The brunette paused by the full length mirror in the hallway. The cream satin blouse fell to her rounded hips the opening stopped just short of her plump cleavage, the smooth folds contrasted nicely with the tight black skirt, black fishnet stockings and heels. She straightened the wide black belt around her waist, pulled the blouse out a little from the belt and smiled. Five hundred Euros an hour bought style and sophistication. Dress to impress, act like a lady and never lose your head. Once the client paid you could moan and scream like a whore if that’s what they wanted, but until you saw the money you were a high class lady.

Room 601 beckoned, Nicola straightened her skirt and fluffed out her hair before she knocked.

A bellhop gave her a passing glance and leered as she waited for the client to open the door, she stared back defiantly and he lowered his eyes and kept walking.

And never give them an inch.

She raised her hand to knock again when the door opened against the security chain. A young blonde woman peeked out, her nervous eyes took in Nicola’s outfit.

“Yes?”

Nicola watched as the bellhop disappeared around the corner and turned back to the door.

“You called for an escort? Midnight Express Agency?”

Nicola passed her card through the crack, “there is a number on the back, if you call it my driver will confirm my description.”

“Oh,” she unhooked the chain and opened the door, “come in.”

“Leave the door open and wait by the bed,” Nicola scanned the room and pulled out her phone, “we always check every room before we start, it is standard security in Rome.”

“Sure,” she smiled nervously, “um, I don’t think I have to call this number though, I trust you.”

Nicola didn’t reply as she checked the bathroom and under the bed. She turned slowly around, registering the exits and her eyes shifted slightly. The young woman stood by the door waiting nervously.

“Okay, close the door now, put the chain on,” she nodded.

Danielle obeyed and Nicola smiled.

“You have identification, passport?”

“Um, yeah,” she looked doubtful, “you want to see it?”

“Please,” she punched the speed dial and smiled as Carl, her driver answered, “hi asshole, I am here,” she took the passport and studied it.

“Yes, everything is okay, I will call in one hour.”

She snapped the phone shut and handing back the passport, leaned against the wall and closed her eyes momentarily.

“I am sorry about the third degree as you Americans say, but this is Rome and some people try to trick us, two girls were cut with knives last week. This week has been good but we always check, my driver is waiting outside, he carries a gun.”

“Shit,” Danielle’s hand flew to her throat, “I’m sorry.”

Nicola ran a cursory glance over her lithe figure. Clad in a white silk shirt and white denim mini, she looked to be late twenties, her silky blonde hair fell in waves to the collar. She took in the clear complexion and blue eyes and smiled.

Danielle smiled in return.

“You are not the usual,” she pushed away from the wall and dropped her shoulder bag on the floor, “you have money?”

“Oh, shit,” she swallowed, “sorry, sorry, I saw that in a movie once.”

She darted around to the bedside drawers and pulling out an envelope, sat down and held it out. Nicola took it and slit it open with her fingernail.

“Five hundred euros?” Danielle blushed.

“Si,” she nodded, “five hundred euros.”

She counted it out, dropped it into her bag and studied her for a moment. Danielle stared straight ahead, her eyes fixed on the white stucco wall.

A slight smile tugged at the corner of Nicola’s lips.

“First time, huh?”

“Uh huh,” she looked up, “first time out of the country, first time in Europe, first time for,” she looked down, “you know.”

“First time with a woman or first time for anyone?” Nicola slid her feet out of the four inch pumps.

“With a woman,” she looked up desperately, “you don’t think I’m a whore or anything?”

“No,” she undid the belt, it fell to the floor with a clunk and she rested her finger on the top button, “you pay for pleasure, I am the whore and you are the client.”

“You’re not a whore.”

Nicola stopped at the button and stared. A moment later she sat on the bed and pushed a lock of honey blonde hair over her ear and smiled crookedly.

“Hey, my pretty American friend,” she tugged at her hair gently, “thank you, this is the first time a client ever said that to me.”

She flipped her collar up and rubbed her neck gently.

“I should not say this, but sometimes I meet a client who changes her mind at the last minute. I am sorry I cannot give back all the money, I must keep a deposit but I can leave now if you like and no hard feelings?”

She bowed her head and then looked up at her unblinkingly.

“No, I want to do this.”

“Okay,” she rose and began unbuttoning her blouse, keeping a curious eye on Danielle. The young woman watched apprehensively as Nicola opened the blouse and eased it over her shoulders.

She smiled slyly, “you like to watch?”

