She was quite aware of her own advantages, and was not at all minded to throw them away.

A brilliant marriage was, perhaps, at the back of her mind, as it is at the back of the minds of so many beautiful creatures who look and breathe poetry, while they are aware, within a few pounds, of what can be done in London on five thousand--or ten thousand--a year.

She inevitably thought of herself as quite different from the girls of poor or middle-class families, who must earn their living--Nora, for instance.
And yet there was really a gulf between her and the ordinary worldling.
It consisted in little else than a double dose of personality--a richer supply of nerve and emotion.

She could not imagine life without money, because she had always lived with rich people.

But money was the mere substratum; what really mattered was the excitement of loving, and being loved.