Chapter 25
The shrill ring of the telephone interrupted my thoughts. I pulled off my jeweler’s magnifying glasses, set the diamond bracelet on my worktable, and took the stairs by twos to the front hall to answer the telephone.
“Lizzie, it’s Ned.”
My stomach clenched as it always did when I spoke with Ned. Why was he calling me? I managed a stilted, “Hello.”
“I wanted to invite you to the party tonight. It’ll be held at the house on McPherson Square. Dignitaries and such will be there, along with many friends. Evie would want you to be there.”
Relieved I hadn’t been forgotten or pushed out of the circle, I let go of a breath I didn’t know I was holding. “Thank you for the invitation. I’ll see you tonight.”
As I hung up the telephone, I ruminated on how odd it was that Ned had invited me instead of Evalyn.
Had she sent him to do her bidding, or was he the one who wanted me there?
I couldn’t help but think of the accusations she’d hurled at her husband at the last party I’d attended or how she’d assumed he was chasing me like he allegedly had other women.
Doubt choked my relief. Given the location and the important guests, I knew I didn’t belong among those of the highest rank and honor.
Nonetheless, as evening fell, I slipped into the only other formal gown I owned.
It was a shocking red crepe sewn with thousands of beads, so it shimmered as I walked.
I’d never worn something so clearly designed to be a showstopper.
When I arrived at the party, my stomach fluttered with nerves.
I’d spent very little time at the spectacular but intimidating mansion on McPherson Square.
And there was also the matter of Evalyn.
I didn’t know if her rage and jealousy the last time I’d seen her had been a product of her state of mind after so many cocktails, or if there had been something more that had transpired between her and Ned in the past.
As I faltered on the doorstep, Jerry whisked open the door.
He scanned the list of names and handed the sheet to the men who appeared to be the guards that evening. Given the attendees, I supposed I shouldn’t be surprised.
“Miss Beaumont?” Jerry said, clearly surprised I’d come. “I don’t see your name here. Are you certain Mrs. McLean sent the invitation?”
My unease flared again. “I didn’t receive an invitation, but Ned called me at home. He invited me.”
“I see.”
“I wouldn’t have come otherwise, I assure you. Should you check with him?”
“I’ll speak with Mr. McLean, but in the meantime, do come in and please enjoy yourself. You look lovely.”
As I started toward the ballroom, Jerry touched my arm.
“Miss Beaumont, I thought you’d like to know,” he said, lowering his voice. “Mrs. McLean’s lady’s maid, Tillie, is out for the foreseeable future. She’s lost her left eye.”
“Good God,” I said. “What happened?”
He quickly scanned the front hall to make sure no one was eavesdropping. “She was helping Mrs. McLean with a jammed lock on her vanity table. She decided to try her hand with pliers.”
I cringed. “That’s terrible.”
“And the dog?” he went on. “The day after Mike ran into the trees wearing Mrs. McLean’s necklace, he contracted a severe case of mange.”
“Well, isn’t all this frightful!”
“I wish you would be careful, ma’am,” he said, tone earnest. “You’re a kind person, a genuine person, and I’d hate to see you affected by the curse somehow.”
“Thank you, Jerry. I’ll be careful,” I promised. But who could say that being careful was enough in a home where all seemed to go wrong?
He escorted me to the ballroom and stalked off to find Ned. I’d scarcely stepped over the threshold when Sharon found me.
“Look at you!” she exclaimed, Bea at her side. They kissed the air on either side of my face and scanned my outfit from head to toe. “Red is your color,” Sharon said. “You’ve really changed, Lizzie.”
For the first time in as long as I could remember, I didn’t blush but merely thanked her and accepted this new truth.
I had changed. For the first time in my life, I no longer felt lesser, as if I’d do better to hide behind Julien’s radiance.
His tragic death had forced me into the light.
I only wished he were here to see me now.
“Let’s get you some champagne,” Bea said.
Rita and Gwen and a few other women I’d met but could never seem to remember joined us, and soon I was the center of their circle.
