CHAPTER SIXTEEN
"Samantha," Nellie hissed as she peeped through the door of Samantha's room. "I need my pearl drop earrings back."
For an answer Nellie heard raw, hollow, sobs.
"Sam?" Nellie asked. She entered the room. Samantha was thrown on top of her puffy, white, cloud-like, comforter, her head buried into her pillow. She was sobbing violently. Nellie swiftly fished out her handkerchief.
"Whatever is the matter?" She asked. "Samantha?" Nellie sat down next to her, and ran her fingers through Samantha's thick chestnut hair.
"Leave me alone," Samantha sobbed.
"No, I want to help you," replied Nellie.
"Go away. My eyes are puffy." Samantha wailed.
"Sam I don't care how you look," said Nellie. "Remember when we both had measles at the same time a few years ago. Well you looked even worse then."
"Did not," Samantha cried but she did reach for the handkerchief. "Nellie, my life might be over."
"Sam if you had died the first time that you said that your life was over you would have been dead at age eleven," said Nellie. "What's wrong?"
Slowly through sobs Samantha finally started to tell Nellie her woes.
"I went over to Maude's today, and we got talking about Peyton. I mentioned what you had said about him and Edith Edelton. She said it was true, that he sees Edith all the time, and he's seen other girls."
"I'm sorry Samantha," Nellie replied. "I'm so sorry."
"I'm a terrible person," Samantha moaned. "I am going straight to hell."
"Sam you are the most generous person I know," Nellie laughed. "I hardly doubt you will go to hell."
"Oh Nellie," gasped Samantha. "I was so jealous of you last night and today. I was jealous because you have two men who are interested in you. There aren't rumors flying around about Eugene or Eddie. I was so set on finding love in Mount Bedford, and you did, but I didn't."
"The summer isn't over yet," said Nellie. "You know you did have that secret admirer."
Samantha immediately sat up and began to dab at her eyes.
"Yes," she said. "But I haven't heard from him in days. He even has left me. It's not fair because he never did tell me who he is."
Nellie wondered if Eugene was angry with Samantha for running back to Peyton. Somehow though, she felt that no matter Samantha did, Eugene would still be spellbound for her. He loved her, and now since Nellie had been in love she could see it in everything that he did.
"Sam I only have one man interested in me," Nellie reminded her.
"Eugene is interested in you," Samantha quipped. "He's so handsome too."
"Eugene is not," Nellie said. Keeping Eugene's secret was turning out to be on of her hardest tasks. "We are just common friends. Besides he likes another girl. In fact he is madly in love with her."
"No," Samantha gasped immediately springing into her normal go lucky self. "Do tell?"
"My lips are sealed," said Nellie.
"The little tramp," Samantha muttered. "I can say that now since it is not you. I guess I don't have to worry about him getting sour about you and Eddie either."
"Eddie has invited me to have tea with his parents this afternoon." Nellie announced. "I am so scared. I don't know what to do, or say, or what to wear."
"We must get you ready immediately," Samantha said springing up from the bed and rummaging through her bureau. "Now Mrs. Ryland is a crazy woman. She's kind of sick in the head."
"I know," Nellie replied. "Eddie told me that she's pretty bad."
"She's awful," said Samantha. "The Admiral told me that a couple of weeks ago she was out on the back porch bellowing obscenities at the top of her lungs at her husband."
"Oh my," Nellie breathed.
"But meeting the parents is an important step," said Samantha. "One thing that you should do is compliment Mrs. Ryland on her home. A home is a woman's piece of art. Even if you hate it, just tell her that you like it."
"But isn't that lying?" Asked Nellie.
"Do you ever want a man?" Samantha retorted. They headed back to Nellie's room to pick out her clothes. "Now don't be surprised if they start drilling you like a lawyer would do to a witness on the witness stand. They are just trying to see if you are a good match for their son. They'll ask you everything. You tell them that your father is a prestigious riverboat captain down in New Orleans. We'll tie it into The Admiral, oh it's perfect."
