Page 22 of The Last Night in London
“Or maybe someone will give you one as a gift. Like your young man. Tell me—who is he?”
Eva felt her cheeks heat at the mere thought of Graham. They’d gone to dinner twice, danced at the Café de Paris, and attended an outdoor concert in Regent’s Park. They’d also attempted to go boating in the park but had discovered the lake was closed until the end of March. It had started to rain; by the time they’d found shelter on a bench beneath a large ash tree, they’d both been soaked. He’d kissed her then, his lips warm and soft, and it was everything Eva had always imagined it would be. He’d tasted of rain and heat and old winter and new spring and she’d wanted to melt into him and disappear in their new world beneath the sheltering leaves of the ash.
“He’s lovely,” Eva said, thinking not just about Graham’s green eyes and broad shoulders, but the sound of his voice when he said her name, and his crooked smile, and the cleft in his chin. She loved the small scar on his left brow. He’d been eight and had fallen out of a tree, trying to save his sister’s kitten. It was all of that. It was the way her chest burned when she was near him, how her skin ached when he looked at her. It was how her whole world now seemed full of light, her past only a dim shadow behind her.
She cleared her throat and said, “He’s Mr. Graham St. John. He’s been with the Diplomatic Service in Rangoon, Burma, for the past two years and has just returned to London. He works in Whitehall at the Home Office. I’m not sure what he does, exactly—something to do with fire services. He says he doesn’t want to bore me with the mundane details. He’s staying with his sister, Sophia, in their parents’ town house in Berkeley Square until he can find rooms of his own. Sophia is getting married in July, and her parents are giving her and her fiancé, David, the house as a wedding gift.”
The waiter placed another cup of coffee in front of Mr. Danek, who sat staring at the steam for a moment before looking up again. “You will let me do your makeup for your wedding, no?”
Eva took a sip from her coffee cup to hide her face, not wanting to reveal the hope there. It was too soon to hope for anything. “If and when I do get married, Mr. Danek, I promise you that I wouldn’t trust anyone else to do my makeup.”
She looked at him with a sudden thought. “Sophia is having a dinner party next week and has invited me—we haven’t yet formally met. Would you consider doing my makeup for that? I want to look my best.”
“Absolutely,” Mr. Danek said, leaning forward to stub out his cigarette in the ashtray. Sitting back again, he crossed his legs. “I must ask. Does this mean your Mr. St. John knows about Ethel Maltby? Are he and his lovely sister, Sophia, accepting of your past?”
Eva’s fingers froze on her cup, gripping it so hard she put it down so it wouldn’t break. “No,” she said quietly. Looking up at Mr. Danek, she said with more force, “At least, not yet. I didn’t want to ruin things. I think he feels the same way about me, but I wanted more time to be sure.” She bit her lip. “I told Graham that I was the only child of a doctor and his wife from Devon. I said my parents were killed in an automobile accident, that I had no other family or means of support, so I came to London to make a respectable living as a model.”
“And what did Graham say to that? Daughters of country doctors don’t usually move in the same lofty circles as the St. Johns.”
Eva sat taller and straightened her shoulders. “Graham said he loved my resourcefulness, and he admired my courage. He also said that since he believes me to be wonderful and worthy of spending time with, Sophia would, too. They’re very close.”
Mr. Danek’s eyes were kind, softening the harshness of his words. “But you will tell him the truth, yes? Because lies are not a good foundation for any relationship. They will unravel everything built on top of them.”
“I will tell him. I will. I just want more time so I can be sure of his feelings for me.”
Mr. Danek’s eyes narrowed. “You are a very clever girl, Eva. Andvery ambitious. Both are to be admired.” He uncrossed his legs. “Just remember not to forget your good judgment.”
She bristled. “I always have good judgment. I do. I couldn’t have come all this way without it, could I?” With horror, she realized that her Yorkshire accent had slipped in. It happened sometimes when she was tired or agitated. She had to be more careful. Especially with Sophia’s dinner party approaching.
Mr. Danek pulled out another cigarette for himself and lit it. “What else can you tell me about your Graham? Humor me, Eva. I feel as if it’s my place to play the father.”
Eva smiled, appreciating the new lightness in his tone. She picked up her coffee cup and took a sip, considering her response. “He has a great interest in architecture, and his mother would like him to be an architect instead of in government. She thinks it’s more seemly.”
Mr. Danek blew out smoke rings, and Eva watched them rise to the ceiling before vanishing. She rushed on, eager to steer the conversation. “Graham’s promised to take me to the Eton and Harrow match at Lord’s Cricket Ground in July. He attended Eton and is quite proud that Eton has been the victor for thirty-one years. It should be a smashing time.”
“And you are a fan of cricket?” This time Mr. Danek’s smile was genuine.
“I don’t know the first thing, but Freya has promised to teach me enough so that I don’t seem ignorant. She has three brothers, and they all play. She’s been to more matches than she cares to recall.”
“And Freya, she’s doing this for free?”
Eva shook her head. “No. In return I’m letting her borrow my new cape with the fox fur collar for two nights of her choosing. I thought that was a fair deal.”
Mr. Danek appeared thoughtful, pulling on his cigarette while regarding her with slightly narrowed eyes. It made Eva nervous, as if she’d given the incorrect answer in an exam.
“Was that your idea or hers, to offer payment?”
“Mine, of course,” Eva said proudly. “Nobody should get something for free. It’s just not the way it’s done.”
“So you always expect payment for kindness?” He almost appeared to be laughing at her.
Eva found herself coloring. “I’ve offered to pay for the makeup....”
Mr. Danek waved his hand in the air. “I would not accept. It is a gift, given freely. That is how it should be between friends, no?”
“Yes, of course.”
“So may I give you free advice, as a friend?”
