When We Meet Again by Caroline Beecham

Author:Caroline Beecham [Beecham, Caroline]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2021-07-20T00:00:00+00:00

Twenty-one

London, April 15, 1943

“Are you hungry?” Theo asked Alice, as the gray cornices and turrets of Piccadilly flashed past. The rain grew heavier, bouncing noisily off the roof and hood of their black cab.

“A little,” she said, “although I’ve heard the speaker outshines the food at these luncheons.”

Theo smiled, feeling his mustache curve up against his cheeks. Over the past week he’d been spending more time with Alice, and she kept managing to surprise him with her perception and knowledge. Her quirky way of looking at the world was so different from that of anyone else he knew, especially Virginia. Even her clothes were original, her tight-fitting emerald green jacket and flared navy skirt unlike anything he’d seen other British women wear. Virginia would probably have thought her unsophisticated, but he saw her as inventive. Today her classic pearl earrings were her nod to conventionality, and the only similarity he’d noticed so far between her and his fiancée.

He said, still smiling, “There’s likely to be several courses, you know.”

“I’m not sure I’ll be able to make it through them all,” she said, head turned away as she gazed out the window.

Theo had been delighted when Ursula suggested Alice accompany him, but she didn’t seem quite as enthusiastic. Either that or she was nervous about the event, since she hadn’t stopped fidgeting in her seat, folding one leg over the other and then uncrossing them again. Not that he minded admiring her long legs; it was difficult not to stare, especially when she was gazing off in the other direction.

“The speaker can go on for hours,” he said, forcing himself to look away.

“You sound like you’ve been to one of these before,” she said, finally turning toward him.

“They hold similar events in New York. That’s where I met Christina.”

“Is she as eccentric as people say she is?”

Christina Foyle was the daughter of William Foyle, co-founder of Foyles bookshops, and she’d started holding the luncheons more than a decade earlier to bring together readers, writers and thinkers. It was well known that she’d written to Hitler to offer to buy books written by Jewish authors after the Nazis burned thousands, and apparently she’d received a reply.

“She brings together remarkable and unusual people. I think that speaks for itself.” He smiled warmly, very much doubting that Alice had met anyone like Christina; or that Christina had met anyone quite like Alice.

As they neared Park Lane, the Dorchester came into view, its pale stone exterior transformed into an unexpected waterfall of flowers, wrought-iron balconies cascading with red and white. The entrance was a crescent of verdant shrubs, the drive lined with topiary, and urns of ivy sat on either side of the lobby doors. Only the sandbags stacked against the windows gave an indication that the times were anything but ordinary.

“Impressive, isn’t it?” Theo said, noticing her stare.

“Yes . . . and somewhat of a surprise.”

“Why’s that?”

“Well, most Londoners are getting rid of their flowers in favor of edibles, but this place looks like it’s growing enough for everyone!”

Theo laughed.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.