CHAPTER TWO
PREPARATIONS
The admiral's funeral was to be a simple affair. Samuel had requested that his funeral be simple. Not too many people attended; perhaps Governor Creedon was the only important dignitary. Rose and the two other children sat next to their mother. Ruth silently wept as the governor eulogized the former admiral.
Something wasn't right.
To the right of the podium, lay a small glass coffin. Its occupant still looked as though she had just fallen asleep for a nap.
When Alice died, it was Samuel's idea that she be preserved in the best way as possible. The top funeral director in the nation had come all the way to Philadelphia to showcase his "masterpieces." The results of which were still apparent seventeen years after the fact.
Ruth couldn't bear to look at the deceased child, let alone her deceased husband.
She wanted to excuse herself, but she was afraid of the words that would get out.
Elizabeth could take no more.
She did the one thing that the snobbish members of society would have gasped at.
She stood up and ran out.
Ruth was outwardly mortified, but inside she let the child go.
"Somebody, stop her!" a person in the gathering shouted.
"Let her go. It's painfully obvious that she cannot bear to remain here in this mausoleum. If you were in her shoes, you'd do the same thing." Governor Creedon said in a terse manner from the podium.
Elizabeth was now outside and as luck would have it, it began to rain. She found a grove of trees that were nearby. A granite bench provided a resting place for the girl.
She wept.
"Nothing is right anymore. Why did Papa have to kill himself? I made him do it. I know he didn't love me. He only saw me as a pest. At least mama still loves me, and she always will. I cannot go back in there. I cannot see him dead. It just won't be the same." She thought to herself.
Sometime later, Elizabeth felt a hand stroking her hair. The feeling startled her. She looked up.
It was Ruth.
"I knew you wouldn't be able to take any more of that wretched service. Your exit could have been a little more discreet, but I understand that you're grieving. Rose was embarrassed, but she will get over it." Ruth said.
Elizabeth hugged her mother.
Ruth motioned for Elizabeth to stand up and come along with her.
"When we get inside, I want you to go upstairs and lie down. You've had too much stimulation over the course of these two hours. Can you do this for me?" Ruth asked.
"Yes mama, I'll do anything you ask." Elizabeth said.
"That's my girl." She said as she kissed the child on the forehead.
The two walked inside. Already they both could hear Rose complaining in the background.
"My friends get to go do the things they want to do, but not me; I have to be at a boring funeral." Rose said to Emily.
Emily just shrugged her shoulders and walked off. Even she had grown tired of Rose's incessant whining.
Ruth and Elizabeth walked up the staircase of Meadowmere, the Bukater family estate in the town of Farmboro. Ruth found a guestroom where she could help Elizabeth get ready to take her nap.
When she was ready to go to sleep, Ruth tucked her in and left the room.
Downstairs, the family was gathering. Ellen, Samuel's only sister struck up a conversation with Ruth.
"I knew about Elizabeth's condition before anyone else did. My son Ethan is the same way. People are afraid of him. They think that he's a monster. Tell me Ruth, do people think of your Elizabeth to be a monster?" She asked.
Ruth shook her head.
"No, people are very kind to Elizabeth. I guess where we live, people are more accepting." Ruth said.
"That may be so; you see we live in a small town north of Gregstown called Howarth. The people are so closed-minded there. People give Ethan a wide berth when he's out and about. His nurse just shoos them away. His sister Amelia tries to protect him, but the other children at school tease her. It's such a shame that these children who have this disorder can be treated so unfairly." She said.
Ruth smiled at a passerby. She didn't see who it was, until he spoke, her eyes became large.
"Ruth, I'm so sorry for the loss of Samuel. He was a good friend of mine. We'll never get another admiral like him for a long time. I know that he owes me a small sum of money. I do not want the money. You may keep it." Governor Creedon said to her in a near whisper.
She went back to talking to Ellen.
"I think he just tried to flatter you, judging by his eyes. Perhaps he wants another go around with you?" She said smiling.
Ruth laughed.
"I won't be the one to marry him. That will be up to Emily." She said.
"But Ruth, he's sixty years old. Surely you can't be serious?" She said.
"No, even though Emily is sixteen; she's been attracted to him for a long time now." Ruth replied.
"The Creedon family has deep roots and a few secrets. His father, when he was president back in the 80's wasn't exactly the man we knew in public. He would often belittle his children, even when they were fully grown." She said.
"Peter isn't like his father though, he's kind and gentle. I know from experience." She said.
Ellen knew what Ruth was referring to.
Ruth scanned the crowd for her two eldest daughters.
"Where has Rose gone off to now?" She thought.
Emily walked up to her.
"Mummy, Rose is not being very nice at this moment." She said in a very hushed tone.
Ruth shook her head.
"Emily, a certain governor is looking for you." Ruth said as she gave Emily a pat.
The eldest daughter's eyes became large with excitement.
"Oh mummy, I've wanted to talk to him for many months. Do you think he'll like me?" She asked.
Ruth nodded.
Emily ran off.
For once, she was by herself.
Outside, on the wraparound porch sat Rose.
