governesses and ladies’ maids and scholastic advantages and if she wanted to go to Europe, why not? If she chose to have her twenty-first birthday in London, again why not? Now that she had come into her vast fortune she had the whip hand of her family in so far as spending her money went. If she’d wanted a villa on the Riviera or a castle on the Costa Brava or a yacht or any of those things, she had only to mention the fact and someone among the retinues that surrounded millionaires would put everything in hand immediately.
Greta, I gather, was regarded by her family as an admirable stooge. Competent, able to make all arrangements with the utmost efficiency, subservient no doubt and charming to the stepmother, the uncle and a few odd cousins who seemed to be knocking about. Ellie had no fewer than three lawyers at her command, from what she let fall every now and then. She was surrounded by a vast financial network of bankers and lawyers and the administrators of trust funds. It was a world that I just got glimpses of every now and then, mostly from things that Ellie let fall carelessly in the course of conversation. It didn’t occur to her, naturally, that I wouldn’t know about all those things. She had been brought up in the midst of them and she naturally concluded that the whole world knew what they were and how they worked and all the rest of it.
In fact, getting glimpses of the special peculiarities of each other’s lives were unexpectedly what we enjoyed most in our early married life. To put it quite crudely—and I did put things crudely to myself, for that was the only way to get to terms with my new life—the poor don’t really know how the rich live and the rich don’t know how the poor live, and to find out is really enchanting to both of them. Once I said uneasily:
“Look here, Ellie, is there going to be an awful schemozzle over all this, over our marriage, I mean?”
Ellie considered without, I noticed, very much interest.
“Oh yes,” she said, “they’ll probably be awful.” And she added, “I hope you won’t mind too much.”
“I won’t mind—why should I?—But you, will they bully you over it?”
“I expect so,” said Ellie, “but one needn’t listen. The point is that they can’t do anything.”
“But they’ll try?”
“Oh yes,” said Ellie. “They’ll try.” Then she added thoughtfully, “They’ll probably try and buy you off.”
“Buy me off?”
“Don’t look so shocked,” said Ellie, and she smiled, a rather happy little girl’s smile. “It isn’t put exactly like that.” Then she added, “They bought off Minnie Thompson’s first, you know.”
“Minnie Thompson? Is that the one they always call the oil heiress?”
“Yes, that’s right. She ran off and married a life guard off the beach.”
“Look here, Ellie,” I said uneasily, “ I was a life guard at Littlehampton once.”
“Oh, were you? What fun! Permanently?”
“No, of course not. Just one summer, that’s all.”
“I wish you wouldn’t worry,” said Ellie.
“What happened about Minnie Thompson?”
“They had to go up to 200,000 dollars, I think,” said Ellie, “he wouldn’t take less. Minnie was man-mad and really a half-wit,” she added.
“You take my breath away, Ellie,” I said. “I’ve not only acquired a wife, I’ve got something I can trade for solid cash at any time.”
“That’s right,” said Ellie. “Send for a high-powered lawyer and tell him you’re willing to talk turkey. Then he fixes up the divorce and the amount of alimony,” said Ellie, continuing my education. “My stepmother’s been married four times,” she added, “and she’s made quite a lot out of it.” And then she said, “Oh, Mike, don’t look so shocked. ”
The funny thing is that I was shocked. I felt a priggish distaste for the corruption of modern society in its richer phases. There had been something so little-girl-like about Ellie, so simple, almost touching in
Greta, I gather, was regarded by her family as an admirable stooge. Competent, able to make all arrangements with the utmost efficiency, subservient no doubt and charming to the stepmother, the uncle and a few odd cousins who seemed to be knocking about. Ellie had no fewer than three lawyers at her command, from what she let fall every now and then. She was surrounded by a vast financial network of bankers and lawyers and the administrators of trust funds. It was a world that I just got glimpses of every now and then, mostly from things that Ellie let fall carelessly in the course of conversation. It didn’t occur to her, naturally, that I wouldn’t know about all those things. She had been brought up in the midst of them and she naturally concluded that the whole world knew what they were and how they worked and all the rest of it.
In fact, getting glimpses of the special peculiarities of each other’s lives were unexpectedly what we enjoyed most in our early married life. To put it quite crudely—and I did put things crudely to myself, for that was the only way to get to terms with my new life—the poor don’t really know how the rich live and the rich don’t know how the poor live, and to find out is really enchanting to both of them. Once I said uneasily:
“Look here, Ellie, is there going to be an awful schemozzle over all this, over our marriage, I mean?”
Ellie considered without, I noticed, very much interest.
“Oh yes,” she said, “they’ll probably be awful.” And she added, “I hope you won’t mind too much.”
“I won’t mind—why should I?—But you, will they bully you over it?”
“I expect so,” said Ellie, “but one needn’t listen. The point is that they can’t do anything.”
“But they’ll try?”
“Oh yes,” said Ellie. “They’ll try.” Then she added thoughtfully, “They’ll probably try and buy you off.”
“Buy me off?”
“Don’t look so shocked,” said Ellie, and she smiled, a rather happy little girl’s smile. “It isn’t put exactly like that.” Then she added, “They bought off Minnie Thompson’s first, you know.”
“Minnie Thompson? Is that the one they always call the oil heiress?”
“Yes, that’s right. She ran off and married a life guard off the beach.”
“Look here, Ellie,” I said uneasily, “ I was a life guard at Littlehampton once.”
“Oh, were you? What fun! Permanently?”
“No, of course not. Just one summer, that’s all.”
“I wish you wouldn’t worry,” said Ellie.
“What happened about Minnie Thompson?”
“They had to go up to 200,000 dollars, I think,” said Ellie, “he wouldn’t take less. Minnie was man-mad and really a half-wit,” she added.
“You take my breath away, Ellie,” I said. “I’ve not only acquired a wife, I’ve got something I can trade for solid cash at any time.”
“That’s right,” said Ellie. “Send for a high-powered lawyer and tell him you’re willing to talk turkey. Then he fixes up the divorce and the amount of alimony,” said Ellie, continuing my education. “My stepmother’s been married four times,” she added, “and she’s made quite a lot out of it.” And then she said, “Oh, Mike, don’t look so shocked. ”
The funny thing is that I was shocked. I felt a priggish distaste for the corruption of modern society in its richer phases. There had been something so little-girl-like about Ellie, so simple, almost touching in
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