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She grinned. "Yes, I do. How many women? Six? Ten? Twenty?"
"Good God, no. Three. The first was Rachel Wright, in school. Afterward she said we would have to get married, and I believed her. I was so worried. "
Ethel giggled. "What happened?"
"The next week she did it with Micky Armstrong, and I was off the hook. "
"Was it nice with her?"
"I suppose it was. I was only sixteen. Mainly I just wanted to be able to say I had done it. "
She kissed him gently, then said: "Who was next?"
"Carol McAllister. She was a neighbor. I paid her a shilling. It was a bit brief-I think she knew what to do and say to get it over quickly. The part she liked was taking the money. "
Ethel frowned disapprovingly, then recalled the house in Chelsea, and realized she had contemplated doing the same as Carol McAllister. Feeling uncomfortable, she said: "Who was the other one?"
"An older woman. She was my landlady. She came to my bed at night when her husband was away. "
"Was it nice with her?"
"Lovely. It was a happy time for me. "
"What went wrong?"
"Her husband got suspicious and I had to leave. "
"And then?"
"Then I met you, and I lost all interest in other women. "
They began to kiss. Soon he pushed up the skirt of her nightdress and got on top of her. He was gentle, worried about hurting her, but he entered her easily. She felt a surge of affection for him, for his kindness and intelligence and devotion to her and her child. She put her arms around him and hugged his body to hers. Quite soon, his climax came. Then they both lay back, content, and went to sleep.
{V}
Women's skirts had changed, Gus Dewar realized. They now showed the ankles. Ten years ago, a glimpse of ankle had been arousing; now it was mundane. Perhaps women covered their nakedness to make themselves more alluring, not less.
Rosa Hellman was wearing a dark-red coat that fell in pleats from the yoke at the back, rather fashionable. It was trimmed with black fur, which he guessed was welcome in Washington in February. Her gray hat was small and round with a red hatband and a feather, not very practical, but when was the last time American women's hats had been designed for practical purposes? "I'm honored by this invitation," she said. He could not be sure whether she was mocking him. "You're only just back from Europe, aren't you?"
They were having lunch in the dining room of the Willard Hotel, two blocks east of the White House. Gus had invited her for a specific purpose. "I've got a story for you," he said as soon as they had ordered.
"Oh, good! Let me guess. The president is going to divorce Edith and marry Mary Peck?"
Gus frowned. Wilson had had a dalliance with Mary Peck while he was married to his first wife. Gus doubted whether they had actually committed adultery, but Wilson had been foolish enough to write letters that showed more affection than was seemly. Washington gossips knew all about it, but nothing had been printed. "I'm talking about something serious," Gus said sternly.
"Oh, sorry," said Rosa. She composed her face in a solemn expression that made Gus want to laugh.
"The only condition is going to be that you can't say you got the information from the White House. "
"Agreed. "
"I'm going to show you a telegram from the German foreign minister, Arthur Zimmermann, to the German ambassador in Mexico. "
She looked astonished. "Where did you get that?"
"From Western Union," he lied.
"Isn't it in code?"
