10 Timeless Heroes; A Time Travel Romance Boxed Set

by P. L. Parker, Beth Trissel, L. L. Muir, Skhye Moncrief, Sky Purington, Nancy Lee Badger, Caroline Clemmons, Bess McBride, Donna Michaels

  Melinda nodded sagely and stepped back. “Well, I am afraid the skirt will not fit without a corset. It was designed to be worn with a smaller waist. I cannot wear it without a corset. We had better find one for you.”

  “No,” Ellie squeaked, bringing Melinda to an abrupt halt as she headed for the wardrobe. “I-I can’t wear a corset!”

  Melinda turned slowly, tilted her head and regarded Ellie with wide blue eyes. “Why ever not, Ellie? All proper ladies wear corsets. Even grandmother.”

  Ellie wanted to sink into a chair, but the tightness of the skirt prevented it. She bit her tongue against her first instinct to rant about the sexism of squeezing a female form into a binding corset as she studied Melinda’s innocent face. It seemed obvious that women perpetuated their own fashion crimes...especially among the upper classes.

  “I-I don’t think I can squeeze into one.”

  Melinda’s eyes widened. “Are you saying you have never worn a corset, Ellie? How is that possible?”

  Ellie bit her lip. “Umm...we just don’t wear corsets where I come from, Melinda.”

  “Really?” Her eyes almost popped.

  “Really.” Ellie nodded.

  “Well, that is just not possible here. You must wear one, certainly if you want to get into any of my clothes. They are all designed to be worn with a corset.” She moved toward her wardrobe. “And you want to go out in the carriage and see the city today with Robert, don’t you?”

  The thought of spending more time in Robert’s company clinched the deal. Ellie suspected Melinda might have great success selling used cars.

  “All right,” Ellie sighed. “Then I think I’m going to need...umm...”

  “You will need a chemise and a corset cover and several petticoats.” The fashion crisis averted, Melinda bustled around importantly, pulling white garments from drawers. “I had better summon my maid, Alice, to help.” She handed Ellie the soft white underclothing and crossed the room to pull on a small cord hidden near the curtains.

  Ellie stared at the pile of clothing in her hand, uppermost of which was a dauntingly heavy and stiff corset with deceptively soft and feminine pink ribbons.

  “How am I going to wear all this underneath, when I can’t even squeeze into the skirt as it is?”

  Melinda crossed her arms and regarded Ellie with a matronly expression.

  “You will manage. We all manage.”

  A tap on the door heralded the arrival of a petite maid dressed in the ubiquitous plain gray servant’s dress. Ellie eyed her with suspicion. It seemed obvious that the tiny, freckle-faced, redheaded maid had never had to wear a corset in her life.

  “Yes, miss?”

  “Alice, could you please help Miss Standish into these garments? I am going downstairs to have some tea and breakfast while you dress.” She moved toward the door. “Oh, and could you dress her hair? An upsweep. You know what to do, Alice.”

  Alice bobbed at the closing door and turned to Ellie. Ellie held up a hand to ward her off. “Wait, Alice. Just a minute. I can get into the...um...undergarments by myself. Could you just turn around for a minute while I put them on?”

  “Yes, miss.” Alice’s brown eyes popped, but she rotated and faced the wall.

  Ellie managed first to extricate herself from the tight clothing and then slipped out of her bra and underwear, promising to give them a good washing in the bathroom sink when she returned to her room.

  She sorted through the undergarments and pulled out something that remotely resembled pictures of a chemise. She shook the simple white linen garment out and slipped it over her head. Conscious of a draft on her nether regions, she grabbed a pair of drawers and slipped them on, knowing she would never be able to return these intimate garments to Melinda. But one look at the clothing spilling from Melinda’s wardrobe suggested she would hardly miss a few things.

  With still more white lacy undergarments in her hand, Ellie drew a blank.

  “Okay, Alice, I’m lost. What is this thing?”

  Alice turned and blinked. She moved forward hesitantly.

  “Why, it’s a corset cover, miss. It goes over the corset.”

  “So, what do I put on next?”

  “The corset, miss. I can help you with that.”

  If Alice had questions, as her wide-eyed look suggested, she was too polite to ask.

  “If you would raise your arms, miss.”

