"So Nice to See You"

Maid of Athens! I am gone: Think of me, sweet! when alone.

--Byron

The trouble was, as the judge later said of Lieut. Commander Thomas Graeme Ridgeway, that "he might be brave in the face of the enemy, but he was not a hero when it came to facing a woman."

At a dance in Athens in July 1946, young Ridgeway, now 29, met Liana Maria Kremezi. Liana was known as the "Maid of Athens" because of her Resistance exploits during the war. On Sept. 21, they decided to be married. He gave her a ring bearing his family crest and made plans for her to follow him to England.

Food for Thought. Liana had three months, in which she did not hear from him, to think about Tom Ridgeway. Then she sailed for England. Before Tom had gone to Greece he had been engaged to an English girl. Now Tom explained to Liana that he had not yet had the courage to break off his engagement with his English fiancee. However, Tom took Liana to meet his father, a retired clergyman, and his mother. They took Liana's part and gave Torn the courage to explain the situation to the other girl. The engagement of Tom and Liana was announced in the Times of London on May 10, 1947. Happy Liana departed for Athens to buy her trousseau. It was quite a trousseau, including two silk dressing gowns costing -L-55 and -L-66 respectively. Three hundred wedding guests were invited.

In July 1947, Tom met Jane Clinton-Baker, daughter of Lady Rosa Agnes Clinton-Baker. On Aug. 20, Tom gave Liana further food for thought. "A month ago," he wrote in a letter, "I met another girl with whom I fell in love the moment I saw her." The Maid of Athens promptly flew to England. Tom met her. "How nice to see you, Liana," he said. Liana did not feel that cozy about it. She threatened to kill herself, she threatened to shoot him, and she finally wound up in a nursing home. Meanwhile, Tom Ridgeway married Jane Clinton-Baker. Liana sued Tom for damages consisting of the expenses of her two trips to England, her trousseau and other wedding preparations.

Faithful to the English. In court last week, Ridgeway's lawyer tried to hold against her the extravagance of her preparations. Cried he: "The sartorial brilliance of her trousseau might have come from The Arabian Nights" But the jury awarded her -L-10,500 damages. In tears, Liana turned down nearly four-fifths of the award and accepted only -L-2,200. She said: "I do not want the money. I do not want to ruin him."

Her faith in the British, so sadly shaken a few months ago, had been restored. "I may never marry," said the Maid of Athens, "but if I do, he will probably be an Englishman." She has received thousands of proposals from Tom Ridgeway's countrymen.

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