40.
They went shopping the very next day, since Archie was meeting Patrick again the following Tuesday evening.  If Archie had ever felt any embarrassment at dressing as a girl, it seemed to have evaporated, and now he was intent only on impressing his new friend.  Sinead drove them all to the shops.
“What sort of thing have you got in mind, Archie?” she asked.
“I dunno.  I dunno what there is, really.  And I never look at what girls are wearing, partic’larly.”
“Maybe something a little more grown up?” 
“Patrick’s what, a year older than you?  Two?”
“Two, yeah.  What I wore yesterday weren’t partic’larly cool, but he seemed to like it.”
“When are you meeting him exactly?”
“After school Tuesday.”
“After school?”
“Yeah
.shit!”
“Yes.  School uniform.  You’re going to need a girl’s uniform.”
“But then how
”
“You’ll have to go to school as a girl!” screamed Sarah.
“You’ll have to wait for everyone to leave and then change – and hope no-one sees you.”
“Too risky,” said Patricia.  “Look – all you need is a skirt and white socks, right.  After lessons go to the toilets, put the socks on under your trousers, put the skirt over your trousers but hold it up round your waist, then all you have to do is find somewhere to take off your trousers, right?”
“He’s gonna need panties, too,” put in Sarah, matter-of-factly.  Pretty pink panties, with bows and stuff, in case Patrick gets a flash
”
“Don’t worry, Archie.  He won’t see them,” reassured Patricia.  “But yes, you’ll need panties, all right.”
“I’ve got some already for Irish dancing
”
“We’ll get you nicer ones than those,” smiled Sinead.  “Where are you meeting him?”
“In a restaurant
Luigi’s
”
“Who’ll be there first?”
“Oh – me.  He’s got to come from out of town
”
“Okay.  If he’s not there, go into the toilet and change.  Sorted.”
“Yeah, great!  Perfec’!  But I can still have some new casual clothes, right?”
“Yes, of course,” said Sinead.  “I’m thinking of one cool outfit, with black leggings and ankle boots and a ripped Goth T-shirt and a little leather jacket.  Very cool with some black lipstick and eyeliner.  And then something more youthful, like a short cotton dress with ankle socks, maybe,  and
”
“What?  I’m not sure about that
”
“Well, you don’t know what his tastes are yet?  And in any case, dressing young will be good practice for Saturday!”
“Oh, shut up, sis!  Did you have to mention that?”
“Ooh, I’d almost forgotten!” cried Sarah.  “Do you know we saw Millie and her mum out shopping for baby clothes?”
“We don’t know that, Sarah,” said Patricia.
“I bet they were
probably nappies and bibs and plastic pants
”
“Shut up!”
“Shh, you two.  Look, we’re here.  Let’s work together, shall we?”

They spent all the morning buying stuff.  As Sarah said, it was even more fun than buying for themselves.  Archie was in and out of the changing room so many times he lost count.  But at last they were satisfied, and repaired to the store cafĂ© for lunch.  They reviewed their purchases.  Apart from the casual - a pair of girl’s jeans and a few girl’s T-shirts - they had ended up with four distinct outfits, which could roughly be classified as cool, cute, and juvenile.  For cool there was the Goth, for juvenile the little girl – pretty summer dress, white tights, sequin bomber jacket, crisp hair ribbons – and for plain cute a couple of things in between, cute but elegant at the same time, things a thirteen-year-old girl would be comfortable wearing. 

Surprisingly, Archie had seemed to favour the party dress end of the “cute but elegant” spectrum rather than the casual end.  His eyes sparkled when he saw some of the lovely glittery things on the rack, and the girls looked at each other with raised eyebrows as he fondled the various textures.
“Ooh, sis
  Feel this velvet
  It’s so soft, but stretchy too.  Do you fink I have the figure to wear somefing like that
?
“You’ve got a great figure, Archie.  You could wear any of those.”
“Really?  You reckon?  Do you fink
I mean, do you think
Patrick would like me in that
?”
“You’d be irresistible!  But it’s quite posh.  I mean, it’s a party dress really.  Have it if you want, but you’ll need something a bit more casual too, but different from your first outfit.  What about
  What about something like that
”
She pointed at a display opposite; a short flared black faux-leather skirt paired with a shiny red stretch satin crop top with a high neck and long sleeves.
“We could get you some black stockings and red panties to go with that
”
“And maybe some shoes with a heel?” suggested Patricia.  “A low heel.  But he should start learning to wear heels, don’t you think?”
“It’s quite, well
sexy
” said Sarah.
“Exactly,” said her sister.  “Patrick will love it, won’t he?  If he doesn’t, he’s not the boy you’ve described to me.”
Sarah laughed.  “You’re right.  If he fancied Archie in his Irish dancing costume
”
“Then he’s going to love him in this!”
Archie blushed slightly looking at the ensemble.  The thought of merely putting it on  gave him butterflies.  Imagine wearing it out!  Imagine Patrick’s face

