The Prince and the Nun Read online

  “It’s not such a bad gift to give them, and don’t forget that we won’t be here forever. The front will move eventually. We will push on, or get pushed back. We will go and you will stay. I see no reason why life should not continue as it has been in the past.

  “To start with, before you can be accomplished hostesses, you have to learn. Of course, that means you have to suffer a little—under my orders. I order you to suffer. Take your headscarves off.”

  Instantly the tension came back around the table. The girls were quiet and frozen. Mefist looked at Therese to give the lead. Trying to stop her fingers trembling, she reached up to unpin her headscarf. Her dark chestnut hair fell free. She shook her head, guided her hair back over her ears, and looked straight back at Mefist.

  “Therese! What beautiful hair you have!” He scrambled off the bench and came to stand behind her. He ran his fingers through her hair.

  “Who has a comb? What? A room full of girls and not a comb between them! We’ll have to use mine. What’s your name? Right, Suzanna. Jump up and comb your Mistress’s hair. Let’s make it even more beautiful.”

  Therese willed herself to sit still while Suzanna combed. The feeling reminded her of the days before she had been sent to the Convent, when friends and sisters would often comb each other’s hair. No one had touched her since then, unless by accident. The thought made her sad.

  “Come on, the rest of you. Headscarves off! You can wear them to chapel, but then they come off.” The girls took them off and sat looking at each other, shocked at the difference such a simple thing as hair made to familiar faces. Without asking, they started to pass Mefist’s comb around the table.

  Helena and Agata came hurrying up the stairs with bottles and a tray of glasses. Their headscarves came off before the glasses could be passed around and filled.

  “Therese, give us a toast!” called Mefist.

  What could she drink to? She thought for a moment. “To a happy home!”

  Mefist looked around and then banged on the table. “Mistress Therese, young Sister Suzanna here is not drinking her wine!”

  All eyes looked at Suzanna, who blushed.

  It must be part of Mefist’s games, she thought; I suppose I had better play along. “Well, Sister Suzanna?”

  “Please, Mistress, I don’t like wine.”

  “Not good enough! Mistress Therese, if all our sisters and I have to suffer drinking this wretched wine, Sister Suzanna should be enough of a lady to join in our suffering. Punish her!”

  Therese put a severe face on. “Sister Suzanna, do you have anything to say for yourself before you are sentenced?” The girls around the table looked worried and tense again. The constant shifting of familiar ground confused them.

  Suzanna could not speak up for herself. Therese tried again. “Do any of her Sisters have anything to say for this bad girl? Maria, is there any reason why she should not be punished severely?”

  “Please, Mistress, she’s only young…”

  “No reason at all, Mistress Therese,” shouted Mefist. “Youth is no excuse! Make her finish her glass right now!”

  Therese could see that the idea of the game had begun to dawn on the girls. They were smiling at Suzanna. “Sister Suzanna, not joining our toast to a happy home is a very bad thing to do. However, you are young, as Sister Maria has reminded us, so I sentence you to drink our toast right now, by yourself, with–Mefist, your advice please. How much wine? A full glass?”

  “Mistress Therese, the sentence is entirely at your discretion, but might I suggest half a glass? We don’t want to find our sister under the table at our first meeting.” The girls were openly laughing at Suzanna now, and she looked hot and embarrassed.

  “Half a glass? Mmh.” Therese pretended to ponder the question and then raised her glass. “Very well, against my own inclinations, half a glass. So, Suzanna, to a happy home.”

  “Hurray!” shouted Mefist and started to clap rhythmically. “Drink, drink, drink, drink…” The others caught the beat and started to clap and call, “Drink, drink, drink…” Now they understood the game, all nervousness had gone.

  Holding her glass with both hands, Suzanna drank as quickly as she could. She reached for her headscarf to wipe her lips. “It’s horrible,” she whispered.

  Mefist laughed. “Ah, Suzanna. To be a lady, it’s necessary to suffer sometimes! It’s good for your character. Now who will give us another toast?”

  “You, Mefist,” called Therese. “You are the one with all the words. Give us a toast!”

