Isabelle Delacroix

It was the fifteenth day of February 1931, her twenty-first birthday celebration. Isabelle was getting ready to leave for the ball that was being held in town. Her father had secured the Graceland Ball Room for the party. The caterers had been preparing food all day. The decorations had been hung and absolutely everyone would be in attendance, that is everyone except for the most important person in her life and he was banned. Her party was the party of the year; if you were not in attendance you were not of any importance in this town. It counted to be among the rich and famous. Her father was one of the richest men in the state and she knew better than to do anything to cause him any undue shame. She was the oldest daughter in her family and her father had certain expectations of her. However, she was twenty-one and ready to make a life of her own. She knew that she was going to have to leave town so there would be little chance of her father finding out.

“Isabelle, come here, there is someone I want you to meet.” called her father.

“Please, Father, I am trying to get dressed for the party. I only have a few more minutes to finish before it is time to leave.”

“Isabelle, you must come down here, now. I want you to meet Mr. Sebastian. He is most anxious meet you.”

“Eileen, please help me finish getting ready. As you can hear Father is insisting I rush downstairs to meet that awful man. I have seen him here before. He is so old. I don’t see why I have to meet him. Father is always trying to introduce me to old men; men he thinks will be suitable for me. But honestly, I think he is really only thinking of men that can bring some wealth to our family again. Eileen, what am I going to do?”

“Isabelle, I don’t know what to say. I always thought you were the luckiest girl in school. The crash of the Stock Market hasn’t seemed to have an affect on your family at all. You are so fortunate your father can give you this wonderful party. I only wish I could have a ball like this when I turn twenty-one next year.”

“Oh, Eileen, you don’t have any idea what the crash has cost us as a family. My father insists that we go on as before. But really, it is difficult. I see all of my friends struggling and wonder, is it really worth it? Father is insisting that I marry well to support the family. I don’t know what I am going to do.”

“But, can you really disobey your father? He is such an influential man. Can you every get away from him? How will you manage?”

“Remember the rally we went to, that one where Miss Paul was the speaker? She was the one who fought so hard for us to be equal, one of the suffragettes. I don’t think my father will ever understand what it means to me as a woman. I believe I have the right to make my own decisions. As a woman, I am capable of deciding my own fate. I can support myself. Father made sure I went to college, for that I am grateful as it has provided me with training that I can use to secure employment. I am twenty-one now and I will have my life, no matter what. Today is the end of this life; tomorrow is a new beginning and I am going to live my own life.”

“Isabelle.” He called again.

“You must finish soon. He is beginning to sound impatient. I can’t believe the dress he bought you. How did he get your dress without you knowing about it? No one else has a dress from Paris. I can’t believe that you have a dress that was designed by Coco Chanel. It is the newest style and most of us are still wearing last year’s gowns.”

“I know, Eileen, how fortunate you all think I am. But you can’t even begin to understand what it is like living in this house. My father has become a tyrant. He demands that we obey him and has all but driven away every friend that has ever visited us here. My mother has become very afraid of him. I am not sure I can do what he demands, no matter how many Parisian dresses he gets for me. I know I do not want to marry any of the men that he has introduced to me yet. They are so old and disgusting.”

“What will you do?”

“I have a plan, but you must not reveal it to anyone. I shall not spend another night in this house.”

“Isabelle!” he called sharply.