“But
can I have the party dress too?  The blue velvety one?  It’s so pretty
”
“Gosh, Archie, you’re really into it, aren’t you,” grinned Sarah.  “Fashion, I mean,” she added, not wishing to break the spell.  “You’ve got great taste.” 

“I think we did really well,” said Patricia, taking a sip of coffee.  “Archie?  Are you happy with your purchases?”
“Yeah.  I love all of them.  But don’t tell Conor, will you?  I don’t want ‘im tryin’ to outdo me some’ow
”
“Don’t worry, we won’t,” grinned Sarah.  “By the way, you won’t have to compete with him at Irish dancing any more.  You’re getting new summer costumes and their both the same – just different colours.”
“Really?  What are they?”
“You’ll see.  It’s a surprise
  Guys?  Can we go?  I want to get home so we can get Archie to try on all his new duds again
”

Chapter 83.

“So how would you like to do this?”
He was kneeling with his knees slightly apart.
“Well
”
“I guess I should put my foot here, right?”
She placed her heel of her right boot between his open thighs, pinning the red duster to the floor, turned her foot slightly to the right, and lowered the sole of her boot gently down onto the place where she knew his coc-k was lying!  He gasped, and looked up at her, wide-eyed. 
“Is that good?”
“Y-yes, Mrs Burlington
  Th-that’s
fine
”
Hands trembling, he opened the tin of wax, collected a little on one end of the brush, and began to apply it to the leather, working from the toe upwards in little circular movements.  She could feel his coc-k under the sole of her boot, firm and resilient like a well-filled sausage.  She applied the slightest pressure.  It responded by stiffening slightly.  Bobby gulped and dropped the brush.
“Sorry, miss
”
“No problem
”  She smiled.  She loved that “miss”.
She left him alone for a while, allowing him to work on her foot and ankle.  Then she began again, applying gentle, regular pressure, but so discreetly that MĂ©lisande had no inkling of what was going on, until she was massaging it with the leather sole of her boot in a slow, steady rhythm.  She was shocked at herself – she couldn’t ever have imagined doing such a thing - but Bobby clearly needed relief, and besides, it was amusing watching him trying to work under such distracting conditions.  She giggled.  He seemed slowly to be losing concentration.
“Hey!” cried MĂ©lisande.  “Look – you missed that bit!  And don’t forget the back!”
“I think Bobby’s got enough on his plate doing the front of my boots, dear.  When he done that, I’ll stand up and he can wax the backs ready for polishing.”
“Okay, mummy.”
“Why don’t you take a video from the side?  Rest your phone on one of the dining-chairs!”
“Okay!”
That ploy removed her from the immediate vicinity, and allowed Clarissa to pursue her goal with more vigour.  He still hadn’t reached her knee, but he was already in a state.  Now, every time she applied pressure, there was the faintest squelch, and she could feel his coc-k sliding about in his pants.  His cheeks were flushed, his mouth open, his eyes kept closing, and he was breathing erratically.  She thought she could imagine what he must be feeling.  Realising he was very close to a climax, she leant forward and whispered in his ear.
“Let go, darling.  Just don’t let MĂ©lisande cotton on, okay?”
He looked at her desperately, and nodded.  She smiled, patted his cheek, and rocked her foot back and forth a couple of times, rolling his coc-k against his thigh.  He made a choking sound, and despite trying not to, cried out.
“AAhhh!”
“What’s up with him?” asked MĂ©lisande, startled, beginning to rise from behind the chair where she was kneeling.
“Stay there, Mellie!  Keep filming please.  He’s got cramp, that’s all.”
“Oh.”
“He may have to go for a walk around shortly.”
But not quite yet, she thought.  She stopped massaging and applied firm, steady pressure.  He bit his lip, shut his eyes tight, and then she could feel his coc-k pumping powerfully under her foot.  His c-um burst out of the leg band of his pants, soaking the red cloth.  Quickly - perhaps even before his orgasm had completely subsided - she had gathered it up, mopped his thigh, and thrust it into his hand. 
“Bobby,” she hissed.  “Are you okay?  Yes?  Go clean yourself up - quick - before she notices.”
He staggered to his feet and headed for the door.
“Where’s he going, mummy?”
“He needs to move about.  Cramp can be very painful.  And he needs the toilet.”
“Oh.  Right.  Well I didn’t think he was doing a great job, anyway.  He kept missing bits.”
“Maybe he’s having an off-day.  Anyway, I’m not letting him off.  I’ll make him finish the job as soon as he comes back.  Now, shall we have a break and a snack?  Oh, and send me that video, please.  And delete it from your phone.  No complaints.  It’s private and I need to report his performance to his aunt.”

