Paul courts Emma

Paul McGill’s courtship of Emma Harte Lowther begins as a pursuit sparked by a single glance and tested by Emma’s immediate resistance. At the Ritz Hotel, Paul watches Emma leave with Frank Harte and sets out to discover who she is; when they meet again at Dolly Mosten’s drawing room, Emma confronts him over his earlier behavior. His apology and a small disclosure about his war wound soften her judgment, and she agrees to meet him for lunch with Frank present. The opening movement establishes both Paul’s boldness and Emma’s control over the terms of their acquaintance.

The first sighting at the Ritz

At the Ritz, Emma is absorbed in the possibilities of Emeremm Company, the acquisition and holding company she has secretly financed. Although she is its sole shareholder, she keeps her ownership concealed and has appointed directors to run it. That private ambition gives the encounter an important counterpoint: Paul’s appearance interrupts a mind occupied by business, while Emma’s eventual attraction does not immediately displace her independence or caution.

Across the dining room, Paul’s gaze meets Emma’s. She is startled by his attention, and her nervousness becomes visible when she knocks over her wine glass. A waiter replaces the stained serviette, but Paul continues watching her. Emma responds by hiding her face behind the menu, irritated by what she reads as blatant, presumptuous flirting. The scene makes his pursuit begin before any introduction: Paul has already decided she is worth finding, while Emma experiences his interest first as an intrusion.

After Emma and Frank leave, Paul asks the headwaiter to identify them. He learns that the man is Frank Harte, a prominent war correspondent for the Daily Chronicle, and follows up by asking about the woman. Paul’s decision to seek her identity turns a passing encounter into deliberate pursuit. His father, Bruce McGill, cautions him not to behave foolishly or create political difficulty through romantic philandering, noting that Emma might be Frank’s wife. Paul nevertheless insists on finding out who she is, and considers which of his acquaintances could arrange an introduction to Frank. The warning identifies the social risks surrounding his approach, but does not deter him.

An unwanted introduction

Paul’s opportunity arrives later that evening at Dolly Mosten’s drawing room. Emma has taken only three steps into the room when she recognizes him and grabs Frank’s arm, urgently asking to leave. Frank is surprised: they have only just arrived. By the time Emma objects, however, Dolly is already approaching with Paul in her wake, making escape impossible.

Dolly introduces them, and Paul addresses Emma as Mrs Lowther. He tells her that meeting her is a pleasure he had hoped to arrange, though the introduction has come sooner than he expected. Emma initially avoids looking at him and feels cornered as he takes her hand. When she finally meets his gaze, she is embarrassed and angry, with the impulse to slap him held back by her manners. Her reply is a sharp rebuke: she condemns his behavior at the Ritz and challenges him not to mistake the Australian Outback for a place where women need not be treated with respect. The confrontation gives Emma the first clear say in their acquaintance. Paul’s confidence may have secured an introduction, but it has not secured her approval.

Apology and a second invitation

A later conversation changes the balance. Emma notices Paul’s walking stick, and he admits that he had tried to conceal his limp. Learning that he is wounded, and that he expects to return to France shortly, gives her a more concrete view of him than the self-assured stranger at the Ritz. Paul acknowledges that his conduct there was inexcusable and explains that he had been overwhelmed by her beauty, while also recognizing that he caused her discomfort. He asks to take her to lunch the next day to make amends and promises to behave like an officer and a gentleman rather than the scallywag she had accused him of being.

Emma says she already has a luncheon engagement. Paul presses her to reconsider, asking whether it is important enough that she cannot break it. Frank, however, has arranged for the three of them to lunch together. Emma tells Paul that she is “Lunching with destiny,” then clarifies that she thought he was lunching with Frank and her. The exchange converts a private invitation into a meeting on terms Emma can accept: Frank will be there, and the encounter can proceed without requiring her to trust Paul alone. Her smile and the teasing phrase bring a warmth absent from their first meeting, but the arrangement remains deliberately qualified.

The shape of the courtship

The early courtship is structured around a clear contrast between pursuit and consent. Paul acts quickly: he watches Emma, asks who she is, seeks a route to her, and persists after her attempt to leave the drawing room. Emma does not simply yield to that momentum. She names his offense, rebukes him directly, and only revises her opinion when his concealed limp and apology offer grounds for a more sympathetic judgment. The sequence makes the shift in her response gradual rather than automatic.

The first invitation also establishes a condition for continued contact. Emma’s acceptance is not an unguarded private date but a lunch with Frank included. Her “Lunching with destiny” remark signals a playful opening, yet the immediate clarification keeps the situation within a familiar, supervised social setting. At this point the evidence establishes the beginning of a courtship, not its later outcome: Paul has made his interest unmistakable, and Emma has allowed another meeting, while retaining both her skepticism and control over how it will take place.