Page 94 of Fire Must Burn

Iris’s wellies had been placed by the door of their room. She picked them up and went inside, then contemplated the two pairs of shoes she had brought for the trip.

‘I packed for walking, beetling and dinner,’ she said. ‘I didn’t expect dancing.’

‘I’d recommend the walking shoes,’ said Gwen. ‘Just in case our ride is too drunk to get us back after.’

‘I’m hoping to get too drunk as well,’ said Iris as she put on her Oxfords. ‘You remember my continuing curse: men who dance with me meet violent ends.’

‘You’ll be dancing with locals tonight,’ said Gwen. ‘I doubt the curse will be bothered.’

‘The Curse Takes a Holiday,’ said Iris. ‘There’s a title for something.’

‘It’s odd how a religious sceptic like yourself believes in a curse,’ commented Gwen as she slipped on a pair of slingbacks.

‘Recent evidence does support the idea,’ said Iris.

‘Or maybe dancing with gangsters and murderers increased the likelihood.’

‘There is that,’ admitted Iris.

Alice was waiting for them with another woman named Renee.

‘The others have gone on ahead,’ she said. ‘The men have disappeared into a cloud of cigar smoke. You can smell it from here.’

‘Unfortunate,’ said Renee. ‘I really don’t like that scent permeating a man. But let them have their fun. We’ll have ours. Come, ladies.’

Alice drove, while Renee turned and leaned on the back of her seat to talk.

‘We’ve been trying to figure out what you two are,’ she said. ‘You’re not lovers, and you’re not on the prowl for men.’

‘Not any of the ones here, certainly,’ said Gwen.

‘Oh, it’s not such a bad selection this month,’ said Alice with a laugh.

‘I take it you’re not here with your husbands,’ said Iris.

‘We are, in fact,’ said Renee.

‘Really?’

‘Really,’ she said. ‘Only I’m with hers and she’s with mine. We left Bristol amid a haze of respectability in separate cars, then stopped for lunch along the way and made the switch. Then on to Dorter’s Inn for a weekend of Smith-ing, and we’ll return to our regular lives Sunday night with some spicy memor­­ies to share.’

‘Goodness!’ exclaimed Gwen.

‘“Goodness had nothing to do with it”, as Mae West once said,’ laughed Renee. ‘But there is a small coterie of similarly minded people who are in the know about this place, so we were surprised to find you both here and unaware of what was going on.’

‘We’re just two good friends having a mildly rustic getaway,’ said Iris. ‘Explore the sights, see Nature, red in tooth and claw. Or mandible and claw, in my case.’

‘I must say you’re being quite open with us about all of this,’ said Gwen.

‘Neither of you seemed particularly taken aback by what’s been going on,’ said Alice. ‘We appreciate that. The fact that Gwen didn’t run screaming from the room when Norris made a pass at her was a relief.’

‘And refusing him was excellent judgement on your part,’ added Renee. ‘We’ve all run screaming from Norris at one time or another.’

They parked down a few buildings from the Three Horseshoes and walked to the pub. Alice and Renee disappeared through the door immediately. Iris hesitated, hearing the sounds of frivolity within. She glanced at Gwen.

‘Are you ready for this?’ asked Gwen.

‘Absolutely not,’ replied Iris. ‘After you, Mrs Bainbridge.’