Chapter Seven: Woman in Command
Having Humphrey Babcock make love to her was not quite as bad as Charity expected. True, the elderly bishop was very heavy, and when he was on top of her the little redhead felt crushed and almost suffocated. But it was all over so quickly, the old man grunting and then going limp and sagging down on top of her in a way that almost scared her. But then he rolled off her sweaty body, and in a moment Charity could hear him snoring away right next to her in bed.
"Out like a light," the Beta minus muttered, feeling a bit soiled and empty inside after the love-making was done. Everyone belongs to everyone else, she automatically remembered. Sleep teaching had conditioned her to make love without guilt and to enjoy every partner equally. Yet now, as she lay awake in bed with the old man snoring beside her, Charity felt that somehow she wanted . . . more.
Without making a sound, the shapely little redhead rose from the bed, the night air cool on her damp skin. She wanted to put on some clothes, but of course her own things were all dirty and ready to be tossed in the trash. Spending is better than mending, her mind repeated automatically. Without quite knowing why, Charity found herself groping into the bishop's closet and pulling out an old woolen dressing gown of the sort people used to wear in bed. The fabric was rough but wonderfully warm and the musty old garment covered her from the throat all the way down to her ankles.
Charity wanted to get away from Bishop Babcock's snoring, so she slipped out of the bedroom and crossed the hall to the old man's private study. The floor was cold under her bare feet and she wanted to light the electric fire. Then all of a sudden she saw a red glow from the garden far below.
Moving to the window, the inquisitive redhead pressed her snub nose against the glass, grateful no-one could see her in the darkened room. From her vantage point high above, she saw the strangest thing. Down in the bishop's garden someone had started a small fire, and around the fire whirled a circle of dancers, young men and women entirely in the nude. Strangely fascinated, Charity watched till her eyes grew heavy.
The next morning, she awoke to the sound of voices. Charity was lying on a little couch by the window. But over at his desk Bishop Babcock was being questioned by two men.
"You'll have to do better than that, Your Fordship. You say you know nothing about Dr. Beddington's present location? And you haven't seen her all weekend?"
"I've been right here, on my country estate, all week long," the elderly bishop sputtered. "I have nothing to hide, nothing at all!"
"You've been out here in the country all by yourself?"
"We've been out here alone all weekend," Charity said, rising from the couch. All three men turned to look at her in shock. Charity had just dropped her dressing gown and was walking naked across the study. "Humphrey, dearest, could I possibly have just a tiny cup of tea?"
"That was a close call," the bishop said, after the two World Security men had gone. The old man was pacing back and forth with a worried look on his face while Charity drank her tea. "Dear girl, do you realize the danger we're in? Edith Beddington is already under arrest, and they say she's to be shipped to Greenland in the icy far north. We could be next!"
"If Dr. Beddington is in trouble, I want to help her," Charity said. She gulped her tea and leaned back in the bishop's chair, letting him get a good look at her perky little breasts. "But Humphrey dearest, you and I aren't in trouble. We were having each other all weekend! You could see those two young men were both a bit jealous. They were completely convinced by our story!"
"Yes, yes, I suppose they were." The elderly bishop looked rather pleased with himself. "Still, it's best if we split up now, at least for a few days. Do you need me to get you a helicopter ride back to London, dear girl?"
Charity shook her head, acting and feeling like a woman in command. "No, I have a better idea. I think we should both catch a rocket to Greenland."