My Darling Love

Chapter 37 – War and Remembrance

"No man succeeds without a good woman behind him.

Wife or mother, if it is both, he is twice blessed indeed."

-Harold MacMillan

Aunt Millicent dressed Margaret, wrapping a scarf around her neck to hide Mary's handprints, and marched down to the police station. There she camped out, right outside the chief constable's door, until he agreed to listen to her new story, proclaiming George's innocence. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Davis, even if we drop your charges and those of your daughter, he still will be held for attempted murder, and that is a serious charge."

Aunt Millicent and Margaret marched to the Darling House and declared, "We are at war with Peter Darling, and we must do everything possible to free George from prison. Mary Elizabeth, what do you think we should do?"

Mary had her own plans for Margaret, and personally, she thought Aunt Millicent had done enough, although, "The only thing I need you to do is navigate the rumormongers and gossip hounds. Not an unkind word should be said of George, and I don't care what lies you have to tell to protect his good name. No one can know he is prison, do you understand? If anyone asks, he is on holiday, or taking care of his sick mother. Peter will bring his wife from Paris and his niece, I'm sure. They will attempt to travel in the same circles you do in polite society. STOP THEM. You've been around a long time and are more respected and far more powerful. You have an honorable reputation, and anyone of good breeding believes it is from God's mouth to your ear and on from there. Use that against them."

With a compliment like that, how could Millicent refuse? She was recognized in all social circles as a lady of good breeding, great wealth and generosity, who attended church and looked after her "poor relations," who had even taken in and adopted an abandoned child, out of the goodness of her heart. In no time at all, she had drifted in and out of parties and afternoon teas, dinners and events where others of her ilk dwelt, and, in one mighty swoop, knocked Peter, his wife, and his niece from them.

"You don't want to be inviting the likes of those people here. Most inappropriate choice of dinner guests ...they are from France, and you know what I mean by that." Aunt Millicent did a lot of "you know what I mean," and just like Mary told her, she lied and spiced things up, for that was her greatest talent. "You see that man over there? I heard only yesterday Sir Edward Quiller Couch had him thrown out of the gentleman's salon on First Street for cheating at cards. I've heard from a very good source he has been known to sleep with his niece as well as his wife at the same time right after dinner every night. Whoever heard of such a thing?" The old woman Millicent spoke to fell back and over her chair, dabbing her handkerchief to her forehead, thinking of everyone else she could tell.

Just for spite, Millicent added, "That Peter Darling ought to be ashamed, he should take a lesson from the fine gentleman his brother George is. Hard to believe they were raised in the same family. You know, George will not even speak to him or allow him near his wife or children, and I don't blame him. He told me himself, if I am ever in the same room as he is, I should hide my purse, for Peter Darling would surely steal that and my bloomers as well!"

Mary's friend from Paris sent her a brochure from a club that hosted an act called Dames et amoureux dansants de Madame Darling's pour le loyer (in translation, Mrs. Darling's dancing ladies and lovers for rent). Apparently, it was quite the rage in Paris with traveling businessmen, and the main attraction was a young lady who described as, Le plus belle et seductive de toutes les jeunes dames dans l'exposition qui est très douée dans elle des techniques et des qualifications dansantes ailleurs au loin de l'étape. It had been a few years since Mary had read French, although she could still speak it well, so she needed aid from her daughter Wendy, who was quite fluent in interpreting the written word. "It says, the most beautiful and seductive of all the young ladies in the show, who is very talented in her dancing techniques and skills elsewhere off of the stage."

Wendy looked down the pamphlet and brought Mary's attention to something written in the small print at the bottom. Monsieur Peter Darling, propriétaire. "That means he owns this club, mother. And I don't think by what this says means his wife is really Vivian's aunt." Voyages de Mme Darling le monde recherchant le plus fin et le plus beau de toutes les dames pour appeler la famille. Chaque fille a été main choisie pour leur beauté, leur charme et le désir d'enchanter d'autres dans le plaisir.

"It reads something such as, 'Mrs. Darling travels the world looking for the finest and most loveliest of all ladies to call family. Every girl has been hand selected for their beauty, their charm and the desire to delight others in pleasure.' I think that what it says, but does that mean what I think it does?"

