A small market town in the East Midlands.

A Thursday morning in September, 1965.

Tugging her dressing gown tighter around herself as she kicked her door shut, Nancy finished towelling her hair, then hung her towel over the metal bedstead and sat at the rickety little dressing table in the corner of her bedsit. The pipes gurgled again as one of the others in the house re-started the shower. She was glad she'd been the first in again this morning, and got the best of the hot water. She was always up fairly early during the week to get to the outfitter's, and it was her little secret this slightly misty morning that she was up early to go somewhere entirely different from work. Well, Elizabeth knew of course, and Kenneth. But no-one else.

She felt herself get warm, and her pulse quicken very slightly, just at the thought of Elizabeth, so she crossed her legs as she leant in to the mirror and started applying her make-up.

~~~

The first time she'd seen Elizabeth come to the shop, Nancy hadn't had anything to do with her. She'd noticed her alright though, and couldn't have helped overhearing Elizabeth's confident, clipped voice arguing good-humouredly with Kenneth. She'd finally watched from behind the stockroom door as the elegant woman had stridden confidently out of the shop, lighting a cigarette with a dainty but practised flick of her lighter.

"Who on earth was that?" Nancy had asked her boss. "Is she always that awful?"

Kenneth had laughed. "She doesn't mean it, it's just her way. She's decent enough, really. That's Elizabeth. Lady Elizabeth Buckley-Redbourne, if you want to be correct about it."

"Hmm. She's very beautiful." Nancy had moved to the window to see the woman stroll casually down the street and fold herself into a burgundy-coloured two-seater sports car parked carelessly against the kerb. Nancy had been unable to stop watching her. The woman had driven off and Nancy had turned back to the shop to see Kenneth smiling at her knowingly. She'd flushed, still unused to him being the only person she knew not to care about that part of her. "But, well, even if she is beautiful and posh, it's no excuse to be rude to you."

"That's not rudeness, lovely. That's the way she is. She does what she wants, because even if her parents disapprove of her lifestyle, she has more than enough money of her own, via some sort of inheritance from an uncle, to get away with it."

Nancy had moved back to get on with her work. "Don't her parents approve of her, then?" Kenneth did love to gossip.

"Oooh, no. Not at all. They own a fair chunk of this part of the county of course, but she doesn't care. No interest whatsoever. Far more interested in driving her little sports car up to London, running with a fast set there and indulging in weird and wonderful new art and so on." Kenneth had sniffed dismissively. "She only comes back here to taunt me with pictures of some latest 'fashion' and ask us to make something like it for her."

Nancy secretly found the new fashions very exciting. Although she'd never be able to afford to buy many new clothes, she had occasionally wondered about making something in a new style for herself. She was slightly in thrall to rising hemlines and the shift look, but hadn't quite plucked up the courage to go for them herself yet. "Why doesn't she just buy it in London?"

"I don't know, lovely, but I'm not going to turn away her trade. She's one of our most loyal customers and she pays well. Now, shall we get on? That dress isn't going to sew itself, is it?"

~~~

Nancy enjoyed her work. She liked the hum of the sewing machine, the way the fabrics slid through her hands and turned and twisted and suddenly became a dress, or a pair of trousers, or a blouse or skirt or jacket. She liked Kenneth too, and she knew she'd been very lucky indeed to land on her feet both with the job and with him as a boss, so soon after arriving in the town. She'd always been an acceptable seamstress, but she was surprised that Kenneth had taken her on so quickly – barely three days into her enforced stay with her distant cousin and her husband.

Kenneth's had been only the third or fourth shop where she'd inquired into the possibility of work, and he'd been looking to replace his last girl, who'd left a week earlier. Nancy had worked an afternoon for free, as a test, then started on pay the next day.

She knew that her cousin was well aware of the cloud under which she'd left home, and the woman had been obviously uncomfortable about having to take her in. She was visibly pleased when Nancy got a job so quickly, and by the time Nancy had accrued a little money and found out about the vacant bedsit, her cousin couldn't have been more anxious to help her move out.

The whole last four or five months would have been quite terrible, actually, Nancy thought as she started to apply a hint of rouge to her cheeks. Really awful, if it hadn't been for Kenneth. Kenneth giving her a job; Kenneth cheering her up day in, day out; Kenneth gently letting her know, as they got to know each other and she told him how she'd come to be there at all, that he 'understood' and 'sympathised'.

Nancy had even recently met Kenneth's 'lodger', George, a few times, when the three of them had been for a drink in a nice little pub by the river during the long summer evenings. He was a tall, handsome, young man who worked as a bank clerk and played football for the local Sunday league, and was quite different from the older, dapper, slightly fey Kenneth. Nancy thought they made a nice couple, and it was a shame that they had to be so circumspect about their feelings for each other. Although she supposed there was plenty of prurient gossip and speculation from people in town, even so.

Of course, it was also thanks to Kenneth that Nancy had been introduced to Elizabeth.

Nancy's hair started to get in the way of doing her make-up, sticking to her cheek, so she stood up and found a ribbon to tie it back out of the way. Her eye caught the dress she'd made herself for this very occasion, hanging up in front of her other clothes. It was based on something she'd seen in a magazine Elizabeth had shown her once, a design that had really caught her imagination: short, loose, with a high waist and large collar and bold blocks of colour. "Like a Mondrian painting", Elizabeth had said.

Nancy hadn't made her dress so starkly patterned, but she had bought a nice fabric for it, light green with a thin red thread woven through it. She'd taken the day off not long ago, specially to make the hour and a half's bus journey into Lincoln, to find just the right fabric and the other various bits and pieces she knew she'd need. Then she'd worked quickly, frantically – several hours after work each day, for a week – sketching, drawing, marking out, then sewing the dress.