  Alice took the beribboned corset and wrapped it around Ellie’s waist. Ellie instinctively sucked her stomach in and straightened.

  “I’m just going to tighten it now,” Alice murmured.

  As Ellie felt the corset begin to mold to her body, she noticed her upper torso pushed forward while her rear bent backward. Something was seriously wrong. She couldn’t breathe.

  “Wait, Alice, wait.” Ellie took a shallow breath and murmured. “Is this thing on straight? I’m practically bent over.”

  “Yes, miss, that’s the way it is supposed to look. It’s an S-bend corset. All the ladies wear them.”

  Ellie twisted her neck to quirk an eyebrow at Alice.

  “I don’t think you have one on, do you, Alice?”

  Alice’s face turned pink. “Me? Oh no, miss. The servants don’t wear them.” She began to pull again. “Actually, I think only the wealthy ladies wear them.”

  “You must be kidding. Why, for Pete’s sake?”

  “Why...to look beautiful, ma’am. With small waists and rounded... Well, you know what I mean. I wish I could wear one. They’re so pretty.”

  Ellie grunted. “I can’t breathe. Can you loosen it?”

  “No, miss. This is as loose as I can make it. You will get used to it. Miss Melinda used to cry when she first started wearing her corsets, but she doesn’t any more. Are you ready for the petticoats?”

  “I feel like a pigeon. My chest is sticking out.” Ellie tried desperately to straighten but the corset kept her bent. “Petticoats? There’s more than one?”

  “Yes, miss.”

  Alice helped her step into not one but two white linen petticoats adorned with lace and light blue ribbons. Ellie thought it a shame no one would ever see the beautiful undergarments.

  Finally, Alice helped her into the original rose-colored tailored skirt, which she now cinched closed at the waist with ease. Alice grabbed the blouse and slipped it over Ellie’s shoulders. She buttoned the blouse, tucked it inside the waistband of the skirt and tied a decorative bow at the neck.

  “Should we do your hair before we put the jacket on? Do you have shoes, miss?”

  Unable to bend her ribcage to see her feet, Ellie stuck out a bare toe.

  “Oh, dear. You need shoes, stockings and garters. Let me see if Miss Melinda has anything. You may have the same size feet.” Alice moved away to the magic cupboard and pulled out a pair of silk stockings and a set of little black boots.

  “You’d better have a seat here, and I’ll put these on. I’m sorry, miss. I should have helped you put these on earlier. We’re going about this backward.” She busied herself pulling up the stockings and sliding garter belts up to Ellie’s thighs.

  Ellie’s face flamed at the intimacy. “That’s all right, Alice. It was my fault. I put on the undergarments out of sequence, I think.”

  Alice tied the boots and stood back. Ellie held out a helpless hand. Alice grinned and pulled her up.

  “There, now. You look lovely, ma’am. How do you feel?” She pulled Ellie toward a white-painted dressing table crowned by a charming oval mirror. Ellie sank onto the small blue velvet stool, doing her best to sit as straight as an S-bend corset would allow.

  “I’m miserable, Alice, but thank you for all your hard work.”

  “It will get easier, miss,” Alice murmured. “Don’t you worry. Women dress this way every day.” She undid Ellie’s braid and began to brush her long hair with a silver-backed brush in long, soothing strokes. Ellie had a quick recollection of her mother brushing her hair in just that way before bedtime.

  A k
nock on the door brought Melinda back into the room. Ellie looked at her in the mirror, gaining a new respect for the uncorseted tea gown she wore.

  “You look beautiful, Ellie, absolutely beautiful.” She flitted across the room and pulled a small, rose velvet chair next to Ellie. “How do you feel?”

  Ellie gave her a wry smile. “As I mentioned to Alice here...miserable. I can’t believe you wear all these clothes every day.”

  Melinda sighed. “I know.” She brightened. “Still, it certainly displays your tiny waist to perfection.”

  Ellie tried to glance down at her so-called “tiny waist,” but Alice had a mass of hair in her hand which prevented any movement.

  “Mmmmm, thank you.”

  “Tell me about Chicago, Ellie. That is where you come from, isn’t it? How is it they do not wear corsets in Chicago? I thought it a truly modern city...much like Seattle.”

  Ellie tried to regress a hundred years.

