lynnis had never meant to go. All of her instincts had told her to stay away from him, but in the end she had given in to her tumultuous emotions.

On Wednesday morning she had awakened with a feeling of tension in her body, a dull, nagging ache in the pit of her stomach, and unable to control herself she had phoned her cousin Gwyneth at seven o’clock, before taking Owen down for breakfast.

Immediately plunging in, before she changed her mind, she told Gwyneth that she could ‘borrow’ Owen for the day. This made her cousin exceedingly happy; childless, she longed to have a baby, and loving Owen the way she did she took great pleasure from taking him sightseeing. ‘He’s wanted to go to the Tower of London for ages,’ Gwyneth said enthusiastically. ‘I’ll come and collect him at eleven, if that’s all right?’

Glynnis had told her it was, relieved that Gwyneth was free, and that she hadn’t suggested later in the afternoon for the jaunt to the Tower.

But Glynnis became furious with herself when, after breakfast, she did her hair and make-up so carefully, sprayed herself with scent, and chose her clothes for the day with such precision, picking out the blue silk dress with the flared skirt because he had said he loved her in blue years ago.

After Owen had left with Gwyneth, happily laughing and excited to be going on this unexpected treat, she had finally begun to dress. Pulling on sheer silk stockings and a blue garter belt, she then put on blue satin cami-knickers trimmed with blue lace, and finally stepped into a pair of high-heeled shoes. They showed off her legs to great advantage–Robin had always complimented her, told her that she had the loveliest legs in the world. Finally, she slipped into the dress, and gazed at herself in the mirror, suddenly quite pleased by her appearance.

And then a second later she felt wretched, hollow inside, and disgusted. Because she was going to him. It wasn’t right, it just wasn’t. She knew that only too well. But she also knew she couldn’t stop herself.

Now, getting out of the cab in Belgrave Square, she hesitated, losing her nerve. It would be best not to go, she told herself firmly. She did not trust Robin. Nor did she trust herself, and being alone with him could only spell trouble. Even Emma had warned her of that.

Walking slowly around the square, wondering what to do, wavering, she found herself growing more nervous than ever. When she glanced at her watch she sucked in her breath. It was already twelve-fifteen. When he had come to her room at Pennistone Royal, he had told her to phone by twelve-thirty. Looking around frantically, her eyes sought out a phone-box. There wasn’t one in sight.

She stood perfectly still for a moment, panic rushing through her. What to do? What to do? And then taking a deep breath, making a decision, she crossed the square purposefully, hurried to the mews located in one of the side streets just off the square.

Several seconds later Glynnis was ringing the bell of Edwina’s house.

He opened the door immediately. Although he didn’t smile or betray any emotion on his face, she saw the sudden intense flash of happiness in his blue eyes the moment he saw her.

He was unable to speak.

And so was she.

Silently, he opened the door a little wider; she stepped inside, hurried forward into a large rather charming living room. As she moved past him she was careful not to brush against him; being in his presence was bad enough, so unnerving was it. If she touched him she would fall apart.

After closing the door, Robin walked into the middle of the room, stood staring at her. They were just a few feet apart.

Swallowing hard, he said at last, ‘I was waiting for you to phone.’

She simply stared back, speechlessly, her legs shaking.

‘Why did you come–just like this?’ he asked softly.

‘I c-c-c-couldn’t h-h-help myself,’ she stuttered, her voice sounding hoarse, gruff, to her.

He gazed at her unblinkingly, wanting to hold her, yet feeling nervous, taut inside. He was afraid to say the wrong thing, or to approach her in any way, for fear she might bolt.

Glynnis gazed back, mesmerized by him. She thought she was going to burst into tears, and instantly stifled the sob rising in her throat.

Unexpectedly, as he continued to look at her, Robin noted the look of longing on her face. It reflected how he was feeling, and without another thought, unable to hold back any longer, he took a step forward. They moved at exactly the same moment, came together in a rush, fell into each other’s arms as if in desperation.

He held her against him tightly, whispering her name over and over again, smoothing his hand down her back. He was filled with the most extraordinary sense of relief to be holding her like this at long last. After all these long years, there was a sudden absence of pain.

Glynnis held onto him tightly. Her legs had gone weak and she thought that if he let go of her she would fall. Strange though it was, she could not keep a limb still.

‘Glynnis darling, you’re shaking. Don’t be afraid…afraid of me. I won’t do anything…anything you don’t want me to do. I just need to hold you like this,’ Robin reassured her.

She moved slightly so that she could look up into his face.

Blue eyes locked with blue eyes.

She parted her lips as if to express a thought but no words came out. After a moment, she finally whispered, ‘I’m not afraid…just nervous.’

