Chapter One
The atmosphere in the flat was so highly charged that it seemed to have affected Andrew. “Is it okay if I take my jacket off and sit down before we start to talk?” he asked.
“If you must,” said Grace, realizing she sounded ungracious but desperate to hear what he had to say.
“I could do with a coffee too,” he added.
“I’m sorry, you must think me incredibly rude, but I need to know what…”
He nodded. “Sure, I understand, but it’s not easy for me either.”
Reluctantly Grace made them both coffee, and by the time she handed him his mug he seemed more relaxed, but was plainly still uncomfortable.
“This is no fun for me either, Grace,” he admitted. “David’s been my friend for years.”
“Then why are you doing it?”
“Can’t you guess?”
“No, I can’t,” said Grace.
“Because I care for you and don’t want to see you hurt by him. Believe me he will hurt you eventually. He doesn’t know the meaning of love.”
“And you don’t seem to know the meaning of loyalty,” she pointed out. “Just tell me what you think I need to know. I can’t stand all this waiting.” She cupped her hands round her coffee mug so that he couldn’t see how much they were shaking.
“I want to talk to you about the last girlfriend he brought to the Dining Club.”
“You mean Louise Penfold?”
Andrew was clearly taken aback. “He’s talked to you about her?”
“Not in detail, but I know she went to the Dining Club and that although she failed she’s still his PA.”
“Yes, she failed the trial that you’ve now passed, and she failed it because David made it too difficult for her to have any chance of succeeding.”
“And how did he do that?”
“By giving Amber information about her sexual preferences in advance. She was worn out very quickly, which was his intention. He wanted her to fail.”
“Why did he take her there if he wanted her to fail?”
“At first I think he wanted her to do well, but as the months went by he realized success would change the balance of their relationship. She was gaining in confidence all the time, and he decided he’d preferred the dynamics the way they were before.”
“Then why did he stop going out with her after she’d failed? The dynamics, as you put it, wouldn’t have changed then.”
“The Dining Club changes everyone, Grace. Surely you’ve realized that by now? It changes the guest and it changes the person who’s brought them. The member of the Club starts to see their lover in a different light. That’s not always a good thing. Watching a woman you make love to regularly having a wonderful time with other men and women can stop you from feeling you’re special to them.
“Of course that doesn’t always happen, but it can. It can cement a partnership, but equally it can tear one apart even though the guest does everything that’s asked of them in order to keep their lover. It’s a dangerous game.”
“You’re saying David felt inferior to Louise after she passed three trials, and so he tried to make her fail the fourth?” queried Grace incredulously. “I can’t imagine David ever feeling inferior to anyone.”
“Perhaps he preferred her as a PA rather than a lover after that,” said Andrew. “I don’t know what goes on his head, I only know what he did.”
“Well he didn’t do it to me.”
“Didn’t he, Grace?” he asked gently.
Her mouth went dry. “No, at the end he helped me.”
“But he wasn’t pleased when Laura made a mistake which meant Amy couldn’t climax anymore was he?” said Andrew. “Why not? He should have been delighted.”
Grace hated hearing her own doubts about that voiced aloud. “Perhaps he felt it wasn’t a fair contest anymore,” she suggested.
Andrew looked thoughtfully at her. “You must really love him a lot; you don’t want to face any of this do you? Why didn’t he explain the trial properly at the beginning then? Do you really think that was a
The atmosphere in the flat was so highly charged that it seemed to have affected Andrew. “Is it okay if I take my jacket off and sit down before we start to talk?” he asked.
“If you must,” said Grace, realizing she sounded ungracious but desperate to hear what he had to say.
“I could do with a coffee too,” he added.
“I’m sorry, you must think me incredibly rude, but I need to know what…”
He nodded. “Sure, I understand, but it’s not easy for me either.”
Reluctantly Grace made them both coffee, and by the time she handed him his mug he seemed more relaxed, but was plainly still uncomfortable.
“This is no fun for me either, Grace,” he admitted. “David’s been my friend for years.”
“Then why are you doing it?”
“Can’t you guess?”
“No, I can’t,” said Grace.
“Because I care for you and don’t want to see you hurt by him. Believe me he will hurt you eventually. He doesn’t know the meaning of love.”
“And you don’t seem to know the meaning of loyalty,” she pointed out. “Just tell me what you think I need to know. I can’t stand all this waiting.” She cupped her hands round her coffee mug so that he couldn’t see how much they were shaking.
“I want to talk to you about the last girlfriend he brought to the Dining Club.”
“You mean Louise Penfold?”
Andrew was clearly taken aback. “He’s talked to you about her?”
“Not in detail, but I know she went to the Dining Club and that although she failed she’s still his PA.”
“Yes, she failed the trial that you’ve now passed, and she failed it because David made it too difficult for her to have any chance of succeeding.”
“And how did he do that?”
“By giving Amber information about her sexual preferences in advance. She was worn out very quickly, which was his intention. He wanted her to fail.”
“Why did he take her there if he wanted her to fail?”
“At first I think he wanted her to do well, but as the months went by he realized success would change the balance of their relationship. She was gaining in confidence all the time, and he decided he’d preferred the dynamics the way they were before.”
“Then why did he stop going out with her after she’d failed? The dynamics, as you put it, wouldn’t have changed then.”
“The Dining Club changes everyone, Grace. Surely you’ve realized that by now? It changes the guest and it changes the person who’s brought them. The member of the Club starts to see their lover in a different light. That’s not always a good thing. Watching a woman you make love to regularly having a wonderful time with other men and women can stop you from feeling you’re special to them.
“Of course that doesn’t always happen, but it can. It can cement a partnership, but equally it can tear one apart even though the guest does everything that’s asked of them in order to keep their lover. It’s a dangerous game.”
“You’re saying David felt inferior to Louise after she passed three trials, and so he tried to make her fail the fourth?” queried Grace incredulously. “I can’t imagine David ever feeling inferior to anyone.”
“Perhaps he preferred her as a PA rather than a lover after that,” said Andrew. “I don’t know what goes on his head, I only know what he did.”
“Well he didn’t do it to me.”
“Didn’t he, Grace?” he asked gently.
Her mouth went dry. “No, at the end he helped me.”
“But he wasn’t pleased when Laura made a mistake which meant Amy couldn’t climax anymore was he?” said Andrew. “Why not? He should have been delighted.”
Grace hated hearing her own doubts about that voiced aloud. “Perhaps he felt it wasn’t a fair contest anymore,” she suggested.
Andrew looked thoughtfully at her. “You must really love him a lot; you don’t want to face any of this do you? Why didn’t he explain the trial properly at the beginning then? Do you really think that was a
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