She wondered what Elizabeth would make of it. While she'd been in town, Nancy had also been unable to resist buying the material to make one of those new miniskirts, and she wondered what Elizabeth would make of that, too. Elizabeth was probably used to it, Nancy thought with a slight sigh and a little twinge of jealousy. In all her eighteen years, Nancy had never worn anything that sat above her knees – the skirts at her convent school had been a decorous mid-calf, and Kenneth liked her skirt to sit at least on the knee, as he was understandably sensitive to his customer's expectations. In this town, a shop girl just wouldn't wear anything short to work, and rarely to go out either. Everyone was too buttoned-up, Nancy thought. God, no wonder Elizabeth preferred to spend as much time as possible in London!

Nancy was nervous, as well as anxious to impress with her new clothes. She'd tried them on – particularly the dress, of course – to make sure they fitted (she'd been gratified that the dress had only needed a few tiny adjustments). But she'd never worn anything quite as novel or fashionable as the dress, or the miniskirt, in front of someone else before. Or anything quite so short. She bit her lip and told herself that she'd looked alright in the mirror, really, so there was no reason Elizabeth wouldn't think so too.

She sat back down and started applying mascara and eye-liner.

~~~

One morning, Nancy had had to step back sharply from crossing the High Street on her way to work, as a distinctive little car sped round the corner. She tutted under her breath as the equally distinctive driver gave a beep of the horn and a friendly but distracted wave. Nancy wondered what life would feel like, if she were as carefree as Elizabeth.

Kenneth hadn't told Nancy who the beautiful evening gown was to be for, but Nancy guessed easily enough. She'd automatically sized Elizabeth up when she'd first seen her, at least partially professionally, so she had an idea of her measurements. She'd also suspected, correctly, that there weren't too many people locally who had the income to afford such a gorgeous material.

Despite still feeling that Elizabeth was mainly just an arrogant toff, Nancy hadn't been able to help treating her evening gown with great tenderness as she was making it. The material was just so good, it demanded such respect and care. And Nancy was pleased with the end result – although still nervous now that fitting day had come around.

Elizabeth had looked at her curiously as Kenneth had introduced her, then suddenly Nancy and Elizabeth had been left alone together in the fitting room and Elizabeth was stripping off her soft blouse and slacks. Nancy had known Elizabeth was beautiful since she'd first seen her, but was still completely unprepared for the sight of such loveliness so near to her, and in just a bra and panties. She'd flushed heavily and looked down, holding the dress out for Elizabeth to step into. Yet moments later, she'd been unable to help looking up to watch Elizabeth, flushing again as Elizabeth caught her eye in the mirror. She'd looked down at the back of the dress, but simply noticed the graceful curve of Elizabeth's naked back and had to look up again as she fought the desire to run a finger over the woman's smooth, pale skin. Elizabeth had still been watching her in the mirror, and held her eyes this time as she'd reached back and touched Nancy's hand. She pressed Nancy's fingers onto her back gently and moved them down to where the dress fastenings started. "Are you going to do me up, then, Nancy? Or just stare at me helplessly?"

Nancy had not known what to say or where to look, so she'd just fastened the dress, with trembling fingers. Automatically, as her hand got close to Elizabeth's neck, she'd used the other one to hold the older woman's hip steady. To Nancy's surprise, Elizabeth had sighed lightly and leant slightly back, letting her head fall back so her lips could brush Nancy's hair.

"I should say, I don't mind you staring at me like that, if you want to. It's rather nice."

"Um." Nancy had been trying to steady her breathing, control her trembling hands, and she'd wished she could stop blushing. She'd shaken her head and smoothed the dress over Elizabeth's hips, twitching it around her legs to get it to lie correctly. She'd helped lots of women dress in the shop before, but no-one had ever had this effect on her, just by so obviously welcoming such physical closeness.

Inevitably, Elizabeth had looked gorgeous in the dress: elegant, confident, sexy. Nancy had felt slightly faint as she'd watched her turn back and forth to check herself in the mirror.

"You have very gentle hands," Elizabeth had added, after she'd approved the dress (much to Nancy's relief, it only needed a few tiny adjustments) and had let Nancy start to take the dress off again. "I'd love to feel you dress me again." She waited until Nancy had folded the dress carefully and caught her eye again, then grinned as she started to do up her blouse. "And undress me, of course."

Nancy had blushed and started to back out of the fitting room. "Um, I'll make those adjustments then, miss."

~

Shortly after, Elizabeth had floated out saying she'd be back in a few days to collect the dress, there was no rush, and Nancy had breathed a sigh of relief where she'd been hiding at her machine. Kenneth had come through and had asked her what was wrong when she ruined her second piece of fabric. "Not like you to mess up twice."

"I'm sorry, Kenny. It's that Lady Elizabeth woman, she's just...she's...oh, I don't know..."

Kenneth had patted her hand. "Sorry, lovely. I should have warned you. She can be hard work, can't she? If you're not used to her."

Nancy had blushed. "No it's not that."

Kenneth had looked at her with slight concern. "Did she say anything inappropriate?"

"Oh no." Nancy's blush had deepened. "Well. No, not really. But I think, um, I think she was playing with me, teasing me for...for finding her beautiful." Nancy had looked down and added quietly. "She is very beautiful. I couldn't stop looking at her."

"Ah." Kenneth had smiled kindly. "I don't think you need to worry about that too much, lovely. She's not so very different from you or me, really." He'd sat down opposite her and waited until Nancy looked at him. She'd smiled when she'd noticed he had what she called his 'gossip face' on. "Last year, I had to let one girl go, quite a promising seamstress, too. Elizabeth misunderstood the girl's friendly nature and made an advance too far." He'd settled back in the chair. "Then there was that rumour of something in London a year or two back, too. Getting too friendly with some other heiress, luring her into the decadence of her Bohemian arty set." Kenneth's ironic but still slightly disapproving tone had made Nancy smile. He'd pulled out his cigarettes and lit them one each. "But that was all nipped in the bud by the other girl's family before it became too public. I'm sorry, I should have warned you."

"Is that another reason why her family don't approve of her?" Nancy had asked. "Because of her taste in, um, friends?" Kenneth had nodded and Nancy had shrugged and admitted to herself that she wasn't displeased to know that. "She was, um, forward. But I'm not sure I mind. I just wasn't expecting it."

Kenneth had looked at Nancy carefully and stood up. "Yes, well, she's a character and great fun. But just you take care of yourself. And don't mess up any more of that cloth, it doesn't grow on trees."

