Two artists, Fred and Henry,  immersed in the Pre-Raphaelite art movement, with its yearning for romantic escape from the materialism of Victorian society.  Two men deeply in love with their beautiful models.  But every heart hides a secret and both couples have put certain shameful events behind them, events that, if exposed, could threaten their blissful new life. The Crimson Bed, a family heirloom passed down through the female blood line since Elizabethan times, brings with it ancestral secrets that will eventually affect Fred leading him into the darkness of London slums and a very different world to that of his peaceful home. Passions escalate as he becomes increasingly jealous of his wife’s closeness to her handsome godfather, Lord Percy Dillinger, and when shocking truths finally come to light, their lives will never be the same again . . .

Adult Sexual scenes

The Crimson Bed created by Loretta Proctor an eGlobal Creative Publishing signed author.

The Crimson Bed

Sometimes Fred wondered if Henry's dramatic new picture had grown from some inner sense of doom, a prediction of approaching disaster. On Henry's insistence, Tippy had been taken to the Lying-in Hospital when her time approached. She had begun to bleed a little and he felt anxious. However, all appeared to go well and Tippy was delivered of a little girl.


'We shall call her Eleanor, after you,' said Tippy when Ellie called to see her.


'I am delighted, dear Tippy, proud that I shall be Eleanor's godmother.'


Tippy smiled and looked at the little sleeping bundle in the cot by her bed. The young girl's face was drawn and tired. She had had a long and painful labour and her insides still felt mangled and messy. But she was happy that little Eleanor looked healthy and suckled well.  She was tired but happy.


Ellie took her limp hand and held it for a while.


'You really must rest,' she said, 'it's been a hard labour. Next time will be much easier.'


Chapter 57: Little Eleanor is born