Driftwood

Summary

A tapestry of ill-fated romance, societal expectation, and devastating miscommunication, "Driftwood" plunges into the tumultuous life of Helen Warner. Her clandestine engagement to the affluent Lawrence Grove, heir to a formidable contracting empire, shatters prematurely when a catastrophic train collision leaves Lawrence and his disapproving father gravely injured. Believing herself abandoned in the urban labyrinth, Helen, consumed by shame and a profound sense of desertion, sheds her identity, embarking on a precarious existence as a city working woman. Meanwhile, Lawrence, recovering from the brink of death, embarks on a futile quest to locate his vanished love, his despair eventually propelling him across continents for a two-year exile. Fate, however, orchestrates a cruel reunion. Helen, now a stenographer for the eminent lawyer James Wayne, finds herself ensnared in a web of forbidden desires when Wayne, unbeknownst to her, becomes her sister Alice's husband. The layers of deception thicken as Wayne, captivated by Helen's allure, proposes an illicit arrangement, a proposition she reluctantly accepts in a moment of profound vulnerability. The past dramatically resurfaces when Lawrence, seeking legal aid to find his lost Helen, enlists none other than Wayne, presenting him with a photograph that unveils the shocking truth: the woman he seeks is Wayne's own mistress. The ensuing confrontation is a maelstrom of raw emotion. Lawrence, recognizing his beloved, demands immediate matrimony, only to be met with Helen's anguished refusal, her conscience burdened by her perceived unworthiness and the shadow of her entanglement with Wayne. His fury ignited, Lawrence vows vengeance against the unknown interloper. The narrative spirals into a high-stakes climax within Wayne's home, where Helen, now aware of Wayne's marital bond to Alice, is trapped between two men and an impossible choice. Wayne, in a desperate gambit to salvage his sister-in-law's future and perhaps his own, forces Helen's hand. He exposes his knowledge of the "other man's" identity, dramatically placing a gun before a volatile Lawrence, implicitly daring him to act. Faced with the potential ruin of multiple lives – her sister's marriage, Wayne's life, and Lawrence's freedom – Helen, still harboring a deep affection for Lawrence despite her self-condemnation, makes the ultimate sacrifice, consenting to a marriage born of coercive love and a desperate bid for peace. It's a gripping exploration of moral compromise and the relentless grip of circumstance.

Synopsis

Helen Warner, courted by Lawrence Grove, the son of a wealthy contractor, agrees to secretly marry him and to that end goes to the city with him. Lawrence leaves her to meet his father, and while driving him in his racer, informs him of the proposed marriage to Helen. Grove, Sr., opposes the proposition and heated words follow. The automobile, suddenly stalled on a railroad track, is smashed by an oncoming train. Grove and his son are seriously injured, removed to a hospital, where both remain unconscious for two days. In the meantime, Helen, who has remained awake the entire night at the hotel waiting the return of Lawrence, believes he has deserted her, and ashamed to return to her home in the country, determines to find work in the city. Upon his recovery, Lawrence endeavors to locate Helen, but is unable to procure any word of her whereabouts. Grief-stricken at the turn of affairs, he accepts an engineering engagement in Canada, where he spends the succeeding two years. Meanwhile Helen has accepted one position after another, under an assumed name, finally she finds work as the stenographer of James Wayne, a prominent city lawyer. Helen's mother has died, and her sister, Alice, takes up her residence with her aunt in the city, and at a reception given in her honor, she meets Wayne, whom she later marries. Wayne becomes infatuated with Helen's beauty, proposes that she give up her job as his stenographer, and accept his offer to remain as his companion and pal. First rejecting his advances, Helen, in a moment of weakness, however, finally gives way. Lawrence Grove, upon his return from Canada, calls upon Wayne, who is his father's lawyer, and employs him to find Helen Warner, informing him of the details of their separation. Lawrence shows Wayne her photograph and Wayne realizes that the girl he has wronged is the object of Lawrence's quest. Wayne makes an excuse and leaves his office, telling Lawrence to dictate a description of the girl to his stenographer, and there Helen and Lawrence meet. Lawrence urges her to marry him immediately, but she answers that she is unworthy of him, that another man has already entered her life. Lawrence is beside himself with rage and urges her to reveal the man's name, vowing that he will kill him. Helen refuses. She leaves Wayne's employ and takes up her residence at the home of Wayne's managing clerk, Simpson. In the meantime, Helen has written Alice to the country, not knowing that her sister had returned to the city, and asking Alice to take her away. The letter is read to Alice in New York, and she calls for Helen at Simpson's home, at the same time that Wayne calls for the purpose of urging Helen to marry Lawrence. It is then that Helen learns that Wayne is her sister's husband. Alice takes Helen to their home, where she meets Lawrence, who again pleads with her to marry him. She still refuses him. Wayne also urges her to accept the boy and finally, in order to force her to consent, tells her in the presence of Lawrence that he knows the name of the other man, and that unless she marries Lawrence, he will name the man and at the same time places a gun on the table in front of Lawrence, knowing Lawrence will carry out his threat and kill him. Helen realizes how many lives are dependent on her decision, and what it would mean to her sister especially, finally consents to marry Lawrence, whom she still loves, but of whom she has not felt worthy.