~~~

In front of the mirror in her bedsit, Nancy loosened her hair and started to brush it. She kept it shoulder-length and, left to herself, would straighten out its slight curl, but Elizabeth had mentioned how nicely done her hair was one day, and Nancy hadn't dared tell her she'd only just about brushed it and the rest was entirely natural.

This would be the first time in Elizabeth's car, the Triumph. Nancy didn't know much about cars, but she knew Elizabeth took hers very seriously. She was in two minds about Elizabeth's Triumph: on the one hand, it was a pretty car and it did look exciting to drive around in. She knew that even if she did her hair carefully, just a quick turn with the roof down would make her hair messy again anyway. She didn't mind that so much, and part of her was excited by the sense of adventure of going for a drive in Elizabeth's sports car. On the other hand, the Triumph was very much part of Elizabeth and who she was, and Nancy felt a little bit jealous. She knew it was silly, but it was there anyway. She also wondered about the feeling that going in the car with Elizabeth was a way of giving in to her advances, of showing she was willing to put herself in Elizabeth's hands and be taken where Elizabeth wanted to go.

Nancy applied a touch of lipstick and shrugged at herself in the mirror. Now the day of their first outing together in the Triumph was here, she realised she rather liked the idea of giving in to Elizabeth and placing her trust in her to take them where she thought they should be going.

~~~

Nancy had been alone in the shop one lunchtime, about a week after the fitting room embarrassment, focusing hard on a delicate bit of stitching. The tinkle of the bell as the door opened disturbed her concentration. Carrying the stitching, she'd gone through to the counter and hesitated as she'd seen Elizabeth leaning casually on the counter. "Oh! Good day, miss. Have you come for the dress?"

"Hello, Nancy. Kenneth at lunch?" She'd waited for Nancy's nod, then added, "I have indeed." She'd looked at Nancy again, carefully, and even though it had been far from an unkind look, Nancy had felt rather frumpy in her cotton jumper and woollen skirt. Elizabeth was casually lovely in blouse and slacks, and Nancy had suddenly noticed how perfectly her bobbed hair framed her face. It gave her a look slightly younger than her twenty-five years. Elizabeth had smiled a friendly smile. "Please don't call me 'miss'. It makes me sound like a schoolmistress."

"Sorry, miss. Um. Sorry." Nancy had blushed and hurriedly put down her stitching on the counter. She hadn't known how to talk to an aristocrat properly, and had been desperately anxious to avoid offence. "Should I call you Lady Elizabeth?"

"Oh!" Elizabeth had chuckled with genuine amusement. "Good God, no. That would be bloody awful." She'd looked at Nancy casually. "Why don't you just call me Elizabeth?"

"I couldn't do that, miss. I mean...sorry..."

Elizabeth had waved her hand. "May I see your work?" She'd pointed at the stitching Nancy had brought through. "Just out of interest." Nancy had shown her the piece and waited quietly. Elizabeth had glanced up suddenly with a mischievous glint in her eye. "Some very close friends call me Lizzie." After a pause, during which Nancy had just started to blush, Elizabeth had continued, "This is really very good work, Nancy. Delicate and clever hands, as well as gentle, obviously." She'd looked pointedly at Nancy's hands where they were clasped on the counter top.

"Thank you."

Elizabeth had taken Nancy's hands and turned them over in hers slowly, stroking her fingers along the length of Nancy's. Nancy had felt the tingly pleasure at the woman's touch spread out through her, and her pulse begin to thump quietly in her ears, making her dizzy. After a moment, Elizabeth had gently taken her hands away and recovered herself, reminding them both why she was there: collecting and paying for her dress.

Nancy had asked if she wanted to try it on again, to make sure of the alterations. Elizabeth had grinned mischievously. "Do you think I ought to?"

Nancy had blushed. A large part of her hoped Elizabeth would do, so they could be close again in the fitting room. "It's up to you, mi-, um, Elizabeth."

Elizabeth had smiled sweetly at the use of her name. "You couldn't help, as well as staff the shop?"

Nancy had shrugged. "If you want me to. I can hear the bell from back there."

Elizabeth had leaned in, elbow on the counter and held Nancy's gaze. "What if we were in the middle of something...delicate? Would you run away?"

Fairly certain that Elizabeth wasn't talking about actually trying the dress on, Nancy had blushed. Surely Elizabeth was rather teasingly suggesting that being together in the fitting room, alone in the shop, might prove distracting for them both? Or was that just her own confused fantasies since last week?

Elizabeth had stood up again and touched her hand to Nancy's gently. "Sadly, I don't think I'll need to try it again. I come here because I know Kenneth's so good, and he wouldn't employ someone below par. You won't have got a stitch wrong, Nancy." She'd sighed. "Never mind. Another time, perhaps. Now, how much do I owe you?"

~

Emerging from the alley leading from the back of the shop later that evening, after helping Kenneth lock up, Nancy had heard her name being called. Elizabeth was waving at her from where she was parked, near where the street turned left into the High Street. The car was unmistakeable, and by now Nancy had heard a fair bit about it from Kenneth. Apparently it was a familiar sight locally, usually driven just as recklessly as Nancy had experienced before. It certainly looked fast and expensive, Nancy had thought, rather like Elizabeth herself. She'd smiled to herself as she crossed over and hurried towards the car anyway.

Elizabeth had offered her a lift, and seemed rather disappointed when Nancy convinced her she was quicker on foot. "Thank you for the offer, though."

Elizabeth had looked at her cautiously for a moment, then had seemed to make a decision. "Can I see you, then? Away from work." She'd caught Nancy's eye. "As a friend."

Nancy hadn't known quite what to say. However exciting she found Elizabeth, however beautiful and lively, and even if it had felt lovely when they were holding hands in the shop, she wasn't sure someone of Elizabeth's class should be friends with a mere shop girl. Let alone have the sort of friendship that was likely to result from the kind of immediate and strong attraction they both so obviously felt. The way Elizabeth had looked at her both the previous week and earlier that day, and the way Nancy had felt drawn to her from the moment she'd seen her, Nancy knew that they would not be able to resist. That they should become friends, close friends, passionate friends just seemed inevitable, even if so very inappropriate. "Um. If you like."

"Don't you want to?"

Nancy had been suddenly quite alarmed at the tone of deflated hope, of alarm, in Elizabeth's voice. She hadn't intended to convey her feelings so casually. She hadn't realised her interest in Elizabeth wasn't obvious to her. "Oh, no.. I mean, I do. That would be nice. If you want to."

Elizabeth had sighed in relief, but kept her voice quiet. "I want nothing more."

~

She and Elizabeth had met almost every week since she'd first invited Nancy out after work, and the first one or two were quite awkward, shy evenings, spent walking in the park or having coffee. It was soon clear even to Elizabeth that Nancy was also interested in more, however, and although they both longed to do all sorts of different things on their dates, they often found themselves in the cinema – partly because the town had little else to offer, but mainly because it was only there, in the dark with the film as a distraction for curious eyes, that they could hold hands and sit close and be intimate in a way they couldn't elsewhere. They always chose the less recent films, where the excitement had died down, so they could usually be reasonably certain of getting two seats away from other people.

It was on a date about a month and half previously that Elizabeth's hand had moved much higher up Nancy's leg, under her skirt, than ever before. Normally she would stroke Nancy's knee and perhaps push her skirt hem a little bit aside, but this time Nancy had given in to the delicious excitement of Elizabeth's touch, had stopped trying so hard to keep her knees together, and just let herself respond as her body instinctively wanted to. Elizabeth had hesitated, used to Nancy's normal shyness, so Nancy had let her knees twitch apart and almost sighed in relief as Elizabeth's fingers slid between them.

The throbbingly vivid memory of Elizabeth's hand getting slowly further and further up her skirt, fully halfway up her legs to circle on the very insides of her thighs, had played on Nancy's mind ever since. She'd been particularly distracted by it as she'd planned, marked out and finally sewn her home-made dress and miniskirt.

