reportedly, vernet inherited £8,000 following the death of her father in 1896. in 1896 she married armyn littledale thornton, a stockbroker by profession. however, when she came of age, and having this capital of her own, she quickly developed a taste for gambling and a fondness for going to the racetrack as she could. vernet was not yet a skilled enough operator of the kind she was later to become, gradually dissipating most of her inheritance in the process of her activities. apparently, this was not a happy union from the outset, as the marriage ended in annulment. as the marriage was annulled, in accordance with matrimonial causes act 1857, both parties were free to marry again. in 1905 vernet married another stockbroker, robert vernet.