Thank You so much for all you lovely reviews! I'm amazed and very very flattered! :) Sorry about the lack of action in this. I'm trying to get a feel for the characters first. More to come though.
"We are going to have to tell her", Cynthia murmured to Jenny. "We are doing no such thing!" Trixie said. "Right, this calls for an emergency meeting, I should think. Shelagh, you are banned to the kitchen for now. And don't you dare leave it. And we shall know if you do! We'll have Sister Evangelina spy on you." "Shelagh was starting to see the amusing side of all the secrecy and giggled softly to herself. The girls had obviously been planning something. Something which included her. The feeling of being part of something, maybe even being the centre of something made her sigh contently while she obediently walked towards the kitchen.
"Sister Evangelina! Sister!" Trixie's shrill voice carried through the long corridor as the swish of a habit turned the corner at the end of the hall. Sister Evangelina turned around and squinted at Trixie. "What now?" she asked exasperated.
"We need you to make Shelagh some Horlicks and make sure she doesn't leave the kitchen."
"Oh do you now? Has she lost the ability to use her limbs?" Sister Evangelina asked. Chummy decided that it was time to intervene before there was any irreparable damage done. "Oh do go on, Sister. It would mean ever so much." Sister Evangelina muttered something inaudible under her breath but the nurses understood she was agreeing. She hadn't been able to refuse Chummy anything lately so it was always a safe bet to make Chummy ask the now very grumpy Sister.
"Thank God for that" Jenny muttered as Sister Evangelina shuffled into the kitchen to keep Shelagh company. The nurses hurried to the nearest room, Cynthia's, and shut the door firmly behind them.
"What do we do?" Cynthia asked worriedly. "As I see it we only have two choices" Jenny suggested. "Either we tell her, or we don't". "I vote for don't" said Chummy. "All right. Say we don't tell her" Jenny pondered. "How do we explain to Dr Turner that Shelagh won't be joining them for dinner?" "Well that's just it! Oh, how terribly clever of you Jenny" Chummy exclaimed, delighted. "Is it?" Jenny was perplexed. "Yes, we explain it all to Dr Turner. He can bring Timothy too. Oh how marvelous!" Chummy was beaming at them. "Actually, that's not a bad idea Chummy" Cynthia agreed. Trixie made an affirmative gesture nonchalantly while Jenny nodded. "Good, so who wants to explain it all to Dr Turner?" Trixie was suddenly very busy with her rebellious curl and Jenny had found a stain on her cardigan that wouldn't come off. "I'll do it then I suppose" Cynthia offered reluctantly. "Good! That's that then" Trixie said, her hair in perfect order again. She then bounced off the bed they were all sitting on and led the way back to the kitchen.
The nurses joined Sister Evangelina and Shelagh in the kitchen while Cynthia went to use the telephone. She dialed the number to the surgery and hesitated a bit when she heard Dr Turner's "Good Morning". Was this really such a good idea? She decided it was by the time Dr Turner repeated "Morning?" "Good Morning Doctor. This is Nurse Miller. I wanted to speak to you about something which we think concerns you".
The other nurses were making quite the racket in kitchen, ensuring Shelagh didn't overhear Cynthia's conversation with Dr Turner. So much so that Sister Julienne had to come in and ask them to be quiet.
At a quarter to six Shelagh retired to her room to get changed. The nurses no longer objected to her plan to go to the Turners' for dinner, which she found slightly disconcerting. Their glances at each other when she announced she was off to get ready told her something was going on but she decided to ignore it.
She had barely reached her room and picked out her plaid skirt and jacket when she heard a knock on the door. She called a distrustful "come in" and saw Jenny poking her head in. She then beckoned to somebody else and before she knew it, Shelagh's room was invaded by all four nurses and Jane, who had just arrived from visiting the rectory, her glasses were removed and someone tied a scarf over her eyes. She was too shocked to protest or even speak as she felt someone tugging at her shirt and skirt. "Oh no, this will never do" she heard Trixie's voice say. She soon felt fingers fiddling with her buttons and ribbons until she was left standing in her undergarment, feeling rather bare. "Trixie?" she said helplessly. "Patience is a virtue, Shelagh. I'd have thought you knew that" was the mischievous reply. "Trixie! Don't tease. Don't worry Shelagh, we'll be done soon" Cynthia tried comforting her. Shelagh had wrapped her arms around herself for warmth or modesty, but had to let go when her knee was lifted up and she nearly lost her balance. "Sorry", she heard Jane's small voice apologising. "You can hold on to me". Shelagh grabbed hold of Jenny's arms as she balanced on one leg. She felt fabric being pulled up to her waist and tightened significantly. Her arms were maneuvered through more material and she felt her lungs being compressed. "There, that's better". Shelagh did not feel better. She felt just as bare as she had been in her undergarment. There was no fabric around her arms and what she took to be a dress barely reached her knees.
"Off we go then." Jenny took hold of her arms again as Trixie, she assumed, forced her feet into something she could not have guessed were shoes. She gained height and stumbled out of the room and down the hall, still blindfolded and bewildered.
