Chapter 5

The next few days were a blur of hushed conversations and strategic planning with Bea.

Arthur' s betrayal had been a shock, but Bea' s revelation, and our shared one, was a paradigm shift.

We weren' t just victims of this era; we were anomalies, armed with knowledge these people couldn't dream of.

Then, Daisy Miller herself appeared at my door.

She was heavily pregnant. Again.

"Mrs. Pendleton," she said, her voice trembling but with an undercurrent of desperation. "Arthur... he promised. He said he' d leave you. For me and little Artie. And now... this." She gestured to her swollen belly.

Another child. The depth of Arthur' s deceit was staggering.

It felt like a punch to the gut. How many more secrets, how many more lives was he juggling?

Daisy looked at me, her eyes pleading. "He won' t even see me now. He says... he says you' re being difficult."

I felt a surge of disgust so profound it almost choked me.

Arthur was not just a hypocrite; he was a coward, leaving this desperate woman to plead his case, or perhaps, to apply more pressure on me.

"He thinks I'll just... what? Take you all in? Become the matron of his expanding brood?" The words were out before I could stop them, laced with a sarcasm that surprised even me.

Daisy flinched. "I just... I don't know what to do. I have nowhere else to go."

This was the new, devastating revelation. Another child, another life tangled in Arthur's web.

Bea, who had been listening from the hallway, stepped forward.

"Miss Miller," Bea said, her tone surprisingly gentle but firm. "Arthur Pendleton has lied to you, just as he has lied to my sister. He will not leave her for you. He will not provide for you adequately. He will use you and discard you when you are no longer convenient."

Daisy started to cry, silent, hopeless tears.

I looked at this young woman, used and abandoned, and a cold resolve settled in me.

I would not be Arthur's compassionate fool. I would not be his enabler.

I turned to Daisy. "Miss Miller, Arthur will not help you. But perhaps, in time, I can ensure he meets his responsibilities. For now, you should not be here."

I gave her some money, enough for a few weeks, and the address of a women' s shelter Bea knew of, one that asked few questions.

After she left, I looked at Bea.

"He wants a war, Bea. He' ll get one."

I went to my writing desk and pulled out a small, velvet box. Inside was the diamond necklace Arthur had given me on our first anniversary.

I walked back into the drawing-room where Arthur was waiting, summoned by a curt note.

He looked up, a hopeful expression on his face.

"Eleanor, have you reconsidered my... proposal?"

I didn't say a word. I opened the box, took out the necklace, and let it drop to the floor.

Then, I stepped on it. The diamonds crunched under my heel.

"I will play your game, Arthur," I said, my voice devoid of emotion. "I will be the dutiful wife, for now. But know this: I am gathering my own ammunition. And when the time is right, I will not just leave you. I will destroy you."

He stared at the crushed diamonds, then at me, his face pale.

My retreat was strategic. I would bide my time.

My 21st-century knowledge of civil engineering, so useless in drawing-rooms, might just be the weapon I needed.

New York City was on the cusp of massive infrastructure projects.

And I knew how to build things. And how to tear them down.