A Time to Every Season

by Tigger
Copyright 2002, All Rights Reserved

 

Part I

 

Chapter 15: SNAP Goes the Trap

"You look. . . look. . .ummm. . very nice," Darla managed to get out, two hours later, when a rather chastened Audrey carefully made her way back into the nursery.

She moved like an automaton - her body incredibly stiff and each step short and carefully placed before any weight was applied to that foot. *Lord, but where in the world did Aunt Jane come up with THAT relic from an Edith White soiree-from-hell?*

Just then, Audrey missed her step and would have fallen had it not been for Darla's reflexes. "Here," she offered to the taller girl, "let me help you to the settee."

"No!" Was the almost panicked reply. "Ms. Thompson says that I must not wrinkle the outfit before tea or that will be a demerit. Ten demerits and my sentence increases by a WHOLE day!"

Darla heard the familiar 'fear-of-Jane' in her 'big-little sister's' voice, and knew that a hurdle had been crossed. For whatever reason, Audrey now accepted, at least in part, Jane's authority over her. "Well, then stand still and let me get a look at you!"

The outfit was stunning and actually looked good on her, Darla mused. *So few modern women looked good in period-Victorian dress, but then, very few modern women have Jane's resources in dresses, wigs and, if I am not very mistaken, corsets and bustles.*

From the perky little yellow box hat, complete with feather and flirty veil, to the tips of her high heeled, shoe-hook-booted toes, Audrey was the image of the Victorian debutante going out for tea. The sunshine-yellow gown was high-necked and long sleeved, with white lace accenting the throat, wrists and hem. It fit well, but not perfectly as it was a bit loose about the waist, and a bit tight about the bosom. Two rows of at least thirty buttons each, curled around the outside of the bodice from the neckline to the waist seam. White shoes and white gloves completed the ensemble. Her hair, or rather, her wig, had been done in black ringlets and sausage curls while her face had been done up in the pastels typically used by debutantes of that period.

The look really suited her, Darla thought, and then made the mistake of saying so.

"If I could move or breathe, I would kill you for that," Audrey rasped out. "But this damned corset is asphyxiating me and I don't dare move in these killer heels."

"Well, don't expect sympathy from me. I tried to warn you."

"No one likes being told 'I told you so!'"

Darla giggled. "But I did tell you so. So, how long are you in for, cell mate?"

"Three days, except it won't be that long. I am going break my neck first, I am sure."

"Oh pooh. Quit whining. When I was put in that rig, *I* had to carry a reticule AND a parasol."

"In my HANDS?!? I WILL break my fool neck. I can barely keep my balance in this monstrosity of a dress with my hands free." The injudicious exclamation had the unfortunate effect of expelling too much of her precious oxygen supply and Audrey began to feel faint. Again, Darla caught her and this time did help her to sit down, albeit protecting the long skirts from wrinkling.

"Here, stand back up - SLOWLY - and I will loosen those stays for you. I don't think Aunt Jane meant for you to be that short of breath. I can't do much, because the dress is so tightly fitted, but there is some room around your middle which will ease the stress on your diaphragm."

"So, what's next?" Darla asked as she saw to her task.

"We are invited to tea in the main parlor in . . " and Audrey looked up at the large children's clock on the wall, "fifteen minutes. The remainder of my sentence will be pronounced there."

"Well, stand still. If I mess this up we'll be late and then there will really be hell to pay."

~---------------~

"So," Jane pronounced as she accepted a cup of tea from Darla, "for the next three days, you will live the life of the very dignified Victorian woman. That means you will present yourself at breakfast in a morning gown, change into a receiving gown for the morning, change into a traveling gown suitable for afternoon calls after lunch and into an evening gown for dinner."

"Four changes?" Audrey actually squeaked and blushed hotly because of it. "Every day? And how will I get my work out in if I have to dress so formally for breakfast?"

"I am afraid," Jane said sternly, "that Victorian ladies do not take n such . . .undignified undertakings as physical exercise, nor would they be allowed to be unchaperoned with a young man. No, I am afraid that, for the duration of your punishment, that your early morning workouts are forfeit. The price of dignity, I am afraid. I do, however, intend that you get some appropriate exercise."

"Oh?" Hope shown in Audrey's eyes.

"Yes. I have decided that you will participate in the Harvest Parade with a riding group with which I am affiliated. They ride in Victorian costume, and the women ride side-saddle."

"But. . but. . I don't know how to ride side saddle."

"Oh, but you will, my dear," Jane said, her smile broadening. "I myself shall undertake your instruction each afternoon after tea and before the evening meal. It will mean another gown change, but that cannot be helped."

"Another gown change?" Audrey was beginning to feel like a parrot, but could not seem to keep herself from repeating Jane's little jabs.

"Of course. You cannot ride in formal dress - you must have a riding habit so that your lovely limbs don't show as you wrap your right leg about the pommel - that would be undignified. And you must have riding boots, since those lovely heels are unsuited for riding. Why, you might break an ankle dismounting."

"When. . . when do we start?" Asked a thoroughly rattled Audrey.

"Oh, tomorrow will be soon enough," Jane said airily. "Oh, and do observe Darla closely as she serves the tea. You'll be expected to act as hostess tomorrow, Miss. Oh, dear, look at your lovely gloves - you spilled tea on one of the fingers." Jane clucked sadly. "Two demerits already, and you are not even the one serving the tea."

~-------------~

"I nearly messed up badly earlier," Darla told the two women seated in Jane's study. Marie was acting as Lady's Maid for Audrey and helping the penitent change for the evening meal. "I obviously stared at her nose and she caught me at it."

"How did she react?" Diana asked. "I was working out down at the gym and missed it."

