Readify

Bobby and Frankie’s Growing Love

Why Didn't They Ask Evans

Bobby and Frankie’s longstanding friendship deepens through danger, jealousy, trust, and a final decision to build a life together.

increasingupBearing stren­gth in each eventdowndecreasing
Old Friends on a TrainOld Friends on a Train from "Why Didn't They Ask Evans". Old Friends on a Train Familiar banter Bobby and Frankie meet by chance on a train and fall easily into conversation.
Old Friends on a Train Familiar banter Bobby and Frankie meet by chance on a train and fall easily into conversation. Their teasing and shared memories reveal a friendship that survived years of social distance. Unequal worlds Frankie moves freely through London society, while Bobby has left the Royal Navy and is unsure what to do next. Their closeness is genuine, but Bobby senses the class difference between their lives.
The Golf Course ConfessionThe Golf Course Confession from "Why Didn't They Ask Evans". The Golf Course Confession A hurtful honesty Bobby tells Frankie that her social world and his cannot easily mix.
The Golf Course Confession A hurtful honesty Bobby tells Frankie that her social world and his cannot easily mix. He expresses his inferiority so bluntly that Frankie becomes angry and drives away. A feeling left unstated Bobby’s complaint is not indifference but fear that he has no place beside her. Their argument exposes the affection beneath his self-protective resignation.
A Kiss in the Nursing HomeA Kiss in the Nursing Home from "Why Didn't They Ask Evans". A Kiss in the Nursing Home Concern made visible Frankie rushes back from London when she hears Bobby has been poisoned.
A Kiss in the Nursing Home Concern made visible Frankie rushes back from London when she hears Bobby has been poisoned. She visits him at St Asaph’s and kisses him after joking about whether visitors should kiss the sick. Intimacy under cover of humor Their light exchanges conceal the seriousness of her concern and Bobby’s pleasure at having her near. The visit strengthens their alliance before either openly admits what the other means.
The Captivity BondThe Captivity Bond from "Why Didn't They Ask Evans". The Captivity Bond Shared fear Tied together in the attic, Bobby and Frankie face the prospect of being murdered.
The Captivity Bond Shared fear Tied together in the attic, Bobby and Frankie face the prospect of being murdered. They regret mistakes, confess their fear, and try to comfort each other while waiting for an uncertain rescue. A private commitment Bobby tells Frankie he has brought her into danger, but she says she chose to join him. Their partnership has become reciprocal rather than merely playful or investigative.
The Kenya ProposalThe Kenya Proposal from "Why Didn't They Ask Evans". The Kenya Proposal Love spoken plainly Bobby admits that he has long loved Frankie and had believed his feelings were hopeless.
The Kenya Proposal Love spoken plainly Bobby admits that he has long loved Frankie and had believed his feelings were hopeless. He asks whether she would join him at his new job in Kenya. A future accepted Frankie says she will go, transforming a friendship built on banter and peril into an engagement. Their new life abroad resolves Bobby’s old fear that she belongs to a world he cannot enter.
A few days after the cliff death
After Bobby turns down the job offer
During Bobby’s recovery at St Asaph’s
During the night at Tudor Cottage
The final afternoon at the Vicarage