A Buyer's Market - post III

If there is a theme emerging in this second book it is around the pursuit not just of wealth but also love. As Jenkins strolls around wondering just why all of his contemporaries have real drive he is also starting to be left behind on the romance front.

Moving almost seamlessly from the ball and dance to a London in summer devoid of any major social happenings Jenkins’s is desperate for a bit of company. He even decides to go and look-up Deacon in his studios and although does not find him home comes across the tenant from the top floor Barnby who willingly helps him fill in the time with a spot of dinner.

The only event on the horizon is an invitation to go and stay with the Walpole-Wilson’s and this he does with some sense of regret rather than relish. But things go in a different direction and there is a chance to go and visit Sir Magnus Donners in his castle and that also means seeing one of his henchmen Stringham.

Stringham tells Jenkins he is going to be married and introduces him to his fiancé. The marriage theme returns when he sits down to dinner and is put next to Jean Templer who is married and makes it clear she can tell that Jenkins’s is not. He even admits to himself that he would like to meet someone and transfer the feelings he had felt in the past.

More tomorrow…