“Only in the shadows,” Danielle smiled nervously.

Nicola let it fall to the floor with a smile and sliding the large button through the buttonhole, inched the zipper suggestively downwards.

Danielle exhaled suddenly and Nicola eased it over her hips and let it fall, she moved her hands over her well toned, tanned body. Danielle took in the black bra and matching panties and a smile nudged at her moist lips as her cheeks began to redden. Nicola placed one foot on the bed and undid the suspender and slowly rolled the stocking off. Danielle’s eyes were fixed on her leg and Nicola took her hand and put it on her leg as she stood up. For a moment she let the young woman rub her thigh and then putting her other foot on Danielle’s thigh, unsnapped the suspender and slid her foot between her legs. Danielle rolled the stocking off as Nicola stroked her softness with her big toe. Her cheeks reddened slightly and Nicola smiled.

“Some clients just want to watch,” she murmured, “I have one client who watch me to strip but she does not touch me, perhaps that is your pleasure?”

“I want to have sex,” Danielle looked straight ahead again, “but the stripping is nice, you’re very sensual if you don’t mind me saying.”

“Grazie,” Nicola glanced over her shoulder, “we ask people to take a shower, but I think we will not worry about that, yes?”

“Are you sure?”

“Si,” she eased onto the bed and undid her bra to reveal large dark nipples, “I am sure.”

“This is my very first trip outside the United States,” she stared straight ahead as Nicola rubbed her back and inched towards her collar, “I went to London first and saw the changing of the guard.”

“What else did you see?” Nicola slid a finger under the collar and stroked her neck while her other hand stroked her cheek and moved gently down her smooth throat. Danielle glanced down as her fingers slid under the blouse and slid slowly down to the top button.

“Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Madame Tussauds, the Tower of London,” she looked down at the button, “I went up to Oxford, Stonehenge and then up to Edinburgh where I walked around the castle.”

Another button came loose, “I went to Belfast and Dublin, drank Guinness, saw the Giant’s Causeway and then caught a plane to Paris.”

“Did you see the Eiffel Tower?” she undid another button and stroked her throat and front gently, “and the Louvre?”

“Yes,” she craned her head backwards and smiled as Nicola stopped undoing her blouse and pulling the collar over her shoulders started stroking across her neck, “and the Arc de Triumph.”

“Arc de Triomph,” Nicola danced her fingers across her back, “and what else did you see?”

“Musee d’Orsay?”

“Si, I have been there,” she slid her hand over her back and stroked her, “and where else did you go?” she undid another button.

“Berlin, I saw where the Berlin Wall used to be,” she looked down as Nicola parted her blouse to reveal the white lacy bra, “and the Reichstag. I took a cruise down the Rhine and went to Switzerland as well, I stayed in a chalet for a whole week and explored Zürich.”

“And what did you see?” Nicola rubbed her breast gently through the bra, “in Zürich?”

“Helmhaus, James Joyce’s grave and a lot of cafés, I loved the cafés,” she swallowed as Nicola undid another button and gently pinched her nipple, it was beginning to harden and her breathing became slightly shallower.

“Austria is nice.”

Nicola undid another button and parting the blouse further, traced circles on her belly while her other hand slid the material up and down her back, “I have been there many times.”

“I went to Austria,” she smiled and wriggled, “I took a ride on a carriage and visited the palace, the grand opera house and then,” she looked down as another button fell free and her blouse was inched out of her skirt, “I went to Athens and did a cruise of the islands. Have you ever been to the islands?”

“No,” Nicola smiled and undid the button, “but I would like to go one day.”

“You’d love them,” she swallowed as Nicola took her left arm and unpicked a button, “I rode on gondolas in Venice and now I am in Rome.” she looked down as the second cuff button was daintily worked loose.

“With a female hooker,” Nicola grinned and taking her other hand, undid a button, “you have a beautiful body, you have been away a long time?”

Danielle said nothing as the final button was undone. A slight shiver ran up her spine as Nicola pulled the blouse down over her shoulders and started working it through her arms, she closed her eyes and whimpered quietly.

“You have a beautiful body,” Nicola reassured her again as her hands fell to the skirt and moved over her crotch, judging her reactions as she rubbed her lips gently. Danielle exhaled but didn’t wince. Nicola’s mouth twitched, her fingers slid up and down her thighs.

She stared at her hand and smiled, “that feels good.”

She moved to the hem of her skirt and tugged at the button, “how long have you been away?”

