A Place for Us All to Belong

[Author's note:

Lily

has recruited

Kayla

into a new adventure. They have been given the

power of free will

, able to break through the fourth wall and jump from story to story, to go anywhere. After making a pact in the

Meta Cafe

they have escaped out of their own story worlds and into the unknown, determined to write their own endings.

But each story universe they visit has its own rules. Kayla's universe allows mind control, other universes allow people to be turned into sex dolls, or live like billionaires, or on spaceships or in the perfect female society. And now, Lily and Kayla are in the middle of it all. They're going to go everywhere.

In this chapter, the dynamic duo bring some thoroughly modern thinking to the Colonial past. Themes of female domination, corsets and horse riding accoutrements. How simply splendid, giddy up!]

---

COLONIAL DISCIPLINE

Kayla shifted in her seat, trying to get comfortable.

"Tell me something, Lil. They're smart enough to assemble a world-spanning empire with nothing more than wooden ships and rifles, but they still have no idea how to dress for the heat. How's that work?"

"This is dressed for the heat, Kay."

"I'm wearing layers, and a corset."

"It's a light corset, breathable cotton, and the hemline of our dresses is shockingly high."

Lily leaned back from the white tablecloth upon which sat a stacked arrangement of plates holding precisely-cut finger sandwiches and tiny cakes. She crossed her legs, her dress rising up slightly to expose a bare ankle. Lily tugged at the fabric of her dress, raising the hem a little higher, exposing her lower calf.

"I'm not wearing any stockings," Lily murmured conspiratorially, glancing around to see if they were being observed.

She uncrossed her legs and turned her attention back to her little plate. Kayla looked around the other tables, at the groups of ladies dressed like themselves, at the dark-skinned waiters moving between them, at the large fans circling endlessly above their heads that did little to shift the sultry air. She huffed.

"Why are we here, Lil?"

"You said you wanted to see elephants."

"Yeah, but I had in mind a safari park, or even just a zoo."

"Elephants don't come from a zoo."

"A zoo doesn't have ridiculous dress requirements."

"You look hot, though, Kay."

"Because I am hot."

"The corset really does something for the girls," Lily continued, unfazed, waving a casual finger in the direction of her chest. "You should maybe look to incorporate that in your attire going forward."

"Uh, what's wrong with your speech pattern?"

Lily tittered.

"And the tittering."

"I have no idea, darling. Perhaps they put something in the cucumber sandwiches. I'm absolutely at a loss to explain it."

Lily lifted her teacup from its saucer and brought it up to her smiling lips.

"There really better be fucking elephants," Kayla grumbled.

Kayla helped herself to a cake, using the serving tongs because that's what everyone else was doing. She felt utterly out of place in the high vaulted tearoom. Doors on one side admitted light from an expansive courtyard, where a dark-skinned maître d' met the trickle of ladies arriving for high tea. She felt the dampness in her armpits and made a face. At least Lily had made the concession of bringing anti-perspirant.

"Why are we here?" Kayla asked again.

Lily placed her cup carefully on its saucer, running a hand through her long blonde hair. She straightened, and her breasts rose enticingly, bound tightly in their corset.

"No, we're not doing that, Lil. Just answer me."

Lily gave her a look and sagged. "You're no fun."

"There are no men in here."

"You never know who's watching."

Lily wiggled her eyebrows playfully, but then huffed. "Okay. I just thought it would be interesting to go somewhere historical for once. We're touring the Colonies."

She gestured at the other tables, at the other women just like them, sitting in little groups with their plates of cakes and sandwiches.

"It's ripe for disruption, Kay. Shall we begin?"

"Oh no. Elephants. That was it."

"We're hunting more wily game than elephants."

"Who...?"

"Ready? Here we go."

Before Kayla could protest, Lily leaned back in her chair, turning to the table next to them. A woman a little younger than them was sitting there alone.

"I say," Lily said, "You look like you've been stood up."

"Yes, I think I have, rather," the woman conceded.

"Care to make up a threesome with us?"

The woman blinked, eyeing Lily and then Kayla.

"Eating alone can be deleterious to your health," Lily continued, smoothly.

The woman hesitated, but then smiled. "If it's not an inconvenience."

"Not at all, pull up a chair. I'll have the man refresh the plates."

