Isobel sits in front of her vanity mirror and slowly removes a pin from her hair.
"Please, my darling, let me do this for you," Elsie steps out of the shadow and starts removing one pin after another. Isobel enjoys the sensation of Elsie´s hands in her hair. "Tonight you belong to me. Tonight I am going to steal your heart," Elsie whispers into Isobel´s ear, her warm breath tickling the sensitive spot behind Isobel´s ear. Their eyes meet in the mirror, sparkling with desire for each other. Elsie lets her fingers run gently over the outlines of Isobel´s collarbone. A soft moan escapes Isobel´s lips, when Elsie´s fingers run further down over her cleavage to ... a knock on the door makes Isobel jump.

"Mother? Mother?"
Isobel has to shake her head before she realise that Matthew is standing in the doorframe. Her heart beating so fast that it´s nearly bursting out of her chest.
"Matthew? What... what are you doing here?" Isobel collects herself and gets up to greet her son.
"What a nice welcome," Matthew grins.
"I´m sorry, but I was miles away."
"Yes, I´ve noticed that. I´m staying the night here if you don´t mind. It´s already late and I have to get up very early tomorrow. I have some business to attend in London."
"Yes, yes, of course it´s alright," Isobel mumbels, still being distracted by what happened just moments ago and by the warm feeling that still lingers in her body.
"Did you have a nice afternoon?" Matthew wants to know.
"Mm? What? Oh yes. It was nice. I met Mrs Hughes and we had tea together," Isobel answers curtly. "I´m sorry, it was just a busy day and I´m tired. "Will I see you at breakfast?" As much as she loves her son, but at the moment she rather wants to be alone.
"Mother, I just told you that I have to leave early," Matthew chuckles. "I think it´s better that you go to bed now. Good Night, " Matthew gives her a light squeeze on the arm and leaves the room.

Isobel walks to the armchair that stands next to her bed and takes her robe off. "What happened today, Isobel?" Isobel asks herself, while she runs her fingers absent- minded over the soft fabric of the robe Elsie wore only hours ago.
"Is it possible... Oh, don´t be silly, Isobel," she says out loud and climbs into her bed. "You just had a nice day with a friend and that´s all. Everything else would be ridiculous," but the warm feeling, that rises up again when she looks back to the vanity mirror, betrays her words. And deep down Isobel knows this.

At the same time Elsie has problems to find sleep. After an hour of tossing and turning, she gets up and pours herself a glass of water. Her eyes fall on the umbrella that hangs on her door. Isobel´s umbrella. She has to smile when she remembers how Isobel forced her to take the umbrella with her in case it starts raining again. Her thoughts wander back to the afternoon, to Isobel standing at the window and to the moment when Isobel called her Elsie for the first time. Elsie believed to hear endearment in Isobel´s voice at that moment, but she knows that this was just her imagination, because how often did she lay awake during the night and imagined how it would be to hear her name from someone who really cares about her. Who whispers her name into her ear. Caress her with her name. Just for one night would she like to feel all of this.
Suddenly Elsie is overwhelmed by her feelings and throws the glass against the wall. Tears are running down her cheeks.

"This can´t happen, Elsie, it can´t. Not again."