We first went to Versailles as casual summer visitors and our stay was
brief. We loved it so much that the next summer we went again, this time
for the season, and found ourselves members of a happy pension family.
Then we decided to rent an apartment of our own, for the next year, and
soon we were considering the leases of houses, and finally we arrived at
the supreme audacity of negotiating for the purchase of one. We had a
great friend in Versailles, Victorien Sardou, the novelist and
playwright so honored by the people of France. His wonderful house at
Marly le Roi was a constant joy to us, and made us always more eager for
a permanent home of our own in the neighborhood. Sardou was as eager for
the finding of our house as we were, and it was he who finally made it
possible for us to buy our historic villa. He did everything for us,
introduced us to his friends, wonderful and brilliant people, gave us
liberally of his charm and knowledge, and finally gave us the chance to
buy this old house and its two acres of gardens.
The negotiations for the house were long and tedious. Our offer was an
insult, a joke, a ridiculous affair to the man who had the selling of
it! He laughed at us, and demanded twice the amount of our offer. We
were firm, outwardly, and refused to meet him halfway, but secretly we
spent hours and hours in the old house, sitting patiently on folding
camp-stools, and planning the remaking of the house as happily as
children playing make-believe.
Pages:
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214