Mary went to see Vivian and showed her the brochure, along with the drawing of her likeness inside above her description. "Vivian, please, I read your letter and you sounded very sincere in your apology. I know this paper says you're a prostitute, but if what I think is correct, and what I have learned recently from others, that was not of your own making. So either you meant what you wrote, or are a very good liar, or that letter was only another part of the plot that seems to be unfolding, or someone else wrote that letter on your behalf to give me closure. Now which one of the four is it?"

Vivian was truly a beautiful young woman, and her presence in her exquisite afternoon dress, with blonde hair flowing in perfectly cascading curls, was intimidating to Mary, years older. Not only was her hair perfect, but her face, features and body as well. Her voice purred with a rich French accent that made Mary's skin crawl, for the moment she spoke, Mary had visions of her whispering adoring sentiments to George while they engaged in their passions. Nonetheless, with all that was physical perfection in her appearance, more than Mary's matured beauty, she still held within her a tortured heart and soul, much the same as Margaret's.

"Peter's wife is not my aunt. She bought me from an orphanage when I was eleven, and taught me to dance. Then she put me in her show, and then made me the backstage act when I grew older. Peter came along and they married. That whole trip you took to Paris with George..." She paused, for saying his name was painful, and Mary could tell by the look on her face that she had fallen in love with George. Never again in their conversation did she refer to him by his first name. Instead she titled him "your husband" to remind herself, that no matter what, George would always belong to his wife and no other.

"That holiday was part of Peter's master plan. He brought the girls from the club to see which one your husband was attracted to. He thought he had him trapped with his own wife, but that did not go well. I can be a very good flirt when I'm paid well enough, and you know what came next." Vivian sat on her chair and glanced down at her dress. "I will never live like this again in my life. The clothes, the jewels, the fancy things, were all part of the show. When I go home, Peter will make the madam get rid of me, and who will want me for anything more than what they can pay me to do?"

Mary wanted to call her names and tear out her hair for her dirty deeds, telling her that the fate she described was exactly what she deserved, but Mary had a forgiving heart, and, in this case, she responded in another way, "You care very deeply for George."

Vivian nodded, "Yes, he treated me well because he thought my intentions were my own, and not provoked by a salary. I got paid every time he agreed to meet me, and a bonus if he took me to bed."

"The madam is always telling us, 'n'embrassez jamais les hommes qui vous payent le sexe sur la bouche'."

Mary had a hard time reading French, but she spoke it well enough to know, "never kiss the men who are paying you to make love."

Vivian nodded. "But your husband wasn't paying me, Peter was. And even though I knew I shouldn't, I did kiss him, and he would not even kiss me back. All I ever got was a peck on the cheek or on the hand. When I tried for his mouth, he would jerk his head back, as if my lips were poisoned. He told me that his kisses were only given to you, that I was not worthy of them. You are a very lucky woman, Mrs. Darling. I tried to steal him from you, but I could not.

"Peter was always so pleased. I would chase after your husband and bother him, begging for his time, without Peter having to tell me to. Your husband always told me, 'no we will only meet for lunch twice a week, and on one morning, Tuesday evening is yours but only until a quarter before nine, and then I am to go home.' If I tried to delay him by threatening I would tell you what was going on, he would simply reply, 'Please, tell my wife.' If I did that, then I would never see him again, so I never did. I lied about him to the constables and Peter is not even paying me to. I do it because I am angry with him for not wanting me. For not saving me like he saved you."

"So you kept your schedule with him, then?" Mary asked.

"Yes, and I was always on time, because your husband liked things promptly. Peter was furious that I could not persuade your husband into more meetings, so he had his wife get involved. We held a private party in our hotel room with the four of us, putting on a show. Your husband was very nervous and could not have sex in the company of others. Peter said to try it with only the madam and myself, but that didn't work either. Peter got so agitated, he told me I would have to service him and George alone, but I refused, and his wife, my madam, said no. He was to employ another, but she was with child or something like that, and not available.

"Peter is very good at causing mayhem and he is also a very good actor. He would dress himself up as your husband and take me all over London, showing me off as his mistress. He is so much older than George, I never thought a soul would believe it, but they did. He would sign George's name everywhere, hotels, restaurants, shops, and boutiques, anywhere they had a register, we went. Peter had to double my fee, for I threatened him as well. I may only be a whore, Mrs. Darling, but I am the best of all whores, and well paid for my talents."