"She didn't, at least not overtly, but I could see the embarrassment in her eyes, and there was a momentary though audible break in her tirade. Then she backed off before continuing her rant."

"I caught the break, but couldn't see any reason for it," Jane put in."

"It was the nose," Darla reiterated. "Definitely."

"It does seem to shape her self image," Diana mused. "Marie says she adamantly refuses to let her try any of her stage makeup tricks on it. Almost as if it hurts for anyone to touch it."

"I think it does," Darla said. "She almost never looks you in the face, eye-to-eye, unless you practically force her or unless she has lost her temper. You're sure we can't pressure her into getting a cosmetic surgeon to have a go at fixing it for her, Momma-Jane?"

"Something that life changing and permanent has to be her choice, darling, just like choosing to accept what I am trying to help her learn here."

"Don't give her any choice!" Darla rebutted. "She obeys your edicts or else - just like any of your other students!"

"No, this is different, dear. I don't normally give her or any student much choice so long as the student is here, under my roof, and at least semi-willingly, under my control. However, you know as well as I do that the final choice is always theirs once they leave me - accept or reject what they've learned here and live their lives as they choose. I will not impose a permanent, nonconsensual change upon a student no matter how much I think it will help her."

"She needs it," Darla said again.

"Then we will need to find a way to help her decide that, dear."

 

Chapter 16: A Victorian Lady in Lady Jane's Court

Audrey looked at her still half-full plate of eggs, potatoes, fruit and toast and barely restrained a sigh of disgust. *Thanks to this corset, I can't eat another bloody bite and I even took small portions knowing it was there!"

Darla, who was dressed in more normal clothing (at least, what passed for normal in Jane Thompson's School) caught the unhappy look and shot a quick glance at Aunt Jane. *She saw it, too,* Darla thought. *Well, at least Audrey has kept her mouth shut and done as she was told. Guess that Olympic dream of hers is as important to her as staying out of prison was to me.*

Jane daintily dabbed at her mouth and turned her stare directly upon wayward student. "That is a bit too much to leave for Miss Manners, Audrey," she said.

Confused, the young woman looked up to meet her tormentor's eyes. "I. . .I beg your pardon, ma'am?" she asked.

"In Victorian times, it was considered good manners for one to leave a bit on the plate after each course of a meal, it being thought to be crude to clean one's plate," Jane said in her best schoolmistress voice. "Children were taught from an early age to 'leave a bite for Miss Manners'. However, I believe your eyes were too big for your belly this morning."

An emotion - probably anger, Jane thought - flashed in the girl's dark eyes, but only for a moment. "My belly is somewhat smaller today than I am used to, ma'am," Audrey replied carefully. "I did try to account for that in serving myself, but evidently not enough."

"A lesson for you, then," Jane said, inwardly pleased at both the show of emotion and at the quick control of it. "Very well. I think, Darla, that you should take Miss Rockwell on a bracing walk about the grounds. Then, about ten, Marie shall serve Morning Consommé in the garden before it is time for Audrey to change for her appointment with Mr. Webster and me in the library."

"Consommé?" Audrey asked, confused. She'd never heard of that custom before.

"Yes," Jane said. "It is like afternoon tea, but it is served in the morning. Like the young women of Victorian times, you are unable to consume sufficient bulk to get the calories and other nutrients you need to be healthy from only three meals a day. Corsettry does that to a woman. In their case, they often became weak and unhealthy. You will not. That is not part of our bargain. I will see that you are served several extra meals a day so that you can take in the nutrition your athletic body requires. Besides the three regular meals, you will have consommé, tea and a bed time snack."

"I see," was the surprised response.

"You will find, I hope, Audrey, that I keep my bargains, particularly with those who also show the good faith to keep up their ends, too. Now, run along. Marie has a pelisse and a parasol for you. Stay to the pathways on your walk. Grass strains on the hem would ruin that lovely pink morning gown."

~-------------~

Darla hung back as Audrey made her cautious way out of the room. "It is going to be a very slow walk," she observed.

"All the more reason for her next lesson with our good friend Webster," Jane said equably as she stirred her second cup of coffee.

"Should I go do the Scarlet O'Hara thing, too, Aunt Jane? So that I can show her how to handle herself?"

Jane's shake of her head was emphatic. "No. In fact, I want you to do just the opposite. Dress in attractive, modern clothing. Things that a girl your age would find comfortable and even fun. I want her to WANT to emulate your mode of dress, to begin to see it as desirable."

"Ooooooo, sneaky, Momma-Jane. And I suppose that I will be disciplined at the end of this for being too outré again?"

"No. That isn't the point, so don't go so far that she will wonder why you aren't being punished."

"Got you," Darla started to leave the dining room and then stopped. "That corset may become a problem. If it is too tight, her abdominal muscles will weaken, and then you will be in default on your part of the deal."

"Diana thought of that. We've only taken a bare three inches off her waist this morning. Yesterday was to get her attention, but the night corset was loose enough that she didn't notice the difference in how tightly we laced her today. Besides, while I suspect I will be able to keep her *close* to the critical ten demerits, provided she plays fairly, I won't give her that last demerit. She'll only be in the corset two more days."

"Looks good on her," Darryl's voice observed. "Looks VERY good!"

"Rogue!" Jane laughed. "Now, hurry up and go make yourself pretty for your walk in the gardens!"

~--------------~

"You look very nice today," Darla observed as the pair made their way over the hill towards the stable.

"Hah! YOU look nice. I look like an uncoordinated idiot," Audrey replied. "These boots are almost as bad as the corset. I can't flex my ankle in them so I can't stride."

"You're not doing very well with the parasol either. Here, let me show you how to do it," Darla offered as she snatched the very long handled, frilled and flounced confection from her walking partner. "You rest it on your shoulder so that you can hold your hands up like this," she demonstrated with a coy placement of her hands near her chin, "and then you stroll. Ladies do not stride. Like this."

