Sunday 1 September 2024

The Secret Life of Mrs London 3 (Pages 151 - 275)


 SPOILERS!!!

Their stay in Hawaii is full of incidents. At some point Charmain goes out to swim, and a storm surprises her. Jack swims to save her, but then they both sink, and she thinks that Jack tries to drown her to see how that feels. Later he tells her that he could never do that. 

They still bicker about what happened with Lawrence even though Jack has his own alliances. There is a Hawaian servant, who Charmain notices Jack paying special attention to. The couple talks about free love, but Jack always refers that for himself.

Then Houdini appears, saying that he has been in Pearl Harbor. That night Charmain leaves the house and finds Houdini and they kiss. Yet, she stops, remembering what happened with Lawrence. When Jack appears, Houdini says that he has come to warn them as the war is imminent and Hawaii is not safe.

Jack and Charmain leave Hawaii, and in the ranch the debts pile up and there is some conflict with Charmain's aunt over the use of water. Jack solves the problem by paying her a fortune even though they have no money. Eliza, Jack's sister, says that they could make some money by going to the cattle fair in Sacramento, but Jack is against it. Charmain convinces him to go, and in Sacramento he gets sick. He has kidney stones, and he has to stay in the hotel all the time. 

When weeks after he recovers and they can return to the ranch, he is very upset when he finds out that his horse has died because he couldn't stand the heat from the fair. Jack blames Eliza and Charmain.

On their tenth anniversary Charmain has prepared a special dinner, but Jack says that her aunt has come to talk about the legal conflict. Charmain is upset because she wants to spend time with Jack. During the dinner Netta talks about having to sell Wake Robin, which is impossible because the property belongs to Charmain. Jack surprises Charmain when he says that Wake Robin is mortgaged, and she has no idea. 

Charmain feels so snubbed by Jack's attitude and is determined to leave him. That night Jack dies. Charmain is alerted that Jack is sick, and they call his regular doctor, but he is unavailable, so another doctor is called. The doctor says that he can't do anything, and the regular doctor comes to. They agree that Jack died of an overdose of morphine, but Charmain won't have that in the birth certificate. Dr Thomas agrees to state uremia as his cause of death.

After Jack's death Charmain escapes to New York, where she plans to talk to Jack's editor because she wants to write Jack's biography. The man can't receive her because he is away, so Jack stays in New York until the time comes. Houdini has his show, and Charmain goes to see the show, getting a ticket which allows her to see him backstage. When Houdini  notices him in the crowd of admirers, he simply says that he will write to her before he leaves. But as days go by, she has no news, and she knows that Houdini won't know where to find her as she is staying in a guesthouse in Greenwich.

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