This follows on from my earlier story,
Patience's Treatment
. You may want to read that first, but it's not essential in order to understand this one. If you like the stories please leave me a comment. It's good to get feedback.
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Could Patience do this, could she touch another woman so intimately? Flora lay on the treatment couch before her, legs spread wide, her small breasts bared. Her sex exposed. All Patience had to do was to provide the massage as she had been instructed. She had been the recipient so many times, and that had felt good, but now she was to be the provider not the receiver. She summoned up all her courage.
~~~
Following her first encounter with Dr Cranshaw, Patience had visited the doctor for three more treatment sessions. She felt so much better after her treatment, and indeed her mother commented on the rosy bloom in her cheeks and her sunny demeanour. However, it was an expensive business, and money was tight in the Bradley household. So, somewhat reluctantly, she had been obliged to inform the good doctor that she would not be returning.
It had been quite a surprise, therefore, when his letter had arrived. Of course the letter had been addressed to her mother, but having read it through a couple of times her mother had passed it over to Patience. It seemed the letter was offering the possibility of employment. Dr Cranshaw was expanding his practice and establishing a modern facility nearer to the hospital and was looking for suitable young women to act as his assistants. The letter requested a meeting to further discuss the opportunity at their earliest convenience.
There had been an interview, albeit a brief one. Dr Cranshaw had explained that he was opening a new facility for the treatment of gentle women and that the job was hers should she chose to accept. Her role would be to assist and provide treatment similar to that she herself had received. He asked Patience if she thought she could do that, and she had robustly assured him that she could. In the two weeks that followed, while she worked her notice period, she wondered and hoped that this was true! There was to be no going back now - 1910 was indeed going to be a year of change!
Patience arrived at Dr Cranshaw's punctually at 9.30. The door was opened by a tall woman in a nurse's uniform.
"You must be Patience. Come in. I am Flora Everett, I am Dr Cranshaw's assistant, well one of them. Now you are here that'll make the two of us. He'll be in at around noon. But, I am to show you around and get you sorted."
Flora was tall and lanky with a pale complexion; her striking red hair was tied in two French plaits which were pinned up to the side of her head. Patience thought she detected an Irish lilt to her accent. She certainly spoke very quickly.
"Now, where to start? " She spun slowly around in the spacious hallway, as if unsure of her whereabouts, before picking one of the oak doors which she pushed open for Patience to enter. "This is Room 1. We have 3 consulting rooms. This is a general room, and so is Room 2. You'll be in here; I am usually in 2. Room 3 is Dr Cranshaw's special room. He has a study as well, but that's upstairs. Oh, and there by the front door is the waiting area."
Patience looked around the consulting room. Its heavy oak furniture smelled of beeswax and newness. There was a roll topped desk, several tall cupboards, a couple of side tables, and of course, an examination couch very similar to the one Patience had experienced. The sight of the couch caused an involuntary shudder to run down her spine. For a second or so her body replayed the feeling of being restrained and succumbing to the external arousal. A flash of light startled her from her thoughts.
"We have electric light." Proudly, Flora operated the wall switch and the ceiling light instantly illuminated. "We have all the latest here." She added. "I think Dr Cranshaw plans to do some training with you this afternoon. He'll show you the full works. This way."
They returned to the hallway; before viewing the near identical consulting room 2, and then made their way to the back of the house into what must have been a domestic kitchen at one time. There was still a large scrubbed pine table and cream coloured enamelled gas stove.
"This is Emma -- she is our maid of all work. Any chance of a cuppa, Emma?" Emma smiled back at them. She looked younger than Flora, but despite her youth and her smile, there was a certain hardness in her eyes. She wore a maid's dark uniform with a white pinafore.
"I'll put the kettle on. Pleased to meet you, Miss Patience. Oh, your new uniform is on the side there." She indicated a table on which was a bundle of folded clothes.
"It's the same as mine, and you'll need to put on a clean apron for each patient; Flora puts them in that cupboard over there for us; put the used ones in basket down here when you are done. When we go upstairs, I'll show you were you can change into your uniform." Added Flora.
"Have you finished your tea there?" Flora looked eagerly over towards Patience. "Let's get you changed and ready. The Doctor will be here before we know it." She stood up, and scooped up the pile of clothes that was to be Patience's uniform and headed for the door.
Once upstairs Flora indicated a door labelled Dressing Room 1. "In you go."
The room was brightly decorated in a modern style. A green upholstered chaise longue was placed along one wall, while a matching chair stood in the corner. Flora placed the pile of clothes onto a low table before sorting them one at a time onto the chaise longue. There was a long uniform dress in pale blue, similar the one Flora was wearing; a white apron; and -- Patience was surprised to see -- a corset.
"Now slip your things off."
Patience unbuttoned her high necked white blouse and slipped it off, and then she stepped out of her long skirt. She folded and placed both on the chair. When she turned around, she saw that Flora was holding the new cream-coloured corset for her.
Flora registered the surprised look on her face. "It's part of the uniform. The doctor likes these new straight cut ones.
So Patience continued. She pulled the cotton corset cover over her head, and then pulled down the underskirt. Now for her own corset, luckily she had tied the cords at the front so they were easily loosened, and reaching behind her back the she could ease the laces and open it enough to start unclipping the front. By now she was wearing only her chemise, drawers, with underskirt at her ankles. As she stood up straight again she was aware that Flora was looking at her. The close fitting cotton fabric did little to hide her pert breasts; indeed in leaning forward, as Patience had a moment before, they would be completely revealed by the low square neck of her chemise. Patience was certain that was where Flora's gaze had been resting.
"You are a pretty thing. I can see why he wanted you." Flora handed her the new corset. It was in the current fashion: starting below the bust but extending down further than Patience was used to. She adjusted its ties then slipped it on, clipping it together at the front, starting from the top.
"Here let me." Flora steered Patience by the shoulders until Patience's back was facing her. Then she expertly adjusted and tightened the laces. Though it fitted very well, it felt unusual to Patience. All her previous corsets had covered and compressed her breasts. But this one finished well below, leaving them free and unsupported, covered only by the thin chemise.
Flora was ready with the next item of clothing: the uniform dress, which Patience quickly put on. She buttoned it from waist to the neck then smoothed the sleeves down her forearms. Finally, she slipped the crisp white apron over her head and tied the strings behind her back.
"Have a look at yourself." Flora indicated a full length wall mirror. "Oh you do look the part."
And indeed she did. She looked every inch the nurse assistant that she was employed to be.
~~~
They were back in the kitchen when they heard the sound of the front door being opened and clunking shut.
"That'll be the Doctor."