FORBIDDEN PLACE 4

Karen nodded and followed him up a winding flight of stairs leading from a doorway next to the fireplace. There was no landing. A few steps, and she was standing beneath the low attic ceiling. The windows were on a level with the uneven floor. They were open. The smell of roses crept in.

It was a strictly masculine room: a mirror supported on a dressing table, a built-in wardrobe, a chest of drawers and a wide mahogany bed, neatly made, the duvet pulled straight.

‘You keep your house very tidy,’ she commented, remembering vividly the chaos of his flat, the floor strewn with books and papers, the dilapidated settee where she had lost her cherry.

‘I’ve a woman who “does”.’ He put the tray on the bedside table. Gin and tonic splashed into the glasses, topped with shaved ice and a twist of lemon.

‘Here’s to my assistant librarian,’ Tony said, smiling into her eyes as he toasted her. ‘I recommended you for your abilities, not because I expected to screw you, though I'll admit that wasn