The Last Night in London by Karen White (reading list .TXT) 📕

then returned her silverware to her plate without taking a bite. “David and I are looking forward to the fashion show this Saturday. We’ll be in the front row with Graham.”

“Will your mother be joining you again?” Precious asked, and Eva sent her a quick look of thanks for putting into words the question she’d been trying to ask.

“No. Not this time.” Sophia stopped speaking as the waiter appeared with a pot of fresh tea.

Precious used the opportunity to excuse herself. “I need to go powder my nose,” she said with a wink.

After the waiter had left, Sophia leaned toward Eva. “About Mother. It’s best that she isn’t at the show. Graham and I need time to get her used to the idea of you.” Sophia sat back in her chair and looked across the table. Candidly, she said, “I like you, Eva. You’re not like those vacuous debs Mother always throws at Graham. I say, a model isn’t what most people would call suitable, but I think you’re perfect.”

Eva busied herself by putting another teaspoon of sugar into her already-too-sweet tea, unsure how to respond to a comment that was neither insult nor compliment.

Sophia continued. “Besides, you weren’t born working-class, were you? A doctor’s daughter is quite respectable. You’re obviously educated and— What did Precious say? ‘Smart as a tree full of owls.’” Sophia laughed lightly. “You’re also very beautiful. A catch, in my opinion.” She took a sip from her teacup, then replaced it on the saucer as she had undoubtedly been trained to do in the schoolroom, without making a sound of china against china. “I’m not saying this because Graham and I enjoy ruffling Mother’s carefully coiffed feathers, either.” She grinned devilishly. “Personally, I think new blood is a good thing.”

Eva returned the smile, her spoon moving back and forth in the teacup, the sugar clumping on top in the lukewarm tea. Precious rejoined them, unaware of all the heads turning as she crossed the room.

“To reinvention,” Sophia said, lifting her cup.

“To reinvention,” Precious agreed, doing the same.

“To reinvention,” Eva repeated before bringing her cup to her lips and taking a long sip. She didn’t taste a thing.

—

“No, thank you,” Freya said with a dismissive snort at Precious. “I’ll stick with the Bromo-Seltzer. It’s what we’ve always used before a show, and I don’t see a need to change now.”

Despite the other models’ refusal to try her preshow concoction, Precious remained cheerful. “You don’t know what you’re missing. But that’s fine. More for us. Right, Eva?”

Eva looked suspiciously at the bottles of Coca-Cola and the bowl of shelled monkey-nuts Precious had set on the dressing table. Precious referred to them as peanuts, but Eva had known them only as the food fed to elephants at the circus. She’d been to one once when she was a little girl, sneaking in through an opening in the tent.

“Maybe I should take the Bromo-Seltzer, too, just in case.”

Precious laughed as she funneled her hand and let the little nuts slide into the neck of the bottle. She’d already instructed Eva to take three sips to make room. Handing the bottle to Eva, she said, “Go ahead.”

Eva hadn’t been prepared to like it, but after she took the first salty-sweet sip, she couldn’t stop. “It’s not bad,” she admitted. “I’ll let you know if I still have energy after I’ve shown ten frocks, but it’s surprisingly drinkable.” Smiling at her friend, she asked, “Are you ever wrong?”

“I’m sure I am, but I tell myself that being wrong is just an opportunity to look for another answer. It makes decisions a whole lot easier to live with—that’s for sure.” Precious put her own bottle to her lips and tilted her head back. Eva did the same. Precious leaned toward her, her gaze scrutinizing. “The makeup on your neck has rubbed off, and you can see the little dark spot. Personally, I think it gives you an air of mystery. You shouldn’t bother covering it up.”

Eva’s hand immediately went to her neck in an attempt to cover the dark birthmark. Although it was no bigger than a sixpence, she’d been afraid that Madame Lushtak would notice it. She placed her empty Coke bottle on the table and stood. “I’ll go find Mr. Danek. I hate it, and I don’t want to have to look at it every time I see my reflection.”

“All right. I’ll save you some peanuts.”

Eva nodded distractedly as she knotted her belt over her dressing gown and left. The show wasn’t scheduled to start for another hour, but Mr. Danek had already finished painting the faces of the six models and was having a rare break before the mayhem began. He sat, leaning back in his chair, the front legs off the floor. He was reading the newspaper and smoking a cigarette, a scowl on his face.

“Mr. Danek?” The scowl remained as he looked up, but when he saw it was Eva, he smiled. “I need a little touch-up, if you have a moment.”

“For you, always.” He stood, took her chin between his thumb and forefinger, and turned her face from side to side. “I only see perfection.”

“Then you need glasses. Just a little more makeup on my neck, please,” she said as she sat and lifted her chin to show him.

“It is invisible already, but if you insist, I will do my best.” He sat down on a stool next to her and began searching through the piles of cosmetics on the table.

She scrutinized the jars as he searched. “Why were you scowling? The birds are singing and the flowers are blooming, and I can’t imagine there’s anything that would make me frown right now with spring going on right outside my window.”

He picked up a small jar and gave Eva an exasperated look. “You should try to be more informed, Eva. There is a lot going on in this world that you should know about. Poland is continuing to refuse to capitulate to Germany’s demand to