Abel was pleasantly surprised to be told by Curtis Fenton the next morning that the bill for his reception at the Stevens had been covered by Mr.
Maxton and was to be treated as a wedding gift. He used the money he had saved for the reception as a down payment on a little house on Rigg Street.
For the first time in his life he possessed a home of his own.
21
In February of 1934 William decided to take a month's holi day in England before making any firm decision about his future; he even considered resigning from the board, but Matthew convinced lum that that was not the course of action his father would have taken in the same circum stances. Matthew appeared to take his friend's defeat even harder than William himself. Twice in the following week he came into the bank with the obvious signs of a hangover and left important work unfinished. William decided to let these incidents pass without comment and invited Matthew to join him and Kate for dinner that night. Matthew declined, claiming that he had a backload of work on which to catch up. William would not have given the refusal a second thought if Matthew had not been dining at the Ritz Carlton that night with an attractive woman who William could have sworn was married to one of Kane and Cabot's departmental managers. Kate said nothing, except that Matthew did not look very well.
William, preoccupied with his impending departure for Europe, took less notice of his friend's strange behaviour than he might otherwise have done. At the last moment William couldn~t face a month in England alone and asked Kate to accompany him. To his surprise and delight she agreed.
William and Kate sailed to England on the Mauretania in separate cabins.
Once they had settled into the Rits, in separate rooms, even on separate floors, William reported to the Londonbranch of Kane and Cabot in Lombard Street and fulfilled the ostensible purpose of his trip to England by reviewing the bank's European activities. Morale was high and Tony Simmons had evidently been a well - liked manager; there was little for William to do but murmur his approval.
He and Kate spent a glorious two weeks together in London, Hampshire and Lincolnshire, looking at some land William had acquired a few months previously, aver twelve thousand acres in all. The financial return from farming land is never high but, as William explained to Kate, 'It will always be them if things ever go sour again in America!
A few days before they were due to travel back to the United States, Kate decided she wanted to see Oxford, and William agreed to drive her down early the next morning. He hired a new Morris, a car he had never driven before. In the university city, they spent the day wandering around the colleges : Magdalen, superb against the river; Christchurch, grandiose butcloisterless; and Merton where they just sat on the grass and dreamed.
'Can't sit on the grass, sir,' said the voice of a college porter.
T'hey laughed and walked hand - in - hand like undergraduates by the side of the Cherwell watching eight Matthews straining to push a boat along as fast as possible. William could no longer imagine a life separated in any part from Kate.
'ney started back for London in mid - afternoon, and when they reached Henley - on - Tbames, they stopped to have tea at the Bell Inn overlooking the river. After scones and a large pot of strong English tea (Kate was adventuresome and drank it with only milk, but William added hot water to dilute it), Kate suggested that they should start back before it was too dark to see the countryside, but when William had re - inserted the crank into the Morris, despite strenuous effort he could not get the engine to turn over. Finally he gave up, and since it was getting late, decided that they would have to spend the night in Henley. He returned to the front desk of the Bell Inn and requested two rooms.
'Sorr - y, sir, I have only one double room left,' said the receptionist.
William hesitated for a moment and then said, 'We'll take it., Kate looked somewhat surprised but said nothing; the receptionist looked suspiciously at her.
'Mr. and Mrs.... er ... T 'Mr. and Mrs. William Kane,' said William firmly. 'We'll be back later.'
'Shall I put your cases in the room, sirT the hall porter asked.
'We don't have any,' William replied, smiling.
'I see, sir.'
A bewildered Kate followed William up Henley High Street until he came to a halt in front of the parish church.
'May I ask what we're doing, William?' she asked.
'Something I should have done a long time ago, my darling.'
Kate asked no more questions. When they entered the V5 vestry. William found a verger piling up some hymn books.
'Where ran I find the vicarT demanded Williarn.