Husbands & Lovers

Mallory, Paige, and their kids arrive at Lola Peabody’s house. Lola is an old friend of Paige’s from Yale. She knows Chippy, who now lives in London, and Blue, who’s in law school. Paige asks Lola if she knows Lennox Lassiter, Monk’s fiancée, but Lola says that Lennox doesn’t “mix” with them. Mallory saw Lennox once in a glossy magazine and feels like Lennox is the “shiny” version of herself: a photoshopped and filtered Mallory. Lola takes Paige and Mallory to Mo’s, and Mike remembers her; he also mentions that Monk is playing at the pub tomorrow. They go back to Lola’s house, where Mallory meets Sedge Peabody, Lola’s brother-in-law. Later, Mallory goes for a walk, making her way to a secluded beach. She remembers hearing that Monk’s dad died about eight months ago, when Monk suddenly appears before her.

Alistair wants to see the Suez Canal, though Lucien says that it’s a bad idea because the workers are on strike, protesting the English presence. Alistair doesn’t care, likening Egyptians to “livestock.” Lucien drives the Ainsworths and Beverleys (another English couple), determined to keep Hannah safe. The men argue about the political tension between Arabs and Jews in the region, and Alistair claims that Hannah has no interest in politics. He describes her work as a translator but says that he grew attracted to her “charming tits.” When they speak alone, Lillian Beverley warns Hannah that Lucien has had affairs with other politicians’ wives. Hannah reveals that she married Alistair after the Soviet army took everything from her, and she walked from Hungary into Austria, “starving and mad with grief” (170). She was happy to marry Alistair and leave it all behind. Suddenly, Hannah hears two Egyptian men shouting, and Lucien herds the women toward the car. Alistair refuses to be quiet and calls the men “wogs”—a derogatory British epithet for a person of color—and the men move as if to confront him. Hannah drops her purse, which holds her pistol, and Alistair grabs it and shoots one of the men.

After the kids go to bed, Mallory helps Grace, the Adams’s Portuguese maid, put some glasses on a tall shelf. Grace laughs, saying that she and Monk will have “long babies.” Mallory accidentally interrupts Mr. Adams and Monk having a heated discussion, and Monk goes to get her a beer. Mr. Adams is almost 60, still attractive, and married to his third wife. Monk returns and tells his dad about Mallory’s work as an artist. Once they’re alone, Monk describes his father’s hypocrisy, sponsoring young artists but refusing to support his son’s artistic goals. Monk’s dad feels that being an Adams is a privilege. He wants Monk to go to Harvard Law, but the thought makes Monk miserable. Monk says that his dissatisfaction with his father and the disinterest of a girl he adores saddens him but inspires a lot of songwriting. When Mallory tells him that the past several weeks have been the happiest in her life, Monk kisses her.

Mallory has imagined a reunion with Monk many times, but, in each one, he already knows “the truth;” he understands and forgives Mallory and wants her to forgive him. Now, though, she tries to flee, but Monk asks her to wait. He invites her to the house, but she cites her need to return to Lola’s. Monk confesses that he’s considered looking Mallory up. When he compliments her cobra bracelet, she mentions that her mother left it to her. He wants to catch up, but Mallory insists that it’s not a good idea. He says that he was sad for a long time after she abandoned him, but his dad helped him to understand that Mallory couldn’t live in his shadow and needed to pursue her own art; this explanation surprises her. When Paige and Sam show up, looking for Mallory, Monk introduces himself, and he sees Sam’s resemblance to him immediately. He asks Sam how old he is, and Sam’s answer confirms Monk’s suspicion. He promises that he’ll be in touch with Sam soon, saying that he didn’t know Sam existed, and he leaves to gather his thoughts. When Mallory finally talks to Sam later that night, he understands that she did her best, but he also thinks that Monk is cool and is open to a relationship. The next morning, Monk texts Lola to ask for Mallory’s phone number.

Alistair insists that he shot the Egyptian man to protect Hannah, but they all know that it won’t matter if word spreads that an Englishman fired the shot. The Egyptians will riot and retaliate. Alistair insists that he has diplomatic immunity, and before bed, he tells Hannah that as his wife, she will be safe. Lucien asks about Hannah’s first husband, correctly guessing that Hannah was married before Alistair. Hannah tells Lucien that her husband, János, was a Hungarian philosophy student. She recalls walking with János along the Danube; it felt like a whirlwind when he asked her to marry him just a few months after they met. They were wed by a friend at four o’clock in the morning. Alistair doesn’t know about János.

Lucien lives on the top floor at Shepheard’s, and Hannah assumes that he’s an Egyptian nationalist because his mother is Egyptian; she thinks that he must want the English out. He asks if she wants the Soviets out of Hungary, and she declares that she no longer cares about politics. Lucien loves Hannah but says that he cannot bring her back to life; she must choose to live. He leaves, and Hannah remembers her wedding night with János, but she reminds herself that her old life turned to “dust” eight years ago. She leaves the apartment she shares with Alistair and sneaks into Lucien’s rooms. Hannah tells him that she wants a child.