Henry Francis first met Elizabeth Collins during her college years in the early 1940s. The two began a brief romance with one another that ended shortly before Elizabeth graduated. Henry always perpetuated an image of austere aristocracy, but in truth, he was a pauper – desperately pretending to be something that he wasn’t. He managed to cultivate a circle of rich friends who were more than willing to help finance aspects of Henry’s rich lifestyle. This behavior continued well into adult hood and Henry became an accomplished, (if unscrupulous) confidence artist.