  “Oh, I’m sure they do, Melinda. I-I don’t wear them, but I think many women do.”

  “Hmmm...only the working class does not have to wear...” In the mirror, Ellie saw Melinda bite her lip and blush. “Well, never mind. I know so little about you. Are you married? Do you have family? Where are they? Do they miss you?”

  Ellie concentrated on remembering the sequence of questions in the bubbly barrage.

  “Wait, let me see. No, I don’t have family, my parents passed away several years ago. I’m not married yet, and I doubt if my fiancé misses me—” Ellie froze, her heart in her throat. Maybe Melinda missed it. She didn’t.

  “Your fiancé? Are you to be married then?” Melinda’s blue eyes popped and she clapped her hands. “How exciting! What is his name? When?”

  Ellie swallowed hard and wondered if she could ask for Melinda’s confidence. To what end? Melinda would only wonder why Ellie wanted to hide her engagement.

  “Oh, Melinda, I shouldn’t have mentioned that. It’s not a big thing...really. I don’t know when.” She sniffed. “Maybe never. Forget I ever said anything.”

  Melinda stuck out a pink lower lip and eyed Ellie with concern.

  “Not a big thing,” she repeated in the tone of someone savoring an unfamiliar expression. She nodded. “I take it you do not wish to discuss it, then. I understand. It is a private matter. I apologize for prying.” Melinda jumped up in a restless movement. “Still though, I would love to be engaged.” She twirled around the room with her arms wide. “Parties and balls and dinners and breakfasts...plus a handsome man at my side. Wouldn’t it be wonderful?”

  Ellie watched her with a stirring of affection. An engagement would come soon if Melinda had anything to say about it.

  Alice was working miracles into what Ellie recognized as a Gibson hairdo—a glorious upswept style guaranteed to make any woman look tall and elegant.

  “So, you want to be married,” she murmured.

  Melinda stopped dancing and plopped down on the chair once again with a whiff of lavender. “I do not know that I want to be married yet, but I would love to be engaged. That would be exciting. Some of my friends want to marry so they can be free to set up their own homes, but Robert lets me do as I please, and I do not feel restricted here. I would like to be in love though.” Her voice trailed away on a sigh.

  Ellie couldn’t help herself and matched Melinda’s contagious sigh, the memory of a pair of green eyes tugging at her heart. “I know what you mean.”

  Melinda’s sharp ears turned toward Ellie. “But you are already engaged.” She bit her lower lip. “I apologize, Ellie. I am such a busybody.” She jumped up and glided toward her wardrobe. “Hurry, Alice. I have to dress for Amy’s tea party this afternoon.”

  “Yes, miss.”

  “I didn’t know you were going out,” Ellie said. “So, you’re not coming on the tour, then?”

  “Oh no, that is just you and Robert. Grandmother feels unwell, and I have the party to attend.”

  “Oh.”

  Melinda misunderstood. “I would invite you to accompany me, but you had the previous engagement with Robert. You will have an enjoyable time, Ellie. Robert is a wonderful man, kind and gentle. There is no need to be afraid of him.”

  “I don’t doubt it,” Ellie said with a blissful sigh.

  Alice stuck a sprig of small silk roses and baby’s breath into the crown of Ellie’s hair. Freed from the maid’s ministrations, Ellie turned to watch Melinda. She chewed on her lip for a moment and drew in a deep breath.

  “Melinda, why hasn’t Robert married before now?”

  Melinda rummaged through her undergarment drawers, tossing aside one petticoat after another.

  “What?” she asked distractedly. “Robert? I do not know why he has not found a wife, really. I tease him about being a confirmed bachelor all the time. He is in his late 30s, you know. Quite old.” She grinned and continued ransacking her wardrobe.

  Ellie held out her hand to Alice with beseeching eyes. Alice grinned and pulled her upright. She almost toppled over and leaned on Alice while she regained her balance.

  Melinda continued. “Although that may change soon. Constance has her eye on him, you know.”

  “I didn’t know,” Ellie murmured with a pain in her chest. The corset...too tight.

  “Yes. She has not said anything to me directly, but I have seen the way she looks at Robert...ever since her husband died.”

  “Really?”

  “Grandmother thinks she is too old for Robert. She says that Robert needs to look for a young woman who can give him children. I think Constance is the same age as Robert.”

