Danielle Steel - A Good Woman

“Lots of girls your age marry men his age,” her mother said quietly. “He’s not that old, for heaven’s sake. I think he’s only thirty-eight, if I remember correctly.”

“He’s much better for you.” Annabelle laughed and ran off with Hortie. It was a hot, sunny day and they wanted to go swimming, and James had promised to come over later. There was a big party planned at the Schuylers’ that night, which James and Hortie and all their friends were going to, although Annabelle of course couldn’t. She wouldn’t have dreamed of asking her mother, and didn’t want to upset her.

But that night, sitting on the porch, they could hear the party and the music in the distance. There were fireworks, and Consuelo knew it was to celebrate the engagement of one of the Schuyler daughters. It made her heart ache for Annabelle as they listened.

Much to their surprise, Josiah dropped by later in the evening to bring them each a piece of cake from the party. He was on the way back to his place, and both women were touched by the thoughtful gesture. He stayed for a glass of lemonade with them, and then said he had to leave, as he had a houseguest waiting for him at home. He promised to come back soon, when they thanked him. Even Annabelle was touched by the gesture of friendship. She had no romantic interest in him, but in a funny way, she felt as though he were standing in for her brother. She liked talking to him, and he teased her in just the way Robert used to, and which she missed so much.

“I wonder why he didn’t take his houseguest to the party,” Consuelo mused, as she left their glasses and the pitcher of lemonade in the pantry.

“Maybe they’re unsuitable,” Annabelle teased, “a shocking, unsuitable woman. Maybe he has a mistress,” she said, chortling, as her mother guffawed. Given how well brought up Josiah was, and how polite, it seemed extremely unlikely. And he wouldn’t have mentioned a guest at all if that were the case.

“You have a most unsuitable imagination,” her mother scolded, and a moment later the two of them went upstairs, chatting amiably about Josiah and how nice he had been to bring them cake from the party. It was the first time Annabelle had actually been sorry she couldn’t go out. All her friends had been there, and it had sounded like quite a celebration, with the fireworks and all. It was going to be a very quiet summer, except for Hortie and Josiah, both of whom were faithful about frequent visits, and a few other friends as well.

Josiah came back again the next day, and Consuelo invited him for a picnic lunch with Annabelle and Hortie. Josiah seemed perfectly at ease with both girls, even though Hortie giggled a lot and was often silly, and he said that he had a half-sister their age, from his father’s second marriage after he was widowed. Annabelle still couldn’t imagine Hortie as a married woman, which she would be in four months. She was still such a baby, but she was crazy about James, and often when she and Annabelle were alone, she made racy comments about their wedding night and honeymoon, which made Annabelle roll her eyes. Fortunately, Hortie said none of that in front of Josiah, and he commented that his sister had gotten married in April and was expecting a baby. He seemed to be perfectly familiar with the lives, pursuits, and interests of young girls, and they both enjoyed talking to him.

He mentioned his houseguest to them, and said he was a classmate of his from Harvard, and came up to visit every summer. He said he was a studious, quiet fellow, and usually avoided social events and parties.

Josiah stayed until the late afternoon, and walked Annabelle back up to the house when Hortie left. Her mother was sitting on the porch, chatting with a friend. It was fun for them there. Lots of people came to visit, and there was a sense of life swirling around them. It was particularly nice for Annabelle, who was dreading going back to the city. She had told Josiah about the hospital work she loved to do, and he had teased her about it.

“I suppose you want to be a nurse when you grow up,” he said, knowing full well, as she did, that that would never happen. The closest she would ever get to it was volunteer work, but she still did a lot of reading about medical subjects. It was her secret passion.

“Actually,” she said honestly, not afraid to be candid with him, “I’d rather be a doctor.” She felt as though she could tell him anything, and he wouldn’t laugh at her. He had become a good friend since her father died and he had begun his visits to them. But this time he looked startled. She had surprised him. She was a far more serious person than even he had guessed, and he could see from the look on her face that she meant what she had said.

“That’s a pretty impressive ambition,” he said, sobered for a minute. “Would you ever do that?”

“My mother would never let me. But I’d love to if I could. I take medical books and books about anatomy out of the library sometimes. I don’t understand everything they say, but I’ve learned some interesting things. I think medicine is fascinating. And there are a lot more women doctors now than there were.” Women had been getting into medical schools for over sixty years now, but he still couldn’t imagine Annabelle doing that, and he suspected she was right, her mother would have a fit. She wanted Annabelle to have a far more traditional life, to get married and have children, hence her debut.

“I never wanted to be a doctor,” he confessed. “But I did want to join the circus when I was about ten or twelve.” She laughed as he said it, it was such a funny thing to admit to. “I loved the animals, and I always wanted to be a magician, so I could make my homework disappear. I wasn’t much of a student.”

“I don’t think I believe you, if you went to Harvard,” she said, still laughing at him. “I think it would have been fun to join the circus. Why didn’t you?”

“Your father offered me a job instead, although that was later. I don’t know, maybe I just didn’t have the gumption it took. But I never had ambitions like yours. Just thinking of all the years of school it would take would kill me. I’m much too lazy to be a doctor.”

“I don’t believe that,” she said kindly. “But I know I’d love it.” Her eyes shone brightly as she said it.

“Who knows, maybe someday you’ll be able to use some of what you’ve learned in books, in your volunteer work. That’s a noble pursuit.” He admired her for doing it at least.

