Femme Fatale.

02

"Oh," I say. "How vile!"

"Two," Rhoda says, continuing the list. "She's light-fingered. If there's a shilling in Joe's pocket that she thinks he won't miss, it disappears. She snaps it up like a magpie."

I am enchanted. "Oh really? I missed a black purse once. I always thought she took it!"

"Three," Rhoda continues. "And worst of all. Joe says she chases him around the bed like a bitch on heat."

I snort with surprised laughter. "Rhoda!"

"She does." Rhoda confirms. "Scares the life out of him."

"Joe?" I ask scornfully. "I'd have thought he'd be glad."

Rhoda shakes her head. "It's not like that," she says earnestly. "If she was hot he wouldn't mind, provided she kept the heat indoors and didn't shame him. Joe says she likes..." She breaks off.

"Oh do tell!" I beg.

"It's not lust," she says uneasily. "My brother can deal with lust. And it's not variety either. Joe likes a little taste of the wild himself. But it's as if she wants some kind of power over him. The other weekend she came over, she asked Joe if he would like our maid to be brought in. She offered to bring him a girl and worse: she wanted to watch."

"She likes to watch?" I demand.

Rhoda shakes her head. "No. I think she likes to arrange. I think she likes to listen at doors, to spy through keyholes, to watch others at their business. And when Joe said " no"..." Rhoda stops abruptly.

"What did she offer him then?"

Rhoda blushes. "She offered to get him a boy."

I give a little shriek of scandalised laughter. "Why would she offer him that?" I ask quietly.

Rhoda looks away. "There's a boy in the tennis team," she says shortly. "So sweet, pretty as a girl but with the wit of a man. Joe has said nothing and done nothing but Tanu saw Joe laugh with him once and clap him on the shoulder and she thinks everything is lust."

We sit silent for a moment, the scandalised gossip hovering over us, tangible as a ghost.

We finish our food quietly and Rhoda asks me to plait her hair before class starts. I shrug her off but she persists. "Please Carla...oh and I bring you the most extraordinary tidings, Nahar wants to see you in private."

I giggle, it is impossible for me not to revel in my sense of joy. "Oh, Rhoda!"

"Well, remember who you are," Rhoda warns. "Don't let him just have you in a doorway or somewhere hidden and hurried. Insist on proper rooms, insist on a proper bed."

"I'll see." I say, positioning myself behind Rhoda.

"It's important," she cautions me. "If he thinks he can take you like a slut then he'll have you and forget you. I think you should hold out a little longer. If he thinks you're too easy he'll not have you more than once or twice.

I take her soft hanks of hair in my hand and plait them.

"Ow," she complains. "You're pulling."

"Well, you're nagging." I reply with a hint of irritation. "Leave me do it my own way. I've not done badly so far."

"Oh that." She shrugs her dark shoulders and smiles at her reflection in the mirror on her hand. "Anyone can attract a man. The trick is to keep him."

The bell startles us both. Rhoda's dark eyes fly to the little mirror, to my reflected image looking blankly at her.

"What class is next?" I ask.