Chapter 16

After an extravagant shopping trip, Birdie, Frances, and Mrs. Tartt return home and discover the dining room and closets ransacked, valuables missing, and Rory absent with the Studebaker. As they search, they realize jewelry, silver, art, and heirlooms are gone. Birdie tells Frances that Mr. Allison said Rory was fired weeks ago and lost depositors’ and the family’s money; Mrs. Tartt suspects Rory robbed them out of spite. Frances denies it until they find Rory’s filthy boyhood room, then collapses into grief and drink.

That night, Birdie and Mrs. Tartt keep watch while Frances drinks herself to sleep. Mrs. Tartt confides Rory’s history: Henry forced Rory into months of painful hospital “treatments” in New Orleans for homosexuality, and later tied Rory’s inheritance to marrying by twenty-five. Birdie feels pity amid the betrayal.

At dawn the lawyer confirms almost nothing remains beyond the house deed. Picador returns; Mrs. Tartt, broke, dismisses Picador and Polly with apologies, recalling family history in the kitchen. Birdie begins cleaning Rory’s room and the house, inventories food, and cooks from exotic pantry items to keep everyone fed.

Birdie sorts years of bank letters and finds foreclosure warnings. The house falls silent without the radio; the grandfather clock stops unwound. Frances fears gossip and refuses to call the sheriff. Birdie pushes practical steps: collect remaining bank funds, stop charging purchases, and budget. She writes a check for Mrs. Tartt to cash and corrals their coins, despite Frances’s resistance and denial that Rory might be gone for good.

As Birdie prepares to go to the bank and continue stabilizing the household, a shabby visitor appears outside. It is Meg’s mother, arriving at the worst possible moment.