Everyone gushed about my new gown, my hair, my ruby lips, and after, the conversation fractured into many conversations at once.
I felt a little like the belle of the ball for the first time in my life.
I wondered what Evalyn would think of her creation.
I searched the crowd for her and saw her headed in our direction.
The Hope glittered darkly at her throat, and her divine canary-yellow gown sewn with dozens of yellow diamonds shimmered like a sunlit glimmer path on water.
I gaped at the dozens of diamonds twinkling among the folds of her dress.
My mind boggled at the cost of such a garment.
Her hair waved softly around her face, and on her arm, she escorted Alice Roosevelt Longworth.
Everything about Evalyn spoke of power and the message she aimed to send: I have it all and I am the queen of this town.
“Good evening, y’all,” she said when she’d reached us.
“My God, Evie, what are you wearing!” Flo Harding exclaimed.
Evalyn laughed. “Oh, you know me. Always a show-off. What’s a party without a party dress after all?”
Flo smiled fondly. “You look like a shooting star.”
“Why, Lizzie Beaumont, what are you doing here?” Evalyn said as she took in my scarlet gown.
So it was as I’d feared. She didn’t want me here after all, and Ned was wrong. I wished the floor would open and swallow me whole. “Ned invited me on your behalf. He said you requested I be here? I’m sorry, should I have followed up with you?”
“Did he now.” Her eyes flashed. “Well, for future reference, yes, you should always check with me first. You know how men are. I had a very specific guest list for tonight. Very important people, if you take my meaning. I can’t invite just anyone. I’m sure you understand.”
“Yes, of course,” I said, not missing the barb in her comment.
But I wasn’t going to let her snide remarks run me off.
I knew this was a test of my mettle, just as she always tested her other friends.
I had to hold my ground. “I’ll just retire to the study or the patio and stay out of sight.
” The two places where the men usually gathered, and we both knew it.
“No, no, that’s all right,” she said, her eyes on mine. “You’re already dressed and already here. You may as well stay with us.”
A guest joined us, and her attention was redirected.
As they moved away, I breathed a sigh of relief.
Thankful for the reprieve, I made polite conversation with the others and met a few new people.
When I looked to a waiter for a glass of champagne, I found Ned gazing at me.
He smiled good-naturedly and held up his drink in a sort of salute.
I returned a polite smile and looked away.
Evalyn had already accused him of sleeping with me at the previous party, and I didn’t want to give her any reason to suspect there really was something between Ned and me.
He’d been kind, friendly, complimentary but never out of line.
I shifted from one foot to the other, deciding if it was a good idea to say a proper hello to Ned and to thank him for the invitation to the party or to avoid speaking with him directly.
I didn’t want to be rude, so I started in his direction, but before I reached him, Evalyn slipped her hand over his arm. Their voices drifted over the hubbub in the room toward me.
“Did you see all the hens gathered around Lizzie?” Ned said, draining his glass. “She’s made quite a place for herself here, hasn’t she? Everyone likes her. She may usurp you as queen bee one of these days, Evie.”
She swatted his arm. “As if that would ever happen.”
My footsteps faltered. Me, the queen bee? Hardly. Everyone had admired my dress, but that was all. And I was surprised Ned would needle his wife in the way it would bother her most. He had to know how much it meant to her to be at the center of every crowd.
As I reached them, Ned nodded in greeting. “I’m afraid I’d better dash. The fellas are waiting for their cigars.”
I didn’t dare watch him go, and flushed with relief when Carrie joined us, greeting Evalyn first with a kiss on the cheek and then making her way around the circle.
Evalyn and the others welcomed her as if nothing had happened between them.
The slights appeared to have been entirely forgotten.
In fact, the women formed a protective circle around her, and I knew that was the stark difference between the others and me.
In the end, I was not one of them. They wouldn’t come to my rescue or forgive a silly spat between us.
I would always need to mind myself around them, despite their relatively welcoming behavior of late.
Underneath my beautiful new clothes, I was still the help, still a working woman from an ordinary family who could be cast out at any moment.
Carrie, on the other hand, had already been forgiven and always would be.