~~~

Nancy painted her nails, then got up and hung her dressing gown on the hook on the door. She walked, naked, to the small chest of drawers and took out the only matching underwear she owned. They were nothing very special, but she felt sexier just knowing they weren't what she normally wore. Then, trembling slightly with curious excitement, she took her dress from its hanger – her dress, that she'd made herself! - and stepped in to it, pulling it down around herself and twisting round with a grunt to zip it up.

Then she flicked her hair out behind a hairband and stood in front of the mirror, to appraise herself.

The dress really did fit well. It was a tiny bit shorter than she'd intended, perhaps, not quite reaching mid-thigh. But maybe her legs weren't as bad as all that? It suggested, rather than hugged, her figure where it touched her breasts and hips and behind. She grinned at herself, and decided it might be alright after all.

~~~

Around the time Nancy had begun to allow Elizabeth to slide her hand further under her skirt, and started planning her new dress, they had been seeing each other outside work for almost three months, and Nancy wondered if things between them were going too fast, even though everything felt good and she was excited to be Elizabeth's friend. She felt good when she was with Elizabeth, because Elizabeth made her feel good. She liked the way Elizabeth kept saying how fond of her she was, and how attractive she found her, and she wished she could be less clumsy about telling Elizabeth she was both amazing and beautiful. She liked the way they found silly things funny together, too, and had a slightly uncanny way of thinking the same thing at the same time a lot.

The physical touching and kissing set her insides alight like nothing she'd felt before. They had started kissing on the mouth quite soon into seeing each other – quickly, furtively, usually in a quiet area of the park or in a dark doorway as Elizabeth walked her back to the bedsit. Initially clumsy and breathless and hurried, then more tender and slower, those kisses invaded Nancy's daydreams almost all the time between dates. Each time she thought about Elizabeth, Nancy felt close to bursting with pleasure.

But she had no real way of knowing how fast was too fast. She had no standard against which to judge her rapidly deepening feelings, and the feelings themselves were an unreliable guide. She didn't know any other women like them. Previous experiences had mainly been awkward fumbles with a couple of other girls at school, clumsy attempts to satisfy a shameful but increasingly irresistible curiosity. There'd been one person, older and more cynical, who had taught her not to feel shame, but who had not let her lose her heart either – what they'd shared had been fun, intense, but necessarily furtive and fraught with friction. Nancy had spent any early affection in just keeping her heart to herself. When the affair had been discovered and they'd been 'forced' to part, it had felt like a release. (Yet had been the cause of her shame at home and her eventual relocation to this dreadful little town.)

She didn't think she could take 'normal' people as an example, because they could be open about their feelings. She wondered whether her and Elizabeth's sort of relationship would ever be 'normal'. Whether people like them, and Kenneth and George, would always find themselves hiding away such intimate parts of themselves and loving only in the shadows, never able to feel completely safe. Always alert to possible discovery. Always kissing with one eye over the other's shoulder, in case someone was coming.

~~~

Finally ready, Nancy pulled the little suitcase she'd packed from under the bed and rested it against her bed as she got her coat and shoes on. She fetched the bottles of lemonade and beer she'd offered to contribute to their picnic and stowed them in a bag, then glanced around the room quickly, to make sure it would be fine for a few days. She flicked the light off and left, quietly locking her door and even more quietly letting the front door shut behind her.

She walked quickly to the café where she was to meet Elizabeth, very conscious of the sensation of her short hem brushing round her thighs, and the edge of her unbuttoned coat on the back of her bare legs. For once, her coat was longer than her clothes. It was a quite strange sensation, but far from unpleasant. The sensation of such a short dress moving against her skin as she walked actually made her feel more than a little sexy.

