Lydia burst into a peal of laughter, quite against her will, suddenly imagining opening a concert programme to find the harpist listed as ‘Slut Whore Latimer’.
“I’m sorry,” she giggled. “I just…that’s really…oh my God.”
“Control yourself, Lydia.”
Karl-Heinz spoke for the first time in this exchange, his voice calm but so authoritative that Lydia shut her mouth immediately and looked down at her plate, mortified.
“This brings us to the agenda for tonight,” continued Karl-Heinz. “Lydia is curious about your power exchange relationship, and you are answering some of her questions already. Of course, everybody is different and no two relationships are the same, but I wonder if there are any elements of your dynamic she might want to adopt.”
Lydia was not sure if she was expected to answer this, as Karl-Heinz was ostensibly addressing Hackmeyer, but she chipped in anyway.
“I don’t want anyone calling me rude names in front of other people,” she said. “That’s not for me.”
“But I hope you respect the fact that it is for some people, Lydia,” said Karl-Heinz, frowning.
“There’s a little formula we sometimes use,” said Hackmeyer. “Your kink is not my kink, but your kink is okay.”
“Oh, of course,” said Lydia, feeling hot in the face and humbled. “I never meant to judge you.”
“Good.”
Hackmeyer signalled the wai
ting staff to remove the plates, also signalling an end to the controversy, for which Lydia was grateful.
So why did she wade into even murkier waters with her next remark? She could not have explained it herself, except that she felt a need to steer the conversation away from sex. They’d only just finished their starters, after all. Surely it should wait for dessert?
“I was in two minds about coming here tonight,” she said.
“Oh?” said Hackmeyer, while Karl-Heinz frowned and Sarah sneered.
“I bet that’s something to do with that whacking great elephant in the corner,” said the harpist. “An elephant called Milan Kaspar. I can’t believe Karl-Heinz lets you see him. Julius would never allow it.”
Lydia saw Karl-Heinz’s brow darken at this aspersion on his dominance.
Hackmeyer remonstrated with a sharp, “Slut!”, and Sarah slouched back into her chair, temporarily silenced.
“That’s why I’m with a man like Karl-Heinz and not a man like Julius,” said Lydia. “We suit each other. He respects me and doesn’t try to rule my life. I wouldn’t want that. I understand that you do, and that’s fine, but I need more in the way of personal space and freedom. And yes, I did want to talk about Milan.”
Hackmeyer groaned. “I can feel my appetite slipping away.”
“Don’t you feel guilty for what you did?” demanded Lydia. “He obviously pissed you off and I can understand why you wanted to hurt him, but to do something that had such a terrible impact on his career…it’s horrible. And that wasn’t even enough—you’re still trying to sabotage him now, just as he’s starting to get the recognition his talent deserves. I don’t want to make a scene, really I don’t, but I’d like to ask you, quietly and without drama, to lay off him now.”
Hackmeyer sighed.
“I see Kaspar has given you only half of the story. Not surprising really. He loves to cast himself in the most flattering light. Well, let’s get this straight, shall we? He told you he had a fling with Sophie?”
“A secret relationship.”
“I suppose he told you he cared about her?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, he did.”
Hackmeyer shook his head. “It was a game to him. We were rivals, I had something I liked, he took it from me. That was how he felt about her. She was a pawn, to be used and discarded.”
“He didn’t discard her. Her father broke them up, after you tipped him off.”
“Oh, so they weren’t both adults, capable of going against an old man who didn’t understand their love?”