Chapter 54 Cynthia
Cynthia
Perspiration rolled down the back of Cynthia’s neck as the hot sun beat down on her head and shoulders.
Even the cooling breeze coming off the lake did little to give her ease.
Up ahead, a cloud of dust rose up, and in a moment’s time a familiar car pulled into view.
An even more familiar figure sat behind the wheel.
“Cynthia, I’ve been looking for you everywhere,” Pauline called through the rolled-down window. “Glenn’s mother called this morning with a crazy story about you that sent mine into fits. Are you all right?”
Cynthia shook her head. “Not really.”
Pauline leaned across the long bench seat and pushed open the passenger door. “Hop in and tell me what really happened.”
Cynthia loaded her suitcases into the back seat before sliding in next to her friend.
“Are you sure that you want to hear my version of events? I don’t want to cause you any trouble with your mother or your gang.”
Pauline tipped her head to one side and laid a hand on her shoulder. “I doubt that you were the one causing trouble. Tell me what happened.”
“Glenn isn’t the person you think he is. At the party, he got me to go out in a boat with him, He seemed to think that meant he could do whatever he wanted since there weren’t any witnesses.”
Pauline’s hand flew to the base of her throat. “Did he hurt you?” she asked.
Tears welled up in Cynthia’s eyes. Her friend believed her even if Mrs. Mayhew and Miss Arden didn’t.
“I’m a bit bruised from where he pushed me down, but I hit him with a bottle that was rolling around in the bottom of the boat before he could assault me the way he intended to.
” She restlessly tugged at the wrists of her gloves as the memory of Glenn’s sudden, unwanted weight upon her body sent her stomach churning.
“I feel like this is all my fault. I thought that if I didn’t show up at the party until late, you and Glenn would have a chance to get to know each other better. I had no idea he would try something like that.”
“You couldn’t have known. I hope you won’t allow yourself to be alone with him, though.”
“Not a chance.”
“You might want to let your mother know that you aren’t interested. She as good as told me that now that I am out of the running, there’s nothing keeping you from securing Glenn’s attentions.”
Pauline leaned back against the leather seat and shook her head.
“Thanks for the warning. As sorry as I am about what happened, I am glad it wasn’t worse.”
Cynthia shifted in her seat. “I’m sorry to say, there is something worse. I’ve lost my job because of it.”
Pauline let out a small cry. “Why would you lose your job?”
“Someone telephoned Miss Arden and told her that I was a girl of questionable character. She told the housekeeper to fire me, but I quit to save her the trouble.”
“But that’s not fair,” Pauline said. She sounded as outraged as Cynthia felt.
“Not in the least, but there isn’t anything I can do about it.”
“What are you going to do now?”
“Head home, I suppose.” Cynthia peered out the window at the glittering lake and remembered how hopeful she had been when she had first caught sight of it. How could all her efforts at school and over the weeks in Mount Vernon have come to so little?
“Do you really have to go? Can’t you find another job in Mount Vernon?” Pauline asked.
“You know no one will hire me here now. Whoever called Miss Arden made sure of that. If you wouldn’t mind, I could use a lift to the train station.”
Her stomach squeezed at the thought of leaving Iris in the lurch.
Would she lose her job because she didn’t have enough help?
And what about Mrs. Putnam? It couldn’t be helped, though, could it?
After all, Mrs. Putnam had enough sketches that surely she could finish the work without needing a live model.
The security of Iris’s job was far more at risk than the completion of the painting was.
Besides, as important as her career was to Mrs. Putnam, it could not be compared with Iris’s day-to-day need for a steady income.
No, she had done the right thing in leaving, and she would just have to live with it, whatever that meant.
“Does this mean you’ve given up the idea of returning to school in the fall?”
Pauline’s tone was so incredulous that it was as if her voice had reached out and given her a vigorous shake. Did a false accusation mean that she had to give up her dreams? A swell of determination rose in her breast. She turned in her seat to face her.
“No. It just means that things have to be altered. In fact, I’ve changed my mind about the train station. Would you drop me off at the library instead?”