At the café she saw she had arrived first, as she knew she would. She ordered a tea and slid into a seat away from the window, wedging the case between her feet.

~~~

"Invite me in, Nancy", Elizabeth had asked quietly, a few weeks before, after they'd almost lost themselves completely in an intensely full kiss. Only a cat jumping onto a nearby dustbin with a soft clang had shocked them into stopping. "Please?" She gently wiped a smear of lipstick from the corner of Nancy's mouth.

"I can't, you know I can't. It's so poky and I haven't tidied up, and I'm not allowed visitors anyway. And the bed creaks."

Elizabeth moved against her where they were standing cuddling in the back doorway of a shop. It wasn't quite dark. She slid a hand inside Nancy's light jacket and stroked her waist. "Who said anything about bed?" She moved her hand up Nancy's side and gently stroked the shape of her breasts through her jumper. "I only want to kiss you, I promise."

Nancy sighed as the pleasure flowed though her, and leant back to rest against the brick wall. "Rubbish, you want your way with me. Your triumph." Nancy was only teasing about that, as she'd learnt recently what the make of Elizabeth's car was.

Elizabeth grunted. "Already got one of those. I can't even get you to come in that with me."

"Maybe soon." Nancy reached up and stroked Elizabeth's bob out of her face and let her hand slip into her collar, so she could touch her neck. Nancy was actually already beginning to feel quite strongly that she should place herself in Elizabeth's hands – both metaphorically as their relationship developed, and in reality by letting her take her on drives.

Nancy stroked her friend's neck gently. She had done that once before and knew Elizabeth liked it, but was surprised this time to feel her shudder against her and make a purring sound. Elizabeth tipped her head back quickly, exposing her throat, and pressed her hips and breasts onto Nancy's. Nancy's body flooded with intense pleasure at the sheer physicality of Elizabeth's reaction. "Oh, Lizzie," she whispered and tenderly kissed Elizabeth's neck. She felt bold using the woman's familiar name, but felt also that it was right, somehow.

Elizabeth obviously felt so too, because she jerked her head back down and kissed Nancy again quickly, but hard. "Will you always call me that, when we're together like this?"

Nancy nodded, pleased. "Yes, if you like." Then she frowned. "Anyway. The bed is the only place big enough for us to sit together. Unless you actually like doing this standing up?" Nancy arched her body to press her breast more firmly into Elizabeth's hand and slid her fingers between the buttons of Elizabeth's blouse to pull her closer onto her. She liked the tiny patch of smooth skin she could feel under the fabric, and wondered what the rest of Elizabeth's body felt like.

"Standing up can be fun." Elizabeth moved her hand off Nancy's breasts, down her side, over her hip and gently stroked the curve of the girl's heavy woollen skirt where it sat on her behind. "I'd rather do it lying down, though."

Nancy giggled with excitement and pleasure. The hint of what would be bound to happen, if they did lie down together, made her throb with anticipation. "I knew it. I knew that's what you wanted."

Quickly serious, Elizabeth asked, "You do too, don't you? Want that? With me?"

Nancy was surprised how deeply Elizabeth seemed to feel about it, and how unsure of herself. She touched her cheek. "Yes, I do. I mean, it's all happened so quickly, but yes. I'm sure I do."

Elizabeth grunted then pushed herself back and fumbled for her cigarettes. She lit two and handed one to Nancy, then stood looking out onto the alley. "This is so bloody frustrating."

Nancy leant against her. "I was thinking the other day, about when this would become a problem. Can we go away somewhere? I know it would only be a few days. We'd soon be back here, where we started, with nothing solved. But it would be something."

Elizabeth grunted again and smoked for a moment. "Where on earth would let us take a room together?"

Nancy smiled. "Ah, well. Kenneth and George always have a week on the coast every year. I asked him about it. They know a guesthouse where the owners are 'sympathetic to such arrangements'. As he put it."

Elizabeth chuckled. "You mean it's run by a pair of old queens."

"No. Two women, apparently. Cousins, as far as anyone knows." Nancy flicked her cigarette away. "Which isn't far, obviously."

~~~

Nancy watched through the café window as Elizabeth appeared at the top of the street and walked towards the café. She was in slacks and a silk shirt and Nancy felt her heart flutter almost at the same time as she felt it sink. Elizabeth always looked so very good. Anything Nancy tried, to break out from the dowdy skirts and jumpers she normally wore, would probably just look silly. She tugged her coat around herself self-consciously.

Elizabeth spotted her immediately and strode over to the table, waving at the café owner as if to say she wasn't stopping. She slid in opposite Nancy and grinned. "Hello, darling. Are you ready to go?"

"Can be." Nancy drained her teacup, then grinned back. "Alright. I am now."

Elizabeth took Nancy's case as they left the café, and they linked arms to walk down the street. The Triumph was in a side street, and Elizabeth suddenly turned to Nancy as they approached. "I hope you'll be OK in her. It's quite a long journey."

"It'll be fine. Why wouldn't it be?" She let her coat fall open and nudged Elizabeth gently. "We can always just stop if we need to stretch our legs."

She watched Elizabeth automatically glance down her and was delighted to see her eyes widen as she took in the dress under the coat, and her bare legs. Elizabeth lingered for several moments too long, and Nancy began to feel a lot happier. Elizabeth blinked then moved to put Nancy's case in the small boot, then leant on the back of the car and gazed at her. She ran a hand absent-mindedly over the hamper strapped to the boot-rack. Nancy stood on the pavement rather self-consciously, her weight on one hip while Elizabeth quickly but openly admired her.

Elizabeth swallowed. "Well, Nancy." She stroked a hand over her hair quickly, drawing a finger along her collar, then biting a nail. "Um. I, er...um. Nice dress."

In the moment of quiet staring, Nancy realised that Elizabeth was actually aroused by her appearance, and she felt an urgent twist of pleasure inside. She'd taken a long time this morning to make sure she looked nice for Elizabeth, let alone the time spent making the dress, so her friend's reaction was the best compliment she could have asked for. "Thanks," she smiled shyly. "I made it myself."