  Ellie felt faint. Her thirty-fifth birthday had come and gone.

  “But Constance can still have children in her thirties.” Ellie knew she defended herself.

  “Yes, but Grandmother still thinks she is too old for Robert. She wants Robert to marry someone in her early twenties. Something about healthy children. I do not know what she means exactly.”

  Melinda finally found a few garments that pleased her and tossed them on the bed.

  “Are you feeling well, Ellie? You look positively green. Is the corset too tight?” Melinda moved toward her and raised a motherly hand to Ellie’s forehead.

  “I’m fine. It is tight, but Alice says it’s as loose as it can be. I’ll be fine.”

  “Well, you look absolutely stunning.”

  Ellie shrugged on the matching rose bolero jacket and surveyed herself in the mirror. Her face did look pale, but she had to admit she looked very...Victorian. Her ash-brown hair shone from Alice’s brushing, and the upswept style suited Ellie’s oval face. The clothing, although miserably uncomfortable, gave her an elegant height she’d never known in all her vertically challenged years. She preened.

  “Thank you. I do look quite regal, if I may say so.”

  Melinda laughed and turned away. “I must hurry to dress as well. Robert should be here soon. I will see you this evening at dinner.”

  Ellie’s best intentions to sashay to the door were hampered by the corset and the boots which covered her feet somewhere far below her skirts. She managed a stilted prance until she got through the door.

  She leaned on the wall to catch her breath and eyed the round staircase which once seemed so charming but now loomed terrifyingly as a death-defying stunt. The bedroom door flew open, and Melinda erupted into the hallway.

  “Wait, Ellie. You forgot your hat. No well-bred lady goes outside without a hat.”

  “A hat? On this fabulous hairdo?”

  Melinda laughed and dragged her back inside. From the nether regions of the mysterious wardrobe, Alice brought out a large, black, velvet hat trimmed with rose-colored ribbons.

  “Sit down, Ellie. Alice cannot put it on your head if you do not sit down.”

  Ellie eyed the stool, remembering she had to be levered off it. She sighed.

  Alice perched the dark hat atop Ellie’s hairdo at an angle which dipped toward her right eye. Ellie rolled her eyes. She couldn’t see anything
but the brim of the hat above her nose. In the mirror, she saw Alice approach with a long pearl-tipped hatpin that she stuck into the hat and through the bun on top of her hair.

  Melinda hovered. “There now. You look ravishing. Off you go.”

  Ellie put a tentative hand to the creation on her head to see if it would move with her...or against her. It stayed in place. She twisted her neck gingerly to eye Alice, who grinned and pulled her upright.

  Once outside the door, Ellie again paused to lean a hand against the wall. As if matters had not already been treacherous with the unfamiliar boots, the corset, her bizarre posture and the heavy hairdo, now she needed to contend with a heavy, oversized, albeit beautiful, hat which threatened to throw her off balance.

  She moved to the head of the stairs and gripped the railing. Tilting her head back as best she could to counterbalance her weight, she stepped down gingerly, feeling her way down the stairs one step at a time since she could not look down to see her feet. Halfway down the interminable descent, the front door of the foyer opened and Robert came into view. He looked up, and his eyes widened. Ellie heard his quick intake of breath. She paused for a moment and gulped, hoping she wouldn’t disgrace herself with a tumble down the stairs. His lips curved into a slow smile, and Ellie’s knees wobbled in response.

  “Ellie, you look absolutely beautiful.” He moved to take the steps two at a time arriving to hold out his arm.

  “May I?”

  Ellie nodded mutely, and gratefully took his arm. Once they reached the bottom step, Robert stood back and surveyed her once again. Ellie’s face burned, and she attempted to take a deep breath.

  “I knew you were beautiful, Ellie, but I had no idea how charming you would look in my time.” He grinned.

  “Thank you, Robert, but I have to tell you your time is killing me.” She grimaced. “There is absolutely no question of my eating or drinking while I am in this costume.”

  His eyes ran up and down her body rakishly. “Yes, I can see that you are much more...restricted than you were in your other clothing.”

  She laid a hand on the table for support.

  “I’ll say.”

  “Shall we?” He took her arm and led her outside.