Chapter 3 Cotillion chaos

Sheriff Louis DuBois dropped his daughters off at the Richmond mansion in his patrol SUV. "Now I want you both to behave. No snarking at anyone. Especially, Heather. Her father says she is in a fragile place right now." He got out and opened the rear door then took Meri's crutch and handed her an ornately carved wooden cane. "This will look nicer with your dress tonight. It was your great-grandmothers."

Charlene opened her mouth to protest but Meredith answered his hard glare with a demure, "Thanks, Dad. It's pretty."

Watching him drive away, Char was practically apoplectic. "Seriously, you just had another procedure on your knee last week! He realizes you have to use the crutch because the wrist on that side was the one dislocated, right?"

"It's fine... I have been doing the exercises Mrs. Spencer taught me before Mom fired her. It's stronger now," Meri responded as she looked at the large stone house surrounded by manicured lawns and tall, iron fences. "It looks like a mental hospital."

"Let's go ring the bell, Inmate Meri," Char tried to make a joke but neither laughed. Somehow having their father dump them here in a police vehicle seemed very appropriate.

Hank opened the door, He tried to smile but it looked more like a grimace. "The dress fittings are in the formal dining room. You're the first here. Follow me."

They had to go slower because of Meri's knee and because she was trying to figure out how to walk with a cane instead of a crutch.

"So... are you looking forward to tonight?" Char asked.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get your mom to invite Trina too," Meri murmured.

Hank shook his head with a sheepish grin. "Thanks, Meri."

"You could sneak out and take us with you," Char suggested, and Hank chuckled, "I wish."

The doorbells echoed through the downstairs like a church steeple on Sunday morning and Hank groaned then pointed. "Third set of doors on the left."

"Hank?" Char called after him and he turned, "Thanks." He nodded then hurried as the bells tolled again.

"You know we could fit our house in just this wing, and we have six bedrooms," Meri whispered as she hobbled forward.

"Good morning, Charlene, Meredith." Katherine Richmond stood in the middle of a room filled with racks of different colored dresses and large trunks from a formalwear rental company. She added without any warmth, "Happy Birthday."

"Good morning, Mrs. Richmond." They chorused with as much enthusiasm as they could muster.

She looked them over then lifted Charlene's hair away from her face. "You have your mother's lovely features, but you should wear sunscreen like she does to lighten your skin and make your coloring more dramatic. I think one of the burgundy or auberge dresses would look best on you. Please select two from the rack over there." She pointed then turned to Meri. "Take down the high ponytail."

Meri did and then pulled it back into a low one at the back of her neck. Glancing up and down at her, Katherine's eyes rested on the cane for a moment. "Do you need that?"

"Yes, my sister needs it. She had a follow up to her reconstruction surgery last week, and Dad made her leave her crutches at home," Charlene snapped from behind a rack then walked back toward them with a rich green dress. "I like this one."

"Auberge is a better color for your palate," Katherine insisted.

"I don't wear reds or purples, ever... And Meri doesn't wear pink or purple," Char's voice held a rude edge and the older woman blinked at her with a disparaging twist to her lips.

Meri knew there was about to be a fight and tried to distract them. "Mrs. Richmond, the dresses are so pretty. Where did you find so many?"

"Mother, there are some delivery people here, they want to know where to set up the tents and tables?" Hank interrupted.

Mrs. Richmond pulled two dresses off a rack and thrust them at Charlene. "At least try on the dresses in your color palate." Then she walked over and selected a pale blue-grey that looked dingy and a mustard yellow dress. "Help your sister try these on." She walked out in a huff.

Meri rubbed her forehead, and begged, "Please don't pick a fight with her. Graduation is in two months then you are out of here, but I am stuck with Mom until the end of July."

Char held up the dresses to Meri and scowled. "These colors look awful on you."

"The pale blue is nice," Meri responded doubtfully.

"It is hideous, and it makes your eyes look dull," Char announced then she walked over and picked a Navy blue one. "It's like she wants us to look bad. Probably to make Heather look better." She carried the dresses behind a screen and then went and got a chair for Meri.

"I can't breathe," Meri whined ten minutes later. Her breasts formed moons over the tight bodice.

"It's your D-cleavage, I'll try to find a bigger one in this color," Char offered, then she searched through all the racks.

