Chapter 6

The lunch hour time was well advanced by now and the bar was beginning to fill with the usual mixture of sober suited City men and women. The women were all smartly and decorously dressed, in stark contrast to the brazenly and scantily attired Veronica with her striped sleeveless blouse, bare abdomen, voluptuous cleavage and scarlet slit skirt. Many glances were directed in her direction. Thank Heaven none of the other drinkers were people she knew!

With the fumes of her brandy doing their relaxing work, Veronica had failed to notice how the skirt was slipping off her legs, revealing again that wealth of milk white skin that had so enlivened the journey of dozens of passengers on the 168 bus earlier that day.

"Is there anybody sitting here?" Veronica glanced up sharply, her euphoria temporarily dissipated. A tall young man, not quite so smartly dressed as most of the other customers, was standing over her, a glass in his hand and smiling politely.

"No. I'm alone, do sit down."

The man did as invited and proceeded to take some papers out of his attaché case. Soon he was immersed in them and seemingly oblivious to the cleavage opposite him at eye level and the length of bare leg and bare feet stretched out below him. Veronica returned to her contemplation of the immediate future. She saw that her glass was nearly empty and downed the last of the brandy with some regret that there was no more left. That drink had been just what her shattered nerves had needed!

No sooner had she put the glass back on the table than the young man raised his eyes from his papers and fixed her with a blue eyed gaze of startling directness.

"Can I get you another? I'm about empty myself" he pointed to his own glass. "What would you like?"

"Oh. It's very nice of you! I don't know if I should have another. I'm not exactly my own boss today, I'm afraid."

"I'm sure Andrew would love you to have another, my dear. Brandy, wasn't it?"

"Andrew" asked Veronica waveringly.

"Yes. That's right! Andrew Vane-Clatworthy. My boss. Asked me to keep an eye on you for a minute or two. Can't have an attractive young thing like you drinking alone, can we?"

The young man disappeared back downstairs and was soon back with a pint of Special Bitter for himself and a large brandy for her. A VERY large brandy for her! She stared at her refilled glass with no little concern. Whatever she was still to be asked to do later on, she hoped that a visit to a swimming pool would not be on the itinerary. She knew it was unwise to swim whilst under the influence. But what was the swimwear in aid of, she wondered anxiously?