The resentment towards her mother was growing larger by the second.
She was shifting in her seat when she heard the door open.
"There you are! Rose, is there something we need to talk about?" She asked with genuine concern.
"Mother, there's a man that has been after me for some time now." She said.
"Really, is that so?" Ruth asked quizzically.
"Yes. His last name is either Hackney or Hockley, something like that."
Ruth became pale.
"Caledon Hockley, no, this cannot be. I remember when he was a child. He was pathetic then. Even Nathan, his father despised him. I think that he's only after the money. His father cut him off a long time ago. He'll only want to hurt Rose. I won't let this happen. Not on my watch." Ruth thought.
"Rose, can't you go off with another man?" Ruth asked her daughter.
"No mother, he won't let me do it. He touches me in the forbidden parts of my body." She halfheartedly said.
"What did you say Rose?" Ruth asked.
"He touches me, especially below the stomach. He likes to lift up my skirts and see what I'm wearing beneath. He's only going to find my bloomers."
This made Ruth angry, very angry.
"Rose, I suggest you stay away from him. He'll bring you only nothing but trouble." She said in a whisper.
Rose did something that she hadn't done since the last time she came home:
She smiled.
In the guestroom, Elizabeth lay in the bed. She was in a deep slumber that lasted until a clap of thunder startled her awake.
She was muzzy and groggy, but she went back to sleep.
Ruth walked in and nudged her daughter gently awake.
"What time is it mama?" Elizabeth asked muzzily.
"Darling, it's a quarter past three. You've been asleep for about two hours. Let's get you changed." Ruth said reassuringly.
"Mama, I've had an accident again." Elizabeth said in a rather feeble tone.
"She still wets herself like a baby." One of the last things Samuel had ever said to her.
"Oh, so you have. I will fix this." She said.
Minutes later, Elizabeth was back in her mourning dress. Ruth tied Elizabeth's boots and then they were on their way.
Rose was still sitting on the porch when Emily came outside.
"Did you tell mummy about that man?" She asked.
"Yes Emily, I did. I don't like him; I find him to be very unnerving." Rose replied.
Emily sat down in a chair next to her sister.
The rain kept falling, but at a much slower pace.
"What did you think of him, Emily?" Rose asked.
"Who are you talking about? Governor Creedon?" Emily replied.
"No. I'm talking about papa." Rose said dryly, as with a certain amount of disdain.
"Honestly, Rose I really never got to be close to him." Emily replied, countering Rose's disdain.
"I thought of him to be overbearing. I don't think he loved me or either Elizabeth and you." Rose replied, venom now filling her words.
"I find it funny Rose, that all this time you treated me poorly." Emily said haughtily.
"I never treated you poorly Emily!" Rose cried out.
"But you did. Not only that Rose, but you treated the 'baby' as you call her with such disdain. What were you going to get out of it Rose?" Emily hissed.
Emily looked at her twin. She could only shake her head.
Inside Meadowmere, Ruth and Elizabeth were making the rounds.
The other people gave such sympathy to the child. Elizabeth, being naïve did not hear the whispers beginning to go around.
"I heard the child is feeble." One said.
"She'll never live to be sixteen, at least with the living; she'll be shut away in an institution." Another said.
Ruth could hear them, but she didn't tell Elizabeth.
"Mama, I heard those people whisper my name. What are they talking about?" She asked.
"Nothing darling, they're remarking about how well you've held up through this. They said that you're a big girl." Ruth lied.
Elizabeth was starting to show concern now.
"Mama, I want to leave." She said.
Ruth didn't want to make a scene, so she pulled the child into an alcove.
"We will soon. We have to go to Nyack first, to take the big girls back to school. After that, we will go to grandmother's house. Is that all right?"
Elizabeth nodded and hugged her mother.
Suddenly, shouts could be heard on the porch.
Ruth knew exactly who those voices belonged to.
"Why must you be at each other's throats?" She thought.
Governor Creedon intervened.
"Do you want me to tell them to stop, or should you do it Ruth?" He asked.
"I don't need this, not right now. They can find their own way back to Nyack. I don't care if they have to hitchhike their way back to Ravenwood." She cried.
"Shall I take them?" He asked.
"By all means, if you can handle two sixteen year olds, then I applaud you." She replied, with a bit of a laugh.
"I didn't fight in a war for nothing, did I?" He too, said with a laugh.
Ruth walked out onto the porch and was horrified by what she saw.
Rose had Emily by the hair. Her curls were coming undone.
Ruth had had enough.
She screamed.
"Enough! What do the two of you think you are? You're both acting like hoydens! Rose, Emily separate at once!"
Rose slunk her head down.
"You ought to be ashamed. People will start talking. What you do behind closed doors is one thing, but in public you must act as though there are no problems." An exasperated Ruth sputtered.
"Sorry, mother." Rose feebly replied.
Ruth said no more.
Governor Creedon emerged from the house.
"Are you both ready to leave?" He asked Rose and Emily.
They nodded, and he gathered them.
Ruth was free of the two eldest children.
