It is not good to write this down, because some day Mina might read this, and it will make her unhappy, but it is the truth. The women whispered together, and then all three of them laughed. Their laughter was light and like music, but it sounded too hard to have ever come through soft human lips. It was like the sound of some music, which is eventually too sweet for you to bear. The other women were encouraging the blonde girl to do something, but she was pretending that she did not want to.

One said, "Go on! You are first, and we shall follow. You are the one who should begin."

The other added, "He is young and strong. There are kisses for us all."

I lay quiet, looking out from under my eyelashes waiting eagerly for what would happen next. The blonde girl came forward and bent over me till I could feel her breath upon me. In one way her breath was sweet as honey. It made me shiver in the same way that her voice did. But there was something bitter underneath the sweet, something bitter and disturbing, like the smell of blood.