Voyage In The Dark

Anna is focused on Walter. In her mind, she recalls: “Everybody says the man’s bound to get tired and you read it in all the books” (64). Yet, she continues to wait for him and his messages. She receives a letter from Walter asking her to pack belongings for a trip to the countryside later that evening.

Ann and Walter spend the following day near Savernake Forest and although Anna finds this a beautiful part of England, she notes that “something had happened to it. It was as if the wildness had gone out of it” (67).

Walter’s cousin, Vincent, and his current love interest, Germaine Sullivan, also join them on their trip. Germaine has been in a quarrelsome mood as Walter explains to Anna: “Vincent’s going away next week for some time and she seems to have got into a bad temper over it. The fact is, she wants him to leave her more money than he can afford” (72).

Anna discovers that Vincent is actually accompanying Walter to New York. Walter assures that he “won’t be gone long” (72). Walter wishes to leave for London that night and as he checks for the car, Anna joins Germaine and Vincent.

Anna reveals her young age and how she met Walter, which ignites laughter in the two. When Walter arrives, Vincent teases him:“‘What in God’s name were you doing on the pier at Southsea’” (74)? Walter is surprised at first, but he laughs with them.

Seeing the trio makes Anna uneasy as she tells them to “stop laughing” (74) at her. When they do not, she rams the end of her cigarette on Walter’s hand which causes them to halt.

Later, when Walter and Anna are alone at his house, Anna comments on Germaine’s beauty, to which Walter replies, “She’s old” (75). Walter thinks that separating Vincent from Germaine through their trip will be good for him because she has taken too much money from him, “far more than anybody else would have given her” (75).

As they spend the night together, Anna says to Walter: “‘Listen. Don’t forget me, don’t forget me ever’” (76). Walter agrees to appease her and places money into her bag. He says he will not be able to meet before he leaves London, and suggests Anna goes somewhere else. Anna feels feverish as she leaves his house. For the next week, after Walter’s departure, she stays at her lodging and then leaves for Minehead, to get away from London. After three weeks, Anna returns to London upon receiving a letter from Walter, who says he will be returning sooner than he thought. On arrival, the landlady gives her a new letter written in a handwriting unknown to Anna.