Summary
A gilded Edwardian maze of affections, When We Were 21 unfolds like a Fabergé egg cracked open to reveal not jewels but jagged shards of ego. Dick “Imp” Audaine—youth incarnate, all cheekbones and inherited swagger—struts through Mayfair drawing rooms believing the world a carousel placed there for his private delight. Beside him glides Phyllis Ericson, whose calm gaze masks a storm of unspoken preference: she cherishes not the boy but the man who raised him, Richard Carewe, guardian, patron, reluctant stoic. Into this uneasy triangle slinks Kara Glynesk, siren in silk, nostrils flared at the scent of old money only to discover, post-nuptials, that the vault is bare. Letters are misread, hearts misaligned, reputations auctioned off in whispers. The Trinity—three lifelong custodians part chaperone, part Greek chorus—flap like distressed doves, yet the matrimonial locomotive thunders forth, unchecked until Kara’s mercenary eye lands on a richer berth. Abandoned, chastened, the Imp awakens from his prolonged adolescence; the collateral damage, a fiancée’s faith, reforms itself into the quiet triumph of a woman finally free to choose the steadier embrace of a man who has waited in the shadows, letter in hand, secret intact.
Synopsis
Dick Audaine, known affectionately as the "Imp," is engaged to Phyllis Ericson, even though she is in love with his guardian, Richard Carewe. Meanwhile, the Imp has fallen in love with Kara Glynesk, who is only interested in his money. Phyllis intercepts a love letter from Kara and erroneously believes it is intended for Richard. In an attempt to protect the Imp, Richard hides the truth from Phyllis. Richard and the "Trinity," three life-long friends and self-appointed co-guardians of the Imp, try in vain to stop his marriage to Kara. However, Kara quickly discovers that her husband is penniless and finds a new lover. The Imp realizes his folly, and Phyllis is now free to marry Richard.
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