Chapter 22: Bartholomew — Summary and Analysis

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

Frobisher keeps his promise to Gwendolen. He sends a note to the Warrender identifying the dance school Freda and Florence attended — the Vanbrugh Academy of Dance on Frith Street — and advises her that his constable has already asked questions, so there is no need for her to go. Gwendolen, of course, goes anyway.

Walking from her hotel into Soho, she quickly becomes hopelessly lost in the district's maze of narrow streets. The people she asks for directions seem as ignorant of London's geography as she is, and she wanders for half an hour before stumbling onto Frith Street. She resolves that a map is a necessity.

At the Vanbrugh Academy, she meets Ada Sherbourne, the dance instructress — a striking, elegant woman with impeccable posture and unbobbed hair twisted into a complicated style. Gwendolen feels an immediate antipathy toward her. Sherbourne confirms the girls were enrolled but claims she hasn't seen them for weeks, suggesting they may have gone home to their northern town. She makes dismissive remarks about Freda's middling talents and implies the girls may have moved on to somewhere less reputable. When Gwendolen presses her, Sherbourne suggests trying the nightclubs, warning that girls like Freda are prey for the Nellie Cokers of the world. She makes the word