Later, when Molly recalled the events of that day, she could hardly credit that she had allowed the man such liberties. In some sort of dreamlike trance, she felt his hand stroking her leg, and she just thought it felt lovely and wasn’t even alarmed when it went higher and higher.
Hearing her contented sigh, Collingsworth felt himself harden in anticipation.
‘I’ll never hurt you, you know that, don’t you?’ Collingsworth said as he released her stockings from their suspenders and rolled them seductively down her legs, to drop on the floor.
‘Of course I do,’ Molly said, her head lolling against him drunkenly, but she suddenly felt incredibly tired and said, ‘I think I am drunk and I need to go to bed.’
‘And so do I,’ Collingsworth said, his voice husky with desire.
Molly giggled. ‘You can’t get into my bed, though. You will need to go home to your own bed.’
‘I don’t think so,’ the man replied.
He hadn’t realised just how drunk and drugged Molly was, and she staggered so much when she was at last upright that the pair of them nearly landed on the floor. This amused Molly no end, and she began to giggle. Collingsworth was just glad that Molly was small and slight, or he would never have managed her, and he half hauled, half dragged her to the bedroom. He lowered her onto the bed, where she lay with an inane smile playing around her mouth.
Collingsworth, however, wasn’t looking at Molly’s mouth. He was aching with desire as he began unbuttoning her blouse.
‘You are so very beautiful, you know,’ he said.
Molly said nothing, for it was as if these things were happening to someone else. She felt as if she was looking down on her body lying on the bed, and watching the man who was stroking her sensually sending her into a stupor-like sleep, and she closed her eyes and sighed. She dreamed someone had their hands on her breasts and it was so beautiful, she never wanted to wake up.
Collingsworth though, was in a fever of anxiety to take the prize before him that he had paid dearly for and he began tearing his clothes off, too aroused now for gentleness. Naked, he launched himself on top of Molly.
He nearly knocked the breath from her body and thoroughly woke her. He clamped his mouth on hers roughly, and when he thrust his thick tongue into Molly’s mouth, she felt as if she was going to choke, and she thrashed her head from side to side to try to dislodge it. But it was when Collingsworth pulled her knickers down and pummelled one hand between her legs brutally, and his mouth filled with saliva, that Molly fully realised what was happening to her.
When Collingsworth heard Molly groan and thrash about on the bed, he thought she was overcome by the same passion that was consuming him, and he guided his pulsating penis to his goal at last. By God, he was going to enjoy every last second of this.
For the life of her, Molly couldn’t understand, or remember, how she came to be on her bed semi-clad, with a naked man on top of her. But Collingsworth was filled with lust and totally unprepared for her suddenly wrenching her lips from his and pushing him with all her might so he fell from the bed in a heap.
In a second he was up, but Molly, even in her semi-drunken state, was quicker and was making for the door.
Collingsworth caught her by the arm.
‘Leave go of me.’
‘You must be joking,’ he said angrily. ‘What the bleeding hell are you playing at?’
‘How can you ask that?’ Molly cried. She wished her head did not feel as if it was filled with cotton wool and that the room would stay still, for she had the feeling that, to counter this, she needed to have her wits about her. She faced the man and said accusingly, ‘You were going to …’
‘I know what I was going to do, and so do you, you drunken whore.’ Collingsworth was so incensed he shot spittle from his mouth as he spoke. ‘So what is all this about?’
Molly was mortified with shame, and she thought that he had every right to be angry and upset. The way she had behaved he must have thought she was offering herself. Hadn’t she gone a good distance down that road? Unbidden, Ray’s face swam before her, charging her to be nice to this man but she fastened her brassiere and blouse before saying in a conciliatory way that she was far from feeling, ‘I am sorry, sorry that you have been upset and disappointed, and I do understand how angry you felt, but I am not that sort of girl and if I hadn’t drunk so much I wouldn’t have allowed things to get this far. Shall we get properly dressed now and we’ll say no more about it?’
Collingsworth jerked at Molly’s arm with such suddenness she cried out as she spun in front of him, and, holding her roughly by the arms, he slammed her so hard against the mirrored wall that the room swam. ‘Listen to me, you moronic slut,’ he ground out. ‘I know exactly what type of girl you are, what you are going to be, and that is a whore in one of the knocking shops in Birmingham from next week, so don’t come all innocent with me. You must have known the score.’
Molly was completely bemused. ‘What are you on about? What score and what do you mean? I am not a whore.’
He gave a grim and humourless laugh that sent a shiver down Molly’s spine as he said, ‘Maybe you’re not yet, but you soon will be.’
‘I will not!’
‘Jesus Christ, did you come over on the banana boat or were you born half-witted?’ he demanded. ‘Why d’you think Ray took you in, eh? Thought he was a bleeding charity, did you?’
‘I don’t know what you mean?’ Molly said, though her body seemed to be filling up with dread. ‘Ray has shown me nothing but kindness.’
‘Course he has, darling,’ Collingsworth said in a voice dripping with sarcasm. ‘Heart of gold, has our Ray, and a few days ago out of kindness he sold you to me for tonight.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous.’
‘Ridiculous, am I?’ the man sneered. ‘I speak the truth, and I bought you for my own use tonight because you have something that is prized and that I wanted and that is your maidenhead. I take it you are a virgin?’
‘Of course I am.’
‘There is no “of course” in this business.’ He pressed himself so close to her that he was spitting in her face as he spoke. She noted his eyes seemed to shine with a demonic light as he said in levelled tones that were as cold as ice, ‘And let me tell you another thing: I intend to have that prize that I paid for and you can be accommodating or not. Either way, it makes no odds to me.’
Molly was so frightened her heart seemed to be jumping about in her chest as she ground out, ‘I don’t think so.’
‘Well, I do,’ Collingsworth suddenly bellowed. Rage that he had been duped, made fun of, took hold of him. Someone would pay. Molly was unprepared for both the suddenness and the power of the punch that knocked her to the floor and caused blood to pour from her nose.
Collingsworth looked at her coldly. He had promised Ray he wouldn’t hurt her physically, for it was well known that he sometimes liked to rough his woman up, and he would have been banned from many a whorehouse for it if he hadn’t been such an influential man, whom they all depended on. He hadn’t had any intention of hurting Molly when he had arrived that night, but that had all gone by the board now. She deserved all he was prepared to mete out to her and he powered a kick into her side as he said, ‘Get to your feet and let’s get down to it because I always get what I pay for.’
Molly gave a groan as the man’s foot caught her, and she curled up instinctively. Through bloodshot eyes she lay and watched the blood drip from her nose and pool on the carpet, as her assailant said, ‘Get up unless you want