‘So am I.’ Robin bent his head, kissed her fully on the mouth, and Glynnis kissed him back, felt as though she were slowly dissolving into him.

Without letting go of each other they stumbled towards the sofa near the fireplace, fell onto it, lay entwined in each other’s arms. Pushing himself up, Robin studied her face, hardly daring to believe she was actually here with him like this, so intimate. He began to kiss her forehead, her cheeks, the hollow of her neck. Moving a strand of dark hair away from her face, he said gently, ‘I just need to be near you…all these years I’ve ached for you, Glynnis. If you don’t want to–’

Glynnis brought a finger to his lips. ‘I do want to…make love,’ she responded, her voice low. ‘I want you, Robin…it’s been so long since we’ve been together. Seven years.’

He touched her face, let his hand trail down across her breast, and then slowly he began to unbutton her dress. But within a moment or two she stopped him and said quietly, ‘Take your jacket off, Robin, please.’

Standing up, he did so, threw it on a chair, went to the door, slid the bolt, then closed the curtains. As he came back to her he pulled off his tie, began to unbutton his shirt.

She rose from the sofa, stood in front of him, slipped out of her dress, let it fall in a pool at her feet as he took off his shirt. Robin came towards her, wrapping his arms around her once again. And he led her to the sofa, and lay down next to her.

And very slowly he began to make love to her, touching her neck, her breasts, sliding his hand inside the satin underwear. He touched it lightly with his fingertips, bent his head to kiss the nipple. Then he looked up, stared into her eyes. There was enormous intensity in his voice as he said, ‘I love you, Glynnis, I’ve never stopped loving you…Tell me you feel the same.’

‘You know I do, oh you do know that, Robin. There’s only ever been you. Only you can make me feel this way.’

‘It’s the same for me,’ he said, a catch in his voice. ‘I belong to you, Glynnis. For always. I will always be yours as long as I live. And you will always be mine, no matter what you think.’

‘Robin, oh Robin,’ she whispered.

‘Take this off, darling,’ he said suddenly, touching her satin underwear. Then he unfastened the suspenders of her garter belt, and slowly rolled down her stockings one at a time. Once she was completely naked on the sofa, he swiftly finished undressing and rejoined her.

Stretched out next to each other, lost in each other, they stroked and touched and explored; after seven years apart they craved each other desperately, longed to be joined together as one; they were both on the verge of explosion.

Within moments, Robin was bending over her, kissing her breasts and her thighs. And as his tongue slid down her stomach, went directly to the core of her, she let out a long sigh of pleasure. Slowly, he began to kiss her where no other man ever had.

In a moment she was shuddering with pleasure and crying his name, telling him how much she wanted him, and swiftly he positioned himself over her, slid inside her, took her to him exultantly, repeating her name over and over as he pushed his hands under her buttocks and brought her closer to him. She felt the heat flowing through her as she grew more excited; she matched his passion and his ardour, and it was as if they had never been parted. Together they finally crested on a wave of love and emotion, and Robin called her name as he possessed her completely.

They lay together on the sofa for a long time, holding each other tightly as if they were genuinely afraid to let go.

After a short while, Robin said, ‘I did want to talk to you. I wasn’t setting out to seduce you.’

‘I know that. And you didn’t seduce me. It was a great example of the most splendid cooperation, wasn’t it?’

‘No better description! But just listen a moment, Glynnis, please. Look, I’m sorry I abandoned you when I did. But you and I had broken up when you came to tell me you were pregnant. And I–’

‘Robin, this is not at all necessary,’ she cut in. ‘I do know all this, and what you say is absolutely true. And you’d become involved with Valerie by the time I appeared again to inform you that you were about to be a father. I truly understand your position, especially now. Also, I was difficult in those days, so volatile, so anxiety-ridden, and–’

‘You were young, and so was I. It was wartime, and I was in the air in a Spitfire most of the time, dropping bombs on Germany and risking my life every day. I was as volatile as you were, in my own way. We were all under massive strain. It was war, for God’s sake.’

‘That’s quite true, yes,’ Glynnis agreed. ‘I’m much calmer now. After all, I’m thirty, like you, a mature woman, a mother, a wife…’

There was a slight hesitation before Robin asked quietly, in a subdued voice, ‘Is it happy…your marriage?’

‘In its own way, yes. You see, it does work, Robin. Richard loves me and he adores Owen. He takes care of us very well. He’s a good man.’

‘Do you love him?’ He hated himself for asking this question, but he had to know how she felt. He could hardly bear to think of her with Richard Hughes. Or any other man, for that matter. What a terrible fool he’d been, letting her go.

