The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett by Annie Lyons

Author:Annie Lyons
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2020-09-08T00:00:00+00:00

Christmas 1958

The Orchid Ballroom, South-East London

Sylvia had suggested the pre-Christmas outing to a Saturday-night dance. Eudora had tried to protest, but you couldn’t reason with Sylvia once she’d gotten a bee in her bonnet.

“You need to get out of the house on the weekends, meet someone new, forget about . . . you know . . . what happened.”

Eudora had forbidden her friends from mentioning Eddie and Stella by name. She wanted to blot them out, forget they had ever existed. It didn’t work but she had to try.

Patrick Nicholson was one of the senior managers at the bank where Eudora worked, acceding to his position largely due to the fact that his father was on the board of directors. He was handsome with a whiff of Gregory Peck about him and had immaculate dress sense. Eudora didn’t find him remotely attractive even though she knew most of the secretaries would give their eyeteeth to court him. So when he asked if she would like to go dancing sometime, she faced the weight of expectation from both Sylvia and the secretarial pool. She decided to give in, suggesting he join them at the Orchid Ballroom.

“He is such a dish,” exclaimed Sylvia as they waited to check their coats. “And so courteous. The way he helped you out of the car . . . Good heavens, Eudora, if Kenny hadn’t just proposed, I would be insanely jealous.”

“He’s certainly very charming,” said Eudora, looking around at the familiar surroundings of the ballroom and wondering why she had agreed to come. She kept expecting to see Eddie. The very thought made her queasy with sadness.

The evening began well enough. Despite his outwardly debonair appearance, Patrick wasn’t the most elegant dancer, but as he led Eudora in a passable fox-trot, she began to enjoy herself a little. Everyone was in a festive mood. The ballroom was festooned with crepe-paper streamers, honeycomb bells, and baubles. Eudora started to wonder if Patrick could be the answer to her problems. Maybe she was foolish to reject him out of hand; maybe she did deserve to be happy. Perhaps it was time to stop wallowing in self-pity.

As she excused herself to the powder room, Patrick kissed her hand in a way that gave Eudora fresh hope. However, while she was in the cubicle, she overheard two women discussing him.

“Did you see that guy who looks like Gregory Peck?”

“Did I? He keeps giving me the eye.”

“Doris! You’re shameless,” her friend said, laughing.

“Yes, but can you blame him? Did you see the girl he’s with? Talk about an ice queen. He probably just wants someone to have fun with.”

Eudora closed her eyes and waited until their laughter died down and they had left the powder room. She emerged moments later, washed her hands, and went to find Patrick.

“Ahh, here she is!” he cried as she met him by the bar. “I thought you’d gotten lost. Can I get you a drink?”

Eudora wasn’t a drinker. She could see that Patrick was already quite drunk, but the powder-room women’s comments were echoing in her ears.

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