The Truth According to Us

Layla writes to Tare Russell, requesting an interview. Layla’s mother writes to her, sending pantyhose and expressing anxiety about her brother’s upcoming wedding to his fiancée, Alene. In her reply, Layla reassures her mother about her brother’s choice of spouse. Ursula Rookwood Chambers of the Works Progress Administration writes to Layla, reminding her of her assignment deadline and informing her of an appointment with her assigned photographer, Miss Echols. Tare Russell writes back, eagerly accepting her invitation and hoping to counter what has been reported by the “hound” Parker Davies.

The narrative focus shifts to Willa. Jottie briskly rushes the girls out of the house and drives them to Shepherdstown to pick up their father, who is stranded there without his car. Felix charms his annoyed sister and daughter by taking them out to supper in an expensive restaurant. At home, Felix carries Bird to bed, and Willa and Jottie tuck her in. Willa spots Layla peeking at them through her bedroom door, but Felix doesn’t notice. Willa, feeling more secure in her family unit, thinks, “So there.”

At breakfast the next day, Willa collects the mail and sees that Layla has been invited to visit the Tare Estate. Determined not to be outdone, Willa sneaks into the Tare Estate herself, using the entrance that her father used. She explores the enormous basement and finds an old dinner jacket belonging to Vause with a youthful and beautiful photo of Jottie still in the pocket. Since Tare Russell uses a wheelchair, it’s unlikely that he spends a lot of time down there, and Willa gradually pieces together the implications of her father’s actions—and that he is, indeed, a bootlegger. When she discovers several envelopes full of dollar bills, Willa carefully seeks to replace them just as she found them in the hope that her father will never figure out that she has explored the cellar.

Jottie and Sol watch the movie Algiers at the cinema. She reflects that Boyer’s character reminds her of Felix. As Sol is respectfully greeted by the various factory workers they encounter walking down the street, Jottie is reminded of her father. They kiss, and she struggles to banish both Vause and Felix from her mind.

Jottie and Layla visit the Tare Estate. Jottie notes that Tare Russell’s fortunes have been sorely diminished by the Depression. Russell tells Layla about various haunted Civil War artifacts in his house. Seeing the artifacts reminds Jottie of sneaking into the Tare Estate through the basement with Felix when she was a girl; she knows that the “haunting” of the estate was largely a result of Felix’s pranks. At the time, she realized that Russell was attracted to Felix, who laughed it off. As she leaves with Layla following their interview, Russell asks after Felix, and Jottie understands that he is still infatuated with her brother.

Layla and Jottie part ways so that Jottie can go grocery shopping. Layla, suffering in the heat, is relieved when Felix drives up and gives her a lift. She asks about the black case in his car—the same one Willa had tried to open—and he tells her that he sells chemicals to the US government. Layla remarks that Sol and Jottie seemed very friendly when she visited the factory. She asks if Felix ever worked there; he says that he was a superintendent but briskly changes the subject.

Felix takes Jottie out for a nighttime drive, somewhat against her inclination. He confronts her about her recent closeness with Sol and claims that Sol was thrilled when Vause died in the fire because he thought it would give him a chance to be with Jottie. Jottie cannot believe this account of events or that Sol ever hated Vause and Felix. Felix claims, moreover, that Sol deliberately poisoned his relationship with his father, who believed the allegations against his son. Finally, he tells Jottie that Sol has another lover in a different town. The chapter ends with a letter from Jottie to Sol, breaking up with him.

Willa is rereading Minerva’s copy of Gone With the Wind in secret when she sees her father walk around to the backyard. She follows him and tries to engage him in conversation until Layla calls down from her bedroom window.

In their bedroom, Willa tells Bird that she expects their father will marry Layla. Bird confesses to liking Layla but offers to turn against her in solidarity with her older sister. Felix drives Layla to a woodland stream, where they go wading and kiss.

Sol calls Jottie, calling Felix a liar and urging her to reconsider. As she hangs up, she recalls how Sol had once insisted on taking the blame when Felix broke one of Sol’s father’s golf clubs. Jottie told Mr. McKubin the truth and forced Felix to confess, but Sol refused to retract his confession. Jottie had angrily kicked Sol in the shins as he was led away by his father.

Jottie reads Layla’s account of the “Knock Pie Trail,” where a small group of Confederate soldiers managed to scare away a much larger force by banging pie tins, creating the illusion of a huge, well-armed cavalry.

Layla leaves to meet her photographer, and Jottie remains alone, missing Sol.

Miss Coco Echols, the photographer, disdains the town and feels superior to the job. At the mill, they learn from Sol that the workers are on a sit-down strike. Sol asks Layla to call Emmett and let him know what is happening. Emmett says that he will visit the mill the next day.

Felix is absent at dinnertime, but Layla wakes up late at night to see him sitting on her windowsill. He asks her to stay away from the mill and tells her that he has to choose between Sol and himself.

The next morning, Layla, Emmett, Jottie, and Felix discuss the strike. They consider the possibility that Shank might hire strikebreakers to “beat up the strikers and take their jobs” (302), but Felix says that Shank is too desperate to be liked to do that, a view that Layla affirms. When Emmett points out the difficulty of getting food into the factory for the strikers, Felix immediately proposes an elaborate plan to break into the factory.

The chapter closes with an exchange of letters between Ben and Layla. Ben tells Layla to leave town if the strike becomes dangerous. Layla responds by writing that nothing would make her leave Macedonia now and expressing her solidarity with the workers.

Bird reads the newspaper on the porch, perplexed by an article that quotes Shank saying that he “built” the factory. She tries to puzzle it out until the arrival of Zena, the wife of one of the fired men, who wants to see Jottie. Zena begs Jottie to use her influence over Sol to get her husband rehired. Jottie learns from her that Sol is likely to take over from Shank as president of the mill. When Jottie does not promise anything about her husband, Zena grows angry and says that Felix is bound to be arrested soon for bootlegging. She accuses Felix of the arson attack on the factory and Vause’s death. Jottie sprays water from the hose in Zena’s direction to make her leave.

Willa pressurizes Jottie to take her to see the striking workers at American Everlasting. They meet Emmett, who is talking to a union leader. Shank comes out of the factory, and an altercation ensues, during which Shank repeatedly underlines that the Romeyns no longer have any authority at the mill. When workers begin throwing fruit at Shank, Sol comes out and tries to calm them. The workers respect and listen to Sol, which incenses Shank further. As Jottie hurries away with Willa, Shank fires Sol.

Layla visits a run-down area of town in search of the Kerns House, where a famous Confederate general was believed to have stayed. She is first bewildered then sardonically amused to find that the Kerns House is a brothel and has been for several generations. She has tea and a chat with Della, one of the sex workers. When Layla tells Della that she is boarding with the Romeyns, Della alludes to the rumors about Felix burning down the mill.