She was waiting in the centre of the room when Leon entered. Hands on her hips, left leg forward, right hip raised. Her lips were bare.
Leon closed his eyes for two or three seconds. When he opened them and saw Tess again, the world was gone. The dress she wore - and it was obvious that she understood this - was one of the two or three that she would wear flawlessly in her lifetime. Leon sat on the chair by the shoe cupboards and let the tears fall down his cheeks. Tess knew not to move, but she smiled.
Leon Joyce's great love for his wife Tess had nothing to do with 'vulgar sex' and everything to do with beauty. Tess, who very much enjoyed vulgar sex, looked elsewhere for her pleasure.
Now she is dead and Leon has stumbled on the details of her last infatuation. He retreats to his country property, Joyful, demented with grief and jealousy, and forms a bizarre plan to retrieve (posthumously) his wife’s devotion.