She took a while to answer. Eventually she said, ‘Yes, I do. In a different way from …us. Let me put it this way: I do love Richard, but I’m not in love with him.’ She looked straight at Robin. ‘And your marriage?’

‘I suspect it’s pretty much like yours,’ he replied. ‘It works, Glynnis. There’s stability there, and Valerie’s very steady, practical, rather placid. Doesn’t rock boats. And she’s a good mother to Jonathan. Furthermore, she lets me have my life.’

Glynnis stiffened next to him. ‘What life? What do you mean?’

He recognized that flash of jealousy he had been so familiar with in the past. ‘Oh God, no, Glynnis! I didn’t mean what you think! Not that kind of life, not other women. There are no women…just you. My one true love.’ He looked down at Glynnis. ‘She never interferes, gives me the freedom to pursue my politics.’

‘I’m glad she does. Because that’s what you always wanted. To be a politician, a Member of Parliament. I think you might even want to be Prime Minister one day.’

‘I want you, Glynnis,’ he shot back.

‘Oh Robin, darling, don’t. We’re both settled, married.’

‘I know.’ He sighed. ‘I want you always in my arms. It’s such a relief to be with you. I can say anything I want to you, anything at all, and I can be myself. No pretence. I don’t feel that with anyone else but you.’

‘I feel the same. I know whatever I say, you won’t be shocked.’

There was a pause.

‘Are you hungry?’ he suddenly asked.

‘No. You?’

He shook his head. ‘Where’s…our son?’

‘My cousin Gwyneth took him to the Tower of London. He’s been longing to go, and thankfully she was free to take him…so I could come to you.’

‘I’m glad you did…come to me,’ he murmured. ‘I can hardly bear the thought that you have to leave, go back to the States.’

There was no response from her.

Robin said, ‘I want to see Owen again…can I, darling?’

‘I don’t think you should, Robin. But only because he’s such a little chatterbox. He might say something to Richard, mention your name. He’s sort of fallen for you.’

This brought a smile to his face. He said, ‘But Richard knows you know me, we all knew each other when we used to go to my mother’s canteen for the troops. I know the boy’s my look-alike, but Richard might not put two and two together.’

‘He just might.’

Robin smiled at her. ‘Yes, you’re right. I think it’s best to be careful. I want to see you tomorrow. And the day after, and the day after that. Every day whilst you’re here.’

Glynnis looked stunned. ‘Robin, I don’t know–there’s Owen.’

‘Try to arrange it, my darling. Please. How long do we have today?’

He sounded unexpectedly desperate, and she glanced at him. ‘Until six. I must get back by six-thirty. Gwyneth and her husband are coming to dinner with me tonight. She’ll go back to the hotel around five to wait for me. She has my room key.’

‘Talking of keys, please keep that latchkey for this house. It’ll make me feel better, knowing you have it.’

‘If you’re sure…I mean what–’

‘Oh I’m sure all right,’ he exclaimed. ‘Come to me. Let me hold you the way I used to.’ Robin wrapped his body around hers. ‘This is what I’ve missed all these years, being entwined with the only woman I’ve ever loved.’

She smiled against his arm. ‘I love you so much.’

‘And I you, Glynnis.’ He touched her mouth with his fingertips, kissed her, closing his eyes as he did. A moment later he was fondling her breasts, and their lovemaking started all over again; and so it went for most of the afternoon.

It was one of those lovely balmy evenings in the middle of June. The sky was a soft pale blue, filled with puffy white clouds scudding along the horizon. Although the sun had set some time ago the evening sky had a wonderful shimmering clarity, and the Thames reflected that light, had a glassy sheen to it as it flowed along.

Robin Ainsley took in all this as he stood on the terrace of the House of Commons, staring down the river towards Big Ben. He often came to the terrace in the summer for tea with a colleague or special guests. But he loved it most at this time of day in the summer months. There was a feeling of tranquillity and peace out here. It was a view that he treasured, the ancient river going down to the sea. Seen from this great seat of power, it seemed so very special.

Robin leaned against the balustrade, his mind awash with so many diverse thoughts: Glynnis. The woman he loved and wanted to keep forever in his life. Their son: Owen. A most blessed little boy, so very much like him, and even more so than his other son, Jonathan.

More than anything else Robin wanted to spend time with Owen, a miniature replica of himself, but he could not. Glynnis would not permit it. There was nothing he could do: he knew he had relinquished any rights he had to the boy before he was even born.

