After the tensions concerning Broughton had eased, Valerie directed the conversation to home matters, asking Penny, "Did George bring much from Chester Square?"

"He and Grace arranged to have everything packed and brought over from the bedrooms, bathrooms and closets. Also the pieces from the drawing room." She chuckled. "It had been rather sparse upstairs."

"We should go up and organise."

"It's been done." Penny pointed along the hall. "And we're nearly done moving Mr Benton's office up to the library."

Lorne nodded. "And my bedroom?"

"Per your instructions, all but the furniture is now up on the second floor."

Chloe grinned as she squirmed on her stool, remaining silent under Valerie's glare.

Lorne returned Chloe's grin, then gave her an exaggerated air kiss. "We should go up and see what's been done." He drained the last from his cup as he stood.

Chloe trotted up the stairs with Chianti at her heels, and while Valerie, Lorne and Penny were still on their way up, Chloe called down, "It looks just like our old home. Well, except for all the empty space."

"Oh, my! It does, doesn't it?" Valerie said as she walked toward the arrangement at the far end of the drawing room.

Penny accompanied her, explaining, "Grace had taken photos of your arrangement, and we all made a game of duplicating it."

Lorne hugged Valerie to his side. "Feel more like home, now?"

"Oh, God! You have no idea how much. Nearly two months since we've been home – Christmas week disrupted, and ever since." She pointed to the closer of the davenports. "I need to sit and absorb it for a moment. Just feel it again." She grabbed Lorne's hand. "Come sit with me."

She spent a while reacquainting her eyes with familiar objects, then she said to Penny, "I must thank Grace for her thoughtfulness and initiative."

"It was Mr Benton's idea."

Valerie leaned and melted into Lorne, sighing a loud hum as he caressed her. When she had recomposed herself, she lifted her head from Lorne's chest and gazed into his eyes. "When did you have time to arrange this?"

"When Penny told me Grace and George were moving some of your things from Chester Square. You've been camping long enough, and I want you to feel comfortable here. I saw no sense in your moving into emptiness and disorder."

He turned and pointed to the large unfurnished area behind them. "There wasn't time to fill all the emptiness." He shrugged. "Besides, it would have been impossible to match or even to complement your furnishings in such short order."

Valerie nodded as she examined the decor. "I'm overwhelmed." She paused to wipe her cheeks and eyes, then turned to Penny. "You must have worked your butts off to get all this done so quickly."

"We had little to do except direct and supervise. The decorators brought extra hands to assist both here and upstairs."

"Decorators? Upstairs?"

"They didn't have time to finish Chloe's, but yours was completed last evening. They'll be back mid-morning with her drapes and a few more accent pieces." She pointed to the windows. "The drapes in here are a bit too long, and they need to be re-hemmed."

Valerie hummed as more tears spilt, then she collapsed onto Lorne's chest again, blotting her face on his shirt as she mumbled, "Love you to bits, you crazy man."

He held her close and stroked the back of her head. "We should go up and see what they've created. I had asked for simple elegance, and I'm curious to see their interpretation."

Valerie nodded and sniffled. "I'm not accustomed to being cared for. You'll have to bear with me as I adjust to it."

"Strange to me as well. Caring for someone." He kissed the top of her head. "We'll have to help each other adapt. Come, let's go look."

A minute later, they stopped just inside the room for a first impression. "Oh, my! So uncluttered and calm." She squeezed his hand. "I love the subdued tone. Who did you use?"

"Adrian and Leane Haskett. I was pleased with what they had done with the kitchen and dining room."

She whispered into his ear, "How soundproof is it?"

He chuckled. "We can test it."

She elbowed him gently in the ribs and giggled. "Not now. We're not alone." She wrapped an arm around Chloe as she came sidling up. "What do you think, Sweetheart?"

"I love the fresh, peaceful feeling. The whites and the creams." She sighed. "Pinks wouldn't work with Daddy in here, would they?"

Valerie blushed. "No, they wouldn't. But let's go up and see what they've done with yours."

<><><>

Two and a half hours later, Valerie sat in the drawing room, preparing for her afternoon meeting with the two women who claim they had been raped. She was absorbed with reading background reports and extracts from Court documents and medical files when her email pinged. The pop-up showed it was from Lydia, so she clicked and read.

Hi, Val;
A new twist. Broughton has brought suit against you for false claims which led to his conviction for rape. The Court verdict notwithstanding, they maintain it was consensual sex.
Call me,
Lydia

Fuck! She picked up her phone, and when Lydia had answered, she asked, "Is he serious?"

"Very. He's engaged Peters and Peters."

"Hmmm. Definitely not fly-by-night. What about the video showing me lolling unresponsive, near-comatose as he violated me? The lab report indicating high residual Rohypnol?"

"I'm sure they'll continue to argue you were using the drug to calm your nerves."

"Fuck!" Valerie shook her head. "Mum's addiction taught me to stay away from drugs. I need to be in severe agony even to take an aspirin."

"We know that. We need to ensure the Court knows it as well. "

"Yeah, and they'll likely still dispute the testimony from my professors and fellow students."

"I'm sure they will."

"And the manipulated images?"

"They'll maintain his claim they could have been done by anyone using your photos in the Harrods flyers and catalogues and images published in the sleazy magazines."

"What about the lack of graininess from scanned pics?"

"Good point. We didn't need to use that in 2005. We'll leave that one up our sleeve. The Court archives will have all the photos we entered into evidence."

"Will we even get that far? The past couple of hours combing through the documents on Sylvia and Roxana have convinced me he'll soon be facing additional rape charges. I cannot believe Sylvia's accusation was denied."

"The stigma of reputation. A porn model and a stripper."

"That has nothing to do with being raped."

"We know that. Unfortunately, most of the Crown Prosecution Service lawyers are male, as are seventy percent of our judiciary."

"Yeah."