AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It was an accident,” said Mr. de Villiers. “We were on the same rugby team.”
“Such revelations, Gwyneth!” Mr. George was still chuckling happily when he opened the door of the Dragon Hall.
“You can say that again.” I stopped when I saw Gideon sitting at the table in the middle of the room. He came toward us, frowning.
Mr. de Villiers gently guided me in. “It was nothing serious,” he said. “Love affairs between the de Villiers and Montrose families never work out. You could say they were doomed to fail from the start.”
“I’d call that an entirely superfluous warning, Uncle Falk,” said Gideon, crossing his arms. “She’s definitely not my type.”
By she he meant me. It was a second or maybe two before the insult sank in. My first instinct was to say something like “Well, thank God for that! I’m not too keen on arrogant show-offs, myself.” But I kept quiet.
Okay, so I wasn’t his type. So what? If I wasn’t, I wasn’t.
As if I cared.
Received exciting news from the future today. The eleventh in the Circle of Twelve, Gideon de Villiers, will elapse to spend three hours a night with us in future. We made up a bed for him in Sir Walter’s office. It is cool and quiet in there, and the boy will be protected to a great extent from curious glances and stupid questions. During his visit today, all the officers on duty looked in “quite by chance.”
And quite by chance, they all had questions to ask about the future.
The boy told us it would be a good idea to buy shares in Apple, whatever that may be.
FROM THE ANNALS OF THE GUARDIANS
4 AUGUST 1953
REPORT: ROBERT PEEL, INNER CIRCLE
TEN
“CLOAK: VENETIAN VELVET, lined with silk taffeta. Gown: printed linen from Germany, trimmed with Devonshire lace, with a bodice made of embroidered silk brocade.” Madame Rossini carefully spread these garments out on the table. After we’d eaten, Mrs. Jenkins had taken me back to the sewing room. I liked this little room better than the formal dining room; there were wonderful fabrics lying around everywhere, and Madame Rossini was probably the only person here whom even my mother couldn’t possibly have distrusted. “The ensemble in mid blue with touches of cream, an elegant afternoon outfit,” she went on. “And matching shoes, silk brocade. More comfortable than they look. Luckily you and the coat ’anger take the same shoe size.” She placed my school uniform aside. “Oh, mon Dieu, the most beautiful girl in the world would look like a scarecrow in this. If they would only shorten the skirt to a fashionable length. Ah, zat ugly yellow! Whoever designed this ’ated schoolgirls. He really ’ated them!”
“Can I keep my own underwear on?”
“Only the panties,” said Madame Rossini. “Wrong for the period, but no one will be looking under your skirt. Or so I ’ope. If they do, you just kick zem good and ’ard. It may not look like it, but these shoes have toes reinforced with iron. ’Ave you been to the toilet? It is more difficult with the dress on.”
“Yes, I have. You’ve asked me that three times already, Madame Rossini.”
“We must make sure of everything.”
The way people fussed about me here kept surprising me, and all these little details! After dinner, Mrs. Jenkins had even handed me a brand-new toiletry bag so that I could brush my teeth and wash my face.
I’d expected the corset to cut off my air supply and squeeze the roast veal right out of me, but it was surprisingly comfortable. “I thought women fell down fainting in rows from wearing these things.”
“Oh, zey did. First, because they laced them too tight. And second, you could ’ave cut the air with a knife, because nobody washed, they just put on more perfume,” said Madame Rossini, shuddering at the idea. “Lice and fleas lived in their wigs, and mice even made nests in them. The most beautiful fashions, but not a good time for ’ygiene. You’re not wearing a corset like those poor creatures. You ’ave a special one à la Madame Rossini, comfy like a second skin.”
“I see.” I was terribly excited when I climbed into the hooped petticoat. “This feels like carrying a birdcage around with me.”
“Zis is nothing,” Madame Rossini assured me, as she carefully put the dress over my head. “The ’oop is tiny, not like they wore at Versailles at that time. Twelve feet in diameter! And yours is not whalebone but featherweight high-tech carbon fiber! But don’t worry, no one will see zat.”
Pale blue fabric patterned with cream-colored sprigs of flowers was billowing all around me. It would also have looked pretty good as a sofa cover. But I had to admit that, even with the enormous skirt and seemingly impossible length, it was very comfortable, not to mention a perfect fit.
o;I get that idea. I just don’t understand why.”
“Even if some of the men in there may be driven only by scientific curiosity, there are others whose intentions aren’t so honorable. I know they won’t shrink from anything to achieve their ends. You can’t trust any of them. Any of them, Gwyneth.”
I sighed. None of what she’d told me seemed the least bit useful.
From where we were in the garden, we heard the sound of an engine, and a car drew up at the front of the house. Even though cars weren’t really allowed in here at all.
