An American Beauty: A Novel of the Gilded Age Inspired by the True Story of Arabella Huntington Who Became the Richest Woman in the Country

Belle journals about how Collis is finally sleeping better again. She thinks it is because he is spending more time with her and Archer, after weeks of mourning Elizabeth and staying away. Despite how much she loves her house, she thinks it important to now leave it behind and move on.

After some months, Collis finally invites Belle to walk with him at Central Park, and Belle emerges out of the shadows for the first time by his side. He invites her and Archer to join him and Clara on an extended work trip to New Orleans the following month; Belle joyfully agrees, though she feels some trepidation when she learns that Edward will be there, too.

In New Orleans, Belle and Clara shop extravagantly and Archer buys books while the Huntington men attend work meetings. On the last day of the trip, Collis proposes marriage. Belle accepts, even as she thinks about Edward and her promise to Elizabeth.

The group travel back to New York by train. Edward approaches her on the second night aboard. They discuss his new position in New York and her impending marriage. Edward finally confesses his feelings for Belle. Belle is tempted to reciprocate, but knows she must squash this thing between them. She tells him about her past and the struggles her family has faced. She then asserts that this “thing” between her and Edward is “the return of ruin to [her] life” (280). Edward is taken aback and begs her pardon as Belle swiftly departs.

Clara attends her father and Belle’s wedding in Belle’s reception room. Although initially conflicted, she is more convinced now that Elizabeth would be pleased by the union, as she loved Collis and wanted to see him happy.

A newspaper article in July 1884, reports on Collis’s second marriage to Belle and their purchase of a 100-acre estate named “Beau Rivage” in Throggs Neck.

Soon after their marriage, Belle begins to receive a large amount of correspondence from people seeking charity and funds. Belle hires Carrie Campbell as a secretary to help manage this, among other things. Belle throws herself into renovating and redecorating her new home, both the house and the grounds. She eventually renames it “The Homestead” to reflect what it has come to be.

Once the work on the place is complete, Edward, Mary Alice, and Catherine visit for dinner. Mary Alice believes the house too rural and suggests that Clara will never find a husband if she doesn’t go out into Manhattan or Newport. Clara dismisses this and storms off.

Later that night, when Belle bids goodnight to Archer, he asks her why she doesn’t like Edward; he has noticed that she avoids him as much as she can. Shaken, Belle dismisses this, claiming she has “no feelings for him one way or another” (291) besides his being a relative.

Twenty-six-year-old Clara reflects that she is a spinster in society’s eyes. She is still invited to events because of her status as an heiress, but not as many as she was when she was a debutante. Clara remembers attending a meeting for some cause at Mrs. Fish’s place a couple of weeks after Collis and Belle’s wedding. Mrs. Fish asked her how she was holding up about her father’s marriage to “that…person,” assuring Clara that Belle would never be welcome in her house. Following that event, Clara’s invitations to all society events had begun to decline.

Belle journals about a recurring nightmare in which she is holding a rabbit and her mother tells her she cannot keep it, as it is yet another mouth to feed.

The Huntingtons receive an invitation from Ward McAllister to the Patriarch’s Ball for a sum of $1,000. Archer is derisive about McAllister’s role as gatekeeper of society, but Clara is excited and eager, and Belle promises to speak with Collis about the ball.

Collis, Belle, and Clara attend the ball, held at Delmonico’s, where all of New York society’s wealth and glamor is on display. McAllister brings Mrs. Astor over for an introduction, and Clara is thrilled.

Things initially seem to go well—the Huntingtons engage in polite conversation with the others at their table, and Clara has a wonderful time dancing and socializing. However, midway through the ball, McAllister takes Collis and Belle aside and tells them they need to up their contribution to $9,000 in total for the honor of the invitation.

Collis is livid, and Belle decides that they will leave at once; Clara would do better in European society. McAllister threatens to go to the papers with Collis’s refusal, but Collis and Belle are undeterred; they decide to speak to the press themselves, and leave the ball immediately.

Catherine watches Belle and Clara pack for their trip to Europe, Belle determined that Clara will conquer Europe. Catherine empathizes with the desire for revenge that drives Belle, as Belle is Catherine’s own revenge for all her terrible days in the past.

A London newspaper reports on the arrival of the American heiress, Clara Huntington, during the Summer Season in the city.

Belle arranges for Lady Consuela Mandeville nee Yznaga, a former New York debutante who wasn’t accepted in society because of her Cuban heritage, to take Clara under her wing. Consuela’s connections see a string of suitors lining up for Clara, with Consuela offering her opinion on each of them. She even introduces Clara and Belle to the Prince of Wales at the opera, whom Consuela claims is a “rather special friend of [hers]” (311).

At the opera, Clara notices a gentleman watching her and is intrigued. Consuela reveals that he is a Bavarian prince, Franz “Francis” von Hatzfeldt-Wildenburg, who is known for his gambling debts, and warns Belle and Clara away from him. However, Clara remains enraptured, and Belle is now eager to return home.

