Chapter 6 #3
‘I live a dull, respectable life keeping my uncle’s house and entertaining the wives of his acquaintances and associates.’
‘When you aren’t visiting the theatres dressed in breeches,’ Miriam said with a laugh.
Jenny grinned. ‘That’s true. Why am I telling you all this?’
‘I don’t know,’ Miriam said smiling shyly. It was a contrast to the brazen smile she had given when she had thought that Jenny was a man, and it suited her better. ‘I never share confidences. I very rarely have anyone that I can share them with but I feel—’
She stopped.
‘I’m not really sure what I’m feeling, other than that I’d like to get to know you better.’
A flicker of excitement shot down Jenny’s spine and continued until it settled between her thighs. ‘I feel that I would like to get to know you better, too.’
They held each other’s gaze and sat in silence, while at the other end of the pub, the pianist began a new song. For a moment, it was peaceful and happy. Then, regretfully, Jenny moved her hand.
‘I have to go, I’m afraid. My uncle doesn’t know that I have left the house, of course. He thinks I’m in my room with a headache. It’s unlikely that he will notice my absence, but I can’t risk it.’
‘I understand, but that’s a pity,’ Miriam said. ‘I feel as if we were just beginning to get to know each other.’
‘So do I. Perhaps I could meet you again,’ Jenny asked hesitantly.
‘I’d like that. Why don’t you walk me home or as close as you can go without going out of your way?’ Miriam suggested.
They left side by side, and outside, Miriam looped her hand through Jenny’s arm. It wasn’t the affectionate closeness that she had shared with her other companion, but excitement surged within Jenny. They were evenly matched in height, but Miriam tilted her head back to look up at Jenny.
‘Perfectly proper, as I said before. You do make a very passable young man, though I would like to see you as a woman as well.’
‘I’m sure I could manage that,’ Jenny said. ‘I have engagements over the next few days, but I could meet you for a walk or to take tea. Or you could even come to my house,’ she added impulsively. Uncle Conrad would finally have proof of the existence of her friend.
‘Tea would be nice,’ Miriam said. ‘Here, this way.’
It was still bitterly cold, and the fog had come in.
Men strode purposefully, heads down and hunched over in their attempt to keep warm, but rather than hurry, the two women strolled along the side of the canal back towards the tunnel.
Miriam stopped opposite a four-storey house on a small crescent and pointed to the top floor.
‘That’s where I live. It isn’t much to look at from the outside, and not much on the inside either, if I’m being perfectly honest. But it’s cheap and warm and the landlord doesn’t come into our rooms without knocking first.’
‘You live there alone,’ Jenny asked, peering through the gloom at the double-fronted building. The curtains must be thin because the faint outline of lights glowed invitingly through the windows on two of the floors.
‘I do. I had a roommate for a while. But things didn’t work out. She and I parted company not long ago.’
Miriam’s expression grew brittle under the streetlamp, and Jenny remembered the blonde woman who had collided with her.
She found herself wondering what the nature of their relationship might have been, considering the overtures that Miriam had made to her.
Whatever doubts were assailing Jenny with regard to the burgeoning feelings of desire, Miriam clearly had no such reservations.
It wasn’t that she seemed to be unaware of their mutual fascination, which pulsed in the air, but that she was at ease with the fact of its existence.
And that attraction between two women was unexceptional and not perverse.
‘Well, better your independence than having to live with someone you didn’t get on with,’ she said.
‘Exactly my thoughts,’ Miriam said, her eyes becoming warmer.
‘Now I have enough room to devote to my art. It’s rather messy, but you’re welcome to come and visit me whenever you like.
I’m in between teaching positions at the moment because my last family upped and decamped to the French Riviera for the winter, the lucky things. ’
They faced each other in the middle of the pavement. Neither seemed keen to be the first to leave, but as the sound of an omnibus grew closer Jenny reluctantly took a step back.
‘I need to go. I’ll see you again very soon, I promise.’
Miriam nodded. She took Jenny by the hand and squeezed it tightly.
‘Goodbye, Jenny.’
‘Goodbye, Mim.’ Impulsively, Jenny leant forward and embraced her, then tore herself away before her heart began to drum too violently, walking in the direction of Islington, with her hands in her pockets.
She turned back at the corner to see that Miriam had crossed the street but was still standing in the doorway of the boarding house.
Bubbles of excitement rose inside Jenny and she practically skipped back home, completely forgetting her disguise.