The Phoenix in a Foreign Labyrinth
Alice's Letter
Chapter 20 – Alice's Letter
‘Yune, my dearest Yune,’ the letter began, ‘I am so very sorry that you are reading this, for it must mean that I am now beyond all hope of ever being able to see your sweet smile again.’ Already it was too much, and Yune tried in vain to fight back the tears.
‘I do not know if, after all this time, you ever think of me, but I still think about you far more than I know I should, and so I write one of these letters to you each time I travel. It must seem silly that I write letters I hope will never be delivered instead of ones that I hope will be, but any letter that I sent you would inevitably tell you the same thing. Perhaps even sending you my photograph was an indiscretion – and if you think it was then I apologize – as I did say that I would honour your decision to marry Claude and not try to lead you astray.’
‘Now, though, as it seems the Titanic may have not been so unsinkable after all, I am freed from this obligation and so I can at last reveal my innermost thoughts. Please, Yune, do not think me selfish for doing this, I have only been able to live my life at all because of the hope that one day I would be able to tell you these things.’
Yune continued to read. She had of course known immediately from Dubois using the title “mademoiselle” for Alice that she had not married, but now Yune was unable to deny any further the things she had really always known and had suppressed so ruthlessly. The truth was presented unambiguously in the letter, and she sobbed uncontrollably as she read the final dedication: ‘To Yune, my first, my true, my only love, from your ever-faithful Alice, adieu.’
Dubois waited patiently for Yune’s sobbing to subside, and then continued with the remaining provision of the will – having no husband or children, her parents both dead and her siblings already well provided for, Alice had left Yune everything. Despite living so extravagantly, Alice’s fortune was still large as, in addition to inheriting her share of her late father’s money, her own investments had always been wisely made. In round figures it came to 30 million Francs.
Yune’s mind, already in a state of shock, reeled at this second piece of news, and for several minutes she sat there with her eyes closed. Eventually, though, she managed to regain her composure, and after a further brief discussion with Dubois, showed him to the door.
When Yune told Claude about Alice’s bequest, at first he was furious. Furious because this was yet another time that Alice had, or so he felt, interfered in his affairs and wounded his pride. Eventually though, after much pleading by Yune he calmed down, but only after he had vowed that he would never touch a single centime of the money.
Yune of course wished that she could somehow use it to redeem her other family members, if any were still alive after all this time, but that would mean having to tell Claude everything about her and her childhood. She feared what effect that news would have on him, and as her husband, his welfare had to come before that of her family. So, Dubois arranged for the money to be deposited in a Swiss bank account in Yune’s name, and, for the time being, there it stayed.
Notes:
The Titanic’s watertight compartment design earned it the nickname “the Unsinkable”.
In 1912, 30 million French Francs would have been worth around $10 million, £6 million or €7 million at today’s values.