One June morning in 1888, an increasingly weakened Catherine sits on a bench overlooking the East River at the Huntingtons’ estate. She imagines Richard emerging out of the river to take her with him, and she joins him lovingly, as the breath leaves her body and she passes away.

Eight months after Catherine’s passing, Belle journals about the grief she still feels for her mother.

Despite Belle’s best efforts to renovate and redecorate Collis and Elizabeth’s Park Avenue house, she is unable to purge it of Elizabeth’s memory and presence. She decides to make a drastic change and convinces Collis to buy a lot in a prime location that has recently gone on the market, where they will build their own grand palace instead.

The Huntingtons travel to Mexico, where Collis works while Belle, Archer, and Clara explore the place. While there, Belle chances upon Clara preoccupied with a letter. She claims that a friend has invited her on a trip to Spain; she will be going in June.

Clara arrives in Barcelona with her friend, Julie, and shortly after they are joined by Francis, with whom Clara has been secretly corresponding ever since London. By July, Francis prepares to seek Clara’s father’s blessing, as he claims he cannot marry her without it.

Clara writes to Collis, telling him about Francis. She begs his forgiveness for keeping their relationship a secret and asks if he and the family will come down to London, where she and Francis hope to marry soon.

Belle, Collis, Archer, Edward, and Mary Alice arrive in London, where Francis greets them all superciliously. No one says anything to puncture Clara’s happy bubble. However, Francis asks to meet with Collis and Belle privately, and they are sure it is about Clara’s dowry.

Edward joins the Huntingtons at the meeting, where Francis claims he has done some research into Clara’s family’s background, as is the practice with anyone of Francis’s lineage. He has uncovered some details of Belle’s past, including her fake marriage to Johnny Worsham, and that Belle was employed at the gambling saloon he ran. Francis reveals that his investigators discovered the saloon was a “house of prostitution” (341). Belle refuses to confirm this and asks Francis to name his price instead. Collis agrees to Francis’s request of funds while threatening to ruin him if any of these details ever escaped the room.

In 1865, a 15-year-old Belle walked into Johnny’s parlor for the first time, instructed to go there by Catherine, who had secured her employment. She listed out all the different kinds of work she could do, and Johnny asked her what else she could offer.

After a coerced sexual encounter with one of the parlor’s clients, Belle was instructed to change and head out onto the main floor of the parlor. Johnny told her to wipe her tears and do what must be done every night to help her family climb out of poverty. He tells Belle that Catherine knows what his business is and that she told him Belle was clever, so he urges Belle to be clever now.

A London newspaper speculates on the upcoming nuptials between Clara and Francis, suggesting that her fortune is the reason for the pairing.

After Francis’s revelations, Edward can barely look at Belle anymore. She tries to tell herself this doesn’t bother her, and it is for the good anyway. She also attempts to test Clara’s loyalty to Francis, but Clara fancies herself deeply in love and accuses Belle of not knowing what the feeling is like. Belle promises to speak to Collis and get him to soften toward Francis.

Contrary to the reports in the American newspapers, Clara and Francis’s wedding is a small one. Afterward, the Huntingtons sail back across the Atlantic. One night on the ship, Edward approaches Belle and begs her to forgive his behavior. He claims he was shocked when he first heard, but his feelings for her have not changed at all; he is in distress when he thinks of the kind of circumstances Belle has had to face. Belle admits she feels similarly for Edward but asks him to leave nevertheless.

Belle and Collis’s mansion is finally complete, and it is grand. They spend years there joyfully, until Collis, grown older, longs for something more rustic. Belle finds him a compound of log-and-stone cabins deep in the Adirondacks, and Collis begins to spend more of his time there.

Collis falls ill with a fatal cough in August 1900. He asks Belle’s forgiveness for the truth and history of their relationship. Belle dismisses this, claiming he saved both her and her family. Collis passes away, with his last breaths proclaiming that Belle is strong and unafraid, and she will go on.

Belle journals about how the world feels dark upon Collis’s death.

Collis’s funeral is held at their Manhattan home. Edward rushes back for it, and Archer is in attendance, but Clara and Francis are too far away to make it. A grieving Belle realizes Collis had been her entire foundation and finds herself unable to even look at Edward.

After the funeral, Mary Alice tells Belle she and her children are leaving to England for good; Edward will remain behind in America. She knows of the feelings between Belle and Edward and has been worried about keeping her husband beside her ever since Yosemite. Now, she is salvaging what she can from her marriage and warns Belle away from her children and her allowance.

Belle remains distant from Edward for months, throwing herself into charity and work. Two years after Collis’s death, Lucy Clarence of Town Topics comes visiting, and Belle is able to face the blackmail demand with fortitude. That same evening, she writes Edward a letter asking him to come to her whenever he is ready.

A special cable to Town Topics in July 1913, reports of Belle and Edward’s wedding in Paris. It reveals that Edward divorced Mary Alice in 1906, after which he was constantly seen in Belle’s company. The couple plan to spend their time split between New York and California, where Edward purchased a mansion some years ago, with Belle helping to plan the renovations and decor.