To the North

Set in 1930s London, the novel traces the intertwined lives of two young women who share a house in St. John's Wood: Cecilia Summers, a 29-year-old widow, and Emmeline Summers, her 25-year-old sister-in-law. Their quiet domestic arrangement, built on mutual affection and the shared loss of Cecilia's husband Henry, gradually fractures as each woman becomes entangled with a man who draws her away from the other.

The novel opens on the Anglo-Italian express returning from Milan. Cecilia, coming home from a holiday in Umbria, shares a dining-car table with Mark Linkwater, a barrister of about 33 whom she finds stocky, intelligent, and untrustworthy. She notices the name "Markie" inscribed on his cigarette case. Both are privately unhappy, both determined to charm without opening themselves to feeling. They exchange contact details and part at Folkestone.

Back in London, Cecilia returns to the house on Oudenarde Road. The household's history unfolds: Cecilia met Henry at a dinner given by Lady Georgina Waters, a meddlesome relative connected to both women through separate marriages. Henry died of pneumonia within a year of the wedding, and Emmeline, his orphaned sister, proposed they live together. The arrangement suits them. Emmeline, tall and red-bronze-haired, runs a small travel agency in Woburn Place with her business partner, Peter Lewis. Cecilia, sociable and restless, maintains a busy calendar of friendships while worrying about money. Lady Waters visits frequently, scrutinizing their lives.

At a party the night before Cecilia's return, Emmeline meets Julian Tower, a wealthy 39-year-old businessman who has been courting Cecilia. Julian is tall, formal, and diffident. He and Emmeline talk on a staircase settee, where her infectious enthusiasm charms him. Julian remains half in love with Cecilia, though Cecilia's interest has cooled; she dismisses him to Emmeline as lacking vitality.

Julian confides to Cecilia his anxiety over Pauline, his shy 14-year-old orphaned niece. Cecilia accompanies Julian to visit Pauline's school in Buckinghamshire, where Pauline's confident friend Dorothea publicly toasts the couple, assuming they are engaged. On the drive home, Julian proposes. Cecilia refuses sharply, saying neither truly loves the other and that she is perfectly happy with Emmeline.

Meanwhile, Markie enters their circle. Cecilia invites him to dinner, asking Emmeline to be present. Markie dominates the conversation; afterward Cecilia calls him tiresome, but Emmeline says she likes him. Cecilia lunches with Markie once, finds it disagreeable, and moves on. Markie, however, traces Emmeline to Woburn Place and begins seeing her regularly. Emmeline is initially indifferent but gradually becomes absorbed. When she realizes Cecilia has dropped Markie without knowing Emmeline still sees him, alarm sets in. An early aggressive kiss sends Emmeline home shaken, but at a subsequent dinner at Markie's flat, he kisses her lightly and cheerfully, undoing the earlier terror, and the evening ends in pleasant equilibrium.

Cecilia's inner life receives sustained attention. She maintains a complex posthumous dialogue with Henry's photograph, having developed a richer, more adversarial relationship with her dead husband than they shared in life. Henry's death dwarfed Cecilia emotionally; her spirit has rebuilt itself in small ways, but she cannot recapture the capacity for wholehearted love.

One evening on the iron steps of their garden, Cecilia mockingly tells Emmeline that Lady Waters believes Cecilia is in love with Markie, calling him "a frightful young man." Emmeline interrupts passionately, revealing that Markie is her friend, that she sees him often, and that Cecilia's characterization is unjust. Cecilia adjusts quickly but warns she would not trust Markie. She then confides Julian's proposal and her refusal.

Emmeline flies to Paris on business to meet partners for the agency. Markie insists on accompanying her. In the roaring plane, unable to speak, they pass notes: Markie writes that he cannot marry but that she must understand what she means to him. They become lovers during the trip. On the terrace of the Sacré Cœur at midnight, Markie tells Emmeline bluntly that he could never live with her and that marriage is impossible. Emmeline is bewildered but acquiescent.

Back in London, consequences accumulate. At the travel agency, Emmeline's underpaid secretary Miss Tripp erupts in a scene of long-suppressed grievance, revealing an intense attachment to Emmeline. Emmeline gives Tripp a leave of absence and hires the efficient but domineering Miss Armitage, under whom the office atmosphere deteriorates. Clients fall away, and Emmeline, unable to concentrate, leaves earlier and earlier. Her love for Markie has diverted the passionate attention she once gave the business.

Markie and Emmeline spend a weekend at a borrowed cottage on the Wiltshire downs. A telegram from Cecilia arrives: "Come back Sunday must talk very urgent indeed." Emmeline immediately understands that Cecilia is going to marry Julian and feels Oudenarde Road collapsing beneath her. Markie is relieved it is only an engagement, but Emmeline insists on returning to London. A bitter argument follows: Emmeline explains she cannot lie to Cecilia about why she would stay; Markie calls her honesty a "lunatic sensibility." They drive back in hostile silence. At Oudenarde Road, Cecilia confirms the engagement. That night, Emmeline telephones Markie's flat repeatedly without answer. Finally she calls the number of Daisy, a former girlfriend of Markie's, and hears Markie say from nearby, "Fool, I'm not here."

Lady Waters confronts Cecilia: Emmeline has been seen dining publicly with Markie, and her reputation is at stake. Under pressure, Cecilia agrees to give a dinner and invite Markie to regularize the situation. Emmeline, stricken, says she and Markie are no longer friends and begs to be excused, but Cecilia presses, and Emmeline agrees.

At the dinner, Markie arrives charming and at his best. When the others' attention wanders, he quietly asks Emmeline if they are still friends. She replies that she did not think so. He asks when they can meet. She says, "Never." After dinner, Markie announces he must catch a train to Baldock, where he has been staying. Emmeline stands and says she will drive him. Cecilia protests, but Emmeline is immovable.

Instead of heading to the station, Emmeline turns north toward Baldock. As they drive out of London, Markie alternates between pleading and arguing. He declares he loves her and proposes marriage. Emmeline says she cannot marry anyone now and asks only to be left quiet. At a brief roadside stop, the dark countryside brings her a momentary touch of peace, but the North, with its ice and unbreathed air, reclaims her. Resuming the drive, Emmeline accelerates to terrifying speed. She sees a road sign reading "TO THE NORTH" with a long black arrow, and something gives way: An immense idea of departure possesses her. The narration shows Emmeline in a trance-like dissociation, losing awareness of herself, the car, and Markie. Magnetized into the headlights of an oncoming car, Emmeline turns to smile at Markie. He wrenches the wheel, but it is too late. She says, "Sorry," and shuts her eyes.

Back at Oudenarde Road, Julian and Cecilia sit together in the quiet drawing-room. Cecilia sees Emmeline's gloves in the hall and Markie's forgotten white scarf. Suddenly nervous, she asks Julian to stay with her until Emmeline comes home.