With nothing else to do Diana started to unpack her bags. She was glad to see her main bags had been untouched by the mystery thief so she was left with a selection of normal, modern ladies clothes to change into. None of them had originally belonged to Diana and had been chosen by Barbara, the Oracle, to match her cover. It was the same with the toiletries and the few other personal items in there. Part of the second suitcase held maps, camera, notepad and GPS equipment that Diana might be expected to have and use as part of her cover career as a representative of a large oil company. The company pass and calling cards were forged and anyone trying to contact the company using one of the cards would get routed through to Oracle or her computer avatar. The cover was designed to stand casual scrutiny but would fail if a serious investigation took place.
As Diana busied herself with the unpacking there was yet another knock at the door: it was Lilly with the ‘small’ meal Mrs Howard had promised she’d send up. The tray Lilly carried was wider than herself and silver. On it balanced two covered dishes, a carafe of pink lemonade with an upside down tumbler on top, a toast rack with six slices of bread in it a pot of butter and another of jam and a third of mustard. Lilly navigated to the long, wooden trunk at the bottom of the large brass bed and placed the whole lot down there.
The display took Diana aback but before she could say anything little Lilly started her prepared speech.
“There’s cold cuts o’ ham, chicken ‘n’ beef under this lid ‘n’ Ma’s own scrambled eggs under t’other. Best etten hot. Butter, jam, strawberry, an’ a fine mustard; delicate fur a lady. It’s going ta’ be a warm night so’s I brung a full jug o’ lemonade an’… an’.. gosh, you’ll fergit yer name next Lill’. What did I brung? Oh!” she reached into her dresses pockets and brought out several objects, “salt ‘n’ pepper ‘n’ knives and forks.”
She beamed at Diana for approval and Diana didn’t have the heart to send the mountain of food away on seeing her so eager for a good word.
“That’s just perfect, Lilly isn’t it?” Diana said pushing one of the dresser draws closed behind her.
“Yes, Ma’am,” Lilly bobbed a curtsey. “Thank ya, Ma’am.”
“Please, Lilly, call me Diana,” Diana smiled genuinely trying to befriend the young woman. “And please thank Mrs Howard for her kindness too,” she added.
“I sure will, Miss Diana.”
Lilly wandered over to the French windows that lead to the balcony.
“Ma’ said ta leave the windie’s open ‘cause o’ the warm nights. Don’t worry bout no flies. Ye won’t git none ta tell of.”
Lilly produced a key from the same pockets she’d held the salt and pepper and unlocked and opened the French windows. Immediately a cooling breeze lifted the lace curtains and Diana smelled the sweet scent of the many roses below.
“This really is a wonderful room and a wonderful house,” she said to no one in particular. “You must be very proud to able to live here.”
Lilly bobbed again, “Ah sure am. Am a lucky ta have Ma an’ Pa as ma Ma an’ Pa an’ I wouldn’t wont no others. They put me straight when I wuz all confused an’ now I has a fine baby boy ‘n’ a man t’ call mah own. Ain’t that whut parents are fur: ta teach ya how ta act like a real lady.”
Diana had wandered over to the meal and had checked under the trays; the scrambled eggs did smell divine.
“Something like that but don’t forget you have the right, the duty, to explore the world too and make up your own mind,” Diana said.
Lilly turned back from the veranda and started towards the bedroom door, “Oh I does that too. Why the other day I explored an’ found a shop with clothes you jes wouldn’t believe! Not a snippet o’ cotton, silk, flannel, gingham nor chiffon there. No, sir!” Lilly lowered her voice and leaned close to Diana as she passed, “Ya could make boots out a the clothes there, if ‘n’ ya believe it!” her voice dropped even more into a whisper, “like the things Daisy May puts on when she goes a courtin’ but ya didn’t hear that from me.”
“It’ll be our secret,” Diana whispered back with a twinkle in her eyes.
Lilly paused at the door with the it half open. “Lilly, Lilly ya’ just plane dizzy an no mistake,” she muttered to herself. Then, back to Diana, “Ma said ta remind ya ta cover up if ya decide to walk the veranda an’ if ya see any of the other girls out there undressed ta tell them ta cover up too. It may get a might hot but that ain’t no reason to show off ya wares like a cheap whore, Ma says. This ain’t no cheap whorehouse. God might ‘a’ made it hot but he also made cold lemonade! That’s what she says and we duz”
Diana kept the frown from off her face. Yet another narrow-minded view of women, this time from a woman and a woman in some authority – which made it all the worse. It was quite natural, even in ‘man’s world’ for women to show an arm or a leg or even sunbathe in hot weather. Did Mrs Howard frown at such concepts as the beach, swimming baths and dressing for comfort? It wasn’t as if Mrs Howards dress sense was the most practical in the stifling Southern summers.