Vivian was different in her exchange with Mary. She sat across from George's wife with a straight face and smoked cigarette after cigarette as she recounted all the information that Mary needed. Not once did she let her guard down until Mary asked, "Si donné la chance pendant une meilleure vie, la prendriez-vous?" Feeling the best way to break into Vivian's heart was through her native tongue.

"Oui, mais qui peut me sauver maintenant?

"So I asked her if she was a given a chance for a better life, would she take it?"

"And what did she say Mary?"

"She said, yes, but who would save her now?"

Grandpa Joe sat at the kitchen table with his daughter and looked over the diary Vivian gave Mary. In it she listed her monthlies, the men who paid for her affections, and all of Peter's demands upon her in regards to George. "Mary, don't show George this. I know being a woman you will want to, it's a subconscious gratification to yourself to let George know someone had to pay that whore to spend time with him. Even though you expect him not to be surprised and, if anything, grateful, he won't be, not in his heart. It's a mark against his manhood he will always remember, and it will hurt you just as much as it hurts him."

"I would never tell him she only tempted him because she was being paid to, for that would be a bold face lie." Her father raised his eyes to her face. "I have to tell you, Father, after talking to Vivian, beyond this diary, I believe in my heart that she had great expectations of him leaving me, and they would be together. Peter did not have to pay her to spend time with George -- she wanted to. Look at this diary, of all the men she's serviced, she wrote only the fees and the dates. But with George, she wrote everything leaving out not one detail. George was mistaken, it was twelve."

Mary guided her hand down and counted again as Grandpa Joe stared back at her with a quizzical expression. "Twelve?"

Mary nodded and shook her head, "The times they made love."

Grandpa Joe moved his hands to Mary's and then shifted them up to her face when he saw her attention. "No, Mary Elizabeth, he never made love to her. He had his way with her, just like any other man paying for it. Remember that always. Go on."

"Peter wanted a girl that had just discovered she was with child to come along to London. Vivian says there are one or two girls a month in the show that get in that way. His purpose was simple. Get George to have an affair with her, have him seen all over town with loads of rumors and tons of proof to the adultery, and then drop that girl off on our doorstep, swollen with child, to reveal all the dirty little secrets of their situation to me. It would have worked, if not for two major complications in his plan. The first was simple and a matter of the heart. Peter never thought it possible for Vivian to fall in love with George. She said she has had men fall all over her, charmed by her beauty, men that promised to take her away with them and make her the queen of their kingdom. From her own experiences, she knows those promises only lasted until they 'had their way with her,' and then the pledges of undying devotion changed quicker than the bed sheets. Peter knew she was always turning men away from her with those promises, only as a way to guard herself, more than being incapable of love. With George, she lost her heart, whatever it was worth, for George always keeps his promises to see her again. The acts of betrayal Peter spoke of were overshadowed by her dream that he would leave me and make a home with her."

Mary rose from the table and went to the sink, running the cold water to wash her face. "What was the second, Mary Elizabeth?"

"The second, Father, was the as simple as the first, Vivian lost the baby. Peter had already written a note that was addressed to George, but intended for my eyes, letting me know my husband's mistress was late, setting the stage. But George saw the letter before I did and confronted her. Peter thought it all for the best, because he knew George would be terrified and take her away on a train that very night, for she had informed Peter she was close to stealing his love from me. That is what Peter wanted, George gone so he could have me. It did not happen that way, though, George was alarmed, but not panicked enough to runaway with her. Instead, it did the exact opposite of Peter's intention -- it made him run home."

"Vivian was afraid as well, the moment she learned that Peter sent that note; for she knew the truth about George. She knew she was no closer to stealing his heart from me than any time before. She lied to Peter, so he would allow her control of her trysts with George and leave them alone. Vivian decided to have the baby aborted. It would be done in an unimaginable procedure, which she described to me in great detail. She knew George would hate her to begin with, along with the unborn baby that wasn't his, if what Peter had told her was correct, and I left George and took the children with me. In the end, she wanted the two of them to be together, so it was a double-edged sword in this case. She lost George, ruining Peter's plot. She lost the baby, for God intervened on that poor girl's behalf, and that horrid procedure was not necessary. It would probably have killed her. George would already be rotting in prison for her death."

