When Arthur wanted something expensive, I asked whether it fit the approved budget.

Sometimes he became annoyed.

Then he remembered why we had agreed on the system.

I still made mistakes.

But I corrected them openly.

For most of my twenties, I’d believed employment was a trap.

I couldn’t understand why anyone would spend their life building a career when a wealthy marriage might offer comfort more quickly.

Now I was managing operations at an estate I had once considered nothing more than a prize.

The irony wasn’t lost on me.

I had married to escape work.