Beautiful Wild - Anna Godbersen

Part One

The Maiden Voyage of the Princess

by Dame Edna Sackville

You have all heard by now of the Princess of the Pacific, the Farrar Line’s newest and most impressive ship. But only I, dearest readers, can give you the full story of her maiden voyage, for today I sail on the celebrated ship into the open ocean, that vast and magical field of water—a landscape by turns starkly brilliant under the rays of a fierce sun, or dizzying, changeable, windswept. Who cares about all that, you may wonder, when there are three formal dining rooms, a Turkish bath, and a ladies’ couturier on board? Fear not, I will give every detail, my sweet ones, the landscape and the parties. It is sure to be a romance to thrill the heart and elevate the soul, this voyage to the very edge of the world. But, like many a sea voyage, the plot began to thicken while still on land. . . .

The land in question is the farthest west you can go in our country, a backwater called San Francisco (named by the Spanish, who tromped through in one or another of the previous centuries), where a fortune of two generations is considered old money. This is a town where you always smell the sawdust, not to mention the low tide. I descended upon the place along with many of the fine people you are familiar with from my columns—the Misses Van Huysen, Emma and Lucille, resplendent in the couture they acquired over the summer in Paris; the Marquis and Marquise of Brenn; members of the most eminent families of New York, Philadelphia, and Boston; and descendants of the grand old lines of Europe. The first voyage of the Princess is one of those events that bring all the best people together, for it promises lavish parties and gossip galore. (I suffer for you reader; I do, I do.)

The Farrar Line, which has been responsible for moving stylish people across the Atlantic for over fifty years now, spared no expense in publicizing the Princess. It is well known that she has a swimming pool and tailor and wireless on board. That there is an indoor tennis court and a top-deck observatory. Over the summer it was a kind of competition amongst the sporting set to get on the passenger list. And for no one more so than the unattached ladies of the best families. . . .

The scions of the Farrar fortune will be making the trip, too, you see. The elder Farrar son, Carlton (first in line to succeed his father, that eminent businessman and philanthropist Winthrop Farrar II, as head of the family concern), is here with his wife, the renowned beauty Camilla née Jones. But more exciting to the rest of us: the younger son, the one the columnists call Fitz (just as dashing as he sounds, I can assure you!). He is popular among the gents for his legendary explorations (serialized by my competitor The Evening Phoenix, but we forgive him) and with the ladies for cutting such a fine figure and for being such a riotous good time. These young men are thought to be one of the main attractions on a ship that boasts many unheard-of luxuries and entertainments. The charter is San Francisco–Honolulu–Sydney, and as has been much reported, the young Fitz will be leading an expedition into the interior of Australia upon arrival.

The night before the ship’s departure, a grand fete was held at the Palace Hotel for all the first-class passengers, and while it was at first a staid affair, soon well-dressed people who were not on the guest list began to arrive and I got to witness firsthand the spirit of this barbarous coast. San Francisco society is not at all as formal as we are back East, and certainly not as sophisticated as in the grand houses of Europe. Even among this rather raucous group of young millionaires, one young woman stood out. Not on account of her stature—she was rather slight—but because she seemed entirely indifferent to the rules of decorum usually observed in such rooms. She was dressed impeccably—I could not fault her there—but she talked loudly, ordered champagne rather than waiting to have it brought to her, moved around the room to whomever she found interesting, expressed frank opinions, and was generally conspicuous.

And yet Fitzhugh Farrar could not take his eyes away.

Presently, Fitz and this wild girl began to dance together, and with such energy that many saw not