LITMIR.BIZ

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with Walter handing Rani a cheque. She took one look at the amount, and felt faint.

      ‘I can’t afford to repay this much money!’ she gasped.

      ‘Not at the moment, you can’t, but just wait until you have patients lined up to get in to see you,’ said Jade.

      ‘I wish I was as confident about this as you are.’

      ‘We all have confidence in you,’ agreed the Commodore. ‘Your school work proves you’re perfectly capable.’

      Walter Groom arose from behind his desk. ‘How about if we all step outside this cupboard I call an office so we can all take a breath? In fact, I insist that you all accompany me to the tavern next-door for lunch.’

      ‘That sounds like an excellent idea,’ said the Commodore.

      During the meal, Walter Groom assessed the young ladies before him. Both were beautiful in their own way, and both were attractive to him in other ways — Rani for her latent sexuality. The mixture of English and Indian blood producing an exotic young woman with a lush body, and eyes that drew one into their brown depths. Plus an intelligence that promised to match his own. She would definitely be a handful for any man. Jade, on the other hand, was not only beautiful, but already wealthy, with the potential to become even more so over the years.

      As he considered the two, he decided that Jade would be the one to whom he would give further attention. A wife with money is always preferable to a wife without, no matter how sexy she was. With money, you can have sex whenever you want. Jade was definitely the best way to get ahead in this world.

      Walter Groom leaned back in his chair, sipping delightedly at a whiskey, his decision made. Janice Green, with her good looks, and lots of lovely money, would definitely be worth pursuing as wifely material. Yes definitely, wifely material.

      

      The next few months were hectic for the girls.

      There were the applications for enrolment at university, the selection of suitable courses, and finally, accommodation to be found.

      The Commodore wanted the girls enrolled in a suitable ladies’ college, to keep them, once again, cloistered from the opposite sex, and able to concentrate on their studies.

      However, the girls had reached the age when the admiring glances of young men, were almost certainly returned with looks of shy appreciation of their own. Rani’s medical books describing the workings of the male and female bodies, had been pored over intently by the girls. They were convinced that they were now prepared for the outside world, and anxious to see if the black and white photos in the textbooks would look as interesting in real life.

      Assisted by the Commodore, accommodation was finally found in a boarding house, close by the university, lorded over by a large woman named Mrs Petri, who, it was reported, slept with one eye open. Legend had it that no errant guest had ever succeeded in smuggling an unwanted visitor past her eagle eye, especially a male visitor.

      The Commodore was very pleased that his charges would be so well chaperoned. The girls felt like they were back in their dormitory at Wilton, under the gaze of Miss Wright, but comforted themselves that Mrs Petri would only be watching them at home, while they had the rest of the day, and the expanse of the university, with its surrounding pubs, in which to cavort.

      Rani’s parents had not been pleased, to say the least. A flurry of telegrams between themselves and the Commodore had taken place. Finally, they realised that no matter what they said, or threatened, their daughter would not be returning home for the foreseeable future. Reluctantly, her father gave up his plans of coming to England to force her to return, and turned his attention to introducing his brother’s daughter to the prospective client. He would not, however, contribute to his daughter’s education, considering it a complete folly, and fully expecting her to return, ‘tail between her legs’, before the end of the first term.

      Rani, for her part, sent her parents long tearful letters, explaining why she had taken the unprecedented action of going against their wishes, discussing at length her hopes and plans for the future.

      Jade and Rani reluctantly bid the Commodore goodbye, as they packed their bags once again, and moved to London.

      Their arrival at the boarding house went quietly, and, overseen by the daunting Mrs Petri, they settled into their rooms. That afternoon, however, they came under the gaze of Mrs Petri once again, as she loomed large in Jade’s doorway, a bunch of red roses in her hand.

      ‘Young men are not permitted under this roof,’ she said, thrusting the flowers in Jade’s direction, ‘no matter how well-mannered they are. I’ll be keeping an eye on you, young lady.’

      Surprised, Jade took the flowers, smelling the gorgeous aroma. ‘I wasn’t expecting flowers from anyone.’

      Mrs Petri looked down her nose at Jade. ‘Well, I’m sure it won’t be the last time. But while you’re under my roof there will be no ‘hanky panky’. Do you understand?’

      ‘Of course, Mrs Petri.’

      Rani had heard the conversation, and entered the room, as Mrs Petri gave Jade one more stare, and wandered slowly back to her kitchen.

      ‘Well? Read the card,’ said Rani.

      ‘Oh! Yes,’ said Jade, extracting the small envelope. She smiled as she read the message. ‘It’s from Walter Groom. He’s welcoming us, and wanting to know if he can take us to supper this evening.’

      ‘Both of us? Where are my flowers!’

      Jade laughed. ‘He probably meant them for both of us. Will we go?’

      ‘A handsome man ... or Mrs Petri. Not much of a choice. We won’t get much chance to eat out when university starts. Let’s go.’

      Walter’s romancing of Jade began slowly. He had no intention of scaring her off, by being too forward.

      Rani was invited along on their outings, to act as friend and chaperone. However, as soon as university began, Rani was no longer able to afford the time for a social life. Granted her dream, she threw herself wholeheartedly into her studies. The years of private study she had undertaken at Wilton, had placed her in an advantageous position, but she was determined to remain at the head of her class, no matter what.

      For her own part, Jade was in a unique position. A university education, for her, was merely a whim. She had no financial need to either study or find employment. Consequently, Jade selected for herself a lighter burden of studies. She chose an accountancy course as her most taxing. Jade was as clever as Rani, but was more focused on the classical things in life, rather than the practical.

      She loved the course in Classical Art, and promised herself to pursue more courses in this direction, in the following years.

      For their first outing, Walter had taken the girls to the cinema, where he was delighted to seat himself between the two women, attracting jealous looks from the surrounding males.

      Afterwards, he took them to supper at a small Italian restaurant where he appeared to be known. The staff were very friendly and assisted the girls when, for the first time, they attempted to eat spaghetti. They had been fed nothing but plain, English food at the college, and found themselves at a complete loss in trying to capture the slippery noodles. It didn’t help that they were laughing so much that whenever they did manage to secure some food on their forks, it fell straight back off again.

      Following their uproarious dinner, Walter walked them toward the Thames, showing them the sights, and entertaining them with colourful anecdotes regarding the places they were passing.

      Slowly, the character of their surroundings changed, as they approached the working area of the city, not far from the busy docks. The buildings became a lot older, and shabbier, with less lighting, giving the entire area a dismal feeling, and they could now smell the river itself.

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