Victorian and Edwardian novels tend to avoid mention of sex and bodily functions. When they do refer to them, it's usually in code that's relatively easy to break. There are, however, exceptions. One such exception is in a novel written by O. Douglas (Anna Buchan) in 1924.
Buchan came from a family of over-achievers, the most outstanding being her brother
John. She never married. Most biographical sketches conclude that she sacrificed her own happiness to look after her brothers and devote herself to local charities.
In
Pink Sugar a young woman called Kirsty inherits property and visits London to settle her legal affairs. She stays in a hotel and spends her evenings sitting in the drawing room, observing the guests.
One guest is particularly striking. Like Kirsty, she doesn't mix:
She sat apart, rather withdrawn, as if sufficient to herself, a handsome woman in middle-age, with the wholesome look of one who spends much time in the open air. Her firm, pretty hands worked at a piece of embroidery, and she had an air of well-being and content that was most comfortable to behold.
Observing this lady, Kirsty tries to imagine who she is, where she comes from, to whom she's married, how many children she has, and so on.
On Kirsty's last evening in London, the guests in the drawing room retire early and she finds herself alone with the striking lady. The lady smiles at her and strikes up a conversation. Kirsty confesses to staring at her and trying to picture her family background.
The lady's response is unusual. She chides Kirsty for assuming that a middle-aged woman has to be married with children.
And then there's a very long paragraph which I'll quote in part. Highlights are mine:
"I run my own farm—that is quite a big job in itself—and I help all I can with things in the village. I have a friend who lives with me—Caroline Grenville, a man and a brother if ever there was one, and we work together. Our pet job is taking Anglo-Indian children for school holidays, children who have no relations in this country. [ . . . ] I’ve just been seeing them all back to school and settled down, and now I go home to Caroline, and we shall have a blissful time together until we welcome back (very gladly) our family for Christmas time."
The "you don't have to be married to be happy" sentiment, and the phrases "a man and a brother" and "a blissful time together" are not unusual, but seeing them in conjunction, I couldn’t help wondering if Buchan was signalling a lesbian relationship.