sensual lust for a vile woman who was only “after” the Winterbourne
money. As there wasn’t any Winterbourne money left, and the elder
Winterbournes lived on tick and shifts, the accusation was, to say the
least, fanciful. But Elizabeth bore down all opposition, and she and
George were married.
After the marriage, Elizabeth breathed again and became almost human.
Then and only then did she think of consulting a doctor, who diagnosed
some minor female malady, told her to “avoid cohabitation” for a few
weeks, and poofed with laughter at her pregnancy. George and Elizabeth
took a flat in Chelsea, and within three months Elizabeth was just as
“enlightened” as before and fuller of “freedom” than ever. Relieved by
the doctor’s assurance that only an operation could enable her to have
a child, she “had an affair” with a young man from Cambridge, and told
George about it. George was rather surprised and peeved, but played
the game nobly, and most gallantly yielded the flat up for the night,
whenever Elizabeth dropped a hint. Of course, he didn’t suffer as much
deprivation as Elizabeth thought, because he invariably spent those
nights with Fanny.
This went on until about the end of 1915. George, though attractive
to women, had a first-rate talent for the malapropos in dealing with
them. If he had told Elizabeth about his affair with Fanny at the
moment when she was full-flushed with the young man from Cambridge, she
would no doubt have acquiesced, and the thing would have been smoothed
over. Unluckily for George, he felt so certain that Fanny was right
and so certain that Elizabeth was right. He was perfectly convinced
that Elizabeth knew all about him and Fanny, and that if they didn’t
speak of it together, the only reason was that “one took such things
for granted,” no need to “cerebrize” about them. Then, one night, when
Elizabeth was getting tired of the young man from Cambridge, she was
struck by the extraordinary alacrity George showed in “getting out.”
“But, darling,” she said, “isn’t it very expensive always going to a
hotel? Can we afford it? And don’t you mind?”
“Oh, no,” said the innocent George, “I shall run round and spend the
night with Fanny as usual, you know.”
* * * * *
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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