“They don’t let you do much,” she said, looking disappointed.

“What would you like to do?” he asked with interest.

“I do very nice needlework, everyone always says so. I’d like to try stitching someone up sometime. I’m sure I could.” He looked shocked when she said it, and then smiled broadly.

“Remind me not to cut myself in front of you, or you’ll be whipping a needle and an embroidery hoop out of your pocket!”

“I would enjoy that,” she admitted, smiling impishly at him.

“Someone is going to have to keep you busy, Miss Worthington, or I get the feeling you’ll be up to mischief.”

“Medical mischief would suit me very well. Just think, if we weren’t who we are, I could go to medical school and do anything I wanted. Isn’t that annoying?” she asked, looking like a child and a woman all at once, and without thinking he hugged her, just as he would his little sister. She felt like that to him, just as she felt a bond to him almost like a brother. A nice relationship and friendship was developing between them.

“If you weren’t who you are, you couldn’t afford to go to medical school,” he said practically, and she nodded in agreement.

“That’s true. But if I were a man I could. Robert could have, if he’d wanted to, and my parents would have let him. Sometimes, it’s very difficult being a woman. There is so much you can’t do and that’s not considered proper. It’s really very boring,” she said, kicking a pebble with the toe of her shoe, and he laughed at her.

“Don’t tell me you’re one of those women who want to fight for rights and freedom.” She didn’t seem the type to him, and it would have surprised him.

“No. I’m perfectly happy the way things are. I just wish I could be a doctor.”

“Well, I wish I could be the King of England, but that’s not going to happen either. Some things are just out of our reach, Annabelle, and we have to accept that. You have a good life as it is.”

“Yes, I do,” she agreed. “And I love my mother. I wouldn’t do anything to upset her, and that would upset her a lot.”

“Yes, it would.”

“She’s been through so much this year, and I just want to make her happy.”

“You do,” he said comfortably. “I can see it. You’re a wonderful daughter to her, and a lovely person.”

“No, she’s not,” Hortie said, as she appeared from nowhere and sidled up to them. She had come back to go swimming with Annabelle again. “She dissected a frog once. She read how to do it in a book. It was the most disgusting thing I’ve ever seen. She is definitely not a lovely person.” All three of them laughed at what she said.

“I assume that’s true,” Josiah said, beginning to know Annabelle better. She was a most remarkable young woman, in many ways.

“Yes, it is,” Annabelle said proudly. “I did it just like the book told me. It was very interesting. I wish I could dissect a real person. A corpse, you know, like in medical school.”

“Oh my God,” Hortie said, looking woozy, and Josiah looked shocked but amused.

“You two had better go swimming,” he said, and shooed them off as he went up to the porch to say good-bye to Consuelo.

“What were the three of you talking about?” she asked him with interest.

“Oh the usual, parties, debuts, engagements, weddings,” he said, covering for Annabelle, knowing that her mother would faint if she thought that Annabelle wished she could dissect a cadaver. He was still laughing to himself as he walked back to his own cottage. Annabelle Worthington was certainly an interesting young woman, and not the usual nineteen-year-old girl at all.

As he got back to his own place, his college roommate was just returning from lunch, and Josiah waved as he saw him. Henry Orson was one of his oldest friends, and he enjoyed the time they spent together every summer. They had been valued friends to each other since their college days, and Henry was a man of substance, whom everyone admired.

“How was lunch?” Josiah asked him. They were both good-looking men, and had always been able to have all the women they wanted, but were responsible about it. They never led women on nor took advantage of them. Henry had been engaged two years before and had been seriously disappointed when his fiancée fell in love with a younger man, a boy her own age. And he had had no serious involvements since, which made all the Newport mothers hopeful, as they were about Josiah.

“Boring,” Henry said honestly. “How was yours?” Henry found many social gatherings tedious and preferred discussing business with other serious men to flirting with young girls.

“I had a picnic with a young lady who wants to dissect a human cadaver,” Josiah said, grinning, and Henry laughed out loud.

“Jesus,” Henry said, looking amused and impressed, and pretending to be frightened. “She sounds dangerous. Stay away from her!”

“Don’t worry,” Josiah said, laughing, as they walked into the house together, “I will.”

The two men played cards for the rest of the afternoon, while discussing the state of the financial world, which was Henry’s passion. It was a subject that made him tedious to women but interesting to men, since he was extremely knowledgeable and had an intelligent perspective, and Josiah was always happy to talk to him. He had gotten Henry a job at Annabelle’s father’s bank several years before, and he was extremely respected by his colleagues and superiors. Although less sociable than Josiah, he had done very well at the bank too. Henry had never met Annabelle or Consuelo, but Josiah promised to introduce him to them during his stay in Newport, as Henry shook his head, while frowning at his cards.

“Not if she’s going to chop me up like a cadaver,” Henry said ominously, and then smiled as he put down a winning hand.

“Damn,” Josiah said, folding, and smiled at him. “Don’t worry. She’s just a child.”

Josiah visited the Worthingtons often during July and August, as did Hortie and James, and a number of other friends. Josiah introduced Henry to them, as promised, who extended his condolences to Consuelo, and taught Annabelle several new games of cards, which delighted her no end, particularly when she beat him several times. She was enjoying the company of the good friends they saw in Newport, and although they were removed from the social whirl that summer, she felt far less isolated than she did in the city. Life seemed almost normal again here, despite the absence of her father and brother, who had often stayed in the city to work anyway.