack turned to Opal. “You’re not overly distressed, are you, about giving up your position as a Harvey Girl?”
Opal shook her head. “’Course not. My dear grandma told me time after time that God presents us with unexpected opportunities in life, ones that can lead us in directions we never imagined. I thoroughly enjoyed my time as a Harvey Girl, but I can’t say I’ll miss being on my feet all day. I’m looking forward to renting myself a nice room in the vicinity of your factory.” She sent Jack an unexpected wink. “I’m also looking forward to meeting some of those fine young men who work in your factory and who your brother promised to introduce me to.”
For the first time since he’d parted ways with Myrtle, Jack felt his lips curve. “Which means you might not be employed as one of Daggett Industries’ secretaries for long.”
As Opal beamed in delight at that idea, Jack turned back to Walter. “Returning to the reason all of you are here—why have you been searching for me, and how did you figure out I’d be in Chicago?”
Walter picked up a menu from the table. “Ma suggested we look for you here after we learned you’d not gone home to Michigan.”
“Why did you think I went home to Michigan?”
“You always go home when something’s bothering you, and I knew losing Myrtle bothered you.”
“I didn’t lose Myrtle. She left me.”
“She did not leave you.”
Jack shook his head. “I beg to differ. When I returned to El Tovar the morning after the dance to speak with her, after I’d had a long night under the stars to settle my thoughts, I found she’d already left. She certainly didn’t hesitate about taking my suggestion to return to New York after I told her that’s where she belonged, amongst the socially elite.”
“Which you should have never told her,” Walter argued. “But why did you sleep outside when you had a perfectly good room to stay in at El Tovar?”
“I needed to think, and there’s no better place to think than under the stars in the middle of nowhere with no people around. Gives a man a new perspective on things and also allows him an opportunity to have a long chat with God with no interruptions.”
Ruthanne tilted her head. “And did God bring you to any conclusions about what you were discussing with Him?”
Jack rubbed a hand over his face. “I thought He did, but after I returned to tell Myrtle I might have overreacted, I discovered she’d taken the first train out that morning—and with Percy, no less. That left me with nothing but to conclude that God hadn’t wanted me to make amends with Myrtle after all. So that’s that, and I’ll just continue on as I have before, without Myrtle.”
Ruthanne leaned across the table. “Myrtle didn’t go back with Percy because she decided she belonged in New York. She only left El Tovar because Percy gave her a letter from her mother that explained how she has been suffering from a heart ailment that might very well see her dying soon.”
Jack blinked. “Her mother’s dying?”
“According to the letter she sent Myrtle, yes.”
“No wonder she left, but . . .” He turned to Walter. “Why did you leave El Tovar before speaking with me?”
Walter shrugged. “I thought you’d already left for Michigan. That’s why Ruthanne, Opal, and I hopped on the next available train, hoping to catch up with you so that Ruthanne could tell you about Myrtle’s mother, and—”
“You wanted me to know Myrtle hadn’t left El Tovar because she wanted to marry Percy?”
Walter nodded. “I did, but I also wanted you to hear directly from Ruthanne what she overheard from Percy after you left the dance . . . and after Percy enjoyed a bit too much whiskey.” Walter shook his head. “Unfortunately, I was mistaken about where you’d gone, so that’s why it’s taken us five days to track you down.”
“You said Ma pointed you toward Chicago?”
“Knowing how upset you must have been about Myrtle, she thought you might have come to Chicago to return the ring. She guessed you wouldn’t want to keep a reminder of what might have been and was now never going to be, since you made a complete disaster of things when you turned your back on Myrtle.”
“I didn’t turn my back on her.”
Ruthanne cleared her throat. “Myrtle told me you ended your courtship.”
“Well, yes, I did.”
“That’s turning your back on her.” Ruthanne settled into her chair. “I’m sure she’d be annoyed with me for telling you this, but she was very remorseful about not disclosing the truth about her past to you earlier, and she was very distraught when I spoke with her later that night.”
Jack frowned. “She didn’t seem overly distraught to me.”