Darla had nearly had the lead role in a local production of Mary Poppins once. Nearly, that is, until a 'very unfortunate ankle injury' had forced her understudy, and one of Jane's skirted boys, to take the role. In any case, she had learned to flirt with a parasol rather well, if she did say so herself.

The reaction she got from her audience, however, was not at all what she expected. Audrey was laughing as loud as her corseted diaphragm would permit. "Oh lord, but you look so funny. Now, show me what I am REALLY supposed to do with that thing."

*NOW what the hell do I do???* was all Darla could think.

~---------------~

Jane watched in silent amusement as the two girls made their way toward the rose garden gate. They were laughing together, actually laughing and sharing whatever joke it was that had set them off. "What on earth. . . ?"

Then, Darla stopped, corrected something about the way Audrey was holding the parasol and where she had her hands, and then stepped back. With a flourish, the taller girl began slowly pin-wheeling the parasol behind her head and stepped out into a bit of relatively complex, if slightly unbalanced footwork. Darla instantly moved to steady Audrey and instantly, they broke out into another gale of laughter.

It took a moment, but then Jane realized what Audrey had been doing. "Why, that little minx has been teaching her the choreography from the sidewalk painting scene of that Mary Poppins production the children's theater put on two years ago."

"What did you say?" Diana asked as she walked into the study.

"Look at that," Jane ordered indicating the scene below them.

Diana watched silently for several moments and then smiled. "Well, that bit of bonding won't hurt our plans. Companionship, according to the research, is much more important to girls than to guys. And honest laughter cures many an ill. I think this will work to our advantage."

~------------~

Two hours later, a foot-sore and weary Audrey was looking out the window of her bedroom at Jane's small swimming pool. She had just finished her latest one-hour session with "Mr. Webster." The tall girl decided she'd have to find some suitable way to repay Darla for not warning her about that before she'd teased her into trying those dance steps in the garden. Walking around Jane Thompson's parlor with that damned dictionary on her head was NOT on the Victoria-ized teen's list of fun things to do.

At that particular minute, Audrey's ankles, calves, knees, and most particularly her neck and shoulders, regretted their acquaintance with that thrice accursed book. She'd lost count of the number of laps she had been ordered to make up and down Ms. Thompson's library, but she knew precisely how many times the thing had fallen off her head. Eighteen times at one demerit for every three falls. With her little faux pas of using the wrong spoon for her grapefruit at breakfast, that left her with only two to play with before she was looking at another day in this hellish costumed time warp!

She watched, envious, as Darla pulled herself up out of the pool after a fairly vigorous fifty or so laps of the small pool. She was wearing a "USA"-emblazoned women's Speedo swimming suit that fit her slender frame like a second skin. *The color suits her, too,* Audrey thought, *and where the heck did THAT thought come from?* She shook her head at that, but then looked again. *Except for that silly bathing cap which looks like a relic from those black and white shows on Nickelodeon, it does look attractive. And she probably needs the cap with that long hair of hers. Wonder if Jane would let me go swimming?* She thought about that for another moment and then sighed. *Best not to ask until I have served my sentence. She might decide to let me swim, but only in a Victorian bathing costume. Those things covered a girl from head to toe and included more skirts than a dress shop. Probably get weighed down and sink to the bottom of the pool like a stone. No, safer to wait, I think, although I do wonder. . . . maybe Darla has one of those suits that would fit me?*

~--------------~

Later that night, Darla and Audrey were in the nursery, nibbling on the promised bedtime snack. "You were really great on Garters today," Darla enthused. "And you say you never rode side saddle before this?"

Audrey snorted, grateful that she was able to breathe more easily in the lightly stayed sleeping corset. "Are you sure I rode all that well? I only fell off five times."

"But only once in the last half hour," Darla reminded her. "And Aunt Jane said we could go out on a trail ride tomorrow if you do as well, and TRUST me on this. Aunt Jane would NEVER trust her beloved Garters to someone she did not believe would take proper care of the old girl. Not without her there to watch, anyway."

A flush of pleasure at the implied compliment warmed the taller girl. "She really is a very patient horse."

"She has to be, what with all the ham-fisted students Jane drills in the basic elements of dressage," Darla shrugged. "Wait till you see the trails around here from horseback. We're really close to a small lake, well, they call it a pond around here - Port Judith Pond, and not all that far from Narragansett Bay, too. Some of the views are just breathtaking."

"It would be nice to get away from. . .I mean, out of here for a while. . . "

"Away from Aunt Jane?" Darla asked, her smile growing wider. "I understand completely. So does she, actually. That is why she made the offer, provided you don't have too many demerits."

Audrey made an exaggerated swipe of her brow and sighed lustily. "Don't remind me. I was sweating bullets the whole afternoon after that ninth demerit for not remembering how she takes her tea."

"But you won't ever forget a dollop of honey and the juice from one sixth of a lemon again, will you?"

"Not in this lifetime, Darla," Audrey said, but she, too, was smiling.

"Bedtime, ladies," Jane called from the door. "We have a great deal to accomplish tomorrow, and Audrey will need her rest if she is to be sufficiently alert tomorrow afternoon to ride Garters on your little adventure."

The two girls bid Jane good night, and slipped off to their respective rooms. Surprisingly, to Audrey at least, both were asleep mere moments after their heads hit the pillows.

 

Chapter 17: Falling for Darla

It was a glorious fall afternoon as the two young women guided their mounts down the sun dappled path. Trees, just starting to show a hint of autumn color stood on both sides of the trail, throwing interesting shadows and playing games with the light of the lowering sun.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Darla gushed astride the big thoroughbred. "I do miss this whenever I have to be away for any reason."

