Chapter Sixty-Four
ROSENBACH INHALED HIS PIPE AND BLEW ANOTHER PUFF OF smoke. The oaky fragrance filled the air.
“Let’s revisit this idea after Bernard Alfred and I have a chance to discuss the viability of such a venture.”
“Certainly,” Ada said as she put down her teacup and stood up. “It was a pleasure to finally meet you, and I look forward to hearing your decision.”
“Can I get a cab for you?”
“If it’s no trouble,” she replied.
“Of course. You deserve every comfort after your ordeal.”
She nodded meekly. The hour with Rosenbach had taken almost everything out of her.
“What time is your train?”
“Three o’clock,” she lied.
He looked at his watch and said, “Let’s not waste too much time then.”
In a city where the elaborate trolley system had been built by the Elkins-Widener families, it almost felt like a betrayal to Harry as she slipped into the comfortable cab.
“To the train station then, Miss?” the driver said, repeating what Rosenbach had told him.
“Would you mind going out of the way a bit?” she said. “There’s one place I need to visit before I leave the area.”
“I’ll go wherever you tell me to,” he said, “as long as you can pay the fare. That’s the great thing about America,” he joked.
“I need to go to Lynnewood Hall.”
“The Widener estate in Elkins Park? It isn’t that close, Miss… I don’t think there’s enough time to get there and back without you missing your train!”
“It’s a necessary excursion,” she said. “I’m not sure I’ll be coming back to Philadelphia again, and I just need to make sure I make it there.” Then, a bit quieter, she continued, “And, actually, my train is not until six o’clock. I must have misspoke earlier with Dr. Rosenbach.”
Ada watched the Pennsylvania landscape unfurl outside the taxi’s window. As the city vanished in the distance, she welcomed the sight of canopied roads created by verdant budding trees and first bulbs of spring. As they approached Elkins Park, the taxicab slowed down.
“I’ve actually not been out this far in quite some time,” the driver said. “It sure is pretty. Makes sense you’d have to have a lot of money to live out here.”
“I’m sure,” she said.
“The Widener family is one of the richest around,” he said. “This house was in all the papers when it was completed. Largest mansion in the whole area. Like Buckingham Palace.” He let out a big laugh. “Never been to England, so you’ll have to tell me which one is nicer.”
“I would suspect King George’s,” she said, “but I haven’t been inside there, either. So your guess is as good as mine.” She smiled.
“So terrible about their tragedy,” the driver mused. “Father and son lost at sea. Guess the adage is true. When you come right down to it, there’s just some things that money can’t buy.”
After a few more minutes’ drive, he slowed down the cab as it approached the black iron gates.
“Well, this is it, Miss.”
The enormous neoclassical facade was impressive. Built in limestone with a Palladian roofline and two majestic columns flanking the door, it stretched out across the vast manicured acreage like a falcon spreading its wings.
“I’ve taken you as close to it as I can,” the driver said. “Unless, of course, you have an appointment with the Wideners.”
Ada eyed the small gatekeeper’s house that ensured no unwanted guests entered.
“No, unfortunately I don’t. But I needed to see it,” she sighed. “It meant so much to someone I loved.”