The sisters were seated opposite Miss Robin's desk. Miss Robin sat with her hands clasped, her expression inscrutable.
Marnie looked at Elspeth and then at Lippy. Her sisters—they were certainly her sisters. Lippy, in particular, resembled her so closely they were sometimes taken for twins. Each had the same blue eyes and strawberry blonde hair, the same small-busted, broad-hipped figure they had inherited from their mother.
But in speaking to her sisters, Marnie often felt that she was trying to speak to members of a different species whose perception of the world was so far removed from her own as to make communication all but impossible.
"Well, don't stand there like a goose!" said Elspeth. "Sit! I hear congratulations are in order!"
Marnie, tentative, sat in an empty chair next to her sisters.
"My, my," said Elspeth. "It seems as though a certain major has robbed me of my governess, after all. Of course, I didn't know he was serious when he came to call on you the other day. Who would have thought it—our dear Marnie finally taken down off the shelf!"
"I wrote to Mrs. Talbot to confirm that you were no longer available for the position of governess," said Miss Robin.
"And I think it's just wonderful. Wonderful! We both think it's wonderful news, don't we, Lippy?"
"Oh, wonderful," said Lippy. She gave Marnie a tight smile.
Marnie tried to think of something to say to her younger sister.
"And how have you been, Lippy? How are you enjoying this season in London?"
"It has been most enjoyable, thank you," said Lippy quickly.
"And yet she still finds herself single and without a suitor!" cried Elspeth. "Can you believe it? A girl so pretty, so agreeable, so accomplished. Why, at a dinner at the Turners' last night, she sang and played the pianoforte for forty-five minutes straight. It was captivating. I swear I saw Mrs. Turner wipe a tear from her eye during a particularly high and intricate passage."
"How lovely," said Miss Robin.
"But we are here to talk about dear Marnie, not about poor Lippy," said Elspeth. "I wanted to offer my congratulations, and of course, I am simply dying to meet your major. Properly, I mean."
"Of course," said Marnie, squeezing her hands in her lap. She didn't know what her sister was getting at, but she knew it wouldn't be good.
"You know, I've asked around about your Major Chance—I've spoken to a number of our military connections—and while I hear that he is a most excellent soldier, no one knows much about the Chance family."
"He didn't buy his position. He earned it," said Marnie, colour appearing in her cheeks.
"Oh," said Elspeth. She and Lippy exchanged a look. "Well, that's admirable, isn't it?" said Elspeth.
"Very admirable," Lippy said.
"Anyway, he's a major now, and that is most respectable indeed. And we would just love to meet him. So, I thought it would be nice if I put on a little engagement party one evening. Just a few people. An intimate gathering. And our guest of honour would, of course, be Major Chance."
Marnie, for once, was glad for the academy's strict rules.
"What a kind thought, Elspeth," she said. "However, I'm afraid that my attendance at an engagement party would be against Miss Robin's rules. Before we graduate, we are only allowed out for charitable visits, unless the circumstances are urgent. Isn't that right, Miss Robin?"
Miss Robin smiled.
"Almost, Miss Stowe. The rule states that exceptions will be allowed, provided my express approval is given."
"So it's settled then!" cried Elspeth. "We shall send out the invitations at once."
"Wait!" said Marnie, confused. "Miss Robin has not given her permission."
Miss Robin removed her glasses and began polishing them with her handkerchief.
"You have my approval, Mrs. Talbot," said Miss Robin. "On the condition that Miss Stowe is accompanied by her chaperone, Mrs. Catherine Jones."
"Of course!" Elspeth clapped her hands in excitement. "How wonderful. A little family party. My girls will be so excited to see their Aunt Marnie. And Lippy can provide the evening's musical entertainments!"
Marnie could not believe her bad luck. Of all the rules for Miss Robin to relax—why did she have to choose that one?
On the day of the party, Marnie was awakened early. The curtains were parted sharply, and before she opened her eyes, Marnie felt her hands being unshackled from the bedhead and the trainer being removed from her mouth.