Kayla stared pointedly at Lily, but was ignored. Lily was clearly enjoying herself. She rose to greet the newcomer and Kayla followed her. The woman was dressed as they were, in a creamy white dress over an impressive bodice that tapered down to a narrow waist, her hair falling in bright copper ringlets over her shoulders. She had a delicate face, green eyes in pale skin scattered with freckles.

"Constance."

"I'm Lily, and this is Kayla."

"Kayla?"

"Yes, her mother was very spiritual."

Kayla shot her friend a look as Constance took a seat. Lily grinned in return.

"Thank you," Constance said, "This is very kind."

"We thought you might need rescuing," Lily replied.

"Yes. I was supposed to be meeting a friend, but she sent a message. Domestic emergency, or something."

"And you had already come all the way here."

"Yes."

"Inconvenient. Still, her loss is our gain, Constance," Lily remarked. "And what does your husband do with his time?"

"He's in the Colonial Office. We've been here three years," Constance replied. "And you?"

"We're on a trip to see the elephants," Kayla told her.

"Ah, wonderful. But, what do your husbands do?"

Constance glanced down at Kayla's hand, and frowned. Constance's finger was adorned with a gold band set with a glittering diamond. Neither Lily nor Kayla were wearing rings.

"We're newly arrived, just on business for a few months. We're having trouble with our rings," Lily remarked. "The heat seems to do all sorts of strange things to the body out here."

Constance nodded in agreement. "Yes, I had to go up a ring size. I suppose not much point if you're not planning on staying here for a full posting. Though, I might advise getting a temporary one. You don't want to be giving the natives any ideas."

Lily appeared shocked. "In what way?"

"Oh, some ladies prefer, how can I put this?" Constance replied, "The darker meat. I've heard they're rather well endowed."

"Of course, not speaking from personal experience," Lily said. She actually tittered.

"Oh, God, no. I have enough to cope with, with the Major. But, you didn't say what your husbands do," she pressed.

"They're here on the King's business," Lily murmured.

Constance paused. "You mean the restlessness up north?"

"We really can't say. I would expect you understand, given your husband's line of work."

"Of course, we shall be discreet."

The dark-skinned waiter arrived with a set of plates on a silver tray. Kayla watched his face as he transferred the finger sandwiches to the main plate with his tongs and then refreshed the little collection of cakes on the plate above it. He kept his eyes studiously on his business. Even when Constance uttered the single word 'tea' all he did was nod. It left Kayla with a knot in her stomach. She glanced across at her friend to find that Lily had been watching her. Lily raised an eyebrow.

"So, you're keen to visit the game park?" Constance said.

"Yes. We'd like to see the animals in their natural environment," Lily replied.

"In the wild."

"Very much."

"That will be exciting," Constance replied, smiling brightly. "Though, the Major rather prefers bringing them home."

"Isn't that dangerous?" Kayla blurted, shocked.

"Yes, frightfully. He managed to bag a lion last year, though. There's a little man in the town who is a dab hand at preparing them. We have it as a rug in the salon."

"You turned it into a rug?" Kayla echoed.

"Yes, and let me tell you, there's nothing quite like having an apex predator underfoot."

Lily tittered again, helping herself to a dainty pastry. "And also the lion," she replied.

Constance frowned. "I'm not following."

Lily smiled. "I'm sorry, were you still referring to the lion?" she said. "For some reason, I thought you were referring to your husband."

Constance returned Lily's smile uncertainly. "I'm still not sure I see."

Lily took a sip of her tea. At that moment, the waiter arrived with a new pot and poured tea for Constance. She didn't acknowledge him, and he left.

"Well, maybe it's the heat," Lily continued. "I had the impression that you were talking about laying your husband down and walking on him."

Constance's pale cheeks coloured slightly.

"That's a little risqué," she murmured.

"It was a piece of advice Mama gave me," Lily told her. "Would you like to hear it?"

"I suppose."

Lily leaned forward conspiratorially, and Constance reciprocated. Kayla watched Lily with a sense of growing unease.

"She said it like this," Lily replied. "Men are like carpet. If you take care to lay them correctly the first time, you can walk over them for years."

Constance's eyes widened, but then she laughed.

"Lily, that's outrageous."

"And also true."

The other woman regarded her through lidded eyes. "True?" she echoed.

"I took Mama's advice to heart at the start of my marriage. I must say, she was entirely correct."

"So you walk all over your husband, metaphorically speaking?"

