With her husband rendered unconscious by the “herbal remedy,” Catherine was free to pursue her true interests. The younger maids, Sarah Lello and Rebecca Finch, had become withdrawn, flinching at Catherine’s approach. At night, sounds drifted from the East Wing—footsteps, low voices, and the unmistakable sound of weeping.
Elma Jones’s breaking point came on the night of September 3rd. Following the sound of crying to Catherine’s chamber door, she peered through the gap and witnessed a scene that would haunt her for the rest of her life. Inside the candlelit room, Catherine sat in a velvet chair, her dressing gown open, directing Sarah and Rebecca in acts of depravity that defied the era’s imagination. She spoke to them in a calm, instructional tone, like a teacher correcting a student’s grammar, while she forced them to perform oral acts upon one another.
When Sarah hesitated, sobbing, Catherine’s voice turned cold. She reminded the terrified girl that a servant without a reference from the Lamberts would starve in Eastern Kentucky. It was blackmail, pure and simple. Elma watched in frozen horror as Catherine not only orchestrated the abuse but photographed it, the flash powder illuminating the room in blinding bursts.
A Brother’s Disappearance
The horror escalated in March 1913, when Thomas’s younger brother, Benjamin, arrived from the University of Virginia. Sharp-minded and devoted to his brother, Benjamin was immediately alarmed by Thomas’s deterioration. He found his formerly vibrant brother “moving like a ghost,” unable to recall the day of the week. Benjamin began to ask questions. He interrogated the staff, examined the medicine cabinet, and sat up late attempting to engage Thomas in conversation.
