Sins of the Fathers Read Free Page B

interest in a regular job or
     a normal life and yet despite this unabashed Bohemianism (which fascinated me) she was still conventional enough to enjoy
     cooking, try her hand at dress-making and maintain her old-fashioned ideas about taking money from well-meaning men. This
     odd mixture of the conservative and the eccentric became increasingly beguiling to me; although I disapproved of her attitude
     towards a regular job I respected her dedication to her painting, and although I could not approve of her place in the drifting
     population of the city I admired her ability to fend for herself in New York and live by the rules she had set herself.
    Eventually the moment came when I was unable to resist mentioning her to my friends.
    ‘A new girl?’ said Cornelius vaguely. ‘That’s nice. Why don’t you bring her to dinner with us?’
    ‘She wouldn’t be interested in dining in a Fifth Avenue palace with a bunch of millionaires.’
    ‘All women,’ said Cornelius, ‘are interested in dining in a Fifth Avenue palace with a bunch of millionaires.’ But when I
     just laughedhe decided my attitude sprang from the fact that Teresa was unpresentable, and after that he lost interest in her.
    Cornelius himself had been married twice, first to a society hostess fourteen years his senior who had married him for his
     money before giving him something no money could buy – his daughter Vicky – and second to a society beauty two years his junior
     who had married him for love and presented him with two stepsons, the children of her previous marriage. Vivienne, the first
     wife, now lived in Florida and I had not seen her for many years. The second wife, Alicia, I saw frequently in her role of
     Mrs Cornelius Van Zale, wife of the well-known millionaire and pillar of New York society. There were no mistresses. Cornelius
     did not approve of an unconventional private life, and although he had never expressed the opinion that I should marry and
     settle down, I knew he would automatically disapprove of a Bohemian mistress like Teresa.
    By this time I was becoming increasingly annoyed by Teresa’s endearing but absurd refusal to accept money from me. I enjoyed
     giving presents: I had no sinister motives and I objected to being treated as if I had. I felt her attitude demeaned our relationship,
     particularly since all I wanted was to make our lives run more smoothly along their shared groove. Of course some cynic could
     have made an unpleasant comment on my offer to set Teresa up in a smart apartment only two blocks from my Park Avenue home,
     but the truth was I was tired of creeping about Kevin’s house at all hours of the night and suspected Kevin was equally tired
     of this continuing nocturnal invasion of his privacy.
    ‘Look,’ I said at last to Teresa in yet another effort to persuade her that the situation needed improving, ‘we’re lucky!
     I have enough money to make our affair twice as enjoyable! It’s a bonus, not a millstone round our necks. Why fight it? Why
     suffer if you don’t have to? It’s illogical! It makes no sense! It’s an inefficient use of our precious leisure hours!’
    I was glad when this had the desired effect of making her laugh, but I soon realized that ridiculing the situation was still
     not going to change it.
    ‘I’ve nothing against living in a midtown apartment,’ she said. ‘In fact I sure hope I’ll live in one some day but when I
     do I’m the one who’s going to be paying the rent.’
    I was so exasperated I wanted to slap her. I even lost control of myself sufficiently to accuse her of holding out in order
     to win an invitation to move in with me, but I knew this was nonsense even before she looked scornful and told me what I could
     do with my preciouspenthouse; I was well aware that she felt uncomfortable in my home and disliked going there. At first I had been hurt by this
     but later I felt relieved. Despite my current frustration I was neither infatuated nor