"That would have been the perfect checkmate, God intervened for all of us. What happened after that, Mary Elizabeth?" Grandpa Joe stood and Mary turned to face him, and he hugged her. She was crying as she leaned on his shoulder for comfort, "They were all running for their lives, trying to concoct new schemes, but not working together which would have been wiser, but instead against each other. Vivian just wanted George, no matter if she had to share him or not. Peter wanted George gone."

Mary straightened, putting her cool hand to her forehead to sooth the ache. "The strangest thing to Vivian was, even though she'd lost that baby, George still wanted to be friends with her. Friends meant lunch and dinner, nothing else. She told me she was selfish, and wouldn't let him go. A friend was good enough for her, but not good enough for Peter. He told her she must get pregnant again, this time insuring it was George's baby, or he would have her sister in Paris murdered. They were together one time after that, the night of Wendy's birthday. Vivian said she practically had to rape George and he told her he would never allow her to put him in that situation again, and their friendship was over. What hurt her the most was, not only would he not finish himself inside of her, he refused to finish at all."

Vivian told Mary that her aunt -- rather, her madam -- could be easily turned in the game with enough money. After a lengthy heart to heart, Vivian now took a seat alongside of Mary. "She married him because she fell in love with his money. He was a regular customer. He told her she reminded him of his one true love in life that he could never attain." Vivian quickly gave Mary the once over, gently touching her fingertips to Mary's face and hair. Mary watched Vivian curiously as she spoke; "You are very beautiful, Mrs. Darling, fatal beauty, they call it ... the kind that drives men to insanity ..." Mary clasped Vivian's hand in her own and lowered it from her face without saying a word. "You have had many men fall in love with you, have you not?"

Mary still did not answer, only gazing expressionless at Vivian. "Of all of those men, why choose George?" Vivian asked not expecting an answer although Mary did give one, "Without me, you would have never met him."

"Believe me, I would have been much better off without meeting your husband, I assure you." Vivian replied and sighed, "Anyway, Mrs. Darling, Auntie Eve is bitter of Peter's infidelities that he does nothing to hide. His funds are nearly dried up, and now he is stealing money from her. He is such bastard and keeps getting the girls in her establishment pregnant, me included." Vivian touched her belly, Mary noticing the small rounding of it hidden in her dress. "She just wants him gone. He had to pay her to be here, so if you just doublez ses honoraires she will parlez la vérité. And, Mrs. Darling, with just me alone it's my word against theirs, all I have to offer as proof is my diary that you free to take with you. I'm sure you know yourself being a proper lady, a liar only has to lie once and no one will ever believe they speak the truth. With Peter's wife, you will have the bouche du monstre."

"So as long as we can double her fee, she will speak the truth and then we will have the mouth of the monster," Mary recounted to her son John. "But I checked your father's books and even though his lawyer is not taking payment for his services, without your father's normal pay and without taking money from Wendy, Michael and your accounts -- which he would never allow -- there is not enough."

John went into his coat pocket and pulled out a savings book. "We have enough, I was saving to send Wendy to America and to send you and father on a real honeymoon. I sold the things father purchased for that girl, and had father's banker friend invest the money in a very aggressive but highly risky stock that took off and went through the roof. It nearly quadrupled its value before I sold it. Please don't tell father, he always warns against such risky ventures, but I think rather nothing ventured nothing gained."

Mary met Mrs. Peter Darling in a café with Vivian, and tripled the fee she received from her husband. "This will be enough to relocate elsewhere when we return, I will even pay to have that procedure done to rid your body of that baby," she told Vivian.

Vivian's eyes met Mary's as she responded; "I'm not returning to Paris. Mr. and Mrs. George Darling are sending me home. And I am keeping my child."

Peter's wife was less than happy at this news, and scoffed at the whore that sat in her costume, pretending to be a proper lady. "And where is this home? And how will you support not only yourself but also a baby? You'd better not be whoring for someone else."

Mary put her hand under Vivian's chin and raised her head. She looked at Mary, and with pride, answered, "Les Sables D'Olonne, Mrs. Mary Darling got me a job there, a real job for a dressmaker. I leave in a week."