“I’ll try not to be a cheap whore. I mean: a cheap whore. And I’ll definitely have a glass of lemonade with those eggs after I’ve had a shower.”
Lilly pointed to the other door in the room.
“There’s a shower down the hall, but that’s fur special occasions. ’s through there. Knock loud an’ yell; as some one may be in it. Ya should lock the other door ‘n’ unlock it after but girls fergit if they got a man waitin’.”
“Thank you,” said Diana. Lilly left and Diana tried the door to the bathroom. It was unlocked. Inside Diana found a large room containing a Jacuzzi, toilet, sink, mirror, wall cabinet, cupboards for towers and other items, racks for clothes, an airing cupboard and a bidet. The floor, walls and sides of the Jacuzzi were tiled to look like marble and the ceiling was mirrored! Diana crossed the room and locked the other door; it was a simple bolt. It was a strange bathroom, Diana decided. If it wasn’t for the size of the Jacuzzi the Howards could probably have had two separate bathrooms for each guest; with showers not baths. The windows looking out to the veranda were of frosted stained glass and filled the room with mottled light from the late afternoon sun. Thick red curtains hug either side for use in the evening. An electric chandelier was turned on or off by the tug of a rope at either entrance. Surprising as it was, the Jacuzzi was just what Diana felt like; it was the closest thing man’s world had to the hot springs of her island home of Themyscira outside of Japan and Diana often wished her apartment in DC were large enough to house one. In no time the door to her room was locked, the Jacuzzi was filling with bubbly, scented hot water (liberally dosed from a bottle of bath salts Diana found in a cupboard) and Diana was out of her modern clothes. The Amazon princess massaged her breasts that had been held firm by Zatanna’s magical bra all day and let out a soft moan of pleasure. Next she dipped a toe into the hot bubbly water and then slid beneath the foamy surface and let herself just float in that hot, scented soothing cocoon. Diana stayed under for about five minutes before breaking the surface and twisting to settle herself against the side. She let her head hang back over the side, her long dark hair streaming warm soapy water onto the tiled floor. Diana let it – back on Themyscira there were maidens to handle such details.
Diana opened her blue eyes lazily and looked up at the scene above. The steam had mostly gone from the mirrors and she could see herself stretched out in all her naked glory, hot pink flesh in a sea of sensuously swaying soap bubbles.
When Diana left the bathroom, wrapped in a large, pink fluffy towel, she found a very unpleasant surprise waiting for her on her bed. It was as though ’s Secrets were holding a yard sale; the was a note on top of the mountain of lingerie. How could such thin and meagre things form a mountain? Diana pondered as she took and read the note; it was from Jessica.
Hi, Miss Prince,
I didn’t wanna spoil ya toilet sosz I left wut I could find on ya bed. Mostly left by ma sisters wuts gone on ta git married or unused gifts from gentlemen callers. All clean. Keep wut ya like ‘n’ fits. Ma will be mighty glad ta see ya find a use fur it all.
Jess.
Diana let the note fall back on the bed and cast a despairing eye across the sea of silks, satins, laces, chiffons, batistes, fishnets and even velvets. Some items had fur or feathers stuck to them others glittered with, presumably, faux gemstones. Amongst this tumble of terror for Diana were the shoes, all heeled, some strapped, some court, none practical as far as Diana could see.
Naked seemed the obvious solution to the Amazon princess, she’d never felt embarrassed by her body growing up on Paradise Island, but she knew in man’s world people tended to stay covered up even when sleeping; which made the selection before her even more bizarre to her as they failed in that one requirement.
Stockings! Diana picked up a single silk stocking. What were they all about? A tight fitting leg covering you could see through, like this one, she thought, or had holes in it, like that, Diana glanced at a pair of fishnets. They didn’t cover the whole leg, offered no protection for the leg and they didn’t stay on without assistance from a spiderlike contraption worn round the waist. Stockings! She let her fingers caress the smooth cool silk. So, so strange how smooth and cool they were.
“I guess I have to start somewhere,” Dianna said to herself.
A little rummaging resulted in the other white stocking, a white garter belt and some lacy boyshorts. Diana chose a basque over a babydoll, on the grounds of opacity, to complete her new pyjamas’ look. She wasn’t sure why but Diana added a pair of lace gloves with frilly wrists and a pair of white ankle-boots, which had the lowest heels of all the footwear there, to protect the souls of her flimsy silk stockings. Yet another black mark against wearing them, Diana added to her list.
Still she retained a reasonable amount of movement in the outfit. The stockings were cool against her thighs which, in the warm night and after her hot bath, felt wonderful, Diana grudgingly admitted, and the basque felt much better than Zatanna’s magical bra; supporting not constraining her naturally large breasts. After a few stretching exercises in front of the dresser’s mirror Diana felt more confident in the clothes.