As she ate her crispbread, celery and taramasalata – a thirties, unattached woman has to watch her figure – Clarissa reviewed the events of the afternoon.  She was shocked at herself, and a little guilty of having perpetrated such an act in the presence of her daughter.  But she’d been excited – in fact she was still feeling excited and a little frustrated.  Never mind.  She had the means to relieve that in the drawer of her bedside cabinet, while she reviewed the videos.  She needed to speak frankly to Nicole, that was for sure, not least to confess and seek absolution – though she didn’t expect it to be withheld, by a woman who was prepared to present her nephew in such a provocative outfit, not to mention transforming him into a rubber pony at weekends!

Bobby returned after fifteen minutes, looking a lot more relaxed, clean and smelling of peach-scented talc. 
“You have to finish mummy’s boots!” cried MĂ©lisande, frowning.  “You haven’t done a very good job up to now
”
“I’m sorry, Mellie.  I had such terrible, er, cramp
  But I’m better now.”  He turned to her mother, blushing, and unable to look her in the eye..
“Mrs Burlington, may I please continue waxing your boots?  I’m sorry I had to stop
”
“Of course, Bobby!  Let’s repair to the lounge.  MĂ©lisande was not satisfied with your technique, for some reason, so she’ll want to video you again, no doubt, to make sure I can give a good report to your aunt.”
“Yes, I will,” said MĂ©lisande, severely.  “Try and concentrate this time, boot boy!”
“Yes, MĂ©lisande
”

This time there were no distractions.  Bobby waxed the fronts, then Clarissa stood for him to wax the backs.  (He had to be very careful when he reached the thigh flaps, where the seams of her black stockings disappeared up into her miniskirt, but he bit his lip and thought of England and just about made it.)  Then he polished them from the tops to the toes till they gleamed, and cleaned the slim heels with wipes.  MĂ©lisande was so happy she took several photos of her glamorous mother, plus a full-length one of Bobby in an unguarded moment, smiling and relaxed, a polishing cloth in one hand, the other unconsciously checking what she referred to as his ‘boy-thing’ for any signs of tumescence.  She surreptitiously emailed it to herself, as possible future blackmail material, certain that her mother would delete it.  (Which she did, but only after also sending it to herself.)

Chapter 82.