“Three months,” she licked her lips as the button was worked loose, “I took a three month holiday from work. I work at my father’s factory in the office, he sent me on vacation.”

“Oh?” Nicola undid another button, “and now you are spending his money on me?”

“It’s not his money,” she replied distantly, “I won it in a competition,” Nicola’s hands didn’t miss a beat but she bit her lip as she undid another button, “my friends entered me in a competition to celebrate my recovery from my illness.”

Nicola stopped and rubbed her thigh firmly, Danielle’s legs slowly parted.

“What illness?”

“Oh it’s not AIDS,” she smiled sadly, “I had cancer.”

“Oh,” Nicola undid another button, parted her legs a little more and stroked her thighs, “and you are clear?”

“It was three and a half years ago.”

“She shivered as another button worked loose to expose her white lace panties and the imprint of dark pubic hair, “cancer of the uterus,” she grabbed her hand, “that isn’t a problem is it, I mean what we’re going to do?”

“No,” Nicola slowly undid the remaining three buttons, “it is not contagious.”

“They gave me the all clear six months ago.”

She stared straight ahead as Nicola pulled her skirt away and reached for her bra strap.

“I promised myself three and a half years ago that if I survived, I would do all the things I’ve always dreamed about doing, cancer can still come back and I so want to live.”

She looked down, “Especially now that they took my uterus,” she touched her panties, “the doctor says I can look at surrogate mothers or adopt, I think I will adopt.”

Nicola had never missed a beat in six years, not even when a burly Glaswegian had walked in while she was being pumped from behind and stuck his cock in her face. She had grabbed his balls with one hand and her cell with the other and demanded another five hundred euros. He had paid willingly and she had sucked him dry without missing a beat while his mate emptied himself into her anus.

Her hand slipped on the bra strap and she looked down, Danielle stared at her as she turned and stroked her face.

“Mama mia,” she sighed, “most clients have a sad story, some is horseshit as you say and some are sad stories, but in six years yours is the saddest I have ever heard. They took your uterus?”

“Yeah,” a tear slid down her cheek, “but I’m alive and that’s more important.”

“And your boyfriend?”

“He left,” she looked down, “he wanted children, he got married to a girl at his work. He sent me photos of his baby daughter before I left the country, I was happy for him but it made me cry.”

“Some men have no feelings,” Nicola released the bra strap and pulled the bra free and tossed it to the floor. She started circling her nipples gently and smiled.

“Lie back and I will give you pleasure, Danielle, you deserve a little pleasure after the cruel blows life has given you.”

She started stroking her body slowly, soft sucking kisses cascaded up and down her throat and around her nipples. Danielle’s breathing became shallower as the tingling became more intense. Instinctively she stroked Nicola’s arm before the older woman continued her passage lower, skirting her genitals at first as she worked on her legs, but then she returned to her softness. A silky soft tongue danced across her wet lips, Danielle’s back rose slightly as she moaned softly and then she felt the hardness against her clitoris as Nicola’s lip pressed against it, her tongue slipped over it and she groaned, rising and falling in rhythm with her movements. A low moan escaped her throat as a finger slid up and down her lips and then she spread her legs wider to let her inside.

Nicola’s eyes flickered upwards to find her clutching the bed clothes, her eyes closed and her mouth open wide as she drew deep breaths. Smilingly she returned to her tongue bath, a second finger slipped inside and she began moving in and out faster and faster while she bathed her clitoris and lips. The first orgasm was mild, but then she had the sense to grab her hair and force her downwards as her breathing became suddenly laboured. Nicola grunted and kept going, driving her closer and closer until finally her vaginal passage began contracting swiftly, a shudder went through her body that seemed to last for almost a minute before she finally exhaled noisily.

“Oh my God, oh my God.”

Nicola moved forward and kissed her gently.

“It was good?”

“Oh my God,” she grinned and wriggled, “that was something else.”

Her finger found a scar under Nicola’s left breast, she looked into her eyes.

“How did you get the scar?”

“A client once tried to cut off my breast,” her face tightened, “it was a few years ago but the cut was deep, that is why I have Carl for protection, before that I worked on my own.”

“I’m sorry,” Danielle leaned across and hugged her gently, “I hope they put him in jail for years.”

“He was a police officer,” she replied coldly, “he is still a police officer, now he is like a police captain in your language.”

“I’m sorry,” Danielle moved her head and kissed the scar gently, “you don’t deserve that.”

Nicola shut the memory away and swallowed.

