Fandom 50 (7): Welcome to the Midnight Bell - Miss Roach

[smallhobbit]

Miss Roach is very different from the previous characters, and of all of them, is the most unlikely to find herself in the Midnight Bell. Her story is told in The Slaves of Solitude.  She works in London during the day - this is set in 1943, so wartime - but lives in a town just outside.  She is a much more gentile character than any of the others.  And not only is this a crossover between two of Patrick Hamilton's books, but she's partnered with a character from yet another book.

Miss Roach entered the Midnight Bell rather nervously.  It wasn’t the sort of establishment she usually favoured, but she had agreed to meet someone there.  Previously, when she had visited a public house, it had been in company, but despite being on her own, she took a deep breath and walked into the middle of the room.  She looked round, and saw, as she’d half expected, the man she was meeting wasn’t there, no doubt waiting for her to arrive to pay for their drinks.  She approached the bar and, in a gentle whisper, asked for a small, sweet sherry.