It was the morning after the night before. Rachel and Kate were very late up; they had missed breakfast and upset the chambermaid by being in their room when she wanted to clean it.
"Do you think we should go to the conference?" Rachel asked.
Kate yawned. "I suppose we could put in an appearance, collect some papers and reports to impress Desmond, then do the shops."
"Sounds good."
A little before noon they entered the conference hall. Half an hour later they emerged into a chilly, faintly damp day which encouraged them to do nothing more than move from one shop to another. They bought very little, but did a great deal of browsing. When a sex shop hoved into view they studiously avoided it, Rachel not wanting a repetition of her reaction to its contents.
Returning early to the hotel they had plenty of time to relax in the sauna and enjoy a little light reading before preparing for the evening ahead. Rachel had bought a black dress in a semi-fitted style with adjustable bra strap detailing and a red trim on the bodice. It was cut low and came only half way down her thighs. She was bra-less, her underwear consisting of nothing more than a black sheer thong, cutting into the cleft of her bottom and only just covering her pubic hair.
"You'll freeze to death in that little number," Kate commented.
"I'll be wearing my coat outside, and it'll be hot enough in the disco, or wherever we go."
"You never know. They might be planning on sex in the park."
"What are you wearing?" asked Rachel.
"Same as last night. We're here for such a short time I didn't pack much."
"Neither did I. That's why I bought this dress."
Kate pursed her lips. "Yes...well...there's not too much of it."
"Don't I look all right?" Rachel peered anxiously at herself in the mirror.
"You look bloody marvellous. That's the trouble. Beside you, I resemble an old maid."
"You're being too hard on yourself."
"I couldn't be."
The telephone rang. It was Dirk to say he and his brother were waiting downstairs. There was a last minute flurry of activity as Kate scrambled into her clothes and Rachel made a couple of alterations to her make-up, as well as liberally dowsing herself in perfume.
The evening began as before with a couple of drinks in De Drie Fleschjes, then on to a meal at an Indonesian restaurant.
"After this we go for a walk," Dirk announced.
Rachel looked down at her strappy shoes with a 4" heel. "You expect me to walk in these?"
"It is not far and will not be for long."
Not long turned out to be over an hour, much of it spent struggling down narrow, cobbled streets. The two women were being taken on a tour of the Red Light District, full of drug pushers, sex shops and, of course, female prostitutes sitting on a padded seat in a window. They were half naked, but made no attempt to sell their wares, being content to gaze out of their goldfish bowl with blank eyes, or idly browse through a magazine. The biggest impression given was that of boredom. In some windows the curtains were drawn.
"She has a customer," Jan declared.
In the middle of it all, incongruously stood the Oude Kerk.
"Old Church," Dirk explained. "It is the oldest building in Amsterdam and the original church of the fishing community. The tower is 13th century, and the chapel 15th."
"Very medieval," Jan added. "Grey flagstones...stark and severe. It is an interesting place to visit if you like churches."
Rachel shook her head. "I don't."
"Anyway, we're going home tomorrow." Kate sounded sad.
Jan took hold of her hands. "But you must come back. It is a city to welcome you every time."
"I believe you."
"But, this is no time for sorrow." Dirk sounded ebullient. "Now is the time for us to go and be entertained."
"Where?" Rachel looked around at the dark mass of the church and the surrounding buildings. "We seem to have come away from everything."
Dirk wagged a finger. "What you see is not what there is." He took her arm and began to walk more briskly than she cared to go. "We turn a corner, look across the canal and..... Daar is het."
He pointed to a brightly lit canopy which seemed to belong to a theatre. Flashing electric signs promised Live Sex.
The two women were led across a narrow bridge and then to the front of the cabaret theatre, its entrance flanked by large and revealing pictures of both men and women.
Kate pulled back. "You're not taking us in here."
"But why not?" enquired Dirk.
"Women don't go to gaze at people having sex. That's for men."
"You think so?"
They watched as a couple, man and woman, happily went inside. It was obvious she felt no inhibitions.
"She's probably not English," Kate muttered.