“We still have time for more,” she stroked her gently, “you like the dildo?”

Danielle bit her lip and smiled, Nicola shifted off the bed and retrieved a dildo and some oil, her eyes flickered to the younger woman as she slid the lubricated toy into her mouth.

“I use the flavoured lubricant,” she explained, “at least it is sugar free,” she shifted down the bed and began stroking her entrance.

“You will tell me if it hurts and I will stop,” she stared into her eyes and Danielle nodded.

But Nicola was a master with the dildo, knowing when to push and when to return to stroking and as she worked her passage wider and wider her tongue returned to the clitoris that was beginning to throb.

Danielle moaned loudly, her breathing became ragged as Nicola worked her slowly and steadily, building the pace and matching her rhythmic twitching until finally the dam broke and she was peaking. Curses spilled from her mouth as she climaxed with a series of violent judders that caught Nicola by surprise, but she held on until finally she began coming down. Nicola withdrew it with a soft sucking sound and set it down on the bed as she moved in beside her and stroked her body.

“It was fun, yes?” Nicola kissed her cheek.

“Yeah,” she grinned broadly and stroked her face, “God, yeah that was fun, why couldn’t my ex boyfriend have done that?”

“There are books a man can read,” Nicola replied as she slid off the bed and picked up her clothes, “and if a man cannot do it, find a woman, if that is what you want now.”

“I don’t know what I prefer,” she sighed blissfully, “that was something else.”

She propped on an elbow, “you’re going?”

“Si,” she looked at Danielle’s watch on the bedside drawers, “it is time, unless you have more money?”

“Do you get pleasure out of this?” Danielle stroked her back.

“Sometimes,” she fastened the bra, “but it is the client I must pleasure.”

“Would you like pleasure now?”

“You have money?” Nicola picked up the blouse and glanced over her shoulder.

“Oh, shit, sorry.”

She dived over the bed, grabbed her bag and pulled out the wallet. Nicola held onto the blouse while she counted out the notes.

“Is this enough? I was saving it for St Peter’s Square tomorrow, I fly out of Rome for the States tomorrow night.”

Nicola winced, it was nowhere near enough. She stared into the dressing table mirror at the foot of the bed, taking in Danielle’s eager face and her stony faced whore’s face. Pleasure? They all wanted to give pleasure so they said, but that face couldn’t lie, Danielle didn’t have the capacity to lie.

“I can get some money out of my credit card,” she spoke into the silence, “there’s an ATM downstairs, I’ll be back in ten minutes.”

“And leave your belongings here?” she looked up, “there are many thieves in Rome, I would not steal but it is a bad habit.”

“Tomorrow then? I could maybe drop in at the square before the airport, I should have just enough time.”

“I will be sleeping.”

“Oh,” she looked down, “I guess that means no, unless you can come back later?”

Nicola blinked and swallowed the hurt. She looked down and dropped the blouse. Her hand closed over Danielle’s and forced it closed.

“Keep your money,” she smiled, “save it for the square tomorrow, no visit to Rome is complete until you have stood with the faithful,” she touched her face, “you want to give a tired whore pleasure?”

“It’s not going to get you into trouble is it?” her eyes widened, “I was trying to be nice, I might sound naïve and sometimes I am, but I understand that the world isn’t nice and you’re not a whore, don’t let anyone call you that, ever.”

Nicola’s eyes flickered.

“Sometimes we meet nice people,” she picked up her phone, “but you are right, I must make a call or he will kick down your door and drag me out by the hair, I just had it cut today.”

Carl answered on the first ring and she pulled a face at his sarcastic remark.

“Shut up, asshole,” she smiled, “I have a headache... no she was good, but I did not eat so good today... I am lying in her bed and she is taking a shower and watching tv... si, si, I know.”

She walked to the window, “see, I am unhurt,” she extended her middle finger in the universal sign of contempt, “and fuck you too asshole.”

“Okay,” she leaned against the wall and eyed Danielle, “si, si, I know her, the fat English woman,” her eyes narrowed, “no, no that is good... because we have no schoolgirl clothes in the van.... go back to the apartment and get it for me, it is in a black bag beside my white polka dot dress... don’t forget the hat and the whip... she likes to be whipped... okay I see you in forty five minutes, bring me back some bottled water too.”

She hung up and eyed Danielle ruefully.

“You see what I have to put up with? The fat English woman wants me to dress like a schoolgirl and spank her ass, again.”