“Myrtle doesn’t like pity, Jack,” Ruthanne argued. “She wouldn’t have allowed you to see her cry, but that’s exactly what she was doing when I found her.”
Something unpleasant began to churn through him. The thought of Myrtle crying was appalling to him, and that he’d been the reason she was crying . . .
“Tell him what you overheard Percy saying,” Walter said.
“It’s a fairly sordid tale and might require some coffee first so I’ll do it justice,” Ruthanne said.
“Forgive me, ladies.” Jack raised a hand, which had a waitress hurrying their way. “I’ve completely neglected my manners. Of course you should have coffee first.”
“And a nice plate of cakes might be nice as well,” Opal said, grinning as she peered over the menu once she’d stopped fanning herself with it. “And I wouldn’t be opposed to some cucumber sandwiches, which I’ve always wanted to try.”
It took a good few minutes to place their order for coffee, cakes, and sandwiches, and by the time their waitress left, one whom Opal felt was very proficient at her job, another few minutes had passed. They were quickly served their coffee, and after Ruthanne had a few sips of hers, she sat back and pinned Jack with a stern eye. “You’ve been an idiot.”
Jack blinked. “That’s what you overheard Percy saying? That I’m an idiot?”
Ruthanne waved that aside. “’Course not, it’s just something I’ve been wanting to say to you.”
It was difficult to suppress a grin. “Duly noted, but why do you believe I’m an idiot?”
“Because you ended your courtship with Myrtle the second you learned she comes from a wealthy family. Why did you do that?”
Jack rubbed a hand over his face. “The most important thing I could offer Myrtle was a life of luxury and access to the fortune I possess. Learning she came from wealth left me believing that I didn’t have anything else of worth to offer her.”
“You are an idiot,” Ruthanne returned with a shake of her head. “You are all that Myrtle wanted, not your wealth, and you’ve done her a disservice by believing otherwise.”
Something that felt a bit like hope began to swirl through his veins. “If what you say is true, then clearly I am an idiot. And, with that out of the way, tell me what you overheard Percy say and how you managed to overhear him in the first place.”
Ruthanne took another sip of her coffee. “Well, after I talked to Myrtle for a good hour once you left the dance, I returned to see if I could help clean up, and that’s when I discovered Percy chatting away with some man from Nebraska. Both of them were well into their cups by then, but when I heard Percy tell the man that he wasn’t interested in Myrtle in a romantic way, I knew I needed to hear more. I crawled underneath a table that was directly next to where Percy was sitting—and no, he never spotted me—and I spent the next hour getting quite the earful about why he suddenly decided to try to make amends with her.”
“Why do I get the distinct feeling I’m not going to like what you have to say next?” Jack asked.
“Because you obviously realized, as did all of us who met him, that Percy is a despicable man. I overheard him say he hates Myrtle’s name, doesn’t think she’s even remotely attractive, although he was pleased she’d lost some weight since the last time he’d seen her, and—this is the worst part of what I overheard—he came to fetch her back to New York because he needs to convince her to marry him because he needs her fortune.”
“What?”
“He’s broke,” Ruthanne said. “His family apparently embraces a lifestyle that exceeds their means, although Percy was evidently unaware of how dismal their financial situation had become. He also neglected to realize that the reason his parents had been pushing him to marry Myrtle over the years was because of their dire financial state, nor did he understand how desperately his family wanted to get their hands on the money that would come with Myrtle once a wedding took place.”
“Percy ended things with Myrtle almost a year ago,” Jack said slowly. “Why come back for her now?”
Ruthanne’s lips thinned. “Because he only recently discovered that Miss Vivian Davis, the woman he announced he was marrying at that ball last year, doesn’t possess the fortune he was led to believe she did.”
Jack tilted his head. “And did this Vivian Davis also discover that Percy didn’t have the fortune I’m guessing she thought he had?”
“She did, which is why she tossed him over for a wealthy industrialist, apparently breaking Percy’s heart in the process—at least according to what I overheard Percy say, although I have doubts that man has a heart.”
For a long moment, Jack let everything Ruthanne had disclosed turn in his mind before he looked to Walter. “I have to go after her. Percy sounds like a desperate man, and desperate men are prone to desperate measures.”