They tried on several different dresses including the ones Mrs. Richmond picked, before any of the other girls arrived. Finally, they settled on a nearly identical dress to the one Char picked for Meri first but in a slightly greener blue. The color wasn't teal but went well with Char's rich green dress.

"We're twinsies again?" Meri giggled and Char rolled her eyes, reminding, "Now for the not fun part. The things that go under the skirts."

As they were putting the hoop skirts under the dresses, Mrs. Richmond returned. She scowled slightly at the choices they made but then smiled and lied about her approval. "You look lovely, I am glad you figured out the hoop skirts, but you need to remember to put on the corsets under the dresses so they will hold their shape and not wrinkle at the waist. Change out of the dresses and we will tag them with your names, then you can go enjoy the brunch buffet in the kitchen and movie in the family room. The hair and makeup people will be here at twelve thirty." She turned to help the other girls.

They had to wait for others to finish putting on their dresses before they could step behind a screen and strip. Changing back into their yoga pants and shirts, they put all their clothes together and tied a hand-written tag to them.

"Aren't these the toe tags Dad uses for dead bodies?" Char mumbled to Meri, who choked trying not to start laughing. They put their chosen garments in one of the big trunks and then Char put another in front of it. She didn't trust Mrs. Richmond to not try to switch the dresses and figured hiding them was the best option.

In the giant kitchen, they found chafing dishes filled with food and one of those frozen frappe machines. Filling their plates, they sat down in the giant family room while a movie they both hated was playing. Char used her phone to hack the entertainment system and changed it to the basketball playoffs.

"How did you do that?" Meri asked.

"I learn all kinds of useful things in my technology classes. They had the guy that installs these systems in for a lecture before spring break." Char grinned at her, admitting, "I could hack this whole house." She pointed the straw of her frappe out the glass doors at the tents. "Want me to turn on the sprinklers, maybe they will cancel this whole thing?"

"Then Dad will arrest you for hacking and vandalism," Meri took a bite of a scone then spat it out. "Omigawd, who made this crap? How can you eat it?" She put the plate down in a huff.

"Not Aunt Layne... And I don't have your... what did she call it?" Char asked around a mouthful of the scone she took from her sister's plate.

"Refined palate... Don't eat that. You'll get food poisoning." Meri slapped at her sister's hand, but Char leaned back, taunting, "I have to learn to eat this. I am spending the next five years out to sea."

"I wish I could go with you," Meri moaned as she picked apart a croissant.

"Me too, but your accident excludes you from the pool." Char looked both sad and livid at the same time.

"Where are you going?" Hank asked from behind them, then added, "You're not supposed to eat in here."

"Hrmph," Char snorted, "Didn't see a sign."

He glanced around nervously, then begged, "Please."

Sighing, Meri stood but Char shook her head, "I'll get the plates. Rest your knee." Then she turned to follow Hank. In the kitchen, she grabbed another blueberry pancake and filled it with scrambled eggs and bacon, holding it like a taco. "So how are things with you-know-who? She says you're a great kisser."

Hank suddenly blushed and he hissed, "Shhh, Mother will hear you."