In his mind’s eye he saw them both…

Glynnis, lithe, beautiful, the epitome of glamour, but without any personal vanity, soft and gentle. There was not one ounce of hardness in her. A warm and loving woman who loved him as much as he loved her. How easy it was to picture her in the blue dress, walking towards him, holding Owen’s hand, the boy in his short, grey trousers and white summer shirt, both of them smiling, so happy to see him.

Oh God, what was he going to do about her? How could he ever let her go?

And then there was Valerie: his wife. So devoted to him, a calm, caring woman who loved him, but was not in love with him, just as he was not in love with her. And yet she would be devastated if he left her and their small son, because her life revolved around him and his political career.

Robin was riddled with guilt about Valerie: yet, oddly enough, not at all about his involvement with Glynnis. What Valerie didn’t know couldn’t hurt her, that was what he believed. His guilt sprang from the plans he was formulating in his head. Plans for a divorce. But then there was Richard Hughes. Would Glynnis agree to divorce Richard in order to come to him? He didn’t know the answer to that; he was on the horns of a dilemma.

Who could he talk to? No one. Not his siblings, not even Edwina, to whom he was especially close. His mother? She would listen attentively and be sympathetic, but inevitably Emma would disapprove. Although she had lived with Paul McGill for sixteen years until his death, and he a married man, Paul had been separated from his wife long before he had ever met Emma. And there had been no divorce from Constance McGill because she was Roman Catholic. She had always refused to give Paul his freedom.

Robin knew Emma so well, and he could hear her telling him that it was not possible to build one’s happiness on the unhappiness of another. That would be her attitude, and he knew she was right.

Suddenly tears welled, and Robin brushed his eyes quickly, glanced around, relieved to see the terrace was empty but for himself. Quite suddenly, anger rushed through him. Here he was, a grown man of thirty, weeping about a woman! Here on the terrace of the House of Commons, the place of his dreams, the place where he belonged, the place that was his whole life.

How ridiculous he was being. Grow up, he chastised himself, anger still flaring inside. You let her go in 1943. You should have married her then.

Big Ben struck six, and he turned away, left the terrace, hurried to his office in the House.

In an hour he would go to Edwina’s mews cottage in Belgravia, and wait for Glynnis. She had taken Owen to Wales for the past weekend, and was leaving him there so he could spend a few days with his grandparents…before they left for the States.

His heart lifted. She would come to him soon, straight from the railway station. They had the whole evening ahead of them. They would be alone.

Robin was in the kitchen making himself a drink when he heard the door close, and he hurried out, rushed to Glynnis. She stood in the doorway, her suitcase at her feet, a wide smile on her lovely face.

‘Darling,’ he exclaimed, his face lighting up. ‘You got here sooner than I expected.’

‘I took an earlier train,’ Glynnis replied, her smile widening. ‘I just had to get back to you, Robin.’

‘I’m irresistible, I’m fully aware of that,’ he laughed.

‘And so modest,’ she quipped, walking into his arms, holding onto him tightly, filled with such overwhelming happiness she thought she would burst.

After a moment locked in their embrace, they stood apart, linked arms and went into the kitchen. Robin fixed her a gin and tonic, and they returned to the living room, sat down on the sofa together.

‘Cheers, my sweet,’ he murmured, clinking his glass against hers, relieved she was here with him. He was brimming with love for her.

‘Cheers,’ she answered, and took a sip of her drink.

‘Tell me about your weekend in the Rhondda.’ Robin’s eyes were fixed on her face. ‘Did Owen enjoy himself?’

Glynnis laughed, her bright blue eyes sparkling. ‘Yes, with his cousins, my brothers’ children. As I told you, Dylan has two sons, and Emlyn a girl. They’re all a bit rambunctious, I’m afraid, but a good time was had by all, to quote Tiny Tim.’

Robin smiled, touched her arm lightly, lovingly. ‘That makes me happy, knowing he’s having a good time. And what did my darling girl do?’ he asked.

‘Nothing much. Visited family, helped my mother with her chores, did the shopping for her, and thought about you. Constantly.’

‘Likewise. You’re rarely out of my thoughts.’

She nodded. ‘Did you go to Yorkshire?’

‘Yes, I went to Leeds. It’s important to get back to my constituency whenever I can.’ Putting his glass of scotch on the coffee table, he turned to her, took her drink from her, stood it next to his. And then he leaned closer, put his arms around her, kissed her passionately. She responded with equal passion, and after a moment, when they pulled away, he touched her face gently. He said in a low voice, ‘Let’s go upstairs. I want you so much.’

‘I know, and I want you, Robin. I feel exactly the same.’ She gave him a very direct look. ‘But I want to talk to you for a moment. Let’s talk first.’

