Page 196 of The Armor of Light

He arrived early and loitered outside until she arrived, then quickly opened the door and ushered her in. ‘Let’s look around,’ he said.

She probably guessed what was on his mind, but she did not ask questions. Together they examined the house. It needed work. There were cracked windows and stained floors. The kitchen and the rest of the basement were dark and unhygienic, and there was a dead rat in the pantry.

‘The whole place needs to be thoroughly scrubbed,’ Arabella said.

‘Plus a coat of paint.’

Upstairs was a spacious drawing room. Farther up was a large bedroom with a lady’s boudoir adjacent on one side and a gentleman’s dressing room on the other. Above that were rooms for children and servants. The windows were large and the fireplaces generous.

Arabella said: ‘It could be a very nice house.’

‘It’s for sale. Would you like it?’

She looked at him with a half-smile. ‘What, exactly, are you suggesting?’

He took her hands. ‘Arabella, you wonderful woman, will you be my wife?’

‘David Shoveller, you marvellous man, don’t you realize I’m eight years older than you?’

‘Is that a yes?’

‘It’s a yes, please!’

‘And would you like us to live in this house? Would you be happy here?’

‘Deliriously, my darling.’

‘We have to wait until the end of your year of mourning.’

‘September the thirtieth.’

‘You know the exact date.’

‘A lady shouldn’t be so eager, but I can’t help it.’

‘It’s six months.’

‘If you buy it now, that will give us time to clean and paint, and choose furniture and hang curtains, and everything.’

They kissed, then Spade pretended to look around furtively. ‘We seem to be alone...’

‘How nice! But the floor looks hard – and none too clean.’

‘That’s all right, you can be on top.’

‘I was talking to some women...’

Spade smiled, wondering what was coming. ‘What did they say?’

Her smile was half playful, half bashful. ‘They spoke of somethingthey say prostitutes do. I’ve never heard of it. It might even be made up, but...’

‘But what?’

‘I want to try it.’

This kind of talk aroused Spade. ‘What is it?’

‘They do it with their mouth.’