American Gilt

Absinthe

American Gilt - Absinthe (Vol 2) Paris, 1883 – The new year finds Oliver and Sara enjoying their honeymoon on the Champs-Élysées. But their holiday is interrupted by the arrival of the bride’s mother and two sisters. Originally agreeing to Sara’s family sharing their apartment, Oliver recants and becomes disgruntled. He offers to pay for a separate suite, but Sara refuses, embarrassed by his demands. Oliver reacts by indulging in absinthe, causing uncharacteristic mood changes, making him quarrelsome and temperamental. Sara grows frightened, realizing there is a darker side to her groom. Oliver escapes to gambling houses and brothels, as his drinking escalates. Horrified, Sara refuses him in her bed and a violent confrontation ensues. Oliver threatens Sara with a scandal and divorce, storming from their suite shouting “you are not my wife,” leaving Sara battered and terrified. Oliver does not return. Fears of abandonment materialize when he writes from Spain weeks later. Heartbroken, Sara fights against scandalous rumors, telling friends Oliver is traveling on business. Allegations reach Sara that Oliver is with ‘dancers’ amid accounts of a previous marriage while in the navy, rumors she refuses to ‘dignify with a response’. Soon Sara realizes she is pregnant with Oliver’s child. Both families face public scandal, each accusing the other of blame. Mrs. Whiting orders the family back to Newport, urging Sara toward divorce. Oliver learns of the pregnancy and returns to Paris, but arrives too late, receiving a telegram from Sara: “Do not come. Everything at an end.” In “Absinthe”, book two of the AMERICAN GILT TRILOGY, readers are transported through time to the beauty and confines of propriety during America’s gilded age. With information gathered from family letters, historical newspapers, books and personal interviews, J. D. Peterson skillfully weaves a tale based on the true account of the Belmont-Whiting Scandal of 1883. Previously published as 'SWAN SONG - Absinthe'