The Rachel Incident

The winter has become very cold, and the Shandon Street cottage is almost unlivable. Rachel and James sleep in the same bed at night under all their comforters. James must teach Rachel about housekeeping since she has never had to do chores or wash her own clothes. He, on the other hand, grew up moving abruptly from house to house with his mother and sister. Because of their strained finances, he often took over a lot of the housekeeping and cooking.

Deenie comes by the bookstore to drop off drinks before the launch, though Rachel thinks it is so she can size up the person flirting with her husband. Deenie is tiny and beautiful in person, and Rachel feels awkward about her own height. She imagines that Deenie is unimpressed and unthreatened when she sees Rachel. Later, James encourages Rachel’s crush on Byrne and tells her that he will plan so Byrne will have to stay late and sign books in the stockroom. Once he is there, Rachel will have space and privacy to seduce him. Rachel is shocked but also excited by the idea.