Jennifer is crushed and Jud suspicious when Eva and Avery announce their plan to have a second honeymoon. Soon after, Avery becomes very attentive to Eva, who is initially suspicious, then delighted. Eva warns him to stay away from Jennifer and demands that Miss Breen be rehired. Avery informs Eva that he wants a divorce, but she belittles his affection for Jennifer and promises she will fight any divorce action. Jennifer tells him that Eva told Carol, infuriating Jud. When Jennifer notices a palpable tension between Jud and Avery, she questions Jud, who angrily believes Avery broke his word and told Carol about his relationship with Eva. Jennifer discovers Miss Breen slapping the children and informs Avery, who promptly fires the nanny, despite her arch suggestions that she will have to explain the situation between Avery and Jennifer to Eva. Unknown to them both, Eva has overheard their conversation. When Avery observes Jennifer's strained appearance, she admits to great stress due to her attraction to him, but he tells her they can have no future together. Ignoring Avery's advice, Jud announces his intention to quit the family business and refuses to give further explanation. When Jennifer tells Eva, she breaks down and goes into a two week withdrawal, forcing Jennifer to try to care for Ted and his sister Trissa, despite the condescending attitude of the nanny, Miss Breen. After a search, they find Carol dead in the stable, having hanged herself the night before. The following morning, a worried Jud asks Jennifer if she has seen Carol. Eva hints broadly about the affair, but Carol refuses to discuss the situation and departs. When Jennifer realizes Eva is going to reveal her past with Jud to Carol, she attempts to intervene, but is unsuccessful. The night before the wedding, Eva returns from a party to overhear Carol and Jennifer discussing Carol's wedding plans. The next day, Avery summons the family and, to Eva's displeasure, announces that Carol and Jud will marry that weekend. When Jennifer wonders whether Avery will ever like her, he responds by kissing her, which startles her. Avery admits to knowing about Eva and Jud's past.
Jennifer then tells Avery that she has learned more about her cousin and after apologizing for doubting him, seeks his help in thwarting Eva's intention to disrupt Carol and Jud's marriage. Confused, Jennifer suggests that she is considering returning to Chicago, but Eva persuades her to remain. When Jennifer confronts Eva about her harshness, her cousin explains the difficulty she felt moving into the hidebound and traditionally Southern Phillips family and the measures she felt necessary to take to protect herself from permanent outsider status. Jud protests that their relationship ended ten years earlier when Eva married Avery and Jud insists on his love for Carol, but Eva scoffs at him. Eva follows and Jennifer overhears their discussion. The following evening, Jennifer accidentally sees Eva attempting to kiss Jud, who refuses and walks away. When Jennifer protests that Eva has always unselfishly provided for her, Carol reveals that Avery, not Eva, paid for Jennifer's education and daily support after the death of Jennifer's parents. One night Jennifer finds Carol comforting Eva's young son Ted after a nightmare and when she asks after Eva, Carol ruefully explains that Eva uses people, describing her as a heartless "queen bee" of the hive. A little later, Jennifer is taken aback by Eva's familiarity with Jud and further surprised when, after Jud reveals the engagement, Eva speculates that the marriage will never occur. That evening, Jud asks Jennifer not to reveal his engagement, insisting that the need for secrecy is Carol's idea. Later, Jennifer is shocked when Carol frankly admits that she hates Eva, but does not elaborate why.
When Avery dryly attempts to point out to Jennifer her naiveté about his wife, she criticizes his manner towards Eva. Over the next few days, Jennifer learns more about her family, as she settles into being a personal assistant to Eva, whom she greatly admires. When a drunken Avery and Eva begin quarreling, Carol ushers a startled Jennifer away.
When Eva arrives home, the McKinnons depart hastily and Eva blithely explains to Jennifer that Sue begrudges her for taking Avery away from her years before. Shortly after arriving, Jennifer overhears an argument between Eva's sister-in-law Carol Lee Phillips, and her fiancé Judson Prentis, about announcing their engagement, then Carol introduces her to Eva's husband Avery, and the neighbors Sue McKinnon and her brother Ty. Chicagoan Jennifer Stewart arrives at the Southern home of her cousin, Eva Phillips, who has pressured her into moving in with her family.
0 kommentar(er)