Marnie's jaw ached. Mrs. Jones had been making her sleep with larger trainers in place. She rose from the bed. Then she saw what a beautiful spring day it promised to be—sunlight was streaming in through the window, and when Mrs. Jones opened it to air the room, the breeze carried the scent of trees and grass and fresh soil.
Marnie stepped to the window. "Oh, finally! Spring is here!" she cried.
Marnie would have happily been outdoors in any kind of weather, but the warmest days were her favourite. She loved to feel the warmth on her back as she rode Scarlett. She loved wading into a brook to cool her heated skin. She loved lying on her back in the grass and watching the vast blue sky.
"A lovely day. But we've no time to dwell on that," said Mrs. Jones. "You have lessons to get to and then, in the afternoon, we have to prepare you for your sister's party."
Marnie suffered through morning lessons, looking longingly outside at the sunshine and the trees waving invitingly in the breeze. Twice, she was spanked for not paying sufficient attention, and Mrs. Jones tutted when she saw the red welts that resulted from her charge's most recent punishments.
"Really, Marnie," she said. "I certainly hope you are able to better control yourself this evening. You wouldn't want to be receiving any further spankings on top of what you've already earned. That would be most painful indeed."
"Yes, Mrs. Jones," Marnie said.
After bathing Marnie and washing her hair, Mrs. Jones had her charge climb onto the padded table in the bathroom and assume fourth position, on her hands and knees with her bottom high in the air.
Despite her training having intensified since her engagement to the major, Mrs. Jones was not yet satisfied that her bottom hole was sufficiently open and accommodating. She had regularly been increasing the size of the trainers Marnie wore. The afternoon of the party, she once again increased the size of Marnie's trainer.
This time, however, the trainer was not merely larger. It was also a different shape. In an effort to, as she described it, 'encourage greater openness', Mrs. Jones had decided to use a more plump, rounded device, which only tapered at the very tip. It was close to spherical and when she saw it, Marnie balked.
"Mrs. Jones," she said, while being careful not to break fourth position. "No—please—I have been tolerating the other trainers without complaint—can I not continue with them?"
"I certainly hope you are not trying to garner praise for doing only the most basic duty of a Privette—submitting to the training methods your chaperone deems appropriate?"
Marnie checked her desire to argue. She was dreading her sister's party and had no desire to earn a punishment as well.
"Good," said Mrs. Jones when her charge made no reply. Marnie felt the dreaded sweet-smelling salve rubbed over her cringing pucker, Mrs. Jones briskly inserting a finger to ensure the salve was applied inside as well as out.
The rounder trainer was much more difficult to push inside her pucker than the standard shapes. Marnie tried to relax, knowing that resisting the insertion would only make things more difficult.
Mrs. Jones pushed, then pushed again, pressing in a little further each time, waiting for the tight ring of muscle to weaken and allow the thickness of the trainer to pass.
Marnie cried out when the broadest part of the trainer pressed in. When the thing was finally seated, Mrs. Jones sighed. "Despite your training, it seems your pucker is like the rest of you—prone to putting up resistance at every turn."
A few rude responses made themselves available in Marnie's mind, but she
quashed the impulse to lash out at her chaperone. What was the time? Shortly, she would once again be in her elder sister's household. And Lippy would be there. And worse, her fiancé would be there, under the close and careful scrutiny of her sisters.
Mrs. Jones helped Marnie from the table and walked her into the bedroom to dress. The trainer felt heavy and awkward, and she could feel her pucker throbbing against it. The base pressed against her cheeks. How could she possibly attend any party—let alone one at Elspeth's house—wearing such a device?
Mrs. Jones saw the look on Marnie's face.
"Discipline, Miss Stowe," she said. "You will not only wear that trainer, you will do so with grace and elegance, not letting on to any of the other guests about the discomfort you might be in. You will be pleasant; you will behave appropriately—or you shall be punished. Miss Robin is doing you a great favour by allowing you to attend this gathering. The very least you could do is be a good representative of this academy while you are there."
"Yes, Mrs. Jones," Marnie said. She raised her arms to allow Mrs. Jones to pull her gown over her head, and even this small action caused her to feel the large bulbous presence inside her. She took a deep breath and gritted her teeth. She was going to have to behave.
