-New York, August 1912-
"Here, are you going to manage with that?"
"Yes, madam, don't worry," replied one of Molly's maidservants.
She was returning from a shopping outing with her maids in town before returning home to Denver in two days. The day before she received a letter from Jack and Rose announcing that they had arrived in Chippewa Falls and that Jack's family was alive and well, and that Rose's pregnancy was progressing quite well. They had also proposed to her to come a few days for the Christmas holidays. Molly was then very happy that everything went well for them after all they had endured. According to her maidservants, she resumed their letter and began to read it again while walking. She picked up a smile here and there, now considering them as her own children, before being interrupted by sobs. She turned and saw a person whom she never thought to see again after the shipwreck.
"Ruth, what are you doing here?"
"Oh Molly, Mrs. Brown, I'm sorry ... but I've lost everything, I have no house, no family, I'm all alone," she said in tears.
"Oh my dear darling," Molly snuggled Ruth in her arms, "But the Hockley didn't offer you their help?"
"At first yes, but after .. oh it's a long story." Ruth tried to resume her thoughts. Even if she had nothing left, she still wanted to maintain a decent status in society.
"Come on, I'll take you home," Molly suggested.
Once she arrived at Molly's, Ruth explained what happened to her after the shipwreck. At first, Cal agreed to host her until the supposed 'marriage' with Rose. But since things had not happened as planned, and with Cal's arrest, Ruth found herself alone, and learned early enough that her house was taken by the government because the debts she had wished to repay had exceeded the deadline. The marriage between Cal and Rose would have made it possible to repay them in time. But with her being supposedly dead in the wreck, Ruth then had nothing left.
Then Ruth quickly found herself on the street, chaining little jobs like seamstress, housekeeper, but lack of experience failed her. Feeling pity for her, Molly decided to take her in, as she recovered her self-confidence and found a suitable place to live. Ruth thanked her, apologizing in passing for her attitude at the time of the shipwreck, and it was at this point that Molly noticed that she had changed a lot, and that she didn't look like a selfish woman, obsessed with her status as a rich, bourgeois in society. But Ruth always had her manners, her way of speaking, which made her smile at times.
"Sir, I'm not sure it's a good idea," said his new servant, Georges.
"Never mind, I want revenge, both on her and on him," Cal said in a threatening voice, examining his silver revovler.
"But-"
"Look, it seems to me that you have some financial worries for your daughter 's treatment, no ... I could help you if you help me find them both" George' s daughter was 8 years old, An important disease requiring her to bear a heavy and expensive treatment. After a moment, he agreed to help Cal, for his daughter.
"Okay, sir, I'll help you as best I can," he said, "When do we start?"
"Oh, not right away, we'll wait a bit .." Cal replied, sporting a diabolical smile.