RebeccaRalph Truitt is a man that is used to getting everything that he wants. He has the money and the means to do what he wants, to get whatever he wants, except for one thing. All he wants is love, and he is willing to pay for it if he has to. It all started with an ad in the paper, and a response.
Catherine Land is a “reliable woman” as she writes in her letter, and the photo she sends is enough to send Ralph over the edge. She receives a ticket and a time in the mail and so begins her new life. As she travels across the country, she contemplates the lies that have brought her this far, and the plans that she has for her future. She must tread carefully though, to ensure that everything goes according to her plans.
As Ralph waits for the woman who is going to come and share his life, he contemplates his past. He had love once, but it was tragically taken from him to early. His entire family is gone, and he is alone in his solitude. Catherine has had more of her fill, and all she wants is the security that a wealthy man can provide, until she decides that she is done with him and can inherit his wealth. But both of them are hiding secrets that they do not want the other one to know about. Catherine is hiding her past and Ralph is hiding the secret desires in his mind. As he lays healing after a carriage accident on their way home from the train station, the past flashes through his mind and the memories come flooding back….
This week we are reading Chapters 1-6
Questions:
- Ralph has been all over the world and has never known want. Do you think Catherine will turn his life upside down?
- What did you think about the description of Ralph’s first wife and the fact that she was “for sale”?
- Catherine has some plans for Ralph, but she seems to be a little undecided at first. What secret past do you think she is hiding?
http://i1293.photobucket.com/albums/b593/rebecca_hill24/Reliable20Wife_zpsbf6ty1ik.jpg