Audrey, riding Garters side saddle, was also enjoying the day, but the fancy forest green velvet Victorian riding habit Jane had chosen for her to wear on this outing was heavy . . .too heavy for the mid-afternoon heat of an Indian Summer day. *At least the corset isn't cutting me in two,* she thought, and then let herself smile at Darla's enthusiasms. "It is very pretty," she agreed. "It's too bad we have to cut our ride short in time for me to change for the next installment of those art lessons your Aunt has set up for us."

"I know what you mean," Darla grimaced in heartfelt agreement. "I swear, if I have to draw one more bloody apple, I am going to steal it, feed it to Teddi and do a still life of what comes out the other end so realistic it will draw flies!"

Audrey could only stare at the smaller girl, and then threw her head back and howled with laughter. "How. . how . .however would you explain THAT to your aunt?"

Darla grinned. "Oh, I don't know. Think she'd believe me if I told her it was abstract art?"

"No way! And I am sure I DON'T want to know what she'd come up with as correction for THAT prank." Audrey was still chuckling over the images that danced in her head as they rounded a bend. "Oh my goodness," she breathed as the panoramic vista of the large lake came into view.

"Great, isn't it?" Darla asked, as she trotted Teddi up beside Audrey. She had purposely let her friend take the lead so that she would be surprised by the view.

Audrey could only nod as they cantered down to the water's edge. "It is lovely."

Just then, Teddi knickered and tossed her head. "She wants to run," Darla said. "I always give her a gallop when we come down here, but Jane told you to keep yourself to a canter."

Audrey heard the regret in her companion's voice and saw the excitement in her mount's attitude. "She told me to take it easy because I don't know how to gallop in a side saddle. I assume you know how to gallop astride?" she asked with a touch of challenge her voice.

"Well, yes, but. . "

"Go ahead. Enjoy your run. Garters and I will take advantage of this lovely open patch of beach and practice my lead changes. This old dear is much more forgiving than your aunt," Audrey added, still smarting from the two demerits she'd earned, her sixth and seventh of the day, for sloppy reining during her riding lesson with Jane Thompson.

"You're sure?" Darla was torn between wanting the gallop as badly as Teddi wanted it, and not rubbing in the fact that Audrey couldn't enjoy the adventure.

"Shoo! Scoot! Gidyap!" Audrey said, a smile on her face. "I will enjoy watching the two of you!"

"OKAY!" Darla squealed happily.

And it was almost the truth, Audrey thought as she watched horse and rider arrow down the beach. *She is as good as her aunt indicated,* she thought as Darla brought Teddi around and began thundering back up the beach.

Then, it happened - so quickly, Audrey was never really certain of the cause, only of the effect. One instant, the pair was in smooth unison, moving effortlessly over the rocky beach, and the next the horse was skidding to a stop, and Darla was flying through the air.

Audrey was already moving toward them when Darla hit the ground, her helmeted head seeming to bounce as the rest of her landed flat on the hard surface. Audrey was off her horse and running toward her friend, nearly tripping on the absurdly long skirts designed not for moving afoot, but for gracefully draping over a horse.

Darla was unconscious on her back when Audrey fell to her knees beside the fallen girl. A quick check with her cheek near her friend's lips told her that Darla was breathing. What to do next was the question. Audrey knew it wasn't safe to move her friend. There might have been a back injury. A quick check for immediate help on the scene was fruitless. She'd have to go for help.

Audrey's first thought was to use Teddi since the thoroughbred was fitted out with standard English tack and not that damned sidesaddle, but the horse was limping. *Probably why she balked and threw Darla,* Audrey thought. *I hope it is only a sprain.* Unfortunately, she did not have time to worry about that now. The horse did not seem to be in agony, so she tethered her to a nearby bush and went over to Garters.

It was a very good thing the saddle-bred was so forgiving, Audrey thought as she urged the horse back up the trail. Any other mount would have shied and probably thrown her as she had awkwardly scrambled back into the sidesaddle. Fear for her friend had Audrey pushing the big horse first into a trot and finally into a full gallop. She gripped the huge saddle pommel with her leg, doing her best to move with the horse's gait so that she was not unbalanced.

Garters stride ate up the distance quickly and soon Audrey had the big mansion in view. She cut across the surrounding meadows, trying to reach help as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, she found the gate at the end of the meadow shut and locked. She thought about it for all of about five seconds. She couldn't climb the fence. . .not in this outfit, and stripping out of the skirt would take time - all those cursed buttons and that assumed she could reach enough of them to get the job done. She had only one choice. The fence was not all that tall - four feet or so, and she jumped taller ones in practice, didn't she? Grimly, she wheeled Garters and moved back far enough to give the mare a running start. With a whisper of a prayer, Audrey dug her heels into Garters' ribs and headed for the fence.

~--------------~

From her bedroom, a flash of movement in the meadow caught Jane's eye. She watched in shock and then horror as Audrey urged Garters to jump the meadow fence.

It would have worked, Jane thought as she flew down the stairs yelling for her husband (did she call for Diana or did she call for Art?) and Marie. If Garters had been used to jumping or if Audrey had been astride, the pair would have easily cleared the fence. But side-saddled, Audrey lacked the control of the animal she would have had astride and Garters had always hated jumping.

Jane had only been able to watch as Garters had refused at the last instant and launched her velvet-garbed rider into the hard wooden fence post.

Jane had reached the reeling girl just seconds before Diana. Audrey had evidently fallen over the fence and into the yard for she'd been struggling on toward the house when Jane had raced up to her. Blood was streaming from both nostrils and her broken nose seemed squashed. "What the hell are you DOING?!?" Jane had screamed when her breath had allowed.