“Yes, Father,” she called from the top of the stairs.
“Ah, look, Frederick. Here she comes, my lovely daughter. Isn’t she beautiful? Such a daughter to make her father so proud.”
Her father and Mr. Sebastian stood at the foot of the grand staircase. Her father looked up at her with a measured amount of pride. He knew Isabelle was against the ball. Although he would not admit it, he knew she did not approve of the men he would have her meet. It was for her good that he did this. She was headstrong and would need a strong man to control her.
Isabelle paused at the top of the stairs and gazed down at her father and the portly old man next to him. He had to be as old if not older than her father. She felt repulsed at the sight of him. His rheumy eyes were surrounded by his mutton chop whiskers and wispy locks of hair falling from the rim of his nearly baldhead. Why did her father want to match her up to such a man? Didn’t he understand that she could never be happy with a man such as Mr. Sebastian, no matter how much money he has? Little did he know her father was the one who expected to gain from this marriage? She was expected to make a match to solidify the family holdings and gain a fortune to allow her father to continue to live in this pretentious manner. She felt it was disgusting to be paraded before the rich old men of town just to maintain the pretense her father had established. How many more such men did her father want to parade her in front of? Did he not understand how meaningless this was?
Isabelle could feel the eyes of Frederick Sebastian leering at her as she glided down the staircase. Her winter- white Chanel dress was the latest style, an empire-waist gown with ties at the back. The butterfly sleeves accented the long line of her neck to her shoulder. The hem fell to her ankles and the train flowed behind her on the stairs. As she approached the foot of the stairs, she reached out her hand to greet Mr. Sebastian.

“Good evening, Sir,” she whispered softly. “Father,” she said as she leaned gently towards him to touch her lips to his cheek.

Isabelle knew she was lucky to be the daughter of Max Delacroix. He had been one of the wealthiest men in town before the Stock Market Crash in October of 1929. While he had lost a great deal of money, he had been fortunate to have some assets he was able to liquidate. This had supported the family in a manner as close as he could to their lifestyle before the crash. However, now that money was getting low Isabelle, as the oldest, was expected to marry someone who could help increase the wealth of her family.

She hated the idea; she did not see how she could marry some lecherous old man. She was going to follow her heart. Tonight was the end of the lies and pretenses for her. At twenty-one, she knew she could leave the control of her father. She knew she would have to work to support herself, but plenty of other girls were working some to help support their family and some were on their own and supporting themselves. She knew that after the celebration tonight she would be free, free to follow her dreams. Tonight she would make her escape. Tonight she would leave her father’s house and never look back. Quinn would be waiting for her behind the ballroom, and together they were going to make a new life for themselves.

The sound of a throat clearing made her father turn toward the door. Benji stood at the door waiting for an opportunity to speak. “Yes, Benji, what is it?” asked her father.

“Sir, the car is out front.” he replied. “Are you ready to leave?”

“Yes, Benji, we just need to get our coats. You may assist Miss Delacroix with her coat. Frederick, please join us on the ride to the ballroom.”

“Yes,” Frederick replied as he cleared his throat. “I would be pleased to join you and the lovely Miss Delarcoix. It will provide me an opportunity to enjoy her company and learn more of her future plans.”

“Father, may Eileen join us? I am sure there is room for just one more in the automobile. ”

“Isabelle, you can’t mean that Sullivan girl! You know I can barely tolerate the girl. Her family is not from the correct society to even be included with our family. She was only allowed to attend college because she earned a scholarship; how she did that I will never understand. Must she ride with us?”

“Yes, Father, she must.”

“All right, let us go.” he growled.

At Graceland her father insisted she wait in the receiving line to receive the guest that he had invited to her celebration. This was only the beginning of the evening; it would be a relief when it ended. She was not fond of being paraded in front of her father’s friends like a piece of fine horse flesh waiting to be auctioned to the highest bidder. The evening felt as if it would never end. Her father brought a constant supply of men to dance with her, old sweaty men with foul breath who ran their hands all over her body. She felt as if she had been mauled before the celebration was half over. Her only thought was her escape at the end of the evening.

At midnight Isabelle searched the ballroom for Eileen. “Eileen,” she called. “Please join me in the powder room and help me adjust my gown. I feel as if it has been stretched to the limits.”

“Sure, Isabelle. I need a minute to breathe myself.”

When they left the room, Isabelle walked towards the door. “Eileen, I am not returning to the ball. I am meeting Quinn.”

“Isabelle, you can’t …..”

“Yes, he is waiting for me and we are escaping my father. I will have my life.”

“Isabelle, what would you have me do?”

“Say nothing to anyone. Cover for me as long as you can. We need time to put distance between here and where we will go. Please keep my secret. I must go, Quinn is waiting. We will have our life together. A new era will begin with us.”