TIMELINE 1892 Lawrence Harrington born. 1894 Anne Harrington born. 1895 Clive Harrington born. 1897 Henry Harrington born. Eliza Whitfield born. 1898 Jane Whitfield born. 1900 William Whitfield born. 1901 George Harrington born. 1907 George dies of diptheria. 1914 Great War begins. Lawrence goes with the Grenadier Guards to France. 1915 Clive volunteers with the Devonshire Regiment in Mesopotamia. 1916 Conscription law enacted. Henry rejected for service. 1918 Clarence conscripted. Lawrence killed at Marne. William conscripted and killed at Ypres. Armistice. 1919 Clarence and Clive return. Clive becomes Master of the House. 1921 Henry and Eliza meet, and marry. 1922 Henry Jr., aka "Hank" (Fred) is born. (Phase 1) 1925 William (Rob) is born. (Phase 2) 1930 Eleanore and Jane (Deborah and Jeanne) are born. (Phase 4) 1939 The evacuation. PHASE 1 (1921-1923) The early years of Henry and Eliza's marriage are amicable. They seem well suited to each other on a superficial level -- they settle quickly into a comfortable domestic routine, and though theirs is not a marriage of any great passionate love, it is one of affection. The birth of a son, one year into their marriage, in 1922, is a joyous occasion for both the couple and their parents. That child is showered with love and affection and given the best that they can afford. PHASE 2 (1924-1926) In 1924, Jane Whitfield marries Beaumont Thierrin, a wealthy French n'er-do-well, whom her parents heartily disapprove of. Jane goes gallivanting around the world with him, and is seldom heard from. Over the next ten years, she has what is effectively an open marriage, and is the subject of much scandal. Potentially she could have children by any number of exotic fathers. The marriage of Henry and Eliza begins to fray at the edges, as Eliza becomes involved in the women's suffrage movement. Henry is not exactly in favor of it, but his real concern is the social position that it places him in; he doesn't find it a seemly thing for his wife to be involved in such things, and is worried it may affect his university career. Also, meetings of upper-middle-class women involved in the movement, in his house, disturb his quiet academic life. Henry and Eliza quarrel frequently, but it is quiet and polite still. Henry believes that what his wife really needs is another baby to settle her down. He does his best to see to this (and Eliza, not yet at the point where she can refuse her husband what she sees as his marital rights, accedes), and is cheered when he finally succeeds. To his dismay, however, Eliza remains as active as she can through her pregnancy. Henry is happy to see his second son arrive, but while Eliza is not without affection for the child, she views him as something of a necessary burden. PHASE 3 (1927-1929) In 1927, Anne Harrington -- by this time regarded as something of an old spinster by others -- marries a man nearly twenty years older than she is, a widower by the name of Charles Waltham. It is a marriage that rather puzzles everyone else, but Anne seems to be determined to go through with it. Tension continues to mount in Henry and Eliza's marriage. In 1928, the women's suffrage laws are passed. Henry hopes that this will put an end to Eliza's independent-mindedness, but she turns her attention to other social causes. Henry senses that he has been, bit by bit, losing the heart and mind of his wife, and he tries, very hard, to draw her back to him; he has a great deal of genuine affection for her, though perhaps it is not easily called love (though he terms it that). Eliza, though, is prone to think of him as her "poor dear Henry" -- incapable of understanding her. She does not dislike him, though their fights grow more and more frequent and acrimonious. Henry hires a private tutor/governess, Charlotte Cavendish, to help raise his children; she is one of his mathematics students. Henry is on the verge of giving up, when Eliza unexpectedly becomes pregnant again. Eliza, as before, refuses to put aside her activities. In the winter, out on one such errand, she slips and falls. She loses the baby, and both are shattered. Henry blames Eliza, though he never says so directly. Effectively, they stop speaking except when observing the social forms; formality becomes very much the order of the day in the household. PHASE 4 (1930-1932) Henry has an affair with Charlotte. Eliza finds out and is furious; they have a huge screaming fight, finally, and Charlotte is sent away. This results in a temporary reconciliation between Henry and Eliza -- a passion born more out of pent-up anger than anything else. One of the strange results of this is that Eliza attempts to stuff herself back into the role that Henry wanted his wife to play. Another consequence of this is the birth of twin girls. Unable to find a good way to cope with each other, the couple turns their attention to spoiling their children rotten. PHASE 5 (1933-1935) Henry and Eliza continue with their tenuous conciliatory living. Eliza turns inwards, fading her involvement in social causes to being more "appropriately" on the sidelines. During this period, Eliza struggles greatly with herself, fighting between her upbringing and her own true nature. Consequently the parenting style becomes rather schizophrenic during this period. The issue of where to send their sons to public school -- Westminster (Henry's school) or Rugby (Eliza's brother William's school) becomes rather contentious. Jane turns back up in 1934, in a very poor state. She has been abandoned by her husband and has an enormously checkered past. Henry and Eliza quarrel extensively about taking her in. In the end, Henry wins out, and Jane goes to stay with her parents instead, before vanishing once more. PHASE 6 (1936-1938) It appears that Eliza's battle for self-control has ended with her society-demanded role winning out. This does not come without a cost, however. Unable to truly control her own life or influence the lives of a greater world around around, she begins to obsessively control the lives of her husband and children. Henry generally does not object, as he likes order.