Siteadmin, Check users, Administrators
12,071
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Line 77:
Line 77: + + + + + + + + + +
→Dagny's Return
To their horror, Dagny proceeded to tell a national radio audience that she and Henry Rearden had been having an affair, and that the only reason why Henry Rearden had signed that "gift certificate" was blackmail. Bertram Scudder threw down her microphone when she said that, but the damage was done. Shortly thereafter, Bertram Scudder no longer had a radio program.
To their horror, Dagny proceeded to tell a national radio audience that she and Henry Rearden had been having an affair, and that the only reason why Henry Rearden had signed that "gift certificate" was blackmail. Bertram Scudder threw down her microphone when she said that, but the damage was done. Shortly thereafter, Bertram Scudder no longer had a radio program.
== Lillian's Visit ==
Shortly after this, Jim Taggart received a visitor at his [[New York City]] townhouse: [[Lillian Rearden]]. She demanded his help in thwarting a [[divorce]] action that [[Henry Rearden]]'s attorneys were bringing. Through various means that the novel never explains, Henry's lawyers were on the point of succeeding in not only dissolving the marriage, but also ensuring that Lillian would receive no [[alimony]]. She had thought about seeking help from Bertram Scudder, but that man was now in total disgrace and unable to help anyone.
Jim Taggart probably couldn't help her even if he wanted to. But in the process of their conversation, the two of them began to talk about their respective motives for their actions. Lillian admitted freely that she sought to destroy Henry Rearden; Jim Taggart vociferously denied having any such motive. Lillian, who by now was getting [[Alcoholic drink|drunk]], called him a coward, and then spilled her drink on herself. Jim started to blot away the spill, and soon the two were intimate, though the novel suggests that they had no emotional attachment between then.
== Cheryl Taggart's Death ==
After Lillian had left, Jim's wife Cheryl returned to the townhouse. (She had left the townhouse earlier; Jim might or might not have learned that she'd been paying his sister a visit.) Somehow she had reason to suspect that Lillian had visited and that she and Jim had been imtimate. Jim brazenly avowed the tryst and said that Cheryl could do nothing about it, and Jim would never allow her a divorce. Cheryl ended by accusing him of being a killer for the sake of killing, and before Jim could reply to that, she screamed and left the townhouse for the last time.
Jim learned later that she had jumped into the East River. He briefly visited Dagny, not so much seeking sympathy as to hold himself blameless in her death. Dagny ordered him away, and the two of them never spoke of Cheryl Taggart again.
== The D'Anconia Copper Debacle ==
== The D'Anconia Copper Debacle ==