The yell broke through Audrey's barely conscious mind. "Jane. . " she breathed as she felt the other woman support her. "Darla. . . fell. . .hurt. . .won't wake up. . . help."

"Where!?!" Jane begged, fear clutching at her heart. "Where is she, Audrey?"

"Lake. . . by beach." And that was all she could get out before the darkness finally claimed her.

~--------------~

Diana pulled out the cell phone she'd grabbed before heading out the door. "I'll call the EMT's and go get the four-wheeler, Jane," She said as she started moving back toward the house.

Just then Marie arrived. She saw in a glance the two loyalties tearing at her friend. "How is she?" Marie asked, kneeling beside Audrey.

"Breathing but out cold. I think we need to keep her upright so she can breathe through her mouth. Diana's going to see to Darla." At Marie's look, Jane explained about Darla.

Marie nodded. "Look, she seems okay and there is nothing you can do here that I cannot. Diana called the ambulances. If you run, you can catch Diana at the main gate. Go! You need to be with Darla. Vite! Vite! I will take care of this one."

~------------~

The EMT's arrived at the lake a few minutes after Jane and Diana. They found the girl on her knees, tending her horse.

"Oh, my head." she complained as the paramedic checked her vitals. "What happened?"

Jane explained what little she knew as the EMT's finished up their on-scene evaluation.

"I think you should see your family physician, ma'am, but the way she's been moving," the older of the two paramedics said to Jane. "There doesn't seem to be anything more than a bump on her head and a mild concussion. That riding helmet may have saved her life."

"Ma'am?" the younger paramedic cut in. "We just got word that our other unit just picked up your other girl. They're en route to the Emergency Room. She's still unconscious and bleeding from the nose. My friend's not a doctor, but he's pretty good and he thinks she needs surgery. If you want, we can give you a ride to the hospital with us."

"Go with them, Jane," Diana ordered. "Darla and I will get Teddi to the stable, call the vet and then join you at the hospital."

Her hands shaking, Jane hugged her spouse fiercely, unmindful of the strange looks the younger paramedic was giving them, and then scrambled into the back of the ambulance.

~------------~

They found Jane sitting in the waiting room outside of general surgery. It had taken longer than Diana had liked to get the veterinarian to come and check out Teddi and Garters. Both horses were all right, although riding activities would have to be curtailed for a couple of weeks. Teddi had a large insect sting on her right foreleg which was the likely cause of her sudden stop while Garters had bruised herself when she'd run into the fence trying to refuse the jump. The vet had called in a college student to stay with the horses so that Darla and Diana could join Jane at the hospital with Audrey.

*At least I will have good news for her on that account. Hope she has good news for me.*

Jane saw them as they rounded the corner into the small, antiseptic-perfumed waiting room, and shot out of her 1950's styled plastic armchair to meet them. "Oh, Art," she sobbed. "It's all my fault!"

"Diana, sweetheart," her spouse corrected softly as she pulling Jane into a tight embrace before continuing is sterner tones. "That's crap and you are a smart enough woman to know that without me having to say it!"

"But I'm the one who made her use that damned side saddle. She would have made the jump, even mounted on Garters, if I hadn't been trying to play mind games with her that way."

"Bullshit!" The unusually and unexpectedly crude word broke through Jane's misery and Diana smiled as her spouse's back went ramrod straight.

"I beg your pardon?" The icy tones were pure Victorian Governess at her most offended. Jane did NOT like being spoken to in such a fashion.

"That's better. The girl is hurt because she took a calculated risk. She was trying to get help for Darla. You don't know if she would have made it over that fence or not. All right, you had already determined she was a good enough rider, but because she was not yet completely comfortable with the sidesaddle, you warned her not to gallop. It is the situation that is at fault, if anything can be said to be, but it is most definitely NOT your fault. Got that?"

The fury drained out of Jane almost as quickly as it had flashed and she dropped her forehead into the crook of Diana's neck. "My head knows," she finally answered softly. "My heart and my conscience will take a bit of convincing yet."

Diana chuckled and after hugging her wife one last time, stepped aside to let Darla get at her mother. "How is she?" the young woman asked when at last they broke their embrace.

"Her nose is broken again. . . rather badly this time. They've got one surgeon in there working on clearing her breathing passages and stopping the bleeding and another one who is looking at reconstruction possibilities," and then Jane seemed to break again, "Oh, god, Diana, the EMT's said she bled the whole way to the hospital."

"What did the doctor say?" Diana asked firmly.

"That she'll be all right. . . at least physically. He wasn't sure about her looks, though."

Just then, a young woman in surgical greens approached them. "Mrs. Thompson-Philips?" She asked in a firm, yet oddly husky voice. Jane nodded. "I am Doctor Bannerman. I am a reconstructive surgeon and was called in on Miss Rockwell's case."

"How is she?" Jane asked.

"The bleeding is stopped and the trauma to her breathing passages has been repaired. There shouldn't be any lasting problems from that front. However, her nose has been . . .well, rather badly damaged from a cosmetic point of view. I am afraid if we do not take steps right now, she may well be facially scarred for the rest of her life. We need to shape the remaining tissue now. . provide it some structure to replace the cartilage that has been all but lost so that she can have a normal looking face. I think if we don't go in and do something now, her skin will pull back and any future repairs will involve stretching and/or grafts that will leave deep facial lines as a minimum, and perhaps even scars."

"What can you do now, Doctor," Diana said stepping forward to support Jane, "That you cannot do later?"

"Her own facial skin is still there and still pliable. Fortunately, cartilage is particularly easy to replace with plastics, much more so than bone or tendons and ligaments. We build and shape a replacement for what the nose and throat specialist had to remove and then will graft it on to her nasal opening and reattach her skin to the new structure."

