Phileas Fogg - A Memoir Pt. 24

"Excuse me Master," Passepartout interrupted. "How can I marry Eunice? I have but a stipend or two to manage on my own, and . . ."

"Excuse me, my dear, dear friend. I took the liberty of opening an account in your name earlier at the Bank of England. Half the winnings from the bet are now deposited in your personal account. Passepartout, you are now a wealthy man."

"What!" Passepartout gasped, "That is . . ."

"Wonderful!" Both Aouda and Mrs. Bentley cried out simultaneously. They engaged in what one would be compelled to call a group hug, the Fogg continued on.

"And so, Aouda and I marry as the Queen suggests. Passepartout, why not call on the reverend again, this time to perform the nuptials at your wedding. I shall suggest to the Queen's emissary that we have a double wedding at the cathedral a week from now. How does that sound?"

"Passepartout my love," Eunice asked, what do you think?"

"Will you marry me, Mrs. Bentley?"

"Only if you call me by my given name, Eunice."

"This of course, does not mean Aouda cannot lie with you. The next part of my suggestion is that we switch partners on a more or less random pattern."

Aouda squealed with joy. Eunice smiled coyly at Fogg and nodded, telling him with the subtle gesture that she thought him a genius in resolving a complex problem. And so it came to pass. All of London, and much of Europe and America was enthralled by the news of the double wedding. The Queen had been delighted with the suggestion and quickly agreed. The wedding took place with all the gala of a royal wedding.

Then the four lovers withdrew to Fogg's residence, forsaking a honeymoon, claiming they had done quite enough traveling for the time being. Of course Mrs. Bentley went along with this and they settled in, alternating those nights the men slept with their brides and those they slept with the others spouse.

In time, children were produced. With one exception, they were never certain as to who the father was. Eunice suggested and the others all agreed that whoever the mother was, the child would bear the name of her husband. Aouda bore four children, three boys and one girl. Eunice had a pair of twins, one boy, one girl and several years later had another boy. The twins bore a startling resemblance to Phileas and everyone agreed he had fathered them. Still, it was Passepartout's name they were given and no one was ever the wiser, save the immediate group, and certainly the children themselves never knew of it.

A Chronological History Follows:

Aouda's children were named, by order of birth: Philip, Christopher, Aouda, and Paul.

Eunice's children were named Marlene, Paris and Peter.

Sir Phileas Fogg passed on after a long fight with a stomach illness in 1899.

In 1903, Christopher Fogg fell from his horse while riding and died he was 28.

In 1908, Passepartout's heart stopped beating while trying to save his beloved wife Eunice from a house fire. Eunice suffered 3^rd degree burns over most of her body and died several hours after her husband.

Aouda, died in her sleep in 1921. She was 78 years of age.

Philip Fogg passed away after succumbing to tuberculosis in 1933. He was 60 years of age.

Phileas' daughter, Aouda was killed in Berlin in 1937 when the Nazi brown-shirts mistook her for a Jew. She was 60.

Paul died in a mysterious plane crash in 1938. He was 58 and working for the British Government.

Paris, the male twin had eight children, all girls. He died in an air raid over London in 1941.

Peter, the youngest of Eunice's children, was a Colonel in the RAF and killed in action at Dunkirk. He was 56.

Marlene, the twin girl also had eight children, all boys. She passed on, presumably of old age in 1986. She was 111 years of age.

It was in her eldest daughter's attic that I found the manuscript that I have transcribed.

Sincerely,

Paris Passepartout Waterman