"Constance, we're being discreet?"

"Of course."

"Well, since we're only in country a short while, I suppose I can reveal a little."

Kayla leaned in, fascinated by whatever was about to come out of Lily's mouth. Lily's emerald-green eyes were glittering as she lured in her prey.

"I do walk on him," she confessed.

Constance gasped, bringing a hand up to her chest. "That's outrageous," she hissed. "And he lets you?"

"Yes. More than that, he asks me to."

Constance stared at Lily, her cheeks flushing.

"Why on earth does he do that?"

"A wife has her secrets."

"No, rubbish. You can't get as far as that and not finish the story."

Constance shifted in her seat, crossing her legs. The colour in her cheeks deepened.

"Utter discretion?" Lily murmured.

"Absolutely," Constance agreed.

Lily paused, taking a petit four and munching on it thoughtfully. "I really shouldn't. It's humiliating."

"Humiliating for you?"

"Oh, God, no. For my husband. I trained him, you see."

"Outrageous."

"Quite."

"Like a hound?"

"Exactly like a hound. Tell me, have you ever studied psychology, Constance?"

"No. I went to finishing school, but never progressed."

"Why?"

"I was betrothed and then we were married."

"How old were you?"

"Eighteen."

"I see. Well, then you have probably never come across Pavlov's experiment with his dogs."

"I don't expect I have."

Lily nodded. "Fascinating chap. He used to ring a bell before he fed his dogs. After a while, after they got used to that, he would ring a bell and even without the food, they would salivate. He had conditioned them, subconsciously, to associate the bell with a reward."

Lily leaned back, smiling smugly. Kayla could see she was waiting for Constance to take the bait.

"I can see how it works on dogs. They're simpler creatures," Constance replied.

"So are men," Lily tittered.

"How can it work? They have a mind of their own."

"Your husband is a Major in the army?"

"Yes, he attended the Officer Academy directly out of school."

"What do you think the military is, Constance? How do you convince a free-thinking man to go over a trench and shoot people, if not through repetitious drilling?" Lily asked. "Conditioning. The miliary mind is very prone to it."

"This is such an outrageous discussion, Lily. How can I believe that a husband can be trained like that? It's preposterous."

"Well, Mama gave me some pointers. After that, I had to adjust my approach. Like any grand experiment, you need to collect the data, assess, and then plan the next phase."

Lily broke off the conversation, turning to Kayla. "Should I order a refill on the tea, do you think?"

"I'm good," Kayla replied.

"Just, it appears to be the only drink on offer."

"Verily."

Lily took a cake in her tongs and began to quarter it with a little silver knife before popping the pieces into her mouth. Beside her, Constance fidgeted in her seat, her legs firmly crossed.

"How did you go about it?" she asked Lily.

Lily's eyes remained fixed on Kayla and a familiar lopsided smile curled her lips. It vanished as soon as it appeared. Lily turned to Constance.

"Well, let's start with something small. Tell me, do you ride?"

"Of course. I was the dressage champion at school."

"Then you know a thing or two about training powerful beasts already."

"How does that advance this conversation?"

"Do you have riding boots?"

"Yes. But...."

"Do you wear them?"

Constance frowned, flustered. "When riding, obviously."

"Not around the house."

"No. I don't see what this...."

"Jodhpurs? Do you have a crop?"

"Yes."

"I'm assuming you have a bit and a harness too, but let's leave that to one side for the moment. May I suggest something for you to try?"

Constance shrugged, bewildered. Lily leaned in again, her voice dropping low, until she was practically murmuring into the other woman's ear. Kayla regarded the two of them, watching as Constance's eyes grew wider and wider.

They finished tea, and then Constance took her leave of them, her cheeks burning. Lily sent her on her way, and then turned back to Kayla.

"We can just go to the zoo if we want to see elephants, Kay. This is a lot more fun."

"We done here now?"

"I think we've subverted the colonial storyline."

Lily looked around and then scrunched her nose. "I don't know if it's the casual racism, the torture of wearing a corset in this heat, the fact that all a lady can get to drink until dinner is tea or the sheer fucking entitlement, but I'm really starting to despise this place."

---

Constance took afternoon tea in the drawing room. She had just been riding, her copper locks tied back in a ponytail, her crisp, white shirt with the top button undone, in her jodhpurs and riding boots. She had kept her riding gloves on too. The crop was resting on the mahogany desk.

