A Lost Lady

Niel goes to visit the Forresters and finds the captain sitting in his garden, looking at the sun dial his friend Cyrus Dalzell had made for him. Captain Forrester has declined physically. His left arm and hand are paralyzed, and “everything about him seemed to have grown heavier and weaker” (61). Captain Forrester tells Niel that Mrs. Forrester is waiting to see him down in the grove.

Niel goes down toward the grove and sees Mrs. Forrester in a hammock. He thinks she might be asleep, but she laughs when he reaches her. He catches her in his arms, hammock and all, and she comments on how handsome he has become. She asks if he has found sweethearts and says that she has looked forward to him coming home. She also asks about the newfangled habits of young women, such as smoking in public. She seems to disapprove of these new fashions and the idea of women being more like men.

As Mrs. Forrester chats with Niel, he sees that she looks older but is still very vibrant when animated in conversation. Mrs. Forrester admits that she is always tired now, having to take care of the housework herself, though she has some help from Ben Keezer. Niel asks Mrs. Forrester if she misses the marsh. She evasively answers that she never had much time to go there anyway, and that they need the money. She says that Niel’s uncle was also careless with his money, and that Niel should realize while he is young that money is very important.

Together they go back to where Captain Forrester is sitting among his roses. As Mrs. Forrester enters the house, Niel stays behind and waits as Captain Forrester slowly makes his way using two canes. Inside the house, Captain Forrester asks Niel to mail some letters for him, checking to see if Mrs. Forrester has any letters to go out. There is a letter for Frank Ellinger that Niel quickly tries to put in his pocket. Looking at the letter, Captain Forrester just comments that Mrs. Forrester has fine penmanship. Niel realizes that Captain Forrester has always known about his wife’s affair.

Niel does not go to the Forresters’ grove as often as he would like, because Ivy Peters often frequents the land he has cultivated. Ivy calls out to Mrs. Forrester in the house in a familiar way when he passes by, which annoys Niel, “for at that hour of the morning, when she was doing her housework, Mrs. Forrester was not dressed to receive her inferiors” (67). Ivy ignores Captain Forrester when he passes by the rose garden or speaks to him like a simpleton.

One day Niel sees Ivy and Mrs. Forrester talking and laughing together. Mrs. Forrester then walks away carrying a heavy bucket, and Niel is incensed that Ivy does not offer to help her with it. Niel goes to where Captain Forrester sits in the garden and complains about Ivy’s lack of manners. Captain Forrester quietly agrees that Ivy is not very polite; “more than if he had complained bitterly, that guarded admission made one feel how much he had been hurt and offended by Ivy’s rudeness” (68). Niel shares that he met a man in Boston who knew Captain Forrester and commented that he had a beautiful wife. Captain Forrester tells Niel that he must tell the story to Mrs. Forrester.

One night Niel restlessly goes for a walk and finds Mrs. Forrester standing on the bridge of the creek by her home. They talk for a moment and then hear a door slam up by the house. Ivy Peters comes down to join them, saying that he had been checking the barn to see if it is in shape to keep horses during harvesting. Ivy says that he will be there in the morning but must meet a client in the afternoon. He rudely says that Mrs. Forrester should serve him lunch. She graciously invites Ivy to lunch.

After Ivy leaves, Niel asks Mrs. Forrester why she allows Ivy to speak to her so rudely. He offers to beat Ivy and teach him to speak to her properly. Mrs. Forrester anxiously begs him not to, saying that they must get along with Ivy. Niel protests that anyone could pay to rent the land, but Mrs. Forrester says that Ivy has a five-year lease. Mrs. Forrester confides that Ivy has also invested some money for her. She asks Niel not to tell his uncle, “but the Judge is like Mr. Forrester; his methods don’t work nowadays. He will never get us out of debt, dear man!” (70).

Mrs. Forrester says that Ivy is smart and owns half the town. Niel says that Ivy is unscrupulous and takes advantage of people. He asks Mrs. Forrester to let him help her invest her money, but she argues that he is too ethical for business schemes. She wants Ivy to make her enough money to move back to California.

Mrs. Forrester tells Niel that she still feels that she has a life to lead, that in two or three years she will be able to live a fulfilled life again. She had visited friends in Colorado the previous winter and had a wonderful time dancing and horseback riding. As she says, “that’s what I’m struggling for, to get out of this hole […] out of it!” (71), Niel observes that she looks like she’s fallen into a deep well.

Mrs. Forrester clearly believes that her husband will only live a few years longer, leaving her free to go back to California once he has passed. But the town doctor told Niel that Captain Forrester is still in good health and could live a dozen more years, and Niel worries she’s being unrealistic about her life. He fears for Mrs. Forrester: “What hope was there for her?” (71).