Elizabeth ran her eyes over her again and swallowed, then gestured that they should get in the car.

~

Once out of town, Elizabeth nudged the Triumph faster along the lanes. There was some traffic heading towards town, but very little on their side of the road, although they did get stuck for a while behind a tractor pulling a trailer, obviously on its way to the harvest.

Nancy looked around the car and let Elizabeth swear quietly to herself as she failed several times to overtake. Elizabeth had left the soft leather top on, because there was still a light chill in the air and the verges were covered in dew, but inside the car it felt cosy. The leather seat was comfortable, even if it did feel very low, although there was plenty of room to stretch her legs out in the well under the dashboard. The trimming looked well-polished, matching the immaculate paintwork on the exterior, and Nancy glanced at Elizabeth. Her friend obviously cared deeply for her Triumph and she wondered if she cared as deeply for people. Particularly, she wondered if Elizabeth would ever care deeply for her. She shifted slightly in her seat to look at her properly, pulling her knees up and resting them, clasped together lightly, on the edge of central column.

Elizabeth drummed the steering wheel, then gave a little cry of delight as a long straight stretch opened up ahead with nothing coming towards them. She swung the Triumph out into the road and accelerated past the tractor, grabbing for the gearstick as the engine gave a throaty rumble. Her eyes were fixed on the road and her hand slightly overshot, so as she pushed the gears into third, then fourth, her hand moved against Nancy's bare knee and thigh. Nancy felt her tummy lurch, but couldn't tell whether that was the sudden acceleration of the car or the excitement of Elizabeth's touch.

"Hah!" Elizabeth purred. "Here we go." She took her hand off the gearstick and gently stroked Nancy's knee with the back of her fingers. "Sorry about that."

Nancy watched her for a moment. She seemed serious, and Nancy smiled. The driving was obviously taking most of her concentration, so she obviously wasn't entirely aware of what she'd done. "I don't mind." She shifted the position of her legs again slightly, so that when Elizabeth next changed gear she'd be bound to touch her leg again. She half-held her breath as she wondered if and when Elizabeth would notice.

The Triumph bounced over a slight dip in the road and Nancy grabbed the front of the dashboard instinctively, letting out a surprised gasp. Elizabeth chuckled, then apologised and eased off on the accelerator. They settled in to a moderate speed – fast enough to be exciting, sensible enough to allow Nancy to feel safe. Elizabeth glanced over a couple of times, and definitely took in Nancy's legs. "Can you find the atlas?" She gestured towards the glove compartment, and her hand brushed Nancy's knee lightly.

Nancy leant forward and pulled the book onto her lap, flicking through it to find the appropriate page. She failed and Elizabeth tried to help while driving one-handed, although succeeded only in knocking the atlas off Nancy's legs. "Blast! I'll pull over," she muttered.

A little further on, Elizabeth stopped the Triumph in the entrance to a field, and Nancy spread the atlas out on her lap again. Elizabeth leaned over and Nancy was very aware of how close her head was, of the gentle waft of her perfume. Elizabeth traced the line of the road they were on, then the route she intended to take on a series of minor roads. They were heading gradually east and south towards the coast, and Nancy thought it would take them several hours. She liked the pressure of Elizabeth's hand on her lap though the map. She also used the stop to take her coat off, as the sun was beginning to warm the car nicely. She folded it into the narrow space behind the seats.

They set off again, only for Elizabeth to realise after another half-hour that she'd left her cigarettes in her bag, in the boot. "I've got some," Nancy offered, leaning round to dig in her coat pocket. She felt the hem of her dress rise up her thighs as she twisted in the seat, but she decided she didn't mind much, especially as she turned back round and caught Elizabeth looking. She smiled at her friend and tugged her hem down a little, then made to light the cigarettes.

Elizabeth shook her head. "I'll pull over in a bit, and we can get the roof down. It's warm enough, I think."

She pulled over into a lay-by as soon as she could. Nancy got out to help fold the leather top away, then they leant side-by-side on the warm bonnet, to smoke in the sunshine and share a bottle of lemonade while they stretched their legs. Nancy liked the way the sunshine warmed her bare arms and legs. Elizabeth leant in, and Nancy liked the pressure of her arm behind her on the bonnet. Elizabeth's hand lightly rested against her backside. Her voice was soft in Nancy's ear. "This might ruffle your beautiful hair. I'm sorry." She indicated the open-top car, and the stretch of open road.

Nancy shrugged, liking the feel of her friend so close.

Ever since they'd left town, there had been a slight tension between them, an unspoken acknowledgement that they were going to be alone together for a few days, as free as they would ever be to be fully themselves with each other. Nancy had been looking forward to it for weeks, could hardly wait any longer to give in to her affections for Elizabeth, and now it was here she could barely stop herself fidgeting with excitement. Elizabeth seemed more relaxed, but her voice was husky as she brushed some hair away from Nancy's cheek and put her lips near her ear. "You look...um. I love that dress."

"I'm pleased." Nancy didn't dare move her head, it was so nice to feel Elizabeth's mouth on her cheek. She knew Elizabeth liked her, as much as she liked Elizabeth, but it was desperately exciting to feel it so directly. Elizabeth brushed her lips over her neck and Nancy sighed. She thought she was probably breathing too hard, giving herself away, and she could feel the colour in her cheeks. Her body had started to tingle pleasantly. "I made it...for...well, to wear for you. After you showed me that magazine..."

Elizabeth flicked her cigarette away and ran the back of her hand down the dress slowly, lightly brushing the curve of Nancy's breast, then her side and hip. "I'm honoured." She kissed Nancy's cheek as the girl shivered at her touch, then waited until their eyes met again. "And, I must admit, quite aroused, darling. It's a very sexy dress."

Nancy bit her lip and blushed heavily, as her body flooded with pleasure. There was a sparkle in Elizabeth's eye, but she knew she was serious too, and she felt herself smile. Alone together for three whole days! Their modest holiday stretched ahead like the promise of heaven.