"Are there any dangers with the procedure," Diana asked.

"Not really - it is a fairly common reconstructive technique, particularly for injuries such as Miss Rockwell has sustained. Oh, it is possible that it might not work in her specific case for some unanticipated reason, but I think that is unlikely. Ms Thompson-Philips, I am very good at what I do. I think we have an excellent chance of minimal or no visible scarring if we go now."

"What do you need from us," Diana asked, still supporting Jane both physically and emotionally.

"Miss Rockwell is still a minor and Ms. Thompson-Philips is listed as her guardian of record.

Jane pushed away from Diana, standing on her own. *Lord, but I wish I understood Audrey's antipathy towards such a repair. Darla thought it might be a fear that such repairs might accidentally impair her breathing in favor of appearance and thus hurt her chances as a pentathlete. Well, if that is the problem, it is no longer an issue. Some type of repair must be done.*

"Ms. Thompson-Philips," the doctor said in a firmer tone of voice, trying to get Jane's attention. "You are the child's legal guardian. You have to give the official consent before I can start."

"I know that!" Jane snapped and then immediately regretted letting her nerves and anxiety get the better of her. "Pardon me. I apologize for that outburst. Yes," Jane said, her eyes closed against the sharp pain at the center of her forehead. "I will authorize the surgery."

"All right, I need a picture of her before the accident so that I can shape her nose as close to the original as possible."

"She. . .I mean . . Her nose was already broken when she came to us. I don't have any picture of what she looked like with an unbroken nose."

"Wonderful. Well, I guess that explains the extent of the trauma the nose and throat specialist found. The nose was already in bad shape when she smashed it this time." the surgeon mused. "So I guess I will have to wing it a bit. Okay, Ma'am, with no previous shape to recreate, do you want me to use my best judgment, or do you have some specific shape you think she'd prefer? I need to get started right now so we won't be able to wait until she is conscious and ask her."

Darla suddenly remembered something and reached into her purse. *Odd that I kept this, and odder still that I have it in my purse. Oh well.* "Momma-Jane? How about this? Can you work with something like this, Dr. Bannerman?"

Jane looked and was surprised to see the morphed picture of Chastity Rockwell with Audrey Hepburn's nose. The other three women crowded around the picture. "That would work nicely," Dr. Bannerman said. "I thought you said her nose was already broken?" Darla quickly explained what she'd done in hopes of convincing the girl to eventually get her nose fixed. The doctor turned to Jane. "That seems like a good option to me, but it is your call, Ms. Thompson-Philips."

Once again Jane wished she knew what was Audrey's reason for avoiding having her nose fixed, but it no longer really mattered, did it? At least Darla's solution was attractive. Hopefully, Dr. Bannerman was as good as she thought she was. *I will just have to deal with Audrey's reaction later.* "Proceed, doctor."

"Excellent. The nurse at the main desk will have the papers you need to sign." She took the picture from Darla. "I have to go make some preparations. You may want to go home and get cleaned up," she added in a kinder voice. "This is going to take several hours to do correctly."

~--------------~

"But I don't WANT to go home," Jane fumed for what Diana was certain was the hundredth time since they'd left the hospital. "I should BE there for her!"

"And so you will be," Diana gritted out. "AFTER you've cleaned up so you won't scare the hell out of the poor kid and AFTER you've gotten some hot food in your belly so you don't become any crabbier than you already are and AFTER you've gotten an hour or two of downtime."

"I won't sleep," Jane promised, crossing her arms beneath her bosom and pouting worse than the most outraged student she'd ever instructed. Diana did not think Jane would appreciate the observation and with the wisdom of most loving husbands, kept the thought to herself. Some things never changed - not even for a husband who also wore the skirts in the family.

~--------------~

"How could you DO that to me?" Jane demanded of Diana as the big four-wheeler turned onto the main road almost four hours later. "It is bad enough you put me to sleep with that sneaky. . ." Jane coughed and ignored the heat that flared in her cheeks.

"Massage?" Diana interrupted, a wicked smile on her face. "Well *I* don't feel the least bit guilty for that! I thoroughly enjoyed relaxing you that way."

"That is not the point," Jane replied primly. "You took advantage of my baser nature and the fact that I always doze after. . .ummm"

"Darlin', you did more than doze. And both our little afternoon delight and that nap did you a world of good, so quit whining."

"I should have BEEN there, Diana!"

"Why? So you could fidget and worry? First, Darla was there with orders to call me if anything came up or if they took Audrey to recovery. ."

"Darla knew what you planned to do?!?"

"Specifically that I had wicked designs on seducing you and having my wicked way with your gorgeous self? Of course I didn't tell her, but I am sure she figured it out."

"Great. Just wonderful." Exasperated, Jane blew a wayward lock out of her eyes and sat back in the car seat. "Now my child knows that I am a slave to my physical appetites."

"Like she didn't know already and isn't jealous as hell of my great good luck?" It took all Jane's considerable willpower not to smile at that, but somehow she managed. She'd had a great deal of practice in her years of dealing with recalcitrant adolescents.

"So, if I might continue?" Diana asked rhetorically. "Second, you are, as I said, much better for the release of tension and the rest, so you will not frighten Audrey when she comes out of the anesthesia as you well might have done had I not taken such callous advantage of your sensual nature. Now, you can REALLY be there for her when she'll REALLY need you."

"Need me?" That question caused Jane's feelings of guilt over Audrey's injuries to flare anew. "She tolerates me, Diana. I don't think she sees any real need for me beyond complying with her Mother's ultimatum."

"She's going to need a lot of encouragement. That nose was something she was using as a shield for some reason, and now, that shield is gone. Or it will be gone soon assuming that little blond doctor's skills are as good as her confidence would tend to indicate. Audrey's going to need to be motivated to face the world without that crutch and motivation comes in many forms. From you, she'll need that stern, no-nonsense, just-do-it kind of push that you are so good at."