Walter didn’t hesitate to nod. “I’ll go with you, of course.”
As the waitress returned with their food, everyone settled into eating their meal, until Walter set aside his sandwich and frowned at Jack. “Do you need any help figuring out how you’re going to go about apologizing to Myrtle once we get to New York?”
Jack paused, a cucumber sandwich halfway to his mouth. “I think I can figure that out on my own. I’ll tell her I’m sorry, and—”
“You’re going to have to do better than that,” Ruthanne interrupted. “Perhaps you should extend her that apology on bended knee, or better yet, tell her you took leave of your senses when you told her she belonged in New York.”
“I suppose I could tell her that, if you think it might help.” He lowered his sandwich. “But in my defense, she did lie to me about several issues.”
Walter shook his head. “She didn’t lie, Jack. She merely neglected to disclose everything to you. In fairness to Myrtle, even though the two of you had known each other for months, you only started talking to the woman mere weeks ago, which really didn’t allow her much time to divulge everything.”
“And she really was planning on telling you the whole unvarnished truth about her past,” Ruthanne added. “But then Percy showed up and ruined her plans.”
“I have made a disaster of this, haven’t I?” Jack blew out a breath. “I still can’t help but wonder, though, why Myrtle would want to be with me in the first place. She grew up in high society, surrounded by culture. I grew up on a small farm in Michigan and have no formal education.”
“She doesn’t care that you’re not from high society, and from what you told me, she definitely doesn’t care about that lack of education. She only cares about you,” Walter said. “Deep in your heart, you know that.”
“What if she’s decided she doesn’t want anything else to do with me since I was the one to break up our courtship?”
A ghost of a smile played around the corners of Walter’s mouth. “Then, knowing Myrtle, she’ll tell you exactly that. Ruthanne and I, however, are fairly confident she’ll give you a second chance if you ask.”
Jack picked up his coffee and took a sip, thinking through what his brother had said. If he was honest with himself, he did want a second chance with Myrtle, but he had made a mess of the matter. She’d suffered rejection before when Percy abandoned her, and yet even knowing that, he’d done exactly the same thing, undoubtedly damaging any affection she held for him in the process.
“You love her, Jack, you know you do,” Walter said, interrupting Jack’s thoughts.
And that right there was nothing less than the truth.
He loved her. He was miserable without her, which meant . . .
“I need to get to New York as soon as possible,” he said, setting aside his cup of coffee.
Ruthanne, oddly enough, shook her head. “She’s not in New York. Percy was going to escort her to Newport, where her mother is staying.”
Opal, who’d been relishing everything the waitress had brought her, set down her fork on a now-empty plate and nodded to Ruthanne. “You forgot to tell him what Percy has planned for the last ball of the Newport social Season.”
“I didn’t forget. I just didn’t want to completely overwhelm him.” Ruthanne caught Jack’s eye. “Are you feeling overwhelmed, or are you ready for more?”
“Might as well tell me all of it.”
Ruthanne nodded. “Well, the last of it is this—Percy’s planning on making a big announcement at the ball, telling everyone that he and Myrtle have repaired their relationship and that they’ll be getting married as soon as possible.”
“Don’t you think, with Myrtle’s mother being so ill, that Myrtle probably won’t be up for attending any balls?”
“I don’t think it’ll matter to Percy if she’s there or not,” Ruthanne said. “From what I overheard, Percy thinks if he makes a public announcement, then Myrtle will give in and agree to marry him, if only to spare herself and her family additional embarrassment.”
Pushing back his chair, Jack rose to his feet. “Then I guess all that’s left for us to do is get to Newport before Percy has the opportunity to put his plan into motion.”
Walter got to his feet as Ruthanne and Opal did the same. “You still have that ring?”
Jack nodded. “Curiously enough, every time I headed to Tiffany’s, I couldn’t seem to make myself actually walk into the store to return it.”
Ruthanne immediately looked smug. “Which proves you’re in love with Myrtle. Let’s hope you’ll not mess up when you get around to telling her that, and that you’ll need that ring after all.”