“Rose, your friends are here.”

Rose froze at the sound of her mother’s voice. She was in her bedroom, playing with the dolls Papa had left her. He’d been gone all morning, warning her he might not be back until late. To assuage her anxiety about being left without him, he’d provided her with some of the dolls from his office playroom, leaving her to recreate the tea party she had made there, an activity that had kept her occupied until her mother’s voice interrupted her a little after one in the afternoon.

She had completely forgotten about Geraldine, Enid, and Amelia. They had arranged to visit to discuss her adventure with Jonathan, something she had refused to think about since the night it happened. She had returned that night to find them asleep and she’d been able to distract them enough the next morning so that they left without knowing what really happened to her. “We’ll be back,” they had warned as they climbed into their carriage. Back they were, though they could go hang. They could not see her like this.

Rose looked down at herself. She was in a white silk dress with a red bow across her chest. Her nappy bulged absurdly under it, there was no way of keeping it hidden from view. Her hair was in pigtails, her stockings sheer, her feet in plain black Mary Jane shoes no adult would be seen wearing, not with red bows topping them both to match her dress. She could not even change into more appropriate attire, Mama had removed all her clothes from the room, replacing them with ones approved by Papa. Not one of them was suitable for entertaining her friends.

“Tell them I’m ill,” she called back down.

“But they are already here. Come down and greet them.”

“I shall not. I am not receiving guests.”

“Be reasonable,” Geraldine shouted up to her. “We have travelled some way on this hottest of days to greet our friend. Would you be so rude as to avoid our company?”

“Yes,” Rose shouted back down. “Go away.”

“Oh, this is absurd,” her mother cried out. “Come down here this instant.”

Rose was torn. She had promised Papa she would remain in her room until he returned. The crop lay under her bed as a reminder of what would happen if she were to defy him. But her mother would be furious if she didn’t go downstairs. Her friends would hold it against her too. What to do?

Thinking she might be presentable with a few changes, she shouted down, “I shall be there in a moment.”

Turning to her mirror, she looked at herself. There was nothing she could do about the length of the dress, nor the cleavage it revealed behind the bow. The nappy had to go. There was no way they wouldn’t comment on it. She untied the cloth and threw it on the bed. Looking at herself again, she thought they would not see her lack of underwear as long as she remained upright. She undid the grips holding her pigtails in place, running a brush through her hair to make it seem as grown up as she could manage. Her lack of underwear was startling but unless she refused to leave her room, she had no choice but to hope for the best.

She kicked off her shoes, leaving them in her room as she went downstairs, hearing the voices of her friends talking in the drawing room. Taking a deep breath, she walked inside, her heart pounding in her chest as they all looked up at her in astonishment.

“What on earth are you wearing?” Geraldine asked after an eternity of silence.

“Oh, this?” Rose replied, brushing her hands down her dress. “It’s the latest fashion in Paris. Don’t you like it?”

“It’s scandalously short,” Enid said. “You can see the tops of your stockings.”

“Where can I get one?” Amelia asked. “I think it looks wonderful.”

That broke the ice and the four of them laughed. Rose crossed the room and sat primly on the edge of an armchair, keeping her legs clamped tightly together. This might not be so bad after all.

“So what’s been happening?” Geraldine asked. “Apart from you dressing up like a Parisian doll?”

“Don’t you like it?”

“I would if you were four years old. Don’t you think it’s a little childish?”

“Would it be such a bad thing if it were?”

“What’s going on, Rose? You refuse to tell us what happened between you and Jonathan. You refuse to see us. Then when you do appear, it’s in that monstrosity.”

“I’ve met someone,” Rose said, grinning broadly.

“You what? You’ve met someone? What about Jonathan?”

“Oh Jonathan can go and boil his head. He’s nothing compared to my suitor.”

“Well who is this dashing hero who’s swept you off your feet? Tell us everything. Have you kissed him yet?”

Rose’s grin broadened. “We’ve done a lot more than kissing.”

“You haven’t,” Enid said, her eyes narrowing. “You’re lying.”

“I’m not, I swear.”

“Who is he then?”

“I…I can’t tell you.”

“Which means he doesn’t exist.”

The three visitors looked up at once and Rose twisted her head to find Mama standing in the doorway of the drawing room. Not now, she thought. Please, not now.

“Good afternoon, ladies,” Mama said, nodding politely. “If you would excuse us, I am afraid it is time for Rose’s afternoon lessons.”

“Lessons?” Amelia said. “What lessons?”

“Sorry,” Rose replied, getting to her feet. “It’s been lovely seeing you all but Mama, I mean Miss Fitzpatrick is right. It is time for my lessons.”

“She will be back in an hour or so,” Mama said, beckoning to Rose, who followed her swiftly out of the room.

Rose left to the sound of their protests, still worried Mama might say something. She did say something, but only when the two of them were alone in Mama’s room. “I believe you were told to remain in your bedroom until Papa returned.”

“I wanted to, really I did. But Mother insisted I greet my friends. What could I do?”

“You could do as you were told by those who have your best interest at heart. What do you think will happen when your friends tell all and sundry about your choice of dress for today?”

“But I didn’t choose this dress, you did.”

“That is enough of your cheek. Now it is time for your bottle. Does your nappy need changing first?”

“I am not wearing it.”

“Oh, if it not one thing after another with you. Papa will hear of this, mark my words. Come on, before your milk cools any further.”

Rose climbed onto Mama’s lap, taking the bottle in her mouth and sucking on the contents, enjoying the taste of the creamy warmth on her tongue. It was strange but the moment she began to drink, her anxieties seemed to fade away. Mama stroked her forehead as she drank and she felt at peace. The concerns of her friends and her mother seemed to disappear, leaving her feeling loved and doted upon by Mama instead. Who cared what they thought of her dress? Who cared who they told? All she cared about was her bottle and the soft hand on her forehead, enough to tell her everything would be all right. She was loved. That was all that mattered.

The only fly in the ointment was the knowledge that Papa would be back soon and when he was, he would find out she had disobeyed him. She shifted position as her bottom tingled in anticipation of what he might do to her when he found out. She was still bruised from last time he had needed to discipline her. Still, he would hopefully be gentler now they had such a connection to each other. He had to feel something for her to have done what he did.

She thought of the sight of his member as it emerged from his trousers, her body tingling as she wondered what it would be like to feel that inside her. The sensation of it filling her mouth made her core throb, the heat of it when he came, the taste of him as she had swallowed his seed. He had to love her, he couldn’t punish her as cruelly as on that first instance, not after that, surely.