Clarissa had changed into a miniskirt, black stockings, and high-heeled thigh boots.  She had worn them that day MĂ©lisande had first sat on Bobby’s back.  They looked expensive, and they were.  They were made of the finest kid leather, so soft that it actually stretched a little as they were zipped up at the back.  She took her seat on the sofa beside her daughter.
“We’re ready, Bobby!” cried MĂ©lisande. “You may enter.”
No response.  “We’re ready
  Don’t be shy
”
He entered assuming as well as he could a casual expression – though Clarissa could see in his flushed cheeks and trembling lip that he was feeling far from relaxed – and immediately understood why.  His uniform was nothing like she had expected.  Her mouth fell open, her eyes widened – but to her credit, before he could notice, she translated her appearance into one of delighted surprise.  As he performed a slightly clumsy rotation, she leant forward and clapped her hands. 
“Next on the catwalk, “Bobby Tucker!  Go, Bobby!”
MĂ©lisande stole a sidelong glance at her mother, noted her surprise, and smiled with satisfaction.  Now she was in on his secret too.
“Walk up and down a few times more, Bobby.  Go on.  And come closer.  My mum wants to see everything.”
But Clarissa could already see everything.  Cynthia had made his pants from a new type of latex, fine and light but also strong, and resistant to snagging.  It could be relied upon not to split or tear, even when  stretched to the limit.  She tried to appear unflustered, but couldn’t help staring at the vision of this great big boy in such a juvenile outfit.  “Surely he’s not going to wear that for work,” she said to herself.  “He’ll cause a sensation
”
But she was getting the picture.  She could see he was possessed by a deep-seated deference towards women, almost an adoration, that gave them tremendous power over him – a power that his aunt and her friends had been unable to ignore.  They had succ-umbed to the temptation to exploit that power, and once they had taken that path one thing led to another, and
and here he was.  A boot boy, a little rubber-clad pony that even her daughter could control with ease
and goodness knows what else.  She sighed.  How could she criticise them?   She too found him fascinating - cuteness personified.  She casually picked up her phone and took a few snaps.  Well, why shouldn’t she?  If he liked showing off so much, then she should entertain his vanity. She found herself looking forward to having him at her feet attending to her boots.
“Now put on your jacket.  See, mummy, his jacket’s made of latex too.  It suits him, doesn’t it?”
“It looks perfect on him
”
The little jacket came down just to his hips.  Bobby was fumbling with the drawstring.
“Come here - I’ll do it for you,” said Clarissa.
He came over and stood in front of her.  She took a deep breath, and, doing her best to ignore the flattened bulge lying in the yellow compartment of his pants, she tied the drawstring in a bow, the acorn pulls hanging down in front.  She sent him back onto the catwalk and exhaled with relief.  He started parading up and down again, but to his distress he found that, at each step, the rubber pulls, which were hanging level with his crotch, bounced against the front of his pants.  It was as if they were insistently tapping at his flaccid coc-k, gently encouraging it to wake up.  He actually imagined for a moment that Cynthia must have cut the drawstring to a calculated length, to produce just such an effect!
Feeling an increasing tightness in his pants, he stopped.  “I-I should probably attend to your mum’s boots
”
“In a minute.  Mummy wants a video, and so do I.  Keep walking, please.”
It was his worst public humiliation nightmare playing itself out.  He could feel his coc-k slowly swelling and lengthening under the regular kiss of the rubber pulls.  Though his jacket prevented him from seeing it, his unruly member was inching sideways under the taut yellow latex, across the top of his left thigh, as if seeking the little “B” logo in its blue heart.  He was beginning to panic.  “No
  Please
  Not in front of Mrs Burlington!  Whatever will she think of me?”
Fortunately MĂ©lisande hadn’t noticed his discomfort, being more interested in her mother’s reaction to Bobby’s embarrassment.  But Clarissa could see exactly what was going on, and knew that, with her innocent daughter sitting next to her, she needed to take immediate action.  Just as Bobby was contemplating a rush to the door, on the excuse he needed the toilet, she intervened – though strangely she kept filming.
“Bobby, I think that’s enough.  Yes, please come and show me your expertise now.  Mellie darling?  Could you fetch my cleaning kit from the laundry room, please?”
“Yes mummy!”  And she dashed out.
Bobby, with a sigh of relief, turned towards Clarissa and was about to sink to his knees when she stopped him.  She was still holding her phone in her lap, pointed at him.  But of course she wouldn’t still have been filming