  “Certainly, Mistress Therese. So, I give you a toast. I raise my glass and propose a toast to the twelve—no, I forgot Mistress Therese—the thirteen prettiest ladies in the valley!”

  The girls all drank the toast; no one wanted punishment. Or perhaps they liked to be called pretty.

  “Another toast!” called Mefist. “Suzanna should give us another toast!”

  “Oh no!” she said, so quietly that only her neighbours could hear. “Why me?”

  Therese held up her hand for silence. “Sister Suzanna will propose a toast for us!”

  Suzanna started to lift her glass, but her supply of ideas had dried up. Mefist reached behind his neighbour to pull her shoulder towards him and whisper in her ear. Again she lifted her glass. “I propose a toast to Mistress Therese!”

  “The beautiful Mistress Therese!” shouted Mefist. “God bless her!”

  Therese looked down the table at the raised glasses, the smiles and shining eyes. The wine had made a difference. With such inexperienced girls, a little wine could go a long way. She looked at Mefist to end the fun.

  “Ladies, ladies! I had no idea you were all so thirsty, or Anna would have brought up more wine. Never mind. It’s getting late, and we have a lot to do tomorrow. Firstly, with Therese’s permission, after breakfast I want you to bring all your things up here and move into the bedrooms along the corridor. They’ll be your home from tomorrow on. Bring some cleaning things. You’ll start by getting our new home spotless. I’ll sort this furniture out, but you’ll find your rooms are ready for you. Wear your oldest clothes for the dirty work.

  “What else? Some time in the morning, as soon as I have a moment, I’ll come up and measure you all for some pretty clothes. I must do that as soon as possible. My cousin’s in Vienna at the moment. I’ll see if she can buy you some interesting things. She always seems to buy clothes by the armful. So she can come and pass on a little worldly knowledge. I know she’s studied bedroom ceilings all over Europe, so she’s a bit of an amateur expert at that sort of thing.

  “What about hairdressing? Is there someone in the village?”

  “We cut our own hair,” said Therese.

  “Forgive me, but…perhaps the results are mixed. You need an expert. There must be someone who can help.”

  “I suppose we could ask Mrs. Orlova. I believe she does her friends’ hair for special occasions.”

  “Mrs. Orlova it is, then. Please send for her, but I want to speak with her before she touches any of you. I’m not sure I’d trust any lady’s hairdresser who is not a homosexual male.

  “Now girls, headscarves on and off to bed. Straight to bed, and don’t talk to anyone about our meeting here tonight. I’ll see you all tomorrow.”

  The girls picked up their headscarves and, with practiced gestures, pinned them into place. Mefist had put his hand on Therese’s arm to keep her in her seat while the girls left. “Good night, Mistress!” they called happily.

  “They’ll be a good bunch,” reflected Mefist. “I shall enjoy being with them. Such a change from the soldiers. I have to say you’re doing well, Therese. The Army could use a few more officers like you. Let me know if you ever decide on a military career.”

  “I’m not happy about all this, Mefist. The fun and games are all very well, but they are not thinking about what is going to happen to them.”

  “Don’t worry! Firstly, nothing unnatural or unpleasant is going to happen to them, so it won’t be t
oo bad. You’ve done the difficult bit for them.

  “The other thing is that they will have their friends living with them. If they’re all together, being kind to the officers won’t matter. That’s why our little meeting tonight was so important; it lets them know they’re not alone. Also, they know they can count on you to take care of them.”

  “What about me, Mefist? Am I going to have to let the men use me too?”

  “Mmh, difficult question. In your position, you don’t have to take on any customers unless you want to. Although I suppose if the General or some other ranking bigwig insists, you’ll have to say yes.”

  “But the General’s old!” she cried without thinking.

  “Yes, I’m afraid age goes with seniority. I guess the girls will get all the fine young men, and you’ll be stuck with the distinguished ones. Never mind—there’s many a fine tune played on an old fiddle, so I’m told. Of course, if you fancy someone a bit younger, you’ll be free to take your pick.

  “But I don’t know what the girls will think of you if you stay out of it completely. Let me know what you want to do, and I’ll try and make it as easy as possible for you.”