Mary's friend from Paris proved to be one of Mary's most important allies in her game of chess. Good it was that her last name was Bishop, for to Mary, on the chessboard that was the piece Mary played her as. Peter's wife left, and went to the prosecutor, withdrawing her testimony against George, and offering an earful about her own husband. "He is a pedophile, the younger the better he likes them. He molested that Margaret Davis girl from the time she was a small child until she was old enough to know better. He was caught with her while she attended a boarding school, and made her blame the caretaker. His own brother, George Darling, caught him too with the underage girl. And since he had more money than that unfortunate gentleman, lied about him as well to cover his evil deeds. Mr. George Darling only assaulted my husband in self defense, as Peter threatened to kill his wife and children if he informed authorities of his crimes."

When the prosecutor asked Eve Darling why she was having a change of heart, she responded, "He defiled my own niece as well, she awaits outside to tell you herself. He threatened to kill her if she did not back up his concocted story. She informed me of his intimidation this very morning. She has all the proof you need residing in her belly."

George was released from prison only an hour later. Mary still had many pieces on her chessboard unused, still in their original positions. She defeated her brother-in-law, instead, with his own army, and he took flight in retreat on a ship bound for America before the authorities could catch up with him. When it was all said and done, Peter Darling was a wanted man all over London, regarded as armed and dangerous.

Margaret's testimony was particularly damning. "He murdered my father. He raped me and gave me my daughter. I wrote to my father for help, for there was nowhere else I could turn. I was fearful of hurting my adopted family, and I had no other family I could go to. My father, the sinner that he was, was angered that he would have to take me back in if Millicent Davis threw me out, so he went to Peter and told him to leave me alone, or he intended to turn him in. My father was drunk, and Peter Darling beat him to death with the butt of his pistol and dumped his body in the shipyard where my father was employed, all while I watched. He told me he did what he did to free me. My father was buried in potter's field, unnamed, but the body found at the shipyard's garbage pile wearing the a dirty blue striped shirt with brown trousers, blonde hair and moustache was him." Margaret testified to it, and identified her father's beaten body from the constable's photos, holding Mary's hand close to her chest.

Auntie Eve cleaned out what was left in her husband's bank accounts in London as well as Paris, and relocated with her assorted "nieces" elsewhere, without leaving a forwarding address. Millicent took Margaret to a small town outside of Paris to retrieve the child she left there, along with Harry as their escort. He brought with him a letter to the headmistress of the orphanage, offering Mary's sincerest thanks for her telegram to the prosecutor, testifying that Peter went there in an attempt to remove the child from her care and hide it elsewhere.

Peter had listed his name in her visitor's log, as the child's father, but Harry remained insistent that it should be changed to his own name, at least on her birth certificate. He married Margaret in Paris, with Millicent as witness, and then returned with his new wife and quickly and quietly signed divorce papers the same hour their boat docked.

Vivian was homebound to her new life in her new hometown with the unborn baby she carried of Peter's safe within her, and was never heard from again of her own accord. Mary's dear friend from Paris, a dressmaker, wrote her often of the lovely young widow that married a handsome businessman who fell madly in love with her beauty and charm and wanted to raise her son as his own.

The caretaker from Margaret's boarding school was released from prison as a result of Mary's visits to him. He was never found innocent of the crime of which he was accused, as the professors and headmaster still swore that he was, in fact, Margaret's lover -- not because they felt it was the truth, but because they wanted to save their reputation with their wealthy clientele. But because of the caretaker's good behavior, the prosecutor allowed him off with time served. The headmaster of another school then presented him with a position, with both Mary and Aunt Millicent's letters of recommendation. This he accepted, with reservations, and never again traveled to any section of gardens wherein two clandestine lovers might be discovered. Just the same, he wrote to Mary and apologized for not being able to be of more assistance, and thanked her for honoring her vow to help him.

George sat in prison a different man. As the days passed in his confinement, with nothing else to do but think of all the wrongs he'd committed against others, he began to believe he'd gotten just what he deserved. He refused to eat, and soon caught a terrible chill that gave him a worse fever.

Mary went and cared for him; she was stronger than George ever knew, showing sides of herself he had never seen. She yelled at the prison nurses in that terrifying voice for being neglectful when he asked for assistance in using the chamber pot and was refused. He wet the bed and worse, and when Mary arrived, he was so embarrassed by the smell and his soiled bed sheets that he hid under the covers and turned six shades of red. "I want clean bed sheets and blankets and clean pajamas. I also want a wash basin with warm water, sponge and soap NOW!" she demanded when she found him.

