Faith by Lesley Pearse

patted Ivy and Meggie’s bottoms too, and kissed them goodnight, and if he left her out she might have felt hurt. But they were only little girls, and why were his hugs and kisses so lingering, and usually when they were alone? And why did the presents he bought her seem like some kind of bribe?
    He came home from work one evening with a beautiful red coat with a hood for her. She was thrilled with it, and threw her arms around him impulsively to thank him. But late that same evening he came into her room when she was reading in bed and said something about wanting to give her lovely things because she deserved them. He kissed her on the lips again, and this time it was definitely intentional.
    She couldn’t tell her mother, she knew she wouldn’t be believed, and she’d almost certainly be accused of making trouble. But by her doing and saying nothing he became bolder. There were several occasions when he came up behind her and cupped her breasts in his hands, and though she did push him off and tell him not to touch her, he just laughed as if he believed she didn’t mean it.
    One very cold afternoon in early March Laura came out of school to find Vincent waiting for her in his car. He said he’d had a business appointment close by and thought he’d pick her up afterwards and drive her home. His business was office equipment and along with supplying desks, chairs and typewriters to offices, he also had a printing firm where he made business cards and headed notepaper. Laura was rather impressed that he supplied big companies; she sometimes saw invoices he’d made out for hundreds of pounds.
    As she had often boasted of this at school, it was good to see the surprised expressions on the other girls’ faces as she drove off in Vincent’s gleaming Jaguar. She hoped it would stop them calling her a liar. It got better still when they stopped off in Chelsea for coffee and a cream cake as she felt very sophisticated.
    When they got home the house was in darkness, and there was a note from her mother on the kitchen table to say she’d taken the little ones to Oxford Street to buy them new shoes and she wouldn’t be back until about seven.
    ‘That’s nice, we’ll have a little more time on our own,’ Vincent said cheerfully. ‘I’ll go and stir up the fire and we can curl up in front of it.’
    Laura made a cup of tea and when she took it into the sitting room Vincent had got the fire blazing, put the table lamps on, taken his shoes and jacket off and was sitting on the settee.
    ‘I like cold, dark afternoons,’ he said. ‘At least I do once I’m in by the fire. Come and sit by me.’
    Laura sat beside him, holding her cold feet up to the fire as she drank her tea. She had homework to do, and she knew she ought to go and make a start on the tea, but it was so cosy there that she was reluctant to move. They chatted for a while, mostly about the Girl Guides, for she was due to be enrolled the following week. Her mother never seemed to be interested in such things, in fact she had said she couldn’t see the point in being a Guide, so it was nice to be able to talk about it to Vincent.
    ‘Patsy said camping is really great, she’s been on several trips, and this summer they are going to Cudham in Kent. Mum will let me go, won’t she?’
    ‘She will if I tell her she must,’ Vincent said, and slung his arm around her. ‘I know she thinks Guiding is a little pointless, but that’s because she never had the chance to do such things when she was young.’
    After a long day at school, feeling comfortable with Vincent and in the warmth of the fire, Laura must have dozed off. But she woke with a start to find him trying to put his hand up her knickers.
    It was a terrible shock. Her school skirt was right up above her waist, and to her horror he had his penis in his other hand. For a moment she froze. She had never seen a fully grown man’s penis before and it was huge, with a purple glistening tip.
    ‘What are