Chapter 8: Metamorphosis

After that, things settled into the same routine that worked before the wedding. They met over hot drinks and toast. Dr. Richards would give the agenda for the day. Elspeth would report on progress for any ongoing projects. Dr. Richards would make any necessary decisions and give instructions. They would part with a hug. This was important because Dr. Richards had a big project. She wanted to do a reception/coming-out party for almost a hundred people.

Elspeth delivered the invitations, reserved the venue, found and enlarged an old photograph, and generally did all the legwork. It came naturally and was surprisingly rewarding. The night of the event, Elspeth did the introduction. After that, Dr. Richards owned the room. There were senior faculty members in attendance. Elspeth anticipated significant ripples in the pond. Receiving a nose ring was almost beside the point.

If anything, the ripples were more than Elspeth expected. The next day Dr. Richards received three invitations to luncheons. Soon, Elspeth was a de facto social secretary. She met all the powers of the university and became familiar with all their secretaries. On the personal side, Dr. Richards was willing to show Elspeth off. One significant event was a Labor Day BDSM party. Dr. Richards had taken Elspeth to the same corset maker she and the bride used. Elspeth wanted to show it off.

Six months before, Elspeth would not have considered appearing in public dressed only in lingerie. For the party, she shopped for the skimpiest lace undergarments that actually covered everything. The Brazilian wax was just as painful as advertised. Elspeth focused on her memory of Christine’s bruising. The wax job was not only endurable, it left Elspeth extremely horny. She decided horny was a good state of mind for a submissive at a D/s function.

Elspeth wore the corset, a skimpy thong and string bra, velvet cameo choker, pattern silk stockings, and four-inch heels. Dr. Richards wore a similar outfit and attitude. They were a hit. Humility had a lot to do with it. Elspeth received many compliments on her look, which she accepted. Other compliments were on bearing and deportment. Those she deflected. Elspeth was not Christine and she knew it. Similarly, Dr. Richards had seen a pro-Domme at work and did not aspire to that level. Both received several invitations, not always to the same events.

The term progressed and ended. During the holiday break, Dr. Richards acquired her signature piece of clothing, a floor-length sealskin winter coat. Almost immediately it was featured on the cover of the campus newspaper. It showed Dr. Richards, wearing the coat, walk across campus, disdaining the -20° cold. The photo came to be called The Queen of Winter. Variations of the name would stay with Dr. Richards from then on.

On the other side of life, Elspeth came to envy Dr. Richards’ family and friends. At Thanksgiving, Elspeth was invited to visit. During the dinner, she watched as Sean Richards, CEO and head of the family, formally expressed gratitude for the wedding preparations. After the dinner, Francine Martel took everyone to see a preview screening of her new movie, Hard Time. It went on to become an all-time blockbuster. To cap things, Elspeth finally had the chance to meet Deirdre Walters.

Dr. Richards received an invitation to dinner with Pedro de la Garza. Many of Elspeth’s family would see this as an opportunity to meet his wife, Angela Molinari. Elspeth was a theater buff. She knew better. Pedro’s company, JB Productions, was one of the powers in the theater world. Dr. Richards would be meeting some of the most important people in New York. Elspeth would be meeting the people behind them, hence Deirdre Walters, Pedro de la Garza’s aide.

Elspeth did not expect to spend much time with Miss Walters. After all, there were many more important people in attendance. She expected it to be like a family gathering. Many of her cousins were gofers for senior executives. These people would be similarly placed. In this, she reckoned without two things. The first was the wedding. Six months after the fact, it was widely considered to the social event of the year. Elspeth had a staff pass. Questions and stories went on for over an hour, almost til dessert was served.

The second reason was Christine. Miss Walters, Deirdre, had pulled Elspeth aside. After a few preliminary questions to establish what part of the street Elspeth played, Deirdre homed in on Christine’s bruises. The two had met, briefly, the day the bruises happened. The next day, the bruises and how they were applied was (whispered) gossip all over the five boroughs. Deirdre knew in detail what had happened. Elspeth knew Christine and had met her Mistress.