It seemed to Marnie that the carriage driver was choosing to travel down the bumpiest roads in London. She felt every jolt, every bump and lurch the carriage made, and her face showed her displeasure.
Mrs. Jones' icy blue stare was the only thing stopping her from leaning her head out the window and telling the driver off.
"I hope that won't be your expression for the duration of the evening, Marnie."
"I'm not making any expressions," said Marnie churlishly.
"Then try a pleasant one," said Mrs. Jones, and though the tone in her voice was even, the warning was clear.
When they pulled up outside Elspeth's townhouse, voices could be heard spilling onto the street. Marnie hissed in discomfort when the footman, Robert, came forward to hand her down from the carriage. When she was standing on the footpath outside the gate, she realised just how many people her sister must have invited.
A small family party, indeed!
She could hear someone playing a jolly tune, badly, on the pianoforte. She could hear the low murmur of conversation punctuated by the occasional burst of laughter. Her stomach twisted.
Mrs. Jones was soon next to her, neat and imposing in a plain navy gown with simple white lace at the high collar and the cuffs. Marnie was in the white dress all Privettes wore when leaving the academy—not scandalously low and sheer like the ones they wore inside, but still white and plain. Marnie's hair was rolled into a modest chignon, and the light blue sash about her waist demonstrated to others who knew Miss Robin's codes that she was engaged.
Mrs. Jones blinked at her and saw the fear and misery imprinted on Marnie's face.
"Come now," she said, a touch of warmth in her voice. "It won't be that bad."
Elspeth opened the door herself before Marnie had even raised the knocker.
"Here you are!" she cried loudly. She pulled Marnie through the entrance hall, past the gaudy oil portrait of the Talbot family and into the parlour. Like every other room in the house, Elspeth's parlour was stuffed with furniture, lamps, ornaments, flowers, soft furnishings and other clutter, in all manner of rich colours and patterns. Now that the room was full to capacity with guests, it felt unpleasantly close and crowded. Most of the guests in attendance were strangers to Marnie. She saw Mr. Talbot and the Turners—but the others seemed to be people she had never met before.
"Where are Mother and Father?" Marnie asked.
"Hmm?" Elspeth said. "Oh, unavailable, I'm afraid. Visiting friends for the week, out of town."
"Oh," said Marnie, disappointed. She had wanted to ask after Scarlett.
"Your major has just arrived. Isn't he looking handsome?" Elspeth said, seizing Marnie by the arm and dragging her into the party while whispering hotly and loudly into her ear. Marnie could smell the claret on her breath. She looked for Mrs. Jones, but her chaperone had been lost in the crowd.
"Very dashing indeed," continued Elspeth. "And it's not obvious that he couldn't purchase his commission. He seems very comfortable amongst better sorts of people. Oh, I'd say you've done very well, my dear—almost better than you deserve!"
She laughed her shrill high laugh.
Marnie looked about for the major. It didn't take long to spot him. He was standing by the fireplace, leaning on it, in his tall boots and tight dark breeches. He had removed his coat, and his close-fitting waistcoat and shirt hinted at the musculature beneath.
Speaking to him was none other than Lippy, who was wearing a showy mauve silk gown with a low, sweeping neckline.
Elspeth led Marnie away from where the major stood and towards the pianoforte, where the Talbot daughters were in a dispute. Isabel sat at the piano, plinking at the keys. Her elder sister stood nearby, stamping her feet. When Elspeth and Marnie approached, she said, "I'm a much better player! Izzy can't play at all—everyone says I'm better! Mother, make her stop playing!"
"Now, now," said Elspeth, clearly uninterested. Soon enough, her attention was taken by another guest. Marnie found herself standing quite alone by the pianoforte. Then she felt a touch at her elbow. She turned and looked up to see Major Chance, his brown eyes winking with some secret joke. He bowed deeply.
Behind him, lost in the swirl of the room, Marnie could see Lippy. She was speaking to another couple—more friends of Elspeth's whom Marnie did not recognise—but her gaze was fixed firmly on the major.
Marnie glanced back to him.
