Girl (Henry)
Short Summary
An American city, approximately early 1900s. Hartley received from a detective the address of Vivienne Arlington, a cook whose services he was eager to obtain. He immediately went to the flat where she stayed to persuade her to accept employment in his suburban home.
Vivienne, initially uncertain about accepting, admitted there was another interested person named Townsend. When Townsend appeared, Hartley firmly rebuffed him. Then Hartley insisted that Vivienne come immediately, but she protested that she wouldn't enter his house while another woman, Hloise, was still there. Hartley reluctantly agreed to send Hloise away.
Returning home, Hartley confronted his wife and whispered news that wildly excited her: "Oh, mamma!" she cried ecstatically, "what do you think? Vivienne is coming to cook for us! She is the one that stayed with the Montgomerys a whole year. And now, Billy, dear, you must go right down into the kitchen and discharge Hloise."
"Oh, mamma!" she cried ecstatically, "what do you think? Vivienne is coming to cook for us! She is the one that stayed with the Montgomerys a whole year. And now, Billy, dear, you must go right down into the kitchen and discharge Hloise."
Detailed Summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
Hartley's Search for Vivienne
In the offices of Robbins & Hartley, Brokers, two partners discussed their evening plans as the workday ended. Robbins teased Hartley about the cool nights he would enjoy in suburban Floralhurst, while he himself headed out for city entertainment.
After Robbins left, a detective approached Hartley with information about a woman he had been seeking. The detective provided an address: Vivienne Arlington at 341 East Street, care of Mrs. McComus. Hartley paid the detective ten dollars for his day's work and dismissed him.
The Marriage Proposal
Hartley immediately left the office and took a Broadway car, then transferred to an eastbound car that brought him to a decaying avenue. He walked to a new flathouse called "The Vallambrosa" and pressed the McComus button. Inside, he climbed to the fourth floor where Vivienne stood in an open doorway. She invited him in with a genuine smile and offered him a chair near the window.
Vivienne was about twenty-one. She was of the purest Saxon type. Her hair was a ruddy golden, each filament of the neatly gathered mass shining with its own lustre and delicate graduation of colour.
Hartley looked at her appreciatively before speaking. He asked why she hadn't answered his last letter and explained that he had spent nearly a week searching for her new address. Vivienne looked out the window dreamily and admitted she was hesitant about his offer. Though she recognized its advantages, she worried about committing to a quiet suburban life when she was born a city girl.
"I realize all the advantages of your offer, and sometimes I feel sure that I could be contented with you. But, again, I am doubtful. I was born a city girl, and I am afraid to bind myself to a quiet suburban life."
Hartley assured her that she would have everything her heart desired and could visit the city for theatres, shopping, and friends whenever she wished. Vivienne acknowledged his kindness, mentioning she had learned about him while at the Montgomerys'. Hartley recalled fondly the evening they first met there and how Mrs. Montgomery had praised Vivienne all evening.
Confrontation with a Rival
A sudden jealous suspicion seized Hartley, and he asked Vivienne if there was someone else. Blushing, she admitted there was one other man, though she had promised him nothing. When Hartley demanded his name, she replied, "Townsend." Hartley's jaw tightened at the mention of Rafford Townsend, wondering how the man had come to know her after all he had done for him.
Just then, Vivienne spotted Townsend's auto stopping below. She told Hartley that Townsend was coming for her answer and expressed uncertainty about what to do. When the bell rang, Vivienne pressed the latch button, and Hartley insisted on meeting Townsend in the hall.
"Go back," repeated Hartley, inflexibly. "The Law of the Jungle. Do you want the Pack to tear you in pieces? The kill is mine." "I came here to see a plumber about the bathroom connections," said Townsend, bravely.
Vivienne's Condition
After Townsend retreated down the stairs, Hartley returned to Vivienne and declared masterfully that he must have her and would take no more refusals. When he asked when she would be ready, she replied, "Now. As soon as you can get ready." But then she stood calmly before him and looked him in the eye, stating a condition that shocked him.
"Do you think for one moment," she said, "that I would enter your home while Hloise is there?" Hartley cringed as if from an unexpected blow. He folded his arms and paced the carpet once or twice.
Hartley grimly declared that Héloïse would go. Drops of sweat stood on his brow as he questioned why he should let that woman make his life miserable. He had never known a day of freedom from trouble since knowing her. Vivienne was right - Héloïse must be sent away before he could bring Vivienne home. He resolved to turn Héloïse from his doors that very night.
"She shall go," he declared grimly. Drops stood upon his brow. "Why should I let that woman make my life miserable? Never have I seen one day of freedom from trouble since I have known her."
The Surprising Truth
Satisfied with his promise, Vivienne agreed to come with him, looking into his eyes with sweet sincerity. Hartley could scarcely believe her surrender was so swift and complete. He asked her to promise on her word and honor, which she did softly. At the door, he turned to gaze at her happily, though still not fully trusting his joy. With an uplifted finger of reminder, he said, "Tomorrow," and she repeated the word with a smile of truth and candor.
An hour and forty minutes later, Hartley stepped off the train at Floralhurst. After a brisk ten-minute walk, he reached a handsome two-story cottage on a wide, well-tended lawn. Halfway to the house, he was met by a woman with jet-black braided hair and flowing white summer gown, who half strangled him in an embrace without apparent cause.
When they entered the hall, she informed him that her mother was visiting and would be picked up by auto in half an hour. She had come for dinner, though there was no dinner prepared. Hartley said he had something to tell her, and though he had intended to break it gently, they might as well get it out since her mother was there.
"I've something to tell you," said Hartley. "I thought to break it to you gently, but since your mother is here we may as well out with it." He stooped and whispered something at her ear. His wife screamed.
His wife screamed again, but this time it was the joyful scream of a well-beloved and petted woman. She exclaimed to her mother that Vivienne was coming to cook for them - the same Vivienne who had stayed with the Montgomerys for a whole year. Then she told her husband that he must go right down to the kitchen and discharge Héloïse, who had been drunk again the whole day long. The story thus revealed that Hartley had not been courting Vivienne romantically, but rather hiring her as a cook for his household.