"After this mess, who's to say she will accept that from me?"

"She's an athlete, Janie - a jock. She is used to having a coach tell her what she is to do, tell her what she is doing right and tell her what she isn't. More importantly, she is used to that coach telling her how to fix what she is doing wrong. You are ideally suited to fill that role because she was sent here to learn from you."

"Where's my whistle and striped shirt?" Jane said with just a bit of a catch in her voice as she tried to make a joke.

"Wrong outfit, dear. Refereeing is still my job, I think. You have to be the one who won't accept less than her best effort - the one person who won't let her give up until she realizes *she* doesn't want to let herself give up."

"Well, Prudence is coming to see her, and it is just possible that all of this may come to nothing anyway. Pru may decide to give up on the project all together and take the girl home with her.

"Not much chance of that, I think," Diana replied. "Rough and tumble girl like Audrey? This won't be the first time she's come a cropper physically, but I am glad that your friend is coming. Odd about that, though. . ."

"What do you mean?"

"Doesn't sound like a mother who would deny her little girl dolls and stuffed toys, does it? To just drop everything and catch the next plane?"

"Not really, but we've only Audrey's word for that. If it were Darla, I would want to see her securely wrapped in cotton wool and where I could see for myself that she was getting proper care. And even though I still don't know precisely what to do with her, I would like to keep Audrey with us so that I can see to her, too."

"Another baby chick, Mother Hen?" Diana asked with a gentle and loving smile. "You've taken her into that big soft heart you try so hard to keep hidden just like you always do with your boys. Audrey was already one of yours before Old Tom heard her new name for the first time."

Jane ignored that aspersion on her 'tough-lady' reputation, especially because it was true. "In any case, she will need something to focus on - something to distract her from whatever it is she feared enough to put up those shields. So far, that has been working out and exercising."

Diana Philips was too good a psychologist and knew her wife too well not to notice the deliberate change of subject and recognize it for what it was - pure 'I'll worry about it tomorrow' evasion - but she only smiled more broadly and let it pass. For the moment, in any case. "As to her resumption of training, we will need to talk to the docs about a schedule for that," Diana said, "Not only has she suffered a moderately severe concussion, but we don't know how delicate those repairs inside her nasal passages are. Still, I can't see why she wouldn't be able to practice her fencing. The mask fencers wear would protect her from both the epee and from any inadvertent bumps. And we treat the pool's water pretty religiously so once the post-surgical swelling in her airways goes down, I am fairly certain that the doctors will let her go swimming."

"That leaves running, shooting and horseback riding," Jane observed.

"Gentle jogging is more like it," Diana said thoughtfully, "but I don't think she's going to be jumping anything very soon - either on her own legs or on a horse. Too jarring."

"True, but she does need to get back up as soon as possible, even if only for a gentle walk. But I do think we will dispense with the sidesaddle from now on. Perhaps astride, she won't have to deal with any post-fall fears."

"We'll see, but right now I think you need to get her back up on that side saddle, as much for you as for her," Diana said firmly. "First, you don't know that she WILL be afraid. Knowing the hardheaded Rocky as I have come to know her, I think that extremely unlikely. She might be a bit anxious, but fear would offend her to the point she'll probably insist on climbing back aboard herself. Besides, that fall was nothing more than bad judgment in a time of crisis. Again, remember that she's a jock. Coach Jane told her she'd be riding that horse sidesaddle for a show. If she is capable of riding, she will expect her coach to tell her to perform."

As she so often had to do, Jane found herself forced to concede that Diana was, once again, probably in the right of it. But that did not mean she had to admit to it just yet.

 

Chapter 18:

Dr. Bannerman greeted Jane and Diana when they arrived. She was still in her greens, and there was smile on her face. "Just in time. Glad to see some folks have the sense to do what their doctor tells them."

"How is Audrey?" Jane asked.

"Audrey? I thought her name was Chastity?"

"She prefers Audrey," Darla put in.

"Oh. Well, I can see why. Anyway, she's fine. Everything seems connected up right and tight. She'll sound funny for a while - like she has a bad headcold - at least until the swelling in her nasal passages goes down. And she'll look like a refugee from a barfight until the bruising around her eyes goes away. Figure that will take a couple of weeks, but I anticipate no real problems. I think she's going to be lovely with that nose, too." The doctor turned to Darla. "That nose will look just perfect on her once her face finishes healing."

"What are the restrictions on her in the meantime? She's a nationally ranked athlete and she'll be champing at the bit to restart her training."

"I'll work something up for you on that. What kind of sport? I could tell she was in superb physical condition."

"Pentathlon," Jane answered.

"Oh, running and jumping and throwing things? That type of stuff?"

"Not quite, Doctor," Diana said with a smile. "I will tell you about the sport after we've had a chance to see our girl. When CAN we see her?"

"Oh, she'll be out of it for another hour or so, and groggy after that. You can look in on her now, but she should be up to visitors by this evening's visiting hours."

"Diana?" Darla interjected. "Can I have the keys to the truck? It is almost time to go pick up Audrey's mom at the airport."

"May I have the keys," Jane corrected without thinking, earning an exaggerated sigh of long suffering from her child. It made them all laugh which was, after all, the best medicine for what still ailed them.

~--------------~

"What a deee-VINE nightgown," Darla said with a cheeky grin as she walked into Audrey's room. "Wonder where you got it in this joint?"

"Where do you think?" was Audrey's disgusted reply. Where her voice had been low and oddly husky before, it sounded as if she had a major stuffed up head now. The swelling in her nasal passages had practically shut off those air ways and the results were sounds that were almost cartoonish in nature. Audrey's "Your Aunt Jane has struck again." sounded more like "Ur an ja ha druck agin."