"Samantha no more lies please!" Nellie said firmly. "I love Eddie. I really do. Please understand. You know what it's like to be a woman in love. You are always talking about your hormones raging and passion that you can't contain and now it's my turn. The more lies I fall into, the more it is going to be harder for me to tell the truth."
"Nellie we have battle plan," Samantha said as she helped Nellie into her corset. "The Independence Ball is in a week, and you are going to dump Eddie in a week."
"Let's not have this come in between us," Nellie said. "I'd do anything to get you the man that you love, now how about doing it for me."
"I would, if only it were only other man except Eddie Ryland," Samantha said innocently.
Nellie sighed. Arguing with Samantha was like arguing with a fence post. She would have to try later.
At three thirty Nellie rang the bell to the Ryland's house. A small, sheepish, waif of a girl with short dirty-blonde hair answered the door. Only seven years ago that had been her.
"Are you Miss Fitzgerald?" She asked.
"Yes," Nellie nodded.
"The Rylands are expecting you. Please come in. May I take your parasol?"
Nellie handed her the parasol and also placed a fifty-cent piece into her hand. Nellie knew that to that girl fifty cents could go a long way. She badly needed a new pair of shoes, she looked like she also needed a few pounds on her skeletal frame. Perhaps she would have enough left over for a small frivolous toy. No girl should grow up without a doll.
Nellie had always thought that the Ryland's style of decorating was a little drab. Grandmary, the Vansicklen's, and Gard and Cornelia's home had much more color in the wallpapers, drapes, and rugs used. Everything with Mrs. Ryland was brown. The floors were a dark wood with oriental rugs in brown tones. There was a huge thick dark wood stair banister decorated with gargoyles like creatures carved out of wood. The drapes in the parlor were made out of fine silk but brown silk. The parlor wallpaper was a brown toile pattern. Cornelia had toile wallpaper in her bedroom but it was green not brown. All of the chairs were brown velvet, the settee was brown damask, and the tables and bookshelves, and credenza in the parlor were all heavily carved in deep brown almost ebony wood.
"Helene," Eddie greeted her. "My mother will be here in just a minute. She is still fussing over her hair or something. Come sit down. Can Becky bring you something? Some water perhaps?"
"No thanks," said Nellie deciding to give Becky an easy time. Even though since she had given her that fifty-cent piece Becky had been hovering around her like a vulture hoping that for whatever minute task she might have to do for the guest, she may get another.
"Your mother likes brown," Nellie said. Eddie started laughing.
"It is rather like living in a tomb," he admitted. "They have this big hideously carved four post bed in their bedroom. It's so gaudy. I call it the monstrosity."
"What is with the gargoyles on the stair banisters?" Nellie asked. This got more laughter from Eddie as he imitated his mother's raspy voice.
"They are not gargoyles, they're wood nymphs!"
Just then Mrs. Ryland came through the parlor door. She was sulking.
"Are you laughing at me?" She asked.
"No mother," Eddie replied. "This is Helene. The girl I have been telling you about."
"You were laughing at me," she spat. "Why were you laughing at me?"
"We weren't laughing at you," Eddie insisted. "We were just laughing amongst ourselves. It's what happy people do."
"You were laughing at me!" Mrs. Ryland shrieked getting upset. "Don't you know that those who laugh only get laughed at in return?" She strutted over to the tea table.
Eddie just gave Nellie a sympathetic look. However a few minutes later all was pleasant and Mrs. Ryland was quite cordial, talking of the weather, favorite teas, shopping, and commenting on how lovely Nellie's dress was. This lasted about fifteen minutes, but then things began to unravel.
"New Orleans is beautiful," Mrs. Ryland said.
"Yes indeed," Nellie replied much more interested in salmon salad sandwiches she was being served.
"You go to school down there?" Asked Mrs. Ryland.
"Yes Mam," replied Nellie.
"Where about?"
"Um an an academy," Nellie stumbled. She knew nothing of schools in New Orleans. "An all girls academy."
"Then you are schooled by the nuns then?" Said Mrs. Ryland. She began to dump loads of sugar into her tea. Eddie had a worried look on his face.
"No," said Nellie as she took a sandwich. "No nuns."
