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“No, I don’t think—”

“Alcohol is known to supply courage,” the woman interrupted.

Helen smiled sadly. “It only gives me a headache.”

“Very well. Lady—” She paused as if waiting for Helen to supply the rest of her name.

“It’s Mrs., actually,” Helen corrected primly.

The woman gave her a knowing look. “You don’t have to disclose your name. In any case, we keep our clientele private.”

“Unless they are recognized by an evangelical preacher,” Helen said and quickly clamped her lips shut.

“So that’s how you heard of us,” the woman said with a smile. “We have enemies. And we are not beyond being raided from time to time. But the utmost secrecy is provided for our female clientele. You know more than I how the reputation of a woman can be besmirched in a split second while a man… Well, let’s just say they would not suffer the same fate.”

Helen swallowed. “I am a widow. We are afforded small liberties. My reputation is the least of my worries. However, I would not want my family to suffer… or to find out.”

“A widow.” The woman narrowed her eyes slightly. “And you came here in hopes to get something that you did not receive in your marriage.”

That was very perceptive. Helen stiffened.

“So I am right. What is it? We can provide anything you like.”

The lightheaded feeling returned, and Helen felt like she would be sick. A light sheen of sweat appeared on her forehead, and she wiped it away. “I don’t… What do you mean?”

The woman was unfazed by Helen’s apparent discomfort and confusion.

“Well, we provide very specific services here. People who are ashamed to voice out loud what they like in a bed sport, people who cannot confess to their partners their deepest and darkest desires come here to exercise those desires. Nothing you can say is too shocking or vulgar.”

“I—um… I don’t want anything shocking or vulgar. I just… I want… p-passion.” Helen stumbled on her words, her voice shaking. “Pleasure.”

The woman’s expression hadn’t changed. “Any rules?”

Helen let out a deep breath, feeling slightly better, braver than she had been before. “Rules?”

“Yes, everything that goes on here is upon request. You get what you want, but also people who service you get to pick based on your desires and rules. For example, some people like to be tied down. Others prefer their partners to be restrained.” Helen’s eyes grew wider with the proprietress’s every word. “Some people like pain, some people like feathery touches, others don’t even want to be touched.”

“You can… it’s possible not to be touched?”

The woman shrugged. “You get to dictate it all. Touch, no touch, only touching certain parts; kissing, no kissing, only kissing… certain parts.” She flicked her eyes meaningfully, but whatever meaning it was supposed to convey completely escaped Helen’s understanding.

The fact that Helen would dictate everything should have made her feel more at ease, but it didn’t.

The fact was, she didn’t know what she wanted. She wanted something. Something extraordinary. She wanted to feel things that she’d only read and heard about.

She couldn’t imagine, however, some unknown man, a stranger, delivering those things for her.

“Thank you.” Helen stood. “I don’t think that’s what I want after all.”

If the woman was surprised or offended, she didn’t let it show. She stood also. “The decision is yours. If you change your mind, you know where to find us.”

Helen tipped her head and, without looking back, rushed out of the woman’s tiny office.

She breathed heavily as she ran down the corridor only to stumble onto a dead end. She squinted in the dark corridor, not quite remembering which way she came from. She had been so nervous that she hadn’t even paid attention to where the woman led her.

Helen whirled around and hurried the other way. The faster she left—

In her haste, she didn’t notice a man rounding the corner so she stumbled right into him.