  Chapter 6

  The girls rushed to climb up to their new home and choose their rooms. Therese followed them up slowly. The bedroom corridor buzzed as they skipped from room to room and admired their friends’ choices. Maria stood at the door of the first room. “I’ve kept this one for you, Mo–Mistress.”

  It was the room with the door to the disused stairway. “Thank you, Sister Maria. I’m sorry, thank you Maria. All these changes will take some getting used to, but I suppose we must try. I suppose ‘Sister Maria’ is only for formal occasions. I don’t think I shall be sleeping here, you know. You wouldn’t want me around all the time anyway. You wouldn’t feel free to gossip. So we’ll keep this as the office. We’ll have to lock the door to those stairs, and I’ll keep the key. Have you found a room for yourself? Can I see?”

  “Yes, Mistress, it’s just next door…”

  Maria had chosen a room with a bright skylight. It looked bare, and only Maria’s suitcase on the bed hinted at occupation. “Please, Mistress,” Maria asked, “Can I hang up my crucifix? Would it be right?”

  “Of course you must! Just because you’re going to be, er, working here doesn’t mean you can shut the Good Lord out. I must find one for the hall as well.” She went out into the corridor. “Girls! It’s time to get changed. Take off your habits and headscarves and put them away. You heard what Mefist said; they’re only for chapel. For now we need old clothes for hard work. Let’s get cleaning. I have some work to do with Sister Brigitta, and then I will join you.”

  Mefist found her with Sister Brigitta, trying to explain the filing system. “Good morning, Mother Superior, good morning, Therese. How is your business going? I’m afraid you will have to move your office into the Convent, Mother Superior. I’m going to use this one as my bedroom. Timko will set up his office outside, and I’m sure you won’t want to share with him.

  “Is the telephone working yet? I suppose it’s a forlorn hope. I do hope it won’t take too long. They promised me sometime today.

  “Therese, the men will finish the coach house today, so I want them eating in the refectory from, say, tomorrow lunchtime. Is that possible? I’m really too busy today. I could be in six places at once and still be late.

  “Mother Superior, I am going to take Therese away right now. Do your best with what you have, I’d suggest. It will all sort itself out eventually. I’m sure that Therese will lend you Maria for a few hours to help sort things out, but not today. Or tomorrow. We’re all going to be very busy upstairs.

  “By the way, is there a piano anywhere? I could trade you the long table from the servants’ hall for a piano.”

  “There’s the old one that Sister Helena used to practice on,” suggested Therese.

  Sister Brigitta started to protest, but Mefist cut her off. “That’s agreed, then. I’ll send the men down with the table this afternoon, and we can amuse ourselves watching them trying to get the piano up that staircase. Grossner will manage; he always does.

  “Come, Therese, we must run…”

  As they hurried along, Mefist said, “That Sister Brigitta is no shining light. I’m glad we won’t have to spend too long with her. Make sure that you’re in charge of the refectory. I don’t want her trying to tell the girls what to do. Or upsetting my men.

  “Now, Therese, I’ve got to measure our girls so I can buy them some decent clothes. They’re not going to be happy, but there it is. I’ll need your help today, so do your best. It’ll be the first step in their training.”

  “Mefist, you’re asking me to teach them something I don’t know anything about myself.”

  “That’s life in the Imperial Army, Therese. We’re always being asked to do things we know nothing about, but don’t worry. As soon as the telephone is working, I’ll call my cousin Wanda. She’ll teach us a lot, I’m sure. I need you this morning to help keep them calm and comfortable. We have strong taboos to break.”

  Therese started up the stairs, but Mefist stayed to shut and bolt the door behind him. The girls had been busy. They had pushed the dining table up against the wall and Agata and Dorota, the tallest girls, were standing on it and cleaning the skylights.

  Mefist called them. “Girls, stop what you’re doing. You need to be measured for your new clothes.” They all appeared in the hall, looking disheveled and dirty but happy.

  “You’re doing well. We’ll soon have the place in shape. Now, I have to recruit you into the Army—well, approximately anyway—and the first thing recruits have to do is take off all their clothes and be measured. So get started. Everything off and stand over here.”