"You're going to have to tell them someday," Char chastised him before she stepped into his space and poked him in the chest. "And if you bump her and dump her, I will come back home and beat the shyte out of you." Then she turned on her heel and walked out of the kitchen.

~~~~

Their dresses were where they hid them, and they saw that some of the other young women Mrs. Richmond looked down on were stuck wearing the ugly dresses she had tried to foist onto them. Their father left after the meal and their mother was making her social rounds. The only happy moment was when Aunt Layne, wearing her caterer's jacket took a selfie with them and gave them each an extra piece of cake. After the outdoor banquet, and dressed almost identically, the twins wandered around the party slowly because of Meri's cane. Char got pulled out onto the dance floor, so Meri sat down on a tall stool. After rebuffing the tenth or twentieth offer to dance. Meri fled the ballroom. She wandered the giant mansion slowly, limping around until she found a library. She was shocked to see it even had an old-fashioned card catalogue.

On a whim, she looked up cookbooks and was surprised to find there were several listed and located on the second floor. Hopping up the stairs on one leg, she limped between the shelves in her ridiculous hoop skirt. She reached under her dress and hoop skirt to shift her knee brace because it was rubbing sore spots. Holding her leg straight, she lowered herself to the floor and began pulling the dusty cookbooks off the shelf. There were several from famous chefs and even a signed copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking. She was reading the foreword when the door downstairs shut loudly. Voices snapped at each other in hushed anger.

"They can't date... you know why!" the woman hissed. Her hushed voice was familiar to Meri but in the giant, echoing room, she couldn't identify who it was.

"I know nothing of the sort, you aren't even certain who the father is. Just keep... away from ..." a man growled and Meri couldn't make out all the words at the end.

"If you and your bestie hadn't roofied me so you could fulfill your pornographic fetish..."

"You enjoyed it!" He declared louder with a scoff, and Meri realized it was the Mayor, Arnold Richmond.

"And then you accused me of cheating with him. For your information, I barely remember it. I kept your secret so you could still marry Katherine because she was pregnant with Heather." She threatened. "Break them up or I'll ruin her."

Meri's text message meowed, and she muted her phone with a silent gasp.

"Did you hear that?" whispered the woman, sounding worried.

"Probably Katherine's cat... Look, if they have sex it will be statutory rape and incest. She's an adult now and he isn't," Arnold threatened the woman Meri was beginning to think was a former mistress. "If she goes to jail..."

Meri wondered, 'But who are they talking about? Do Hank and Heather have a sibling no one knows about? What underaged boy is Heather after that might be her half-sibling?' Shaking away the questions, Meri listened harder trying to identify the woman.

"If you do that, I will go public with everything and sue you for a DNA test while your lovely wife goes to trial. We both know what she did." The woman's voice became harsher but quieter. "You will tell... break up with... not tell her about us, or I will ruin..." Then her voice got a little louder and more menacing. "I know everyone's dirty laundry in this town, and so help me gawd, I will publicly humiliate you and everyone in your twisted little circle! Do you understand, Arnold?"

"Yes."

Footsteps moved toward the door, and it slammed open. Mayor Richmond swore quietly and followed her out.

After several moments of silence, Meri struggled to rise as she clutched three cookbooks to her chest. Limping over to the balustrade, she looked down at the empty lower room, then glanced at her phone.

Char was texting her. Where are you? Dad sent Trina to pick us up.

I am in the library. Meri answered.

They have a library?! Char texted back. Nevermind. Come change clothes so we can go. They aren't paying me enough to stay!

Sighing, Meri looked down at the books then back at the shelf. Suddenly, she had an evil thought. She could get paid to be here if she took the cookbooks. It was obvious no one had touched or even dusted them in a very long time. She put the books she held on a chair and hopped down the stairs. She hurried down the hall to the room where they had originally gotten dressed.

Char was already changed back into her yoga pants, tee, and hoodie. "It's about time. Trina's outside."

"I need your help." Meri gasped out in fatigue and pain, clutching her knee.

"Well, duh, you can barely stand." Char shook her head as she began unfastening the dress then untying the hoop skirt and corset.

"Not just with the dress. There are some cookbooks in the library... I want to... borrow them. Permanently." Meri held her breath expecting a refusal.

Char carried the garments over and dumped them in a pile. "We spent the day held against our will and now you want me to commit larceny?" Her mouth twisted, then her lips puckered before she sucked them in to lick them. "I'm in. Fuk the Richmonds and their little cotillion too!"

Giggling, Meri dressed quickly then led Char to the library. Meri pointed up the stairs. "They are on the second floor." She pulled the card from the card catalogue and handed it to her sister. "The ones I want are on a chair."

Grinning, Char bolted up the stairs two at a time. A minute later, she rushed back downstairs. "Stay here, I'll be right back." She ran out.

