“Especially if those who witness it are no longer young,” Fred adds.

Mick laughs and says, “That woman should be stabbed to death, believe me. Stabbed to death.”

Fred turns to Jimmy, who is once more listening to the alpenhorns and remarks drily, “She’s no fool, that Miss Universe.”

“No way, for sure!” Jimmy replies, without looking at him.

They both break out in large grins.

Lena watches Miss Universe leave with that look women have when they observe other women and, when the model is out of sight, she turns and deliberately fixes her eyes on the hippy mountaineer, who – naturally – is staring only at her. His eyes start to gleam as they never have before.

41

A deluxe Maserati is speeding along a sunny mountain road. Julian is at the wheel. Paloma Faith pops up from the back seat wearing splendid make-up. She is singing a funky number that would have even a corpse dancing. Dressed in skimpy lingerie, she writhes about sinuously and sensually. A complete about-turn from the dull colourless woman who first appeared at the hotel. She licks Julian’s ear with the tip of her tongue and he moans with pleasure. Paloma moves about the car’s interior on all fours like a panther in a crescendo of throbbing eroticism. Still singing, she slides lithely out of the open car window like a snake.

She climbs onto the roof and stands up and sings and dances there without ever losing her sensuality.

Because this is evidently the fantasy sequence of a video clip she does not fall from the moving car.

Julian leans out of the window and looks up at her, excited, burbling like an idiot. He leans out so far to grasp Paloma that he is forced to steer the car with one foot. The car swerves, but there is no danger. This is a video clip.

Julian gets back into his seat to avoid an accident. He looks at the road, but not for long because now Paloma appears on the outside of the windscreen.

She is sliding slowly down onto the car bonnet. With her body pressed against the glass, she winks, making eyes at him, showing her tongue and everything else as she rolls around with the wind in her hair and the car still speeding along at 200 kilometres an hour.

Finally, with an acrobatic movement, Paloma gets back inside the car again through the side window.

She sits beside Julian. He wants to touch her, but she knows to stop him in order to prolong the pleasure.

Meanwhile, she continues singing. Then for a moment she pauses and says, “Look what I’m going to do for you now!”

From the glove compartment she removes a sex toy, the like of which has never been seen before.

It is a large black rubber ball mounted with threatening luminescent metal spikes. It is impossible even to imagine to what use this object could be put.

“Just watch this, my dear.”