She tossed the phone onto the bed, “she is a schoolteacher who comes here every school holiday. She is a bad woman but pays double for the pleasure, so I can stay here one hour and not lose money, perhaps the Virgin Mary she will smile on me tonight.”

She pulled her bra over her head and dropped her G string, Danielle looked down as she slid onto the bed and collapsed onto her back.

“Yes,” she touched her hand, “I am a hooker, it is what I do for a job but do not pity me. I do not do this to pay my way through college or to feed my child. I do this for money, because one day I will leave this life behind and buy a villa in the country and adopt a Romanian orphan, but until then I have to spank and be spanked, I must fuck my ass off until I have paid my penance.”

She blinked and Nicola smiled as she stroked her pussy.

“This is the first time for me.”

“What do you mean?”

“The first time I have let a client take extra time without paying,” she squeezed her wrist and handed her the dildo, “most would not wait so long.”

“Sorry,” she smiled, “I guess it just hit me. It’s not your fault, sometimes we make bad choices and can’t get out of them,” she examined the dildo, “um, it is the first time for me, you might have to help me.”

“I am all yours,” she took her hand and guiding the dildo in, opened herself and sighed with pleasure as she accepted it, “we should have washed it first but you are clean, I hope.”

“I have a certificate in my suitcase.”

“I believe you.”

The first orgasm was faked, but then she closed her eyes, letting the younger woman keep going, she began to relax and then started drifting. When it started she opened her eyes in mild surprise, a smile tugged at her features as she gave in to the orgasmic fucking motions. Her mind flew to a distant time and a young man from the next village. He had introduced her to sexual pleasure and when he left in the morning she had cried like a baby for the knowledge she had been but a conquest. The next orgasm sent her into a frenzy, followed by two deeper ones that caused her to cry for mercy. She fell into a light daze while Danielle slid down beside her and caressed her body. Some fifteen minutes later she came to with a start and stared at the ceiling fan. For a few minutes she lay sweating, her heart pumping while Danielle stroked her body and kissed the scar under her breast repeatedly.

Nicola sat up and fluffed out her hair and glanced at the clock. She stared at Danielle and kissed her passionately on the lips, drawing her tongue into her soft mouth and sucking gently, a finger traced along the scar beneath her breast and she moaned softly as a hand slid down to the softness between her legs, a moment or two later she parted her legs and slid her mouth to her neck as she shifted slightly.

“Thank you, Danielle, it was a good fuck but if you keep doing me I will be too tired for my clients and that is bad for business,” she stared at the mirror and grinned.

“I think I like America, as you say, God bless America.”

Danielle grinned and stroked her hair and lips, her nimble fingers seemed to drift over her softness, finding the right spots and she felt herself drifting again. Eventually however she propped up on her elbows and looked down at her dainty hand between her legs.

“You are a quick learner,” she smirked, “but it is to be expected, we are both women,” she eased herself up against the bedhead, “so,” she stroked her back gently, “how was your first time with a woman?”

Danielle rocked forward on her fists and tilting her head, kissed her softly, Nicola savoured the softness of her mouth and closed her eyes as Danielle kissed her eyelids.

“Does that answer your question?”

“You kissed me,” Nicola’s eyes flashed open.

“And that was a bad thing to do?”

“Hey, my pretty little angel,” she stroked her belly, “I am a hooker, I do bad things all night long, kissing is not so bad.”

“Thank you,” Danielle kissed her lips lightly, “for loving me.”

Nicola swallowed the hurt in an instant and smiled.

“It was my pleasure,” she eyed the clock, “but I must shower before my next client, I am sorry.”

“Sorry,” Danielle straightened up, “I forgot.”

“It is not such a crime to forget,” she patted her thigh affectionately, “sometimes tired old hookers forget as well.”

Danielle nodded and watched as Nicola gathered her belongings and disappeared into the shower, the tender intimacy still uppermost in her mind. She stood in the shower too long, savouring the warm water cascading over her body.

Nobody said thank you.

A tear sprang to her eye as she stepped out and began drying herself. She stared at the mirror and drew the blind over her emotions and began preparing herself for the fat English woman, the last time she had wanted Nicola to wear a mask while she was spanked. She shuddered suddenly and felt her head swimming, recalling the torrent of abuse she had been forced to endure. Beth liked to be physically abused, but in return she liked showering her abuser with insults, whore, slut, pig fucking whore, the names got more and more colourful and even Nicola had found herself tiring under the torrent of insults. She opened her eyes and looked down at her white knuckles, aware suddenly she had bruised her leg against the edge of the vanity.

