The Earl's Keeper

Twenty - The Gentlemans' Club

Goodness gracious meeeeeeeeeeeee

#437 in Historical Fiction! (15/06/17)

Yeah so this update has been chilling here for ages lol, I've only decided to post it because of recent readers (y'all know who you are) motivating me to actually get my ass writing. Seriously, those few comments, and your positive feedback, really made my day!

I didn't think I'd rank at all, but alas, my mere mortal self hath made it. All thanks to my readers, I'm so chuffed and giddy. Thank you guys so much and carry on voting and most of all try commenting you guys, I love hearing opinions and reactions and stuff x

04/12/17 I've been writing and rewriting this chapter for yonks now. Sigh. Writers block is a bigger biatch than the flu I'm currently wrestling with -_-

Anyhoo, enjoy x

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That night, Mia supped with the rest of the family in the dining room. She squirmed in her seat, as she bled into her menstrual apron affixed to the girdle and joined to the rear of her rubber skirt. The entire absorbent contraption sat concealed beneath her many skirts, petticoats and layers. But she knew it was there, silently mocking her.

She had started her flow not long after leaving the sanctuary of the bedroom. She had been mortified, until Gerty came and knocked some matriarchal wisdom into her. Mia had never had her flow during her marriage up until now. Her body had been malnourished and iron deficient enough to suppress it. Months of a rich nutrient filled diet had fixed that, and Mother Nature saw it fit to enact some more damage to her. Fantastic.

It had always come and gone, in an irregular manner, during her life outside of the Earl's manor. Even then, she had her mother's parting wisdoms before she had passed to guide her. Alongside tips and helpful tricks to keep it concealed and bearable. It was with this, alongside Gerty and Nancy, that she refrained from declaring herself unfit to entertain polite society and renounce herself as a hermit. Instead, she wo-manned up and dealt with it. Nobody was non the wiser to her personal horrors of bleeding whilst eating. Dare she cough or sneeze, and she would call it a night to sit upon the latrine and bleed out for the rest of the duration of her flow.

She groaned inwardly at the gross feeling of bleeding into her menstrual apron. It was only slight, not very heavy, but enough to disgust her. She was lucky to have Gerty and have been in London, where the upper elite experienced exposure to more modern menstrual sanitary towels. Bischester would only have women bleeding straight into their underskirts, leaving droplets of blood in their wake and ankle length pantalettes, if even that. The apron had been sought and purchased within the hour at Nancy's discretion, it was a washable linen nappy for the genitals. Mia felt reduced to an overgrown babe. It was mortifying and she resented it. To think, she had actually bathed moments before. Why had she even bothered! She sat there stabbing at her vegetables, wishing with ill omen for her body to be malnourished enough not to experience the wretched monthly infliction.

Dinner was a quiet and rather quick affair. With most of the table conversation being taken up by the brothers as Mia dwelt within her own mind and discomforts of her womanly woes. Conversation consisted mostly of teasing tones and jibes from one brother to another, past and present tales of the town house mixed in amongst other things.

One fact she was able to take away from the meal, was the knowledge that George did not favour this place, holding an ambiguous grudge against it. She could tell by the stiffness in his neck and the scrutiny in his eyes. The subtle frown that always carved his lips in a downward tug. He wasn't relaxed here, how he had been back at the manor, he was constantly tense and fidgety. Mia kept her nose in check, it was no business of hers, and she should not let it grow into other peoples affairs. Nonetheless, curiosity nagged her mind into worrying over the matter, and she hoped the mystery would resolve itself.