Mary was unfazed by his smell or his condition. She stripped him and the bed and washed both from top to bottom. He cried and she held him, "It's alright, dearest, I will take care of you when you are sick. You need not worry, for I love you, and I am doing my best to bring home to me."

With her caring attention, he soon grew well again. She brought the priest from their church with her on several occasions, and he gave confession and communion. "Did I not tell you, George, your salvation lay in Mary? I will offer mass for you tomorrow, as it has been requested by many people who heard you were ill."

No one knew George was in a prison hospital, let alone a prison, Aunt Millicent made sure of that. Another lie she told to save his good name, "George Darling in prison? Did those words truly just come out of your mouth? You are either attempting a bad joke, or have gone mad! George Darling sitting prison, what a ridiculous tale, wherever did you hear it! Ha-ha-ha, you make me laugh, being so silly!"

George's job at the bank, as well as his reputation everywhere else Millicent was incapable of reaching, was secured by Sir Edward himself, who assured Mary, "My close personal friends at all of the newspapers guaranteed me not one word will be in print of all that is transpiring. But you must allow me to comment once that rascal brother of his is arrested ... Of course, I will leave George's name out of it. I have also informed the staff that George took a leave of absence due to, um, 'mental stress,' my wife read the term in one of her woman's magazines. He is welcome to come back as soon as he is better, but I cannot pay his salary without him here to earn it."

Mary was just happy he still had a job, and his position as Bank Manager. She paid the expenses with their "petty cash fund" and George's personal savings account. When the money went thin, just as she had done when she was a newlywed, she cut her long locks and sold them to a wigmaker. "Oh, Mary Elizabeth, your hair is so short!" Aunt Millicent mocked. Grandpa Joe kicked her shin under the table, and she changed her words, "But it is so becoming on you dearest, it makes you look ten years younger."

The hairstyle was quite unflattering, and Mary now always wore her hat when she ventured outdoors. Inside the privacy of her home, she let Wendy fix it with combs in an attempt to make it look like she still had the length, which was just held up in a different manner. This is the way she wore it when she visited her husband, who knew the first time she approached what she had done. "Your hair, Mary, please don't tell me you were forced to sell it again."

Mary removed her hat and patted her head; "This style is quite fashionable at the moment George. You don't like it? Women everywhere are wearing it this way, I think its rather smart." The style was not in fashion, nor was there another woman anywhere in the world wearing it cut below the ear. George shook his head and tried to contain his tears. "It will grow back, and I promise to never cut it again, although the children think my new look is very flattering."

By the time his record was cleaned at the court, he had lost a considerable amount of weight, and the clothes he was arrested in that he wore home now hung on him. He was pale, his face needed shaving, and his stomach growled for a home cooked meal from Mary's kitchen. The children carried him, buoyed up by their joy alone at his return, back into the house. "Children, take your father upstairs. Wendy, run him a warm bath with plenty of soap bubbles. John, help him undress and wait outside the washroom while he bathes, just in case in needs help getting in and out of the tub. Michael, you are to help me in the kitchen."

Nana, the children's nurse was retired from her station, but came back into service with George's return. She blasted up the stairs and followed after him as he entered the bathroom alone. She stood next to the tub and reminded him to wash behind his ears and in between his toes, before fetching him a towel and his bathrobe. She led him into his bed and forced him to lie down and then covered him with his blankets.

Mary came up the stairs, and placed a tray of hot soup with fresh baked bread on his lap and stayed to make sure he ate every last morsel. "I was hoping for a large steak and roasted potatoes, with green beans for the next course."

Mary stuck out her lower lip, sorry to dismay him, but told him with a smile, "It's not healthy to stuff yourself, George. You must first get back into the habit of eating all your meals. The nurse in the ward told me you were starving yourself. I will not have you get sick when your stomach will not tolerate heavy foods that are hard to digest. You can have soup and bread for lunch, a hearty stew for dinner and porridge for breakfast. And only hot tea with honey at every meal and no dessert, they are too rich."

George moaned just like the children used to when they were not feeling well and Mary would not allow them their dessert for fear of an upset stomach. "I'm sorry, George, only for a few days till your color returns."

In a few days, his color had indeed returned, but he was not yet ready to go back at work. "We have plenty of money in savings, you were not looking at the correct books. We will just have to wait longer to purchase an automobile."

He asked Mary no questions regarding how his brother was defeated, and took the position that nothing out of the ordinary had transpired in his absence.