He took her by the hand and she followed him to the guest bedroom and closed the door. He kissed her again, and she wrapped herself around him as he carried her to the bed and laid her down. She was nervous but filled with desire for him. He unpinned her hair and ran his hands through it so that it fanned out on the pillow around her face. His fingers were impatient as he unbuttoned her blouse, and she began to take off the rest of her clothes herself, because she wanted him to see her naked. She was no longer shy or hesitant as he unfastened his own clothes and threw them on to the floor. She ran her hands over his chest and stomach and dragged him down on top of her. It was impossible not to cry out as he kissed her and moved with her, bringing her an intensity of pleasure that she had never known. They lay in the darkness when it was over, and he traced lines along her stomach and the soft skin of her inner thighs, and later he made love to her again. It was a gentler, slower experience this time, and Hannah felt as though she was drifting, languorous and beautiful, in blissful perfection. She wondered if her body could withstand what was happening or whether she might dissolve entirely, and never return to the limits of the ordinary world she had known before.

Dawn brought a red-gold sky that matched her elation. It was the most beautiful morning she could remember. Viktor was still asleep, and for a while she studied him. His hair was blacker than anything she had ever seen, and she liked how it fell over his forehead, and how his skin was olive-coloured beneath the tangle of sheets and blankets. She kissed him lightly, not wanting to wake him. Then she slipped out of the bed and left the room, stealing through the house to her own quarters, praying that the servants would not see her.