a bit of time to register that I was in a bed with three other people.’
‘Three? You terrible girl. Have you any recollection of what did, or didn’t, happen?’
‘Well, sort of. I was stark naked and it took me five minutes to round up all my clothes. They were strewn all round the place: I found my bra down the back of an armchair in the lounge.’
Janet giggled. ‘Oh, Mel! And the men in bed with you, were they naked, too?’
Melissa nodded, then she took a big mouthful of wine. ‘Man.’ Seeing Janet’s raised eyebrows, she explained. ‘One man and two other girls.’
Janet’s eyes widened. ‘Two other girls? So did you and the girls … ?’
Melissa set her glass down and covered her face with her hands, chronically uncomfortable. ‘I really shouldn’t have started on this.’
There was no way Janet was letting her off the hook now. ‘Research. Mel, that’s what I need. Spill the beans.’ She sat back, enchanted by her friend’s discomfort.
‘I just don’t know, Jan. I suppose I might have done, must have done. I just don’t remember. And believe me, I have spent a lot of time trying.’
Janet stared at her in disbelief for a whole minute. Finally she spoke. ‘So, if you did, do you know which one it was?’ A sudden thought struck her. ‘Or might it have been both of them?’
Melissa drained her glass and reached for the bottle. ‘Well, you see, it’s not really that easy. I saw both girls around campus quite often from then on. But you can’t exactly walk up to someone and ask if you’ve had sex with them.’
‘But didn’t they say anything to you?’
‘Not a dickybird. Mind you, they were both drugged out of their heads most of the time.’
‘And the boy?’
‘Never saw him again. No idea who he was.’
‘But I bet he had a smile from ear to ear after that experience.’ She held out her glass for a refill but had to put it down hurriedly as she started to giggle uncontrollably. After a few seconds Melissa joined in. The two of them laughed until the tears were rolling down their faces.
‘Do you know, Melissa, I think that now we have the what, as well as the when and where.’ She wiped her cheeks and calmed herself with a sip of the Chablis. For her part, Melissa gradually recovered from the stress of her revelations. Then she put the cat among the pigeons again.
‘So if you are going to write about a hetero/lesbo four-in-a-bed romp, have you got the necessary skills and experience?’
This stopped Janet’s merriment dead.
Chapter Eleven
Penny had abandoned Émile Zola for the time being. She was sitting at the kitchen table doing her best to compose something suitably raunchy on the laptop. Scott was just finishing the crossword.
‘Scottie, what word should I use for vagina?’
‘What’s wrong with vagina?’
‘I just wonder if it isn’t naughty enough. Should I say … ?’ She paused, unsure how to continue. ‘Should I use a stronger word? Maybe the “c” word?’
‘Woah, there, Pen. This isn’t Lady Chatterley, you know.’
‘Well, to be quite honest, this erotic novel thing is supposed to be a whole lot sexier than Lawrence. We’re talking whips and canes and things.’
‘Yes, Pen, but that’s just kinky stuff. The icing on the cake, so to speak. You can’t use a word like that.’
‘Scottie, you’ve gone quite red. Have I crossed some kind of line here? Is that a taboo word?’
‘Well, how often do you use it? When’s the last time you said to yourself, “I really must scratch my you-know-what”?’
‘I suppose you’re right, not that I scratch my you-know-what half as often as you two boys fiddle with your bits.’
‘It’s complicated down there for us chaps. It all needs rearranging from time to time.’
‘Too much information, thanks, Scottie. But this is set in the 1800s. I can’t use a word like pussy. It’s too modern. Scott, you’ve gone red again.’
‘I’m sorry, Pen, it’s just that I’m not used to having this sort of conversation with you. With Jamie it’s all the time, but with a girl?’
‘So I’m still a girl, am I? I thought I was an old auntie.’
‘I never had an auntie who looked as good as you, Pen.’
‘That’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever said to me, Scott. Thank you. Now help me with my vagina.’
‘Oh lord. Well, your piece is set in the South of France, isn’t it? Isn’t there some French word you could use? You could say, he rammed his Aznavour up her Sarkozy, and nobody would be shocked and appalled.’
‘Now there’s a thought.’
‘So how do you say it in French?’
‘Say what, Scottie?’ She pretended innocence.
‘Sarkozy of course.’ He was fighting back.
‘Well, let me see. Do you know, I thought I spoke pretty good French, but I only know one or two very ordinary terms for that part of the body. More to the point, what word would they have used in the nineteenth century? I know. How about chatte? That’s a female cat, but it also works as you-know-what.’
‘Thank God you’ve sorted that out. So, what’s the plot, then? Do I get to read it?’
She had been thinking about that. ‘It’s probably best if you don’t, Scott. It’s bad enough knowing that this Marshall man is going to be reading it. The thought of somebody I know and like … Why, you might be so disgusted, you would never speak to me again.’
‘I won’t be disgusted. I promise. But it might be a good idea to let somebody else see it before you send it in. You know what they say. Two heads etc.’
‘All right then. I’ve just got to stick in a few chattes and I’m done. Upon your own head be it. Why don’t you make us a cup of tea while I’m finishing off?’
He did as bidden, while she inserted a few nineteenth-century French vaginas. As he appeared with the tea, she clicked Save.
‘Well, if you’re sure you want to read it, it’s done. Read it on the screen. That way if anything needs changing, I can do it, before printing it out.’ She passed him the computer and went upstairs.
When she came back down again, he was well into it. He looked up briefly as she came past him. She sat down on the sofa and raised an eyebrow.
