the restaurant in Soho

The restaurant in Soho is a small, dark, and cool establishment tucked away in a narrow street, where Maxim and the second Mrs de Winter stop for dinner after their decisive visit to Doctor Baker in Barnet. It is the place where the crushing weight of the inquest, the blackmail attempt, and the long day of travel finally begins to lift, and where the couple share their first moments of genuine, unburdened intimacy since the crisis began.

Arrival and Atmosphere

When Maxim stops the car opposite the restaurant, the second Mrs de Winter is dazed and stupid from exhaustion, having slept fitfully in the back of the car during the drive from Barnet. The restaurant is nearly empty, with only the maître d'hôtel, a waiter, and a girl behind a desk present. The darkness and coolness of the interior provide a welcome contrast to the strain of the day. Maxim orders food immediately, insisting that his wife needs brandy and soda, and she begins to eat the long, thin, crisp rolls in paper envelopes that the maître d'hôtel produces, eating one ravenously. The brandy and soda is soft, warming, and curiously comforting.

The Conversation and Relief

Sitting in a dark corner, Maxim and the second Mrs de Winter discuss the day's events. Maxim finishes his first drink quickly, his eyes large and ringed with shadows, very dark against the pallor of his face. He orders a second drink. It is here that Maxim voices his final, chilling interpretation of Rebecca's death: he believes she lied to him on purpose, that her last supreme bluff was to provoke him into killing her, and that she foresaw the whole thing, laughing as she died. He calls it her last practical joke, the best of them all, and admits he is not sure if she has not won, even now. The second Mrs de Winter, however, feels only relief. She tells him it is all over, all settled, and that Rebecca cannot hurt them anymore. She feels better and stronger, and it is now she who takes care of him, urging him to eat his lobster and telling him he is tired.

The Telephone Call and the Decision to Return

Maxim leaves the table to telephone Frank Crawley at the Manderley estate office. When he returns, his expression is troubled. Frank has reported that Mrs Danvers has disappeared, having packed up her room and left without a word after receiving a long-distance call, presumably from Jack Favell. The second Mrs de Winter argues that this is a good thing, that it saves them trouble, but Maxim is uneasy, saying he does not like it. Despite his wife's reassurances, he is seized by a feeling that something is wrong at Manderley and that he must get home immediately. He decides against spending the night at a hotel on the road, instead proposing to drive straight through the night, with the second Mrs de Winter sleeping in the back of the car. She agrees, and they leave the comfortable, friendly restaurant, the maître d'hôtel having brought the bill, to begin the long drive back to Manderley.

Significance

The restaurant in Soho serves as the narrative's final moment of calm before the catastrophe of the Manderley fire. It is the place where the legal and emotional crisis of Rebecca's death and Maxim's confession appears to resolve, where the couple share a meal and a drink in peace for the first time, and where the second Mrs de Winter begins to plan a future free from Rebecca's shadow. Yet it is also the place where Maxim's premonition of disaster takes hold, driving them back into the night and toward the destruction of the house itself.