They might have kissed properly, but they heard an engine approach from the rear, and Elizabeth moved away as another car motored past.

~

Back on the move, the wind rushed over the windscreen and ruffled Nancy's loose hair, and the Triumph bounced along the long, empty roads and Elizabeth occasionally let her hand stray to Nancy's knee between changing gear. They climbed up into the Wolds and had their breath taken by the views unfolding on either side of the road.

~

Taking Nancy by surprise, Elizabeth suddenly slewed the Triumph off the road just as they emerged from a small wooded hill climb, and parked up on a narrow lay-by. She twisted the key out and nudged Nancy's knee with her hand. "I think we should have lunch here. Come on."

They took the hamper and one of Nancy's bottles and a blanket that Elizabeth had stashed behind the seats, and walked through the tree cover away from the road. Right at the edge of the wood, yards from a drop down into a field, they found a small clear spot with an almost perfect view out over the countryside they'd just driven through. Having spread the blanket, they settled down to Elizabeth's picnic of potted meat and cheese and bread and strawberries and slices of apple, and they shared the bottle of beer.

After they'd eaten, Elizabeth lay back and smoked while Nancy cleared the things away. She was kneeling over the hamper to fasten it as she put their rubbish to one side, when she felt Elizabeth's hand stroke the side of her leg. She hesitated, twitching her leg towards Elizabeth a little, and felt Elizabeth hesitate too. In the moment of stillness, Elizabeth's fingers traced the hem of Nancy's dress, then spread out over her bare thigh. Nancy held her breath and enjoyed the sensation of yearning desire making her insides ache.

"Nancy?" Elizabeth's voice was husky. "Lie next to me?" Elizabeth's index finger circled on the inside of her thigh.

Nancy flicked the hamper closed, then turned towards Elizabeth and knelt next to her, her knees pressing Elizabeth's side gently. Elizabeth's hand was still on her leg. She took Elizabeth's cigarette and smoked it for a few puffs, then stubbed it out in the grass. Elizabeth lay still on her back, watching her. Nancy shifted down to lie alongside her, moving her hand away and tugging at her dress ineffectually, then resting a hand on Elizabeth's tummy. Elizabeth placed a hand over hers and lifted her head, and suddenly they were kissing. Nancy felt the floodgates of pleasure break inside her as their mouths melded together – firm, warm, gasping, breathless – and their tongues slid around each other – playing, stroking – and they both forgot where they were.

Nancy moved her body against Elizabeth's and gradually manoeuvred herself onto her back, whilst encouraging Elizabeth to roll over onto her. Their legs entwined and Nancy stroked Elizabeth's back through her soft shirt. Elizabeth ran her fingers through Nancy's disarrayed hair and stroked her side through the dress. She pressed her thigh firmly between Nancy's legs and moved her body against the girl's, and was deeply aroused when she felt Nancy begin to move in rhythm under her.

Nancy felt Elizabeth's hand stray to her raised knee, and moved her leg to make it easier for Elizabeth to stroke. She wanted to feel Elizabeth's hands on her body, all over her, and the thought made her insides melt with excitement. She stroked down Elizabeth's back and let her hand stray over the soft, tailored cotton of Elizabeth's trousers, feeling the taut curves of her bottom. She kissed Elizabeth more excitedly and pressed her hips up onto her thigh, aroused by the feel of the material stroking the soft insides of her legs.

Elizabeth moved her hand up the inside of Nancy's leg, her wrist pushing at the crumpled hem of the minidress, and Nancy's kiss faltered as she was overwhelmed by arousal. Elizabeth kissed her neck instead and hesitated as her hand slid fully under the dress and lightly brushed the front of Nancy's panties. Nancy was clearly more than ready for her, but she still whispered in her ear. "Is this alright? Shall I continue?"

Under her, Nancy shuddered. "Oh, Lizzie," she sighed. "Please. Don't stop now." She quickly took Elizabeth's head in her hands and kissed her hard. Their mouths were soft and wet from previous kisses, and Nancy murmured in pleasure as her tongue entwined around Elizabeth's.

Dizzy with pleasure, Elizabeth returned the kiss, then moved her lips to Nancy's neck and throat again as she pressed her fingers up into the girl's wet heat. Nancy groaned and raised her hips to meet them, then settled down into the rhythm as Elizabeth began to stroke her.

~

Afterwards, Nancy held on to Elizabeth for a while, reluctant to let her go. When Elizabeth finally slid off her, Nancy lay and stared at the sunlight falling through the trees. Her head was thick with pleasure and her whole body was languid. For the first time in a long time, she felt utterly happy. She turned her head to look at Elizabeth, who was a little flushed and breathing hard, then leant up and kissed her firmly. Elizabeth returned the kiss eagerly and Nancy realised she was still aroused. Nancy felt relaxed and happy in her satiated glow, but felt another little tingle of excitement at the idea of Elizabeth's unsatisfied lust.

She pushed her hair behind her ears and raised herself on her elbow, nudging Elizabeth to lie on her back. Elizabeth raised an eyebrow and smiled, then rested her head back on the rug and closed her eyes as Nancy began to kiss her neck. She sighed in pleasure as Nancy undid the top button on her blouse and kissed the soft skin there. Nancy slid her hand down over Elizabeth's breast, over her tummy, to the front of her slacks. She fumbled them open and Elizabeth gasped. "Nancy...oh...are you sure?"

"Shhh. I want to." Nancy nuzzled her neck and pushed her hand inside the slacks.

~

Elizabeth reached up and buried her hand in Nancy's hair as the pleasure gripped her body. She moved her hand down and held the back of Nancy's neck as Nancy kissed her throat and neck again and kept up the relentless pressure of her fingers in Elizabeth.

Elizabeth finally abandoned herself to the pleasure and whispered Nancy's name over and over, arching her body as the joy of her climax washed through her. Nancy realised what was happening and felt a lurch of joy herself at her friend's pleasure, leaning in to kiss Elizabeth's flushed face and swollen lips.