  Therese stood, as shocked as the girls. Then she reached for her headscarf. The girls just stood and stared. Once she had taken her headscarf off, Mefist held her arm and stopped her. “Come on, girls. It’s all part of joining the Army, and I’m not going to bite you–yet. Maria, show them how it’s done.”

  Maria looked even more horrified. She stared at him, and then at Therese. When Therese nodded, her hand crept to her apron. “Go on, all of you!” Therese ordered. “It’s got to be done, so we may as well get it over with quickly. Just do as you’re told! Now!”

  Frightened, the girls hurried to strip off their dresses. “Everything, Maria!” ordered Mefist. She had stopped after reaching her chemise and loose cotton drawers.

  “Oh, Mistress!” wailed Maria.

  “Yes, everything, Maria.” Reluctantly Maria started to pull off her underwear and lay it on the table. While the others followed her, Therese whispered to Mefist, “What about me?”

  Mefist had a twinkle in his eye. “Don’t worry! I’ll get to you later. I’ll make sure you get your new clothes too.”

  “That’s not what I meant!”

  “I know that, but you’re the mistress. You must be treated differently, up to a point. I’ll deal with you privately. Let’s get on.”

  The girls were standing in a tight group—like sheep, Therese thought. They struggled to cover themselves with their hands and arms.

  Mefist stood in front of them, legs apart and hands on hips. None of the girls could look at him. “Dear me! What a sorry lot of recruits we have here! Come on! Stand up for yourselves. Here, form a line! That’s it.” The girls shuffled into an untidy line. “Now, attention! That’s it; heads up, hands by your sides. Stand up straight. Good, now you’re beginning to look like the girls I know.

  “Therese, come with me. I want to be introduced to all of them, one by one.”

  Therese put her hand on the first trembling shoulder. “This is Maria. She comes from Brno. She’s been with us a long time. How long, Maria?”

  “Please, Mistress, I’ve been a nun for seventeen years,” she answered in a small voice.

  Mefist looked her up and down. Therese thought she looked round and soft. Her breasts were heavy and had large dark nipple
s. “You’re very beautiful, Maria,” said Mefist politely. “Could you please turn around?”

  Maria had two dimples above a generous bottom. “Charming!” said Mefist. “Turn back now. I think we can predict fame and maybe fortune for you. You’ll be very popular. Perhaps we can find a nice officer to take you home with him.”

  Maria blushed and said, “Thank you, your Hon—Mefist.”

  They moved on to the next girl, Meike, a slim, brown-haired girl with tight little breasts and tiny pink nipples that peeped out across the room. “Tell me about this lady,” ordered Mefist.

  As they continued down the line, Therese reflected on the variety of figures in front of her. Short, tall, big breasts, small breasts, soft bellies, boyish waists, a variety of bottoms. Mefist complimented them all, but Therese saw no beauty at all in the embarrassed line of naked bodies.

  After he had finished the line, Mefist came back to the centre. “Well done, girls. I’m proud of you. Now; the Imperial Army has spent the first hours of the day scouring the village, and here are the results of our search.” He produced a packet from his tunic and opened it. It was full of combs. “Here, share them out and comb your sister’s hair. I’m going to start measuring you. Maria, you’re first. Jump up on this chair.”

  Mefist passed a small leather-covered notebook to Therese and pulled a tape measure from his pocket. Maria stood in front of them. Her breasts stared Mefist in the face. She flinched at his touch as he reached around her waist. “Seventy-four centimetres.” he passed on to Therese while he slipped the tape down to her hips. Maria trembled as his hands brushed her hips and belly. “Ninety-four centimetres. Now hold still, Maria,” he warned as he tried to position the tape exactly over her dark nipples. Ninety-one—no, make that ninety-two, we don’t want to squeeze such delightful breasts, do we? Do you know about cup sizes, Maria?

  “They are C, Mefist,” said Maria.

  “Good. Write down C, please, Therese. What’s your shoe size, Maria? Now turn round, I want to measure how tall you are.”