Chapter 1
One thing had to be said for Susan Kane, the head librarian at the local library in Ariana, the small village on Long Island. She was consistent. She awoke the same time every morning, wore the same style dress that covered her from neck to mid-calf with a white collar and cuffs, and in spite of her natural golden-red hair, wore any of three different wigs, all of them as red as her own hair. Not that Susan didn't get her hair done. She did, every Saturday morning, and when she removed her wig every night, her short-cut red hair was still perfectly in place.
like all redheads, Susan had white skin that freckled in the summer, but un-like most redheads she had brown eyes and not blue or gray eyes. She wore a foundation girdle under her dress not because she needed anything to pull her waist in, but rather because she was on her feet all day long, and wanted to give her spine as much support as possible. It was the kind of girdle with stocking snaps on the bottom because Susan was unable to see throwing away good money on a garter belt when the girdle was capable of doing an equally good job. She preferred stockings to pantyhose and wore her panties outside her girdle so she wouldn't have to remove the foundation garment when "powdering her nose."
If one were to see Susan Kane at night, one would realize she was a stunningly beautiful woman. Her eyes were large, her nose was upcurved, and she had full, sensuous lips. But other than her mirror, no one saw Susan Kane at night.
Granted she was unable to hide the fullness of her swollen, firm breasts, nor was she able to hide the narrowness of her waist. In spite of the length of her dresses, it was obvious she had full-blown, well-shaped calves and very trim ankles. Her size five feet fitted into narrow stylish shoes that were medium-heeled so she would sensibly be able to stand on her feet at work. Each pair of shoes always matched the color of the dress she was wearing.
Susan attended church every Sunday morning, devoutly believing her soul was cleansed because she had "spoken to God" at that time. The reverend was always pleased to see her there and favored her with a wide smile which she took as another sign from God that she was doing the right thing. She knew none of the male congregation looked on her with covetous eyes, and she was pleased. At the age of thirty-three, she was still a virgin, and would probably remain as such unless she found a man she considered worthy of her. Worthy meant he had to be a churchgoer, but he had to have eyes only for her, plain as she appeared.
She wore dark-rimmed glasses, and the wig she had on when working was always pulled back into a severe bun. She never wore makeup, and though her lips had a natural pinkness to them, they never glistened because she refused to wet them.
As a librarian, Susan did a lot of reading. She loved the old classics, the romance novels, even the gothic novels and the Harlequin books that came out every month. She was a speed reader and was able to go through one of the paperbacks in twenty minutes, absorbing the full contents of the book, inwardly sighing, still waiting for Mr. Right to come along. All the heroines in these novels seemed to always fall for Mr. Wrong before finally happily ending with Mr. Right. Well Susan had no intention of falling for Mr. Wrong. She intended saving her virginity for one man, and one man only. After all, the removal of her hymen was going to hurt, and if she had to surrender her body to a man, it might just as well be the right man. He had to be a romantic man who was willing to love her for herself, who went to church regularly, and who accepted that the only reason for his touching her body would be for children. In fact, Susan only wanted one child. Then her husband, whoever he was, would have to be content with pure thoughts.
Many men fitted the description of Mr. Right in Susan's mind, but most of them were either already married or weren't interested in her. Susan had her pride and had no intention of chasing after any man.
The one man she -liked a lot was Professor Corey who came into the library at least two days a week. He was tall, handsome, vibrant, the kind of man one read about in love stories, and he radiated desire. The trouble was, even though he was single, he wasn't religious. Susan was certain she would never be able to live her life with a non-religious man. So much as she -liked Edwin Corey, she never responded with more than a nod when he wished her a good day.
For his part, Professor Edwin Corey, being a very astute individual, recognized the true beauty that lay under the plain drab look Susan used. However, as a bachelor, he had lots of latitude with women. They were always inviting him to their homes with the intent of either marrying him themselves, or trying to set him up with a sister or girl friend. Corey always went along to a point, because he had an easy, seductive manner about him, and he believed all women, pretty or ugly, deserved to be fucked. As a result he was able to seduce more than his share of them, after which he was able to convince them what a horrible husband he would make.
Where Susan Kane was concerned, he was certain he would enjoy bedding her, should he ever get the opportunity, but he doubted such an opportunity would ever come along. Being realistic, he accepted the situation, but he was always charming. After all, one never knew when an opportunity might arise.