Darwin Porter - Katharine the Great: Hepburn: Secrets of a Life Revealed

It was April 2, 1921, in New York City, with spring bursting out in Central Park. It had been the greatest day of thirteen-year-old Kate Hepburns life.

A five-day Easter holiday break had left her head spinning with delight. The parade along Fifth Avenue with her handsome, athletic brother, Tom, on her arm was worth the trip in from Hartford, Connecticut.

But that had not been all. Theyd roamed Central Park, gone to shops and cafs, and had even seen the great Anna Pavlova dance in The Dying Swan. The only real discomfort had come when Tom and Kate had gone alone to see the silent film, Mark Twains A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthurs Court , on April Fools Day.

Tom had become extremely agitated during a hanging scene in the film. Only last year he had been seriously reprimanded when hed attempted to per form this same dangerous stunt.

Although her brother had started to shake violently during that particular scene, hed recovered quickly and had gone walking that night with her among the bright lights of Broadway. Buying her a big ice-cream cone, her brother had taken her to see the dazzling Broadway marquees, announcing the stars and their plays, including Laurette Taylor in Peg O My Heart and Jeanne Eagles in In the Night Watch. After theyd had their fill of the bright lights, Tom and Kate had journeyed down to the art-filled house at 26 Charlton Street in Greenwich Village. They were the guests of an attorney, Mary Towle, whom they called Aunty. Mary had been a classmate of their mothers at Bryn Mawr, and was Toms godmother.

Mary had invited eight teenagers, both boys and girls, over to meet Kate and Tom that night. Although Kate was shy and didnt mingle freely, Tom had been an instant hit with the young Villagers, especially when he brought down his banjo from his garret bedroom and had launched into an impromptu concert, singing his own songs.

After the music, the girls had teased Tom, one young lady calling him too handsome for your own good. Another found him artsy, yet another taunted him for eating three big helpings of coconut cake, and a final girl pronounced Tom as too sensitive. Hed blushed at the chiding but had told Kate that hed thought the girls really like me.

After the guests had gone, Tom had thanked Aunty for memories I will treasure forever. Kate had run up to kiss him good night on both cheeks as he stood on the stairs. Uncharacteristically, hed grabbed her in his arms and held her real close before kissing her gently on the lips. Youre my girl, arent you? hed asked her.

Youre the only man wholl ever own me, shed predicted. She slowly watched his mass of tousled blond curls bound up the steps to his garret bed room before turning in for the night in her ground-floor chamber next door to Auntys. Kate had checked the clock in the hallway. It was exactly 10:15pm.

No sound was heard from Toms bedroom the rest of the night, although Kate did not sleep well. She would later tell her family that in the middle of the night shed experienced a gut-wrenching feeling in the pit of my stomach, which she blamed on all the rich food shed consumed in New York.

The next morning at breakfast, Kate devoured a large plate of bacon and eggs with Aunty. Both had agreed that the sensible thing to do was to let Tom sleep to recover from a heady holiday. By 8:30am, Kate grew alarmed that they might miss the ten oclock train back to Hartford if Tom didnt get up soon. Bounding up three flights of steps just like Tom had the night before, Kate pounded on his door. Rise and shine, sleepyhead! she shouted at him. There was an ominous silence from the other side. Since the bathroom door was opened nearby, she could tell he wasnt in there. After her second pounding went unheeded, she opened the door and barged in.