Summary
In the opulent hush of Newport’s marble verandas, Marian Westover glides like a swan across a lake of secrets, her chiffon hem trembling with every heartbeat she refuses to confess. Cullen Dale, polo-mallet demigod and heir to a railroad dynasty, worships her with a gaze that could gilt the Atlantic, yet his affections bifurcate—half to Marian’s moon-pale grace, half to the adrenaline brotherhood he shares with Harvey Gilroy, the quietly combustible comrade whose silences cost more than any fortune. One savage afternoon of thundering hooves and splintered mallets, both men are hurled into the dust; blood blooms on white flannels like poppies in snow, and Cullen’s frantic tenderness toward Harvey—sponge, bandage, whispered oaths—ignites a triangular current none of them can name. A diamond ring follows, slipped onto Marian’s trembling finger beneath a canopy of Chinese lanterns, yet the air curdles with phantoms: Cullen’s past paramours, their laughter echoing from satin boudoirs, and now Jessica Ramsey, sun-bronzed amazon who vaults onto thoroughbreds as though gravity were negotiable. Jessica’s challenge is carnal choreography—archery, diving, tennis served like bullets—and Marian, all porcelain restraint, wilts under the comparison. The invitation to a granite eyrie of a lodge arrives like a gauntlet; when Marian demurs, Cullen spirits her to a justice of the peace, seals the union with a kiss, then immediately absconds uphill, sealing their vows in secrecy as tight as a mausoleum. Tempest and avalanche conspire; telegraph wires snap; Marian, half-mad with dread, begs Harvey to sled her through drifts chest-high. Inside the timbered hall, amid bear-skin rugs and crackling pine, revelations ricochet: marriage certificates, unspoken hungers, Jessica’s predatory pout collapsing into wounded surrender. Morning sun finds the trio rearranged—some affections cauterized, others newborn—while the mountain itself exhales, indifferent to which truths survive the thaw.
Synopsis
Marian Westover is loved by wealthy young Cullen Dale and his best friend Harvey Gilroy, whose loyalty to Dale keeps him silent. After they both sustain injuries in a polo game, Cullen shows particular solicitude in caring for his friend. Cullen proposes to and is accepted by Marian, but she becomes jealous of his former girlfriends, and when Jessica Ramsey arrives and tries to capture Cullen, Marian fails to emulate her athletic prowess. Jessica invites the couple to a mountain lodge, but when Marian refuses to go, Cullen sweeps her into an automobile and has a marriage ceremony performed. She returns home, and Cullen goes on to the lodge, keeping his marriage secret. A storm prevents Cullen from returning home, and Marian, in alarm, enlists Gilroy's aid. At the lodge, everything is explained to the satisfaction of all but Jessica.
