'Am I interrupting?'

Dot looked up from her rosary.

'Oh no, just finishing.'

Mac eyed the familiar set of beads.

'I still have the one my mother gave me. Can't decide where to put it. It lives in a drawer.'

'Oh Elizabeth!'

Dot was shocked. 'That's no way to treat a rosary.'

Mac shrugged.

'I haven't used it since I was a child.'

'I didn't know you were Catholic.'

'My mother reminds me every time I go and see her. She keeps trying to make me go to church.'

Dot perked up.

'I could take you to church.'

Mac looked at her sarcastically.

'I think the time for that has passed.'

'Never too late' Dot protested stoutly.

'You could go to church with her if you want.'

Mac smiled. She fondly tolerated Dot's need for religious structure, understood it even, for she too ran on schedule and order, with wiggle room for unexpected questions to answer. Dot certainly had hidden depths as she had demonstrated the night before. Phryne had been out and Dot had braved the telephone to ask if she could come round. Mac supposed she needed help sleeping again and brought some powders with her. They passed the time listening to the radio while Dot darned a rip in Mac's waistcoat. She'd noticed it and insisted that she do something about it and who was Mac to argue? So there she sat in her shirtsleeves with a drink, legs dangling over the side of the chair with the background drone of whatever radio drama was on that night that Dot liked. They made a cosy pair. Dot caught her eye and smiled and Mac thought she could get used to this.

'Didn't you ever want children?'

Mac stretched languidly.

'No. Lots of babies at the hospital to take care of. Got nothing against them and I like them well enough but I wouldn't want a brace of children hanging onto my ankles. I have enough nieces and nephews to dote on. Can borrow one whenever I like.'

Dot looked thoughtful and said nothing more on the subject. Mac thought she'd just see Dot to bed and be on her way. What actually happened was more spooning. And joy of joys, a kiss. Dot moved in first, rather clumsily but with good intentions. Mac was taken by surprise but readily complied, sinking down into the pillow and enjoying the feel of those soft lips on hers. It was every bit as delicious as she'd imagined. With a bit of experimentation, they discovered how well they fitted into each other's angles and curves. Not wanting to scare her, Mac only went as far as a couple of undone buttons. What she really wanted was to get her hands on Dot's magnificent bust but she reckoned there was time for that. She was no teenage boy or young man. She was more experienced in the art of handling women than Hugh Collins would ever be and could teach Dot a thing or two about sex.

By the time that they had realised that they didn't want to let each other go, they had progressed to a much more carnal state of affairs, conducted in Dot's cosy bed. Dot soon learned how many places fingers could stroke and how delightful a swipe of the tongue on bare skin could be and her shyness started to melt away with the layers she wore. Now she knew the secret of the rise and fall of that indescribable wave of elusive pleasure she'd heard about. It felt like a shiny guilty secret and she hugged it to her like something precious. She never wanted it to end.

'Now you can go back to your young man with a little more confidence' said Mac with a modicum of regret. She had always thought that Dot would do her duty and resume her engagement once she'd given the matter some thought.

Dot looked up at her with doe eyes and murmured something. Mac couldn't quite believe it.

'What?' She blurted out inelegantly.

'I don't want to go back to Hugh. He doesn't want what I want. I don't want to have to fulfil any expectations or compromise. I want this. What we have.'

Mac was astounded.

'If you really want this, we have to be discreet. I've no doubt of your discretion but you need to prepare yourself for a private life behind closed doors. If you want that only for now or if this doesn't last between us, that's also fine. But as long as you realise that we can't behave the same as other people and accept it, then I won't refuse you.' She stroked the long silky hair away from the guileless face and waited for an answer.

Dot understood. She'd felt like it was wrong, what they were doing, she'd prayed about it but the usually stalwart woman was not prepared for this level of delight that this particular sin was giving her. She was already steeling herself to contact Hugh and tell him the engagement was off. She wouldn't tell him everything, that wasn't lying. It was omission. Miss Fisher had taught her that loophole. She thought that she could live behind closed doors for this. How could she think of anyone but Elizabeth MacMillan now?

'I will' was her answer.

She liked to see the doctor smile. She didn't do it often enough but she was smiling now and Dot liked that she was the cause of it.

And that was all that needed to be said.