Confused, Meri waited then limped over and sat in the chair behind the door. She heard giggling in the hall and peeked out through the crack between the door and the frame. She saw Heather sandwiched between two guys. They were kissing and groping as they moved past the library. Getting up as quietly as she could, Meri leaned out carefully to look after them.

"Are you sure this is okay?" The captain of the basketball team asked her as his best friend took a drink from a bottle of something clear.

"Oh yeah, no one ever comes down here. Not even the maid," Heather snickered then she opened a room and went in. The jock followed as the other fumbled with his phone before going in and closing the door.

"What are they doing?" Char's whisper made Meri jump.

"What Princess Stoner always does with the boys... Get my books, we need to go," Meri muttered back.

"Get all the cookbook cards from the card index so they don't know which are missing." Running back up the stairs with Trina's empty backpack, Char took the three her sister wanted then looked at the shelf. She stuffed them all into the bag, wiped the dust from the shelf showing the outlines of the books, then slung the backpack over her shoulder.

"I might have a career as a book thief." Char hummed, skipping down the stairs.

Meri was pulling at the cards and stared at the full bag. "How many did you take?"

"All of them. You get my cut for the pain and suffering." Char smirked then whispered, "Head for the front door. I have a spec-op to do."

"You're going to get us caught!"

"Nope... Get in the car and wait. I have a surprise for Queen Katherine."

Shaking her head, Meri shouldered the heavy backpack as Char began toward the room where Heather and her companions went. Char opened the door silently. The sounds of sex filled the hall. Crawling into the drawing room, hidden by a sofa, she took the phone propped on the table next to it. It only took a few moments to link it to the house wifi and start a live-stream. She held her breath to keep from snickering as she put it back and made certain it was lined up to get a full view of Heather still in her cotillion dress having sex with both boys. Crawling back out, she gently closed the door, then sprinted down the hall. She ran out the front door and straight to Trina's little coupe. Panting, she stopped and used her access to the big screen in the family room to put the live-stream on then got in and slammed the door.

"Go... GO!" Char shouted then she started cackling with tears running down her face.

"What did you do?" Trina demanded as she started down the long drive. "What did you put in my backpack?"

Char waved her phone, too overcome with mirth to speak.

"It's just a few books," Meri assured Trina then looked at Char's phone then gasped, "You didn't?!"

"What?" Trina stopped her car at the gate. "I swear I will leave you both here if you don't... oh, no... you didn't?" 

She and Meri stared in shock at the very clear images of Heather indulging the captain of the basketball team and his best friend. They were taking off her dress and hoopskirt. It looked like an erotic version of Gone With The Wind.

"Not only... is the... whole school... getting this." Char leaned back in the seat, hysterically laughing, she admitted, "But it's on the... big screen in... the family room too."

"Drive, Trina! We do not want to get caught!" Meri snapped. "Char, how could you? Mom and Dad are going to lose their minds."

"Mom's already too drunk to see straight and Dad can't prove anything. We changed clothes then we left. We were gone when all that happened," Char reminded.

Suddenly the video image got much brighter as overhead lights in the drawing room came on and Hank rushed into view while he yelled at the three. He looked around desperately for a moment then he slammed the phone face down on the table.

"Aww, show's over," Char complained then she snickered as she deleted her digital fingerprint. "All those views and she didn't even make any money on her Only Fans."

As they waited at the stop sign to turn onto the main road, they saw a police SUV with red and blue lights blazing, coming toward them. It stopped beside the tiny coupe, and the sheriff rolled down his window.

"When did you leave?"

"A while ago, Uncle Louis," Trina answered as Mari and Char nodded.

He didn't look like he believed them as he said, "Trina, take the girls to your house for the night. There was a problem just after you left the party."

"What happened?" Char asked.

"It was after you left," he said again in a firmer voice, "Trina, go straight home."

"Okay." Their cousin sounded intimidated by Louis's tone.

"Bye, Dad," Charlene and Meredith chorused but he was already driving away.

"What was that about?" Meri wondered aloud then gasped, "Omigawd... I... When I was in the library, I overheard Mayor Richmond arguing with some woman about Heather and her dating some younger guy who might be her half-brother. The woman said she'd have her arrested if he didn't put a stop to it."

Trina swerved when she turned to stare at her.

"Trina! Drive straight! We don't want to die tonight," Char scolded then she looked at her sister. "Are you sure?"

"I was upstairs by the cookbooks, and they were by the desk but yeah, I'm pretty sure. She also threatened to sue him for a DNA test while his lovely wife goes to trial. She said, we both know what she did."

"What did Queen Katherine do that would send her to jail?" Char demanded.

"She didn't say," Meri answered.

"Who was she?" Trina begged.

Shaking her head, Meri admitted, "I... I don't know who she was, but she sounded kinda familiar. Maybe I have heard her voice at church or someplace. It was hard to hear because the library echoes, but she definitely did not want her son dating Heather and threatened to humiliate the Richmond's inner circle."