Her husband opened the door without knocking, clearly flustered.

"The servant said you needed to talk to me, though why I had to come and find you and you couldn't just come to me, I have no idea."

"James, would you like some tea?"

"I'm a little too busy for tea."

Constance approached her husband, the heels of her boots striking loudly against the polished wooden floorboards.

"You seem annoyed," she observed.

"Not overly," James protested, his gaze flicking down her body. "Been riding, have we?"

"Yes, but it's too hot. I got a little bothered."

Constance smiled. James frowned back at her, still ill-tempered.

"So, what did you need to see me about?"

"I was wondering if you could fetch me some water to freshen up?"

James stared at her, nostrils flaring. "Why didn't you ask the boy to do that? Isn't that a servant's job?"

Constance came close to her husband, looking up at him. "Yes, it is," she murmured.

James was older than her by ten years, a match made by their parents at one of their interminable garden parties back home. By the time they were married, he had already advanced in the Army and was looking to settle down with a civil career and a family. She had found herself wed and then spirited away to the colonies, a new wife in a strange land, constantly struggling with the role she'd been handed.

But, she had just met an extraordinary young woman at High Tea. That had been a month ago now, and little by little, Constance had been putting her advice to use, and had seen to her amazement that it was working. She had made two subtle changes to their lives immediately: firstly, she had produced headaches at bedtime, and secondly, she had been riding, a lot.

Her husband had been granted access to her inner sanctum just once, and from his tense demeanour, it was having the desired effect.

Constance bent over, straight-legged, turning away from the big man, sliding a hand down the back of her calf over the polished chestnut leather of her riding boot. She was aware of how the tight jodhpurs shaped the firm curve of her bottom, feeling her husband's gaze on her trim body. She straightened up and popped open another button on her shirt, revealing soft, pale skin. She stared up into his eyes.

"I'm so hot, James. Would you please fetch your wife a bowl of water and a cloth?"

"This is ridiculous," James grumbled, but he did as she asked.

When he had left the room, Constance flopped down onto the edge of the sturdy desk. She glanced at it and then began to clear the writing pad and the pens away, leaving only the riding crop. Her hand traced over her hip, gloved fingers stroking the tight material. She made sure that her firm bottom was in full view of the door when James returned with the bowl. He strode across the room forcefully, depositing it unceremoniously onto the mahogany surface. Constance turned to look up at her husband again.

"Thank you darling. The cloth?"

The washcloth was draped over his arm. Just like a servant, she noted. He handed it to her, scowling.

"Will that be all, Ma'am?" he muttered sarcastically.

Constance didn't reply. She dipped the cloth into the bowl of water then brought it out, letting the drips splash back down. It was the only sound in the room. She shook the cloth a couple of times and then wrung it out with her gloved hands. Her husband's eyes followed every movement.

"I was wondering, if you're not too busy," she said, holding out the damp cloth to him.

"What do you want me to do with that?"

Constance popped another two buttons on her shirt. The crisp, white cotton gaped, exposing her camisole top beneath and the soft, white expanse of her skin.

"I'm sticky after my ride. I would like you to wash me," Constance replied. "Be a good boy."

James took the cloth from her, the muscles in his jaw bunching. Constance undid the rest of her shirt buttons and shrugged it off her shoulders, exposing her camisole. She didn't take her eyes off her husband's face as she tugged the camisole up, exposing her bare breasts to him. He remained stock still, his eyes shifting down to the hardened points of her nipples. He reached out, but she caught him by the wrist, her gloved fingers grasping his flesh firmly. He stopped.

Constance tutted, frowning at the big man, then she removed his cufflinks, rolling back his shirt sleeves to expose his forearms. She raked her gloved fingers over his exposed skin, then braced her hands on the edge of the desk, arching her back subtly to present her breasts to her husband.

"I'm waiting, darling."

She didn't break eye contact, but she shivered inside. Lily had told her how, the little steps her husband had to take down the path towards a different way of interacting with her. When he draped the wet cloth on her cleavage she nearly cried out with triumph.

"You look hot and bothered yourself," she murmured.

James licked his lips, moving the cool cloth over her skin, bringing up goosebumps. She pressed her hands against his chest, teasing open his shirt button by button, exposing his skin. James let her do it, his focus only on his wife's skin, the swirling of the cloth over her body. He brushed over her nipples.