"An Irish Catholic girl like you isn't schooled by nuns?" Mrs. Ryland exclaimed getting in a dither.
"Mother," said Eddie. "What's it to you whether or not she is schooled by nuns."
"It means she is Catholic," Mrs. Ryland ranted. "I will not have my protestant boy taking up with some Catholic girl."
"I'm protestant," Nellie said. And she was. She wasn't born protestant, she came from a good Irish Catholic family but Gard and Cornelia were Episcopalian, and since she was rather angry at God until she eleven, their religion was the only one she had known.
"It's true," Nellie stated. "New Orleans is a mixing pot of many different religions and nationalities, and not everyone who is Irish is Catholic. My family has been over here in this country for generations."
"Oh I don't know Eddie," Mrs. Ryland gasped.
"Mother she goes to church with Samantha and her grandparents," Eddie said. "It's fine."
"Oh yes you're Samantha's friend," Mrs. Ryland muttered. "Has that hothead settled down a little? Why her grandmother used to let her run around with servant girls. It was quite distressing. You remember Eddie?"
"No Mother I don't," Eddie sighed. "Tell Nellie about the new vase that Father brought you from Italy."
"I don't want to talk about that ugly thing!" Mrs. Ryland snapped. "Seriously, that girl had no discipline what so ever. Why she even snuck out of the house once with one of our own servant girls and-"
"Mother!" Eddie said. "Let's not talk about Samantha. We are here to talk about Helene."
Mrs. Ryland glared at Eddie.
"You're jealous," she hissed. "You have always been jealous of me."
"You're my mother," Eddie said with annoyance. "Why on earth would I be jealous?"
"Jealous of my power. My beauty," Mrs. Ryland prattled. "Jealous that I know it all. I am chosen to know it all but nobody listens. Not even your father listens!"
"I'm sorry," Eddie mouthed at Nellie.
Mrs. Ryland flung her napkin across the room.
"Jealous! Jealous! Jealous!" She got up and began to pace back and forth.
"Mother perhaps you need to go lie down," Eddie said. "I'll take you to your room." He went to take her arm, but Mrs. Ryland swatted it away.
"Don't touch me! You're jealous! You're jealous and your Irish girlfriend are jealous!"
She picked up the sandwiches from Nellie's plate.
"Are you jealous of me?" She hissed at her.
"No Mam," replied a shocked and scared Nellie.
"I don't believe you!" Ranted Mrs. Ryland. "I don't have to believe you!" She threw the sandwiches at the wall, where poor Becky had to go clean them up. Mrs. Ryland was way more erratic than what Nellie remembered from her days of working at the Ryland's. She needed the loony bin and then some.
Just then Mrs. Ryland threw herself down in a heap on the floor. Nellie watched speechless, as Eddie tried to coax her upstairs. She was sobbing and wailing. Wailing that her head ached.
It was then that Eddie's father finally showed up.
"She hasn't had one of her incidents?" He asked.
"Afraid so," nodded Eddie.
"I am so sorry Miss," Mr. Ryland apologized to Nellie. "I'm Alfred Ryland, it's a pleasure to meet you. I am so sorry about my wife."
"No it's not your fault," replied Nellie.
"I look forward to learning more about you," said Mr. Ryland. "Eddie has done nothing except talk nonstop about you for the past few days. You'll have to excuse me while I tend to my wife."
Nellie watched as Mr. Ryland and Eddie escorted the sobbing Mrs. Ryland out of the room. She was still mumbling something about being jealous. It was scary! In the course of a half hour Nellie had seen Mrs. Ryland be crazy, nice and normal, and then back to crazy.
She noticed Becky over in the corner sweeping up Mrs. Ryland's mess. Nellie automatically ran to help.
"Sit back down miss," Becky instructed.
"I want to help," Nellie said firmly. "You shouldn't have to clean this."
"It is my job," Becky replied. "It's not as bad as sometimes. Once she turned over a whole table of tea sending china and scolding tea everywhere."
Nellie helped Becky clean up the mess, when they finished she pressed another twenty cents into her hand.