Now all she had to contend with was her youngest.
She went back inside to gather Elizabeth.
By now the other guests had departed, and sad Elizabeth was all who remained.
"All right Elizabeth, we may leave now." Ruth said calmly.
The child trailed behind her mother.
The drive to the DeWitt household took only slightly longer than anticipated. By the time they arrived, at the house it was nearly seven in the evening.
Edith, Ruth's stepmother was waiting for them in the foyer.
"Good evening, Ruth. Hello Elizabeth" She said.
Ruth smiled at her stepmother.
The three of them went inside.
Edith signaled to a maid to help the two with their luggage, and another to escort Elizabeth to one of the guestrooms.
"There, she looked tired and weary; especially after what went on today. How was the funeral?" She asked.
"It was wretched. I do wish you'd have come. I really needed you and papa." Ruth said.
"Oh Ruthie, you know that it wouldn't have been proper for us to be there. Why was it so wretched, darling?"
"They failed to move Alice into some other enclosure. Her blank eyes were staring at the crowd. She hasn't molded or decomposed in seventeen years. She's just like a mummy. Oh mother, it was horrible. It will haunt me now." Ruth fretted.
"Ruthie, you must pass these thoughts out of your head. It will only create problems for you down the road. Remember what your doctor told you about having those thoughts?" She said reassuringly.
"Yes, but I had to be there at the funeral; for Samuel. He would've done the same for me." She said as tears began to form in her eyes.
"Fret not dear. You were strong. You've been through so much in the last week. Remember what Dr. Langdon said when you were still a child that you could talk to me, even if I couldn't understand? I want you to do that tonight, and all of the days you're here. I think you could benefit from it." Edith said as she dabbed Ruth's cheeks with her handkerchief, smearing her makeup in the process.
"Why don't you go upstairs to your room, and get out of that mourning outfit and get the makeup off of your face? I prefer the plain you, Ruthie." Edith said.
"Thank you mother; I've been meaning to get out of this pathetic dress since this morning." She replied.
"Do you need me to send Sarah up to help you with your corset?" Edith asked.
Ruth nodded.
She ascended the staircase. The maid followed her.
Ruth's old room was just as it always was. The four-post bed was against the wall in the center of the room. The quilt seemed inviting. The luggage had been put near the wardrobe. The Oriental rug that had been there since Ruth was a child still looked as it always had; slightly faded. The dressing table still remained untouched.
Ruth felt like she was thirteen again.
"I've always felt safe in here, as if the world couldn't hurt me. Not even Samuel could get to me in here." She thought.
The door opened.
It was the maid.
"I'm here to unlace your corset, miss." She said.
Sarah unbuttoned Ruth's dress and helped her with the undergarments. She found a loose fitting dress and Ruth slid it over her shoulders.
"Miss Edith instructed me to tell you that she would like to see you in the sitting room after we're finished." Sarah said meekly.
"Thank you, I'll be able to find my way there. You're free to go." Ruth replied.
Ruth made her way to the sitting room, but not before checking on Elizabeth.
The child was fast asleep in the bed. She looked peaceful.
It was a peace that wouldn't last, however.
She pulled the quilt over Elizabeth and kissed her goodnight.
Edith was sitting in one of the plush chairs. This sitting room, like Ruth's at home, was Edith's domain.
"Sit, dear. I'll have some tea brought in at once." Edith said.
Ruth did as she was instructed.
"Now, Ruthie I want you to tell me how you feel." Edith articulated.
"Well, things are not looking good for Elizabeth. I'm afraid she'll never get over her problem." Ruth responded.
"What sort of problem dear, is it that wetting problem she has?" Edith inquired.
"That's one of the problems. She has to be cleaned up every two hours sometimes; occasionally sometimes more. It's very vexing and I should think a child of thirteen should be trained, at least normal children are." Ruth uttered.
"Well, Ruthie you can't punish her for it. She obviously cannot help it. Does the condition make you love her less?" Edith probed.
"No, but how is she going to go into adulthood with this problem, along with her autism?" Ruth articulated.
"Elizabeth will need your help with this, Ruth. This state has an agency that helps those afflicted; they also have a special unit at Taunton State Hospital for adolescents and adults." Edith responded.
"I have a feeling that they'll hurt her there. I don't want to betray her and hurt her feelings. Her feelings are very fragile." Ruth retorted.
"No. The nurses and neurologists there are very well trained. Your little one will be in good hands. I've heard so many good things about the facility." She said.
"Then I have no choice mama, but to send her there. I just have to make sure there's a bed for her." Ruth replied.
By now it was eleven-thirty. Ruth was decidedly tired after a very long day. She bid goodnight to her stepmother and ascended the stairs.
She opened the door to her bedroom. She noticed someone sleeping in it.
It was Elizabeth.
Quietly, Ruth dressed for bed. With no effort on her part, she slipped under the quilt.
Elizabeth however had other plans.
"Mama, is that you?" She whispered.
Ruth groaned.
"Yes, it's me. I'm trying to go to sleep."
The child put her arms around her mother and fell asleep.