Her seriousness, the sudden severe expression striking her mouth, brought him up short. ‘This sounds like bad news…’

‘Not bad news, Robin. Just a little bit of reality.’ Taking his hand in hers, she said slowly, ‘I know that you know how much I love you, more than anyone else in the world except for our child. I’ve always loved you, and marrying Richard didn’t change that. You do know this, don’t you?’

‘Of course I do, and for the last few weeks I’ve been telling you the same thing.’ His face changed, became sad. ‘I made the worst mistake of my life when I let you go…and now I want you back. For always.’

‘Listen to me. Because I do love you as much as I do, with all my heart, I’m not going to let you ruin your political career because of me.’

‘Getting a divorce is not going to ruin it. This is 1950, don’t forget that.’

‘I know what year it is, and perhaps you’re right. But what if there’s a scandal? What if I get dragged into it…by Valerie? I think she’d fight you, if you attempted to divorce her. I’m a woman, so I know women, and we can fight dirty if there’s a lot at stake. And what’s at stake for her is you, your lifestyle, and your money.’

‘How could you be brought into it?’ he protested instantly, fearful of where this conversation was leading. He couldn’t bear to lose her and he was determined to keep her. No matter at what cost.

Glynnis was silent for a moment or two, and then she said softly, speaking with great care, ‘I know what being a Member of Parliament means to you. I’ve always known. And actually you married Valerie because you thought she would make a better political wife than me, a better wife for an ambitious politician like you.’

‘I won’t deny that entirely,’ Robin answered quickly. ‘But it’s not all true. Let’s not forget that we agreed to split up. We were both crazy, not only crazy in love, but crazy kids. We were too volatile together, Glynnis. Please don’t deny that.’

‘I don’t. You’re right. We would have been disaster together in those days.’

‘And now we’re older. We’re thirty years old. We’ve matured. We were stupid kids then, living through a world war. It could work now.’

Ignoring his last comment, she said, ‘I know all this, we keep repeating it. Please let’s not quarrel about what happened when we were in our early twenties. That’s long gone, and–’

‘I can’t stand not being with you. I can’t face that, Glynnis. I simply cannot.’ An ineffable sorrow struck his handsome face, and his blue eyes turned bleak.

‘Neither can I. But I will not permit you to ruin your career for me. You’re a young, very go-ahead MP…Your constituents love you, you’re highly popular and successful. There’s serious talk that you could be Prime Minister one day. You have an important life ahead, a big life to live. I won’t let you change your life, Robin. I will not have that on my conscience.’

‘Glynnis, honestly–’

She interrupted him. ‘I have an idea, a plan…’

‘Tell me.’

She did.

He listened, let her say everything that was on her mind, and when she had finally finished, he shook his head. ‘I don’t know…I don’t know if it could work…Anyway, that’s not what I want, darling, not what I want at all.’

‘Neither do I. It’s a compromise. But I haven’t been able to think of anything better. Not yet.’

He did not answer her.

She stood up, offered him her hand. ‘Come upstairs, Robin, let’s go and make love. Let’s seal our bargain with a kiss.’

It seemed to Glynnis that tonight their lovemaking was not only more passionate than usual, but that it had a certain frenzy about it. And she knew that this was because she was leaving at the end of the week. Since they were both extremely conscious of her imminent departure, they were desperate to be together, and they clutched at each other more fervently than ever, devoured each other with a sexual need that was voracious.

She clung to him tightly, her hands moving down his back, up into his thick dark hair and the nape of his neck as she murmured his name, her voice urgent with her desire and her need for him. And she moved with him rhythmically, her legs high around him, her head thrown back in pleasure, and when he convulsed, coming to a climax, so did she.

As if never to let him go she held him in her arms until the light in the room dimmed and all went black.

Much later, as they lay together, their urgent need for each other slaked for the present, Glynnis flung one arm over his body and lay her head on his chest. His hand moved into her hair, but they said nothing, just lay there together, lost in their own myriad thoughts.

She contemplated their conversation of a short while before, and she was aware she had averted disaster, stopped him in his tracks, had at least delayed the idea of him leaving his wife, getting a divorce.

Sudden tears slid down her cheeks, fell onto his chest, and he moved at once, sat up, filled with alarm.

‘Darling, what is it? What’s wrong?’ Worry ringed his face.

‘Nothing,’ she said, smiling at him through her tears.

‘Why are you crying then?’

‘I’m missing you already,’ she whispered.

‘But it’s just au revoir.’ She was silent.

‘You are coming back to me, aren’t you?’ Robin asked in a low, concerned voice. ‘Promise me, Glynnis.’

‘I promise,’ she answered, wondering if she would have to break it.