It had been during that seemingly innocent luncheon that Harriet had been swept away by Herman.  Listening to the conversation between Howard and Herman, Harriet learned that Herman Krause was a very powerful man of the type with which she was already well familiar.  After all, she had grown up around powerful men.  The luncheon had concluded with Herman being invited to Lillian Dunkleman’s birthday party.

The attraction between Harriet and Herman continued, and grew very swiftly.  The couple became inseparable.  No one was very surprised when, a scant six months later, Herman proposed to Harriet and presented her with a rather imposing diamond engagement ring.

Eight months after becoming engaged, the couple was wed.  Harriet was absolutely stunning in a simple but breathtaking gown by Bianchi, her golden hair crowned by a gorgeous caplet of lace, pearls and small sparkling crystals holding a long, gossamer veil, while the groom was resplendent in Oscar de la Renta.  The wedding was the social event of the season, and the hundreds of guests danced the night away under the canopy of a large silken tent that had been transformed by beautiful flowers entwined with small twinkling lights that reminded Harriet of fireflies.  The table upon which the huge wedding cake was placed was further decorated with small fountains spraying golden champagne.  All in all it was a truly an affair to remember.  Harriet had felt like a fairytale princess.  The only small note of sadness was that Herman had no family with whom to celebrate the union.

After a month long honeymoon cruise to Europe, the couple settled into the mansion Herman had bought some months before the wedding in anticipation of bringing home his bride.  Life seemed to hold nothing but wonder for Harriet.  The one exception was that Herman continued to insist upon his disinclination to become a father in no uncertain terms. Harriet dismissed this, thinking that time would change his mind.  Otherwise, Herman proved to be a solicitous and generous husband.  Harriet loved giving gracious dinner affairs for his business associates and intimate parties for their friends and family.  The first ten years of their married life sped by. 

Then came the tragic accident in which Harriet’s only sibling, Howard, his wife Lillian, and Lillian’s parents perished.  Young Brian Dunkleman, Harriet’s nephew, came to Krause Mansion to live at Harriet’s insistence.  It was also around this time that Herman brought home to dinner two young British girls named Bonny and Bunny Hopper.  It seemed they worked for him at Krause Enterprises in the legal department and he felt they were too intelligent to remain there and should be directed toward opening an office of their own to assist him in his enterprises.

Things began to change in the Krause household.  Harriet noticed that Herman was staying at the office later and later, often not coming home for dinner.  Many times he came home, rushed through dinner and went back out.  He began turning to her for physical affection less and less often.  Her gentle queries brought no satisfactory response from Herman.  He simply replied that as his empire grew his presence was required more often.   Harriet began to wilt as a flower does when deprived of water.  Her bubbly personality began to change to one of quiet introspection.  Her confidence and wit were replaced by hesitation and shyness.  Herman eventually moved out of their room, telling Harriet that he did not want to disturb her with his frequent late homecomings.  When Brian was sent to boarding school, Harriet was totally crushed.  She gradually became a shell of her former self, outwardly going through the motions of living while internally she felt isolated and inadequate.  She felt there was no one she could trust.  The once beautiful woman began to lose weight, neglect her appearance, and refuse to see the few friends she still had.  She just didn’t have the initiative or the strength; she was devastated by the sham her marriage had become.  Harriet simply could not face the bitter truth �?Herman was not the man she believed him to be when they had married.  Not only did he not want children and hate the fact that Brian was living with them, but she knew that he turned to other women to satisfy his needs.  The most horrific blow of all came when Harriet had slipped into the library that terrible night two years ago and had heard Herman muttering to himself about the evil deed he had perpetrated on Bonny Hopper.  When Harriet questioned him, he insisted that she had heard incorrectly, but Harriet knew, with a deep sickness in her very soul, that it was indeed true.  She simply could not bear that the man whom she had loved practically from the first moment she met him was capable of such a beastly act.  The last vestiges of Harriet Dunkleman Krause’s mental strength fled and she sank more and more into a deep depression.

 Now, Harriet had almost no will of her own.  She struggled through each day, mindlessly doing what Herman or Priscilla asked of her.  She had come to the point where she didn’t care if she lived to see another day.  Yet there remained enough of her will to prevent her from harming herself.  I wish there were someone I could really trust, she thought.  Even Brian seems to ignore me.  I feel so alone.