‘This afternoon!’ Her voice came out as a squeak. She hadn’t expected it to be so soon.

‘Well, he was in London and in Chelsea too, and seeing as I knew you would be here, there seemed no sense in delaying.’ His arm had clamped about her waist now and when he began to kiss her she felt dizzy; didn’t even try to stop him when his hand began to slowly caress her breast. It was wonderful and terrifying all at the same time – and suddenly she remembered the little bottle and the sponges in her bag. Would it be so very bad to let him make love to her? she wondered. After all, he had told her he loved her a number of times now so he clearly intended them to be together. They had come close to going all the way on a number of occasions lately, but Sunday’s words of warning had always stopped her so far. But then Sunday belonged to another time and another way of life now. In London, everything was so much more easy-going. Why, Ruby had had numerous lovers and wasn’t ashamed to admit it. She had even provided Kitty with the means to prevent an unwanted pregnancy, so surely she wouldn’t condemn her – and Kitty did so want to bind Richard to her for all time. Perhaps this would be the best way to do it?

Richard was panting with desire now but she managed to extricate herself from his arms long enough to gasp, ‘When will the gentleman be here?’

‘Oh, not for another hour or so.’

‘Then I’ll pop behind the screen and slip into something a little more comfortable.’ She snatched up her bag and once behind the screen she quickly undressed, put on the robe that Richard kept there for her and took the bottle and the sponges from her bag with shaking fingers.

When she came back to him clad in nothing but the robe and blushing furiously, he gently drew it open and moaned aloud as he stared at her naked body.

‘You are quite beautiful!’ He lifted her chin and looked into her eyes then asked gently, ‘Have you ever done this before?’ When she shook her head, he slid the robe from her shoulders and began to stroke the creamy skin of her shoulders. She was shaking now with a mixture of excitement and fear, but his voice was soft and husky as he told her, ‘I won’t hurt you, I promise. It will be beautiful, just like you.’

And so Kitty lay trembling as Richard slowly undressed, letting his clothes pool around his feet. She had never seen a naked man aroused before, but as he had promised he went slowly … and gradually her passion mounted to meet his. When he finally entered her there was a brief moment of pain but then she began to move with him as sensations she had never felt before coursed through her. By the time he rolled away from her there were tears in her eyes. She had come to his room that afternoon as a girl but she would leave as a woman and she didn’t have a single regret.