"How glad I am to see you, Miss Stowe," he said.
"Good evening, Major," said Marnie, blushing despite herself. She indicated the pianoforte. "Do you play?"
"In my way," he said.
His dark look made Marnie clench against the trainer seated in her bottom.
Elizabeth, thinking no adults were looking, reached over and pulled Isabel's hair as hard as she could. The younger girl screamed.
"Dear me," said the major. "That's not very sporting. What's this about?"
"It's my turn!" Elizabeth said.
"Is not!" cried Isabel.
"You can't play, anyway! You sound dreadful! You shall ruin Mummy's party!" said Elizabeth.
At this, tears welled in Isabel's eyes.
The major, seeing this, slid onto the stool beside Isabel and mashed several keys together at once, causing several party guests to look up and see who was making the dreadful racket.
"You are a much better player than I am," said the major, mashing the keys together once more and then again. "Oh dear. I can't seem to get it right at all. Girls—will you show me how to play? I'm sure you can both play beautifully."
In a minute, Isabel's tears were gone and Elizabeth was busily hauling the major's fingers from one key to another. Marnie could not help but smile.
A few minutes later, he rose, leaving the two girls playing a harmonious tune together, the little one playing a simple melody, the elder playing a more complex harmony.
"Why, Major, you've worked a miracle!" cried Mr. Talbot, wandering over to the pianoforte in a cloud of smoke and watching his daughters.
"Oh, it's not so difficult. They remind me of someone I know," said the major. His wink at Marnie was so fleeting that no one else saw it.
The next thing Marnie knew, Elspeth was headed in her direction once more.
"Where's dear Lippy?" called Elspeth. "Ah, there she is! Lippy darling! Look! Marnie's here!"
The cloud of mauve silk containing Lippy approached the pianoforte.
"Marnie!" said Lippy, her eyes twinkling. "Why, how lovely to see you again. And what a perfectly lovely gown. So plain and simple—why, you could move through a room and not be noticed by anyone!"
"Thank you," said Marnie. Her irritation with her sisters was so intense that it was like a presence in her body. Her mouth twitched, and her skin felt hot and pr
ickly.
"Major!" said Elspeth. "I see you've finally been able to meet my perfectly charming youngest sister, Phillippa, whom we all call Lippy."
"Yes, I was very glad to make her acquaintance," said the major.
Marnie scowled.
Lippy took a step closer to him, smiling. She had done something to her face, Marnie could see that. Her eyelashes—the same blondish colour as Marnie's own—had been blackened, and the centre of her cheeks was unnaturally red. The rest of her face seemed whiter than usual. A thick smell of violets came wafting in Marnie's direction.
"The pleasure is mine," Lippy said. She dropped a perfect little curtsey.
"Well, we should allow the two of you to continue your acquaintance!" Elspeth cried. "You must have so many questions for our dear Lippy. Truly, she is such a fascinating girl. She can speak French and German and a little Italian, she paints and sketches, she knows poetry. She dances like a little weightless fairy. Oh, and her voice! She is a most wonderful singer. But you will have the chance to hear that later. Come, Marnie! There are people for you to meet!"
"But—" Marnie locked eyes with the major. She had barely spoken a sentence to him—and now she was to be dragged away?
"Come now, and don't be a nuisance—can't you see when people are trying to have a civil conversation? Really, Marnie," she raised her voice so that the major would be able to hear. "It's not difficult to see why Father decided to send you to a correctional school. You really are a terror!"
Elspeth once again began pulling Marnie about the room. She was introduced to so many people so quickly that the party soon became a blur of faces, gowns, fans, cravats, curls, bows and curtseys. She would never remember anyone's name. Her corset—Miss Robin insisted corsets were worn tightly—started to feel even more restrictive than usual, and the high collar of her plain gown felt as though it was suffocating her.
Her general discomfort meant that as the evening wore on, she became more and more perturbed by the trainer stretching her bottom hole. It felt wide and hard, and however Marnie moved or arranged her weight, it was impossible to forget its presence.
A Major of Marnie (Miss Robin's Academy Book 3) Page 10