*
In the same afternoon as she finished reading Ideal Marriage, and with it taking up rather a lot of her consciousness, Evelyn realised for the first time that she needed to worry about James Grainger.
James was not a large part of her days in London. After a shared breakfast, he was away at his architectural practice until early evening. She admired how hard James worked. Lilian’s idleness demonstrated that the family were wealthy enough not to require a salary to maintain them, yet James seemed to enjoy the process of earning his living. He certainly enjoyed architecture with a passion. Several of their dinner conversations were about architects he admired. He considered himself a modernist and very much disliked the heavy, backward-looking Gothic revival of the end of the last century. Evelyn thought James the least modern of her new acquaintances, so she was quite surprised to learn this. He relished straight lines, geometrical shapes and decoration, and was excited by the stylistic influences of Ancient Egypt, used in a modern way. His firm was currently involved in building a new factory for a large tobacco company, who wanted a building to increase their prestige and demonstrate just what an up-to-date firm they were. James was clearly proud of his work.
These conversations warmed Evelyn towards James. Although he remained rather awkward, it was a revelation to begin to understand the artistic streak that informed his technical work. James was every bit as engaged with the giddy, fast-paced London world as Lilian, only he looked on socialising and personal fashion as frivolities, preferring the permanence of bricks and stone and glass. As she saw more of his character, Evelyn found him easier to converse with and began to be glad when he returned home in the evenings, saving her from Lilian’s talk of dresses and jazz and ceaseless gossip about people she’d never met.
On the evening that Evelyn finished reading Ideal Marriage, Lilian had gone out to visit an acquaintance who had the sheet music for a new song she wanted to sing at the Yellow Orchid. Evelyn was alone in the house when James arrived home. By the time he arrived, she had made her way to the sitting room, where Grace had brought her a pot of tea. She was glancing over Lilian’s latest edition of Vogue, admiring some of the colour plates, when she heard the front door open. A glance at the clock told her it was James, though he was a little earlier than most days. She listened as he removed his coat and hat in the hallway. Then the door opened and she turned to smile at him.
“Good evening,” she said.
“Good evening, Evelyn.” James came fully into the room. Evelyn could smell the smoke of a winter evening in London clinging to his clothes and hair, felt a chill of outside follow him into the room. “No Lilian?”
“She went to visit someone, somewhere.” Evelyn smiled wryly. “I have to admit I can’t keep up with everyone she visits. I was invited but I stayed home to read instead.”
“You have had a busy few days. With all the sightseeing.”
“Yes, I’ve loved it though. I just wanted an easier day today.”
“Naturally. Lilian’s rather madcap I’m afraid—she’s always been that way. I think in some ways, you and I”—he looked at her hesitantly—“are more similar to each other than you are to her.”
Evelyn’s guard went up in a way it would not have done without that awkward pause in James’s statement. “Well, I think we both like a quieter life than Lilian,” she said cautiously.
“Yes.”
Evelyn wondered if there was going to be anything more. His face was pink, but she reasoned that he’d just been in the cold evening air.
“It is a shame that I am at work so often. I should like to show you the sights of London myself. I thought perhaps I could take some leave.” He ended with a hopeful smile, making only brief eye contact before he looked away at something on the carpet.
Evelyn felt a knot of nerves in the pit of her stomach. She was all too aware of the implications of James’s words, innocent though they seemed. He was not the sort of man to suggest sightseeing for the sake of it. He wanted to spend more time with her. And she was dependent on James’s hospitality for her accommodation in London.
“That would be nice.” She was not lying, she told herself. She liked James. Only now she cursed herself for letting on that she was interested in his work, for softening her manner with him. Clearly she had hinted at something she had not meant. “I wouldn’t expect you to spend time with me instead of being at work though. Your work is important.”
“Yes, it is. But we have a lull coming up, while they lay the foundations of the factory. Won’t be much for me to do for a week or so.”
“Oh, well, then surely you need a rest, some time to relax. I couldn’t take that away from you.” Evelyn was increasingly concerned. She couldn’t reject James before he had even suggested more than a simple day’s sightseeing. And yet somehow she felt she needed to turn him away from this path now, before he progressed any further along it.
“I would find it relaxing to spend time with you, Evelyn. I enjoy your company. I don’t feel as though we’ve been able to get to know each other yet.”
“That’s true,” she admitted reluctantly, struggling for anything to add.
“And I would like to get to know you further.” This time he maintained the eye contact with her and Evelyn did not like what she saw. He seemed to be making an assumption at the same time as fearing rejection. Evelyn looked away, finding her gaze settling on the brown pinstripe pattern of his suit jacket. Her mind was racing for an appropriate response, struggling to avoid a feeling of repulsion. It
