‘The more I said no, the more insistent they became. Soon the language changed. “Let’s go shopping” became “Let me look after you”, as if I were a child. But their offers weren’t accompanied by the keys to a property or a suitcase full of cash. That wasn’t what they had in mind. So many words, so few deeds.

‘My obstinacy whipped them into frenzy. I loved it. Knowing I couldn’t be conquered by conventional means, they devised a new system of seduction – the subliminal money message, as subtle as a peacock. “My portfolio is up twenty per cent this year” or “Would you like to see my yacht?” My reaction was always to laugh.

‘Finally, there came offers of marriage. “I’ll look after you” transformed to “I love you”. And this from complete strangers! The more I refused, the more love-struck they became. But marriage wasn’t for me. I began to wonder how much men thought before pledging undying love. Very little, if you look at the divorce statistics. They just grab for happiness, thrusting themselves forward like dogs mounting one another.

‘And what about their inevitable infidelity? Millions of women choose to live in denial, or in a twilight world where they accept it so long as they don’t know the details. Or there’s the girl married to a man who has become fat and rude, no longer performing his marital duties. Worse if he does – she must lie beneath his heaving carcass until the terrible grunting ends. Now she wears compromise as a badge of honour, works through problems, and fights for love.

‘I’m not saying that love and marriage are impossible, it’s just that nowadays both start and end so quickly. You say you despair at what you’ve discovered in space. Surely there’s nothing so short-term as human relations?

‘Since I wasn’t prepared to sell my soul, I decided to rent my body. I played men at their own game. None of them had any intention of making good on their promises. A relationship founded on a trick and fuelled by lust collapses at the first sign of boredom. My father used to say: “Show me a beautiful women, and I’ll show you a man who’s tired of making love to her.” My admirers only wanted one thing, so why not make them pay?

‘I choose my clients. I doubt I’ve been with more boys than Bonnita here. Everything is on my terms, and the rules of engagement are clear. Is that the case with “normal” relations? Also, my price is astronomical. I’ve made a fortune. I’ll go home soon, help my family, and commit to a man, if a good one exists. I’ve sacrificed something of myself, but I prefer that to a life of almost certain disappointment.’

Tancredi was impressed. This was a spirited tale, delivered with passion. But he was also repelled as much by the slap, which still stung, as her story. Although his upbringing had been complicated, he had been shielded from some of life’s harsher truths. Exquisite as she was, he found it hard to empathise with the choices Cocomo had made. He turned towards the angelic Bonnita.