THE CALVERTS
Chapter Four
James Anders
arrived home at six o’clock that evening. Contrary to his wife’s hopes,
however, he was not at all happy about their unexpected guests.
Allegro announced
James’s arrival home with a barrage of yipping, ending in a squeal as he shoved
the dog aside. "Elizabeth!" he shouted, not at all pleased at finding
a strange dog in his home, even if it was a purebred show dog.
Elizabeth hurried
into the hall. "Yes, James?" she asked, a little timidly, suddenly
realizing that he might not be as happy about their guests as she was.
"What is this
dog doing here? You know how I feel about animals in the house."
At that moment,
Mary emerged from the kitchen, followed by Nadia. The two girls scurried over
to the whimpering puppy and picked him up.
"Who are
they?" James demanded, even less pleased to see the two ragged toddlers.
Elizabeth took a
deep breath. "James, we have a guest tonight. This is his daughter and his
niece."
"A guest? When
did you invite a guest to dinner?"
"He came to
call this morning..." she began, trailing off as his face darkened
furiously.
"You know I
don’t like surprise visitors, Elizabeth," he told her, setting down his
briefcase and stalking toward her. Elizabeth held her ground, knowing that
backing off would only encourage his temper.
"Just wait
until you meet him, James," she pleaded. "I think he’s someone you’ll
want to see."
"And just who
is this guest?"
Elizabeth took a
deep breath. "His name is John Calvert. The children are Mary and
Nadia."
"And what was
his purpose for coming here?"
"He brought
word on Miriam." Elizabeth fought to keep her composure.
"Oh? Where is
she, and what did she do this time?"
"Why don’t you
come with me to the parlor and find out?"
James followed her,
still furious at having his quiet evening interrupted. A maid quietly picked up
his briefcase and hurried to put it away, having long since learned to stay out
of disputes between the Anders.
John was sitting in
the parlor, Mary and Nadia playing quietly at his feet, when they arrived. He
rose to greet them, holding out his hand.
"James,"
Elizabeth began, "this is John Calvert."
James shook John’s
hand reluctantly, put off by the young man’s ragged appearance. He looked no
better than one of his factory hands.
"John, this is
my husband, James, Miriam’s father."
"I’m pleased
to meet you, Mr. Anders," John told him. James did not reply.
"You say you
have word on Miriam?" he demanded, gesturing for John to sit down.
"Ah...yes.
Yes, I do."
"What did she
do this time? Where is she?"
"James,"
Elizabeth hissed under her breath, embarrassed by his rudeness.
"Mr. Anders,
I’m Miriam’s husband. And as to where she is--"
"Her husband?!
What in the hell was she thinking?!"
"James!"
Elizabeth was mortified. "Let him finish his story."
John quickly
explained how he and Miriam had met, facing down the contemptuous stare of her
father. He ended with their voyage on the Titanic, explaining how Miriam had
died.
James was silent
for a moment, his eyes hard. At last, he spoke.
"It’s just
what I’d expect out of the girl. Flaunting all that is polite, going to
jail...it’s no wonder you’re the best husband she could find."
"Mr. Anders, I
loved your daughter very much..."
"Undoubtedly.
What sort of favors did she grant you?"
John’s face
reddened angrily. "Miriam was not a whore!"
James’s face was
contemptuous. "Any woman who behaves the way she did can’t be expected to
be anything else."
"Well, she
wasn’t." John’s eyes were equally hard. "Miriam was my wife, and she
loved my daughter as though she were her own. Were I in your shoes, I would be
proud of her."
"Were you in
my shoes, she would never have existed."
John stared at him,
confused by this strange statement. Elizabeth looked at her husband pleadingly,
then covered her face with her hands.
"You
undoubtedly would have given your wife enough children to keep her busy,
leaving her no time to stray."
"James,
please..." Elizabeth began, but he ignored her.
"Miriam was no
daughter of mine, praise God. She was no better than her mother, or that
bastard who fathered her. No true daughter of mine would have behaved like
her."
Elizabeth stared at
him, stricken, but John spoke out, defending the woman he had married.
"You’re right. A true daughter of yours would not have been someone I
would have wanted to know. Miriam was beautiful, loving, and compassionate, and
she cared about those less fortunate than herself. She was as different from
you as can be. I’m proud that she was my wife, and grateful to the ‘bastard’
who fathered her and brought a wonderful person into the world. I would not
trade the months with her for anything, and I understand now why she left the
world she grew up in behind."
James stood, his
nostrils flaring angrily. "You are a fool, Mr. Calvert, unable to see past
the wiles of my wife’s worthless bastard daughter. I suppose she promised you a
great inheritance."
"She promised
me nothing, except her love and commitment. That was all I ever wanted out of
her, and she gave those things with all her heart. I don’t want your money, Mr.
Anders. Miriam hated your world, and all it represented, and now I know
why."
James turned
abruptly, heading toward the door. He turned back for a moment.
"Know this,
Mr. Calvert. Your wife would happily have brought down everything I have
striven for in my life, everything that would have been hers, had she chosen to
accept it. In spite of her parentage, I would have named her my heir, and she
and her husband would have inherited everything. Instead, she chose to muck
about in the gutter, trying to raise the levels of those who should never be
granted power, including you and your kind. She died with the steerage trash
she had become, sparing all of us the trouble she would have caused."
He stepped out the
door, slamming it shut behind him. John stared after him, stunned, while
Elizabeth buried her stricken face in her hands, trembling. For years, she had
feared that her husband would reveal the scandal behind Miriam’s birth, and now
her worries had proven founded.