~

Elizabeth gently took hold of Nancy's wrist and pulled her hand out of her slacks, twisting it and sliding her fingers between Nancy's. They rested their clasped hands on the rug and kissed casually, sharing the warm pleasure of their bodies pressing together.

Nancy shifted to lie on her side, cuddled up to Elizabeth, who lay on her back recovering her breathing. Nancy fiddled with the open button of Elizabeth's shirt and Elizabeth played absent-mindedly with Nancy's hair. The sunlight through the trees was warm on their faces and arms and Nancy's legs.

Eventually, Elizabeth said softly, "I think we should get back to the car. Else we'll never get there." But she stayed lying on her back and watched as Nancy slowly got up and tugged her dress down, and Nancy smiled at the casual desire so blatant in Elizabeth's eyes. Nancy loosened her hair and brushed it roughly with her fingers, then replaced her hairband, then bent down to move the hamper off the rug. Her body was still sensitive from their love-making, and she could feel the way the dress moved against her and she knew Elizabeth was watching. She liked to know Elizabeth was looking at her, finding her sexy, desiring her.

Elizabeth sighed and fastened her slacks, then stood up and took the hamper so Nancy could fold the blanket. They kissed again quickly, then returned to the car.

~

They were quiet together at first, and Nancy just watched Elizabeth drive. When Elizabeth's hand moved to rest on Nancy's knee, Nancy placed her own hand over it and slid it onto her thigh, holding it there with her fingers between Elizabeth's. Elizabeth moved it when she needed to change gear but returned it to Nancy's leg immediately, and they drove on for a while, comfortable in this shared, casual intimacy.

After a while, they began to talk, more seriously than they ever had before. Elizabeth was relieved to learn that Nancy was less innocent than she appeared; Nancy confirmed her suspicion that Elizabeth was less casual, and took her relationships much more seriously, than she liked to pretend. They shared a smile as they realised together that they were both anxious to find a way of staying together, of pursuing their relationship as fully as possible.

They squeezed hands, where they were resting on Nancy's leg. She liked the warmth of Elizabeth's fingers on her bare skin. "We'll have to be careful," she warned. "Discreet. People will talk otherwise."

Elizabeth nodded. "People will talk anyway. Especially about me." She glanced at Nancy. "Do you mind that? Being guilty by association?"

Nancy sighed. "I don't come with a completely unblemished reputation myself, Lizzie." She explained briefly about the affair with her teacher: how they had been careless and become the focus of rumour; how Nancy had confessed but her lover had denied everything; how the woman had been discreetly found another job elsewhere and Nancy had been thrown out of school as soon as her exams were finished; how she had been forced to leave home and get a job. "That's why I'm a shop girl here. Thank goodness I'm a decent seamstress."

Elizabeth stroked her leg gently. "That's appalling." Then she smiled kindly. "But you're an excellent seamstress, and you make a lovely shop girl, and you are gorgeous. So I'm glad you are here. Purely selfishly." She thought for a while. "Don't worry, Nancy. I shan't ever be so careless about our relationship, and I certainly won't ever abandon you like that. I promise."

Nancy squeezed Elizabeth's hand. "Thank you."

Elizabeth drove in silence for a while, thinking. When she glanced at Nancy's face, Nancy was just looking at her with open affection, and Elizabeth felt her heart beat quicker. No-one had ever really been quite so obviously fond of her, and Elizabeth realised she actually did want to see if things between them would work. "We'll find a way to make this work," she said softly.

Nancy smiled and stroked Elizabeth's fingers where they rested on her knee. "Thank you again."

Elizabeth glanced at their hands, then grinned naughtily at Nancy. "You really do have the loveliest hands." Nancy blushed, and Elizabeth went on. "That time you fitted my dress, your hands on me...I shivered with pleasure every time I thought about it for ages afterwards."

Nancy chuckled. "Don't be silly." She was secretly delighted, though.

"I'm not." Elizabeth looked at her seriously, and Nancy saw real desire in her eyes. "I meant what I said. I really want to feel you undress me."

~

They made good time in the Triumph, and as they drove in silence again for a while, Nancy subtly slid Elizabeth's hand higher up her thigh. She was excited by Elizabeth's honesty, and by how free they could be in the car to share and demonstrate their attraction to each other.

Eventually, Elizabeth realised that her fingers were deep between her friend's thighs, sliding under the hem of the dress. As soon as she could, Elizabeth pulled over again and they took the blanket into a field and made love under cover of a high hawthorn hedge.

~

When the reached their seaside destination, Elizabeth parked the Triumph down the road from the address Kenneth had given them, and they took their cases in to the guesthouse. The proprietors were knowingly welcoming, and the small room had two single beds pushed together. There was a basin in one corner and an old arm chair in the the other, and a small wardrobe. Nancy and Elizabeth agreed it would be perfect for a few days.

They went for a stroll in the evening sunshine, arm-in-arm along the front, and dawdled at the amusement arcade. They ate fish and chips on a bench before finding a quiet pub for a half of beer. Each time they looked at each other, the memory of the sex on the blanket was thick between them, and the anticipation of sharing the room danced in their eyes.

When they returned to the guesthouse they locked the room door and drew the curtains and held each other gently, to kiss by the foot of the bed. They were very careful to stay as quiet as possible.

Nancy undressed Elizabeth carefully, exploring her body with her fingers as it was revealed. Elizabeth closed her eyes and shuddered under Nancy's gentle touch. Then Elizabeth undid the dress and slid it off Nancy's shoulders, kissing the girl's body in its wake.

As Elizabeth turned to drag both pillows onto one of the beds, Nancy slipped out of her underwear, and left all their clothes in a messy pile on the floor. She joined Elizabeth by the bed and they kissed deeply, gasping into each other's mouths at the feel of bare skin on skin. The two women lay down together on top of the covers and kissed every inch of each other's naked bodies, still as quiet as possible, then Nancy let Elizabeth make silent, intense love to her, late into the night.