Back in Service by Rosanna Challis Page B

pleasantries, Leo introduced Hetty as his friend, George, who was in need of some casual attire for a country house party. She was feeling self-conscious in her husband’s clothes, especially since the shirt was too large and had to be pinned beneath the jacket. She was also wearing elastic bands around her arms to shorten the sleeves, and her hands were tingling because her circulation was half cut off. Fortunately, there were no other customers in the shop.
    Broadbent said, ‘Measure the gentleman’s inside leg would you, Roger?’
    She felt her pulse racing as the young man knelt beside her and applied the tape measure. His hands brushed against her in a stimulating fashion, and it was all she could do not to gasp self-consciously as sexual excitement coursed through her. In a kind of trance, she obeyed his instructions to raise her arms and then her legs and then to turn around. Her collar size was taken, and watching the procedure, Broadbent commented on her slim build.
    ‘I think, if sir will excuse the suggestion, that he would be better advised to try one of our youth’s jackets. There are some serge trousers to match this one. Or would sir prefer a more casual outfit? This tweed jacket is very popular in this particular shade of green, which I am sure will be very becoming with sir’s colouring. We also have a range of checked suits.’
    Hetty had never received such assiduous attention while being fitted for clothes before. She could see Leo was trying hard not to laugh and she felt a similar urge come over her she hastily covered up with a cough. ‘Um, anything you say, Mr Broadbent,’ she muttered, and was ushered into a changing cubicle with a pile of clothes.
    She tried on several combinations until she found the one she preferred – a checked suit in sage green tweed with a cream shirt and a dark green tie – and when she emerged from the changing room there was a brief flurry of applause from the three men.
    ‘Suits you, sir, right down to the ground,’ Roger declared.
    ‘Perfect!’ Leo approached her and fingered the sleeve of her jacket as if to assess the quality of the material. ‘I can hardly wait to see you in this at home.’ He took advantage of his proximity to whisper in her ear, ‘Dear George.’
    The bill was paid and the pair of them returned to Longton by carriage in high spirits, and no sooner had they entered their bedroom than Leo begged her to put her new outfit on while he went about some business, promising to return in ten minutes. She gladly obeyed and waited breathlessly for his arrival, admiring her new look in the mirror. With her hair tucked beneath a cloth cap and her breasts bound beneath the shirt, she could easily be taken for a young man. She assumed a jaunty stance and twirled an imaginary handlebar moustache.
    When Leo reappeared he embraced her warmly. ‘George! To what do we owe the honour of this visit?’
    ‘I am calling on some relatives up north,’ she replied in a deep voice, ‘and I came to see Hetty. Is your wife at home?’
    ‘Alas, not at the moment, she is accompanying Lady Alice on a visit, but she will be back shortly. Meanwhile, sit down here, George, and tell me all your news. Have you had any adventures lately?’
    ‘Oh, one or two.’
    Leo drew up another chair and leaned forward eagerly, his hands clasped on his knees. ‘Then tell me about them at once. You are such a rogue, George, and so beloved by the ladies. I love to hear about your escapades now I am a staid married man and not permitted such liberties.’
    She smiled. ‘Did I ever tell you about delectable Delia? She is half Greek and dark of colouring with the most exquisite black hair and eyes. But her father, Dimitri, is very strict with her and she leads him a merry dance. Not even the thought of a beating can stop her sneaking out of her bedroom at night when a young man has taken her fancy.’
    ‘And I suppose you were one of those young men?’
    ‘Naturally. I courted