Chapter Ten
Elizabeth Returns
It was a rainy morning in the DeWitt house. When Ruth awoke, the sight of Emily laying there on the floor startled her. "Emily, what are you doing on the floor? Get up." Ruth said rather terse. Emily did as she was told to do, and she got up. Ruth instantly knew why she was in there; she was afraid of the storm as well. Ruth apologized for yelling at Emily, and she asked her how she felt. Emily said that she felt better and would be with the living today; this included being with Jacquelyn, even though Emily disliked her. The girls were dressed in the usual way and they headed down the stairs to the dining room. Edith and John were already sitting down. At first, John didn't notice Emily; but he soon acknowledged her with his eyes. Emily daintily sat down, unlike Rose who seemed to plop herself in the chair. They put their napkins on their laps, and waited for breakfast.
A little while later Lizbeth and Jacquelyn arrived at the table. Edith shot both of them a look of disapproval. When she was raising Ruth and Lizbeth she tried to instill punctuality and courtesy; this seemed to not have worked on Lizbeth. They sat down and waited for breakfast to be served. Ruth shot her girls a look of "See, this is why you must be courteous to people; you can't keep them waiting." Breakfast arrived, and in no time; Jacquelyn was busy complaining about something. These complaints were petty things really, but there was one that really stuck to the minds of all of them. "I heard that the insane child is coming back to-day. Pity, I guess I can't escape from it at all." Jacquelyn said. Ruth shot her a look that could peel paint off of any surface. Those words "insane", "child", and "it" hurt Ruth's feelings. She was glad Elizabeth wasn't there to hear it, for if she had she would either burst into tears or worse…Hit her cousin. Ruth put the insult at the back of her mind and came up with something that if Jacquelyn knew what it was about, she'd be insulted.
"When I go to bed, at least I don't end up in an ocean." Ruth said, taking a jab at her niece. Jacquelyn just shrugged it off; not knowing that her aunt was aiming at her bedwetting. "What time is she coming back to the house?" Edith asked Ruth. "She'll be back with Sadie at noon. The poor dear will more than likely be tired, and she is not to be disturbed." This was enough to suffice as an answer. Rose and Emily sat in their chairs eating their food. Ruth kept an eye on them, so as to intervene if Jacquelyn said anything. The rest of breakfast went along smoothly and there was silence in both camps. "This is how it is in school Emily." Rose whispered, pointing out the silence at breakfast. Jacquelyn eyed Emily, perceiving her as a threat. Emily simply raised her eyebrows, and Jacquelyn backed off. "She's such an empty shell." Emily thought to herself as she asked to be excused from the table.
At noon, Elizabeth and Sadie arrived back at the DeWitt house. As speculated, Elizabeth was indeed tired; Broadacres took a lot out of her. Ruth went outside to greet them. Ruth expected Elizabeth to run, but she couldn't. "Sorry she's so tired; she was asleep on the train ride back." Sadie said to Ruth. "Here, let's bring her upstairs. I have to talk to you about something." They walked inside. Unfortunately, Elizabeth caught a glance of Jacquelyn, and turned away. When they got into Elizabeth and Sadie's room, Elizabeth burst into tears. "What's the matter darling?" Ruth said stroking Elizabeth's hair. In a rather gruff voice Elizabeth answered "Jacque-lyn. She's here. I DON'T like HER." Ruth pulled her close, and whispered; "its okay Elizabeth, she won't get you; I promise." Tears continued to streak down the ten year olds face. "Would you like to take a nap dear?" Sadie asked Elizabeth; weakly, she nodded yes. Elizabeth was undressed and laid in the bed. Ruth gave Elizabeth a kiss on the forehead, and asked Sadie to come with her.
"Sadie, I want you to make sure Jacquelyn does not slight Elizabeth in any way. There was an incident this morning." "I will make sure that they don't get into it." "As for Emily and Rose, make sure they don't go at each other either. They almost did yesterday, and I had a talk with Rose about it." "Do you wish to know how Elizabeth behaved?" "Yes, I was about to ask. How did she do? Was she scared while she was there?" "Yes Ruth. I had to hold her in between examinations. She trembled each time. Last night, she was crying for you. Doctor Langdon also asked about Emily." "He did?" "Yes Ruth, I told him that she was the sweetest girl one could meet. He seemed happy about that. I told her that she was well behaved. He might visit in December, when Elizabeth's paperwork is ready." "That is fine. I think you are spot on with Emily, she really is sweet and well behaved; sometimes I think it's a little artificial, but impressive nonetheless." "I just wish Rose was like Emily. I love her to death, but my god, she's so depressing sometimes." "I know Ruth; I've tried to make her happy before, but sometimes it's best to leave it the way it is."
They walked out of Ruth's room and headed downstairs to sit on the front porch. When they got out there, the children were sitting in the chairs. "Hello Rose and Emily!" Sadie said in an excited tone. The two girls got up and hugged the nanny. Jacquelyn, who was sitting on the other side of the porch, said "Look at you two, happy because the nanny is here? Spare me of this. You two are disgusting anyways." The three of them looked at Jacquelyn. Sadie spoke; "Jacquelyn, perhaps you never confided in a nanny? I've known these two since they were babies." Jacquelyn bit her lip and spoke; "You are also taking care of an insane monster. I KNOW she's here. She has no right. She needs to be committed." Sadie wanted to swat at Jacquelyn, but she knew better. "Oh how that child needs a good slap across the face!" Sadie thought to herself. What Jacquelyn uttered next however was something that made Sadie freeze right in her tracks. "Oh by the way, when you feed 'it' make sure you also burp it too. Although, she probably cannot eat on her own; and she probably wets herself too. Does she need a change? She probably does, so you better get to it." With this, Sadie got up and went inside to calm down. She had never been so insulted in her life.