Eighteen minutes later she walked out of the shower to find Danielle sitting on the bed in a satin dressing gown.

“I must go,” she looked down at the card in Danielle’s hands, “what is this?”

“My father’s business card.”

“A & J Realtors, he sells real estate?”

“Yes, my home address, phone number and email address are on the back.”

Nicola smiled and stroked her hair.

“I screw men and women for money,” she ran a hand through her silky hair, Danielle leaned into her, “do you know what I am going to do to my next client?”

Danielle stared at their reflection in the mirror, “the fat English woman.”

“Si, she is a schoolteacher who likes to be spanked, she comes during the semester holidays and pays good money. I will dress in a schoolgirl uniform, tie her the bed and spank her,” she grimaced as Danielle winced, “the spanking I think does not hurt so much as the names she calls me when I am doing it, I do not spank so many people these days. Most want to screw my ass to the wall, I am not a good girl.”

“But you’re not a bad woman either,” she looked straight ahead, “everybody deserves to be loved,” she looked down, “everybody,” she looked at her in the dressing table mirror, “before I was diagnosed with cancer I was anorexic. I wanted to die. I tried to commit suicide three times and nearly succeeded the last time, then I got cancer and I prayed for a second chance. Whatever God is up there answered my prayer and gave me a second chance, I don’t know for how long but I am grateful for every minute.”

She pushed the card into her hand and closed her fingers around it.

“Everyone deserves a chance, even hookers. If you get tired of this life then call, write or email and I will talk to my father. He’s a good man and if we can’t find you a job with the company, we will find you a job in town. He has empty houses for rent and maybe you will find peace there, you won’t have to spank fat English women or screw for money,” she smiled, “you can screw for love instead and isn’t that better?”

She patted her thigh absently, “and at least you would have one friend when you stepped off the plane.”

Nicola stared into the mirror.

There will come a day when one client stands out. One client will find the chink in your armour and shatter your heart of glass. It has happened to all our girls and boys, it will happen to you. When you find that client, give us their name and description and we will make sure you never see them again. A hooker with a conscience is a liability, we will shield you from that client if they should try to contact you again, we always protect our employees from those kinds of clients.

She blinked.

“Thank you,” she slid the card into her handbag.

“I guess you’ve had those kinds of offers before?” she looked at her.

“Si,” she swallowed, “but not like that.”

Nicola stared at the mirror as she formulated her response, Danielle’s wide eyes seemed to draw her in.

“I go to the square almost every Sunday,” she squeezed her thigh, “I stand under the obelisk and pray the Holy Father will smile on me. Tomorrow is Saturday, perhaps I will be there and we will talk, but if I am not I pray the Holy Father smiles on you and gives you peace. Do not weep if you do not see me, I have sinned against God and the saints and sometimes my guilt is too great. But if you ever return to Rome, go the obelisk on Sunday morning and wait for me, maybe in time I will find the courage to take your hand.”

She kissed her forehead.

“May the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the blessing of the Holy Mother church go with you to America, Danielle Robertson, you are a very special client.”

She took a tiny crucifix from her handbag and pressed it into her hands.

“Remember me when you see this, you made a tired old hooker feel special tonight.”

She rose and unlocking the door, stopped.

“Lock the door after me, I will not return tonight and there are many thieves in Rome.”

She made her way downstairs deep in thought, but when Carl opened the door she smiled graciously.

“Grazie.”

“Headache gone?” he drawled in his thick New Orleans accent.

“Si,” she clambered into the back, “the uniform?”

“All there, oh, we got a full night tonight, you’ll be going until at least five, maybe you needed the sleep.”

“Si, si,” she picked up the uniform and stared out the front window as he pulled away from the hotel. In the distance she could see St Peter’s Basilica. Tonight she would spank the fat English bitch until she screamed for mercy. She would fuck the fat Germans and greasy Frenchmen, she would moan and scream like a whore and tell them how big they were. Then she would sit in the shower until daybreak washing the filth from her body and when the sun rose, she would put on a crisp white blouse and black skirt, put on her makeup and go down to the square. She would wait by the obelisk for a blonde haired American angel, take her hand and let her lead her out of Rome with its filthy streets and corrupt police. She would withdraw all her money, book a plane for New York and leave the old life behind. Tonight she would sin like a whore, but tomorrow she would sing with the angels.

Night fell, the city awoke and a hooker went to work.

Redemption had come to Rome.