"Well it looks MAHVelous on you, dahlink," Darla said, her eyes wide with false admiration, "Simply MAHVelous!"

The nightgown would have been the height of bridal-night chic in the middle Victorian Period. It was made of a heavily embroidered white muslin broadcloth, and it covered the girl from the base of her chin to her wrists to below her toes. The bodice was empire cut, tight beneath the lower swell of her bosom. Every hem was finished with fine lace in a variety of pale pastels and topped off by a tall, stiff imperial collar that forced Audrey to hold her head at a very regal angle. All in all, Darla decided, it was perfectly designed to make a man work very hard for his marital rights - very hard indeed - and maybe even give up the attempt altogether.

In a word, it looked positively dreadful on Audrey.

"Hah!" Audrey replied. "Only good thing about it is the nurses HATE it. Makes getting at me with a thermometer or other such device darned difficult. The darned gown is STARCHED, Darla," the shorthaired girl complained. "And it has bunches of those skirt-things - what did you call them? Flounces? Yeah, it's got flounces all the way down to my toes! Every time I move, one of those starched flounces stabs me, usually in the butt!"

"Really? I would have thought that there would be a six-inch or so thick wad of period undies between you and the starch. Aunt Jane must be getting mellow in her old age."

"Don't you believe it!" Audrey retorted. "The nurses finally gave in on this blasted gown, put they put their foot down hard on the undies. Seems that especially this time of the month they cannot be bothered with. . .how did you put it? Oh yeah. . .six inches of padding that I DO wish I had down there."

"I hear that. Guess Aunt Jane figured your punishment wasn't over, eh?"

"So she said. You should have seen the look on my Mother's face when she saw me in this thing. She almost dropped the doll she brought me."

"Doll?" Darla asked, scanning the room.

Audrey pointed to the top of her headboard. "Him." She said. Straddling the headboard, looking for all the world like a show jumper who hadn't made it over the fence, was a stuffed horse, wearing an equestrian's helmet, and as shocked an expression as Darla had ever seen.

"Hope he wasn't a stallion," she murmured, "before the accident that is."

Audrey stared at Darla in disbelief for a second and then started to laugh only to stop again abruptly. "Can't laugh," she rasped. "Well, I can, but it hurts those bruised muscles in my cheeks and around the bottoms of my eyes."

"Awww. . poor baby. . " Darla replied, strolling over to take a closer look at the doll. "Your Mom brought this?"

"Yes. Surprised the hell. . I mean, heck out of me." Audrey's eyes went wide and then she glared at Darla. "YOU didn't tell her to buy it, did you?"

"Nope," Darla shrugged. "Not me. She wouldn't listen to me anyway. Too busy asking me if you were really all right and begging me to go just a little faster. I am surprised she didn't faint when she saw you, though. Hope you feel better than you look, girlfriend. You look like you went ten rounds with Lennox Lewis."

Bandages covered Audrey's face, making her look like the lead actor in a 1950's 'return of the mummies' horror film. Something that looked like it had once been part of a catcher's mask protected her nose from inadvertent contact and held the still fragile bits all in place while the adhesives set up. Covered with a screen like material, it would also prevent Audrey from accidentally trying to scratch it. What skin showed about the heavy gauze bandaging was all bruised - a combination of purples, blues, reds and blacks that only a mad scientist (or a Parisian dress designer) could love. *She took a real whack trying to get over that fence,* Darla told herself, and felt somewhat humbled by that realization.

"I'm not sure I feel much better than I would after ten rounds, although the pain pills do help. They just wear off too soon and I have to wait until I can safely have some more. It really isn't fair, you know. You take a flying header that should have broken your fool neck and I'm the one in the hospital."

*Good thing it isn't me,* Darla thought. *I couldn't count on having Nurse Nora protect me in the emergency room. Jane's whole program and my reputation would have gone up in smoke if I had needed more than a couple of aspirin.* "Well, don't expect me to feel so sorry for you that I wish it was me instead of you. I am grateful, not stupid. So, what else did Aunt Jane say when she gave you that . . . .stunning confection?"

"I'm to get back up on Garters as soon as the doctor says I can ride again - side saddle."

"You'd do that anyway." Darla said with thoughtless conviction.

"And just WHY do you think that?" Audrey asked, surprised.

"Cause if you don't, I will just have to think you are afraid and that you are a wimp." she shrugged artlessly.

Darla was well pleased to see anger flash in the other girl's eyes at the carefully aimed taunt. "Afraid? ME? Why you. . you. . . " but then realization came and Audrey's fury cooled as quickly as it had blazed to life. "You sneaky, conniving little bitch. You're as bad as that aunt of yours. Now I can't NOT get back up on that bloody animal in that bloody damned sidesaddle. You twerp!"

Darla only grinned, but it was a very smug grin indeed. Pleased to have won that round, she decided it was time to be a bit more generous. "By the way, Marie's making beef stroganoff tonight since your Mom's staying with us. How's the food in here?"

"Twerp isn't bad enough for you! How do you THINK it is, you nasty, shameless little tease!?! It is hospital food!" the shorthaired girl replied testily. "Healthy as all get out and even more tasteless."

Her grin broadening, Darla dipped into the shopping bag she'd brought in and pulled out a long thin plastic bag. "Turkey or Tuna Sub?" she asked holding up two paper wrapped tubular parcels, "And you get to choose if you want the Diet Pepsi or the Doctor Pepper."

"I take back all the otherwise well-deserved nasty things I have been thinking about you, Darla! Gimme!" Audrey crowed reaching out with both hands. "Either. Both!"

 

 

 

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