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Theo relaxed into smiles. “That’s wonderful. Have you handed in your notice at the gentleman’s grill? I shall have to ask Clem when we can start rehearsing at The Eagle and Sun. When he took me there yesterday, the place was as good as empty at midday.”

They spent a half hour catching up. Lil did not feel she could give notice until they were assured a regular spot at The Eagle. Knowing Lil had two dependents living with her, Theo understood her friend’s caution and they spent the rest of Lil’s visit running through the songs she had re-written.

To her delight, Lil had the lyrics and tune down pat and even had a few gestures to go along with them which had Theo wiping tears of laughter from her eyes. The next two hours flew, and when Lil regretfully said she had to go, Theo accompanied her downstairs arm in arm and waved her off from the top step. They promised to meet again in two days, this time at Lil’s lodgings where they could rehearse in front of Peggy as a test audience.

Theo was so excited; she ran upstairs to make a list of things she needed to run through to make ready. So caught up was she in her plans, that when Mrs. Cherwell knocked on the door bearing a cheese omelet for her luncheon, she was frankly astonished.

They had always been expected to shift for themselves when it came to the midday meal, for her brother and Harold were rarely at home for it. She thanked the housekeeper profusely and ate it while making scrupulous notes for her next rehearsal.

It was a little after four when Theo set her notebook down and considered how to fill the next hour or so until Clem’s return. Dinner was always served at six o’clock and she assumed he would be home some time before that. By rights, she ought to resume her dressmaking. Her abandoned and half-finished gown lay in pieces in the sewing room, but she could muster no enthusiasm for the task.

She was growing sadly lazy, she told herself sternly, but it was no use. She simply did not want to sit puzzling over her latest pattern this afternoon. She was too excited at the prospect of performing in front of an audience, even if it was only Lil’s old friend. In the end, she decided to simply go for a walk to clear her head and, with a bit of luck, spot someone interesting to observe in the nearby park.

SEVENTEEN

Clem arrived back at Juniper Row by five o’clock with a pocket full of wallpaper samples, a case of delicate liqueur glasses, and a contraceptive device for Dora. He was consequently annoyed to find she was neither patiently awaiting him in their sitting room, or if he was honest, their bedroom.

He had half convinced himself by this point that taking Dora to bed was the right thing to do. It would go a long way to making her feel secure in their marriage, he told himself. Safe and secure before she came crashing to ignominious defeat on his stage that is.

Clem pulled a face. What a prince among husbands he was. Deep down, of course, he knew that was not the real reason at all. The simple fact was he wanted to introduce her to the delights of the bedroom, just as he had introduced her to many others.

He wanted to fuck her and see that look of appreciation and wonderment on her face for his cock. He loved that look on her, the way she embraced new experiences so wholeheartedly. The thought of taking Dora to his bed made him feel slightly light-headed and decidedly … needy. He was half inclined to go out and start looking for her.

Mrs. Cherwell told him grandly that “Miss Theodora” had gone to promenade in the park “as was her habit” and Clem was forced to make do with that. He went up to the sitting room, set down the case of glasses, and laid out the paper samples on the table side by side. He wanted Dora’s opinion before proceeding, though his own preference was for an azure blue, punctuated by unfurling leaves of gold.

He paced impatiently throughout the room, noticing that she had unpacked the case, but had seemingly not helped herself to any of the treats on offer. For some reason, that irritated him too. Opening the cupboard door, he reached for the nearest box and untied the ribbons, setting it down on the table where it would be sure to catch her eye and tempt her.

Then he made for the bedroom, where he set the discreet cardboard box down on the dresser and wondered what Dora would make of the instructions printed in a cramped hand on a small card inside. He hoped she would not expect him to explain how things worked. After a moment’s brooding on this he realized by rights he ought to know.

Sliding the box open, Clem withdrew the card and read it frowningly three times until he thought he had the gist of it. Was it foolproof? He somehow doubted it. Should he withdraw as well? Maybe. He bore the burden of responsibility here, he realized, and it would be Dora who would face the consequences if the device failed. Damn it.

Withdrawing was the least he could do after she had made it plain that she did not want a child at this point. Clem groaned and lay back on the bed, wondering slightly at his impatience. If someone had told him two months ago that he would be lusting after a plain bit of goods like Theodora Fields, he would never have believed it. But there it was. He was lusting and there was no use denying it, not to himself.

Maybe it was down to the uncustomary abstinence of late. He hadn’t kept company with women in a while, as running his business had taken over his every thought and waking energy. He had resolved from the outset never to sleep with any of the women he employed; that was just bad practice and he liked to keep things straightforward.

In the past, he realized he had used sex as a way of blowing off steam, but the concert rooms did not give him the same rush as boxing, the same dizzying highs or crashing lows, so he found he had no pressing need to find an outlet for his excess energy anymore. How long had it been? Maybe eight or even nine months? Perhaps that explained it. He had deprived himself and now he could not keep his hands off his own wife.

The simple truth was, that he had been far too busy to think about pursuing women. Not that the women he usually took up with required much by way of pursuing. Clem had never been particularly interested in the chase. He liked to know the outcome was assured. He had never courted a woman in his life before Dora.

Maybe that was why he was champing at the bit? Then also … he did derive a strange kind of satisfaction from initiating her into new things. He wasn’t sure what that was about, but there was no denying he enjoyed the hell out of it, whether it was a fancy lunch or something a bit more carnal.

A sudden noise had him sitting up. Was that the front door closing? After a moment, he heard footsteps running up the stairs and his name breathlessly called.

“In here!” he called back, and the door flung open, and Dora came sailing in, dragging off her hat and muffler.

“You got back before me!” she exclaimed, rounding the bed and casting her things down into a chair.

Clem stared at her, feeling a little winded. He wanted her to cast herself on him, he realized, and cover him with kisses. If she had, it would not have felt strange to him at all, for her face with shining with pleasure at the mere sight of him.

He felt an odd lurch in his chest. When had he wanted spontaneous acts of affection like that from women before? It wasn’t like him at all. Of course, she would not do such a thing. The standard greeting between man and wife was likely a peck on the cheek. That was how one did it. But he did not get up off the bed. “Where have you been?” he asked, stalling for time, even though he knew full well already.

“Walking in the park. I like to take some daily exercise.” She ruffled her hair and then started looking around, likely for her fake hairpiece.

“You left it in the sitting room,” he told her.

“Oh yes, I took it off to show it to Lil. She thought it turned out rather well, though she said I should wet my comb to make the illusion complete.” Clem made no comment. “Did you have a nice day?” she asked, pinning him with her gaze as though she had finally picked up on his strange mood.

Did he? Clem wasn’t sure. He shrugged. “Tolerable.” When she turned impulsively toward the door, he asked quickly, “Where are you going?”