“Just a minute, Bobby.  Better take off your jacket first.”
In his delight at his reprieve he quite forgot about his tumescent state.  “Oh, yes, of course.”
He stood before her, fumbling with the drawstrings again, got them tangled, finally separated them, and pulled down the zip, which then got stuck at the bottom.  Wearing latex gloves wasn’t the ideal aid to fine motor skills!
“Do you need some help?” said Clarissa, in an offhand tone, staring roughly in the direction of the zip-pull and making to move to offer any.
“No, thank you, Mrs Burlington.  I have to learn to do this myself.”
“Yes
you should
” she murmured, distractedly, registering that the head of his pen-is had now actually attained its goal and reached the blue heart.  She took a deep breath, and checked her phone to make sure it was still recording.
“Got it, mummy!”
With a sudden burst of energy, Clarissa rose, put her hands on Bobby’s shoulders, and brought him to his knees.
“There, Bobby.  Time to do my boots.  Here, I’ll do that for you.”  She undid the zip.  “Mellie darling?  Just put that down here.  Could you stand behind Bobby and help him off with his jacket, there’s a dear?  That’s it.  Thank you
  Oh, and get me a drink of water, would you?  There’s a good girl
”
She unzipped the little fabric case  MĂ©lisande had brought her, pulled out a large red duster, and spread it over Bobby’s knees, effectively hiding his erection.  She tucked it into the top of his pants to keep it in place.
“There. Now all you’ll need is this soft brush, this leather dressing, and a soft cloth for polishing.  Mellie tells me you were trained by your aunt
  Oh, thank you, dear.  Sit down.  Bobby’s about to demonstrate his boot-cleaning skills.”
She took a sip of water, put the glass on the side table, and smiled encouragingly.
“Yes, Mrs Burlington.  She has lots and lots of boots
”
“Really?”
“She has some beautiful ones, and I keep them all nice and shiny for her.  Leather ones, and lovely  soft rubber ones, and
”
“You sound quite enthusiastic
”
“Oh, well
you know
”  He flushed.  He had rather given himself away.
Clarissa looked at him with interest.  He certainly did love boots, no doubt about that.  So if he wanted to indulge his passion, then it was only right he should be appropriately dressed.  And what could be more appropriate than a lovely little rubber outfit like this?  An unattached boy of that age needed to find an outlet for his pent-up energies somehow, and this pursuit seemed to offer it, while also providing a little harmless amusement for his friends


Chapter 80.

Friday arrived, and Bobby went off to school with a heavier bag than usual.  MĂ©lisande was waiting for him just inside the school gate.  No-one remarked about it any more; it was by now a standing joke that the hunky guy in year eleven had fallen for a tiny girl in year seven, but of course the pair were still watched intently to see what transpired.
“Did you bring it?”
“Yes – I brought it,” replied Bobby irritably – and then, remembering his precarious position, he mollified her with a “yes, Mellie – everything.  It’s all in here.”  He tapped his rucksack.  “And I brought my jeans and a T-shirt.”
“Good.  I can’t wait till this evening.”

Mrs Burlington had offered to collect them from school, but MĂ©lisande insisted they go home by bus, so that everyone could see them leave and travel together.  Charlotte and Amelia were disappointed they couldn’t come too, especially Charlotte, whom Bobby had to comfort with a little hug, but  MĂ©lisande promised them they’d all get together at the weekend.
Mrs Burlington was in the kitchen cooking when they arrived, with a spatula in one hand and a glass of white wine in the other,
“Hello, guys.  How was school?”
“Fine, thanks, mummy.  Some of Bobby’s flowers are still fresh, though we had to throw some away.  But the red roses are fine!”
Bobby smiled weakly.
“By the way, Bobby,” Mrs Burlington continued, confidentially, “Mellie tells me you’re going to put on your new uniform for us this evening.”
He was taken aback.  He didn’t think she would have mentioned it to her mother.  But not only had she done so, but she’d told her he was very proud of it, and only shyness made him reticent about showing it off.
“D-did she
?
“No need to be shy.  If you’re aunt had it made for you, I’m sure it’s very smart.  So
  You’ll be wearing it for your new job, then.  I bet you can’t wait to start.  You’re going to very busy
  But I know you like that.  You should make oodles of cash
”
“I-it’s not confirmed
”
“Oh, Miss Poole wouldn’t let an opportunity like that pass by.  I’m sure you’re in.  Let’s have supper first, shall we, and then Mellie and I will sit in the lounge and we can have a little fashion show!”
“Ooh, yes, mummy!  That would be so cool!  He loves showing off, don’t you, Bobby?”
Mrs Burlington put his blushes down to sheer modesty.
“And I’ll wear my best boots, Bobby – so if you feel like practising, be my guest.  I’ll pay you for your services, of course!”
“Oh, yes, mummy!  Let him do your new boots!  The long ones.”
“I’ll put them on after supper.  Okay, Bobby?”
“I-I’m not sure
” he began, then, seeing a dangerous expression on MĂ©lisande’s face, added, “sure, if you want
”

Up in MĂ©lisande’s room, Bobby vented his anger.
“You told her!  Why did you do that?”
He knew why – to make it more difficult for him to get out of it.
“Well, mummy would like to see it too.  She invited you.  It would be rude not to show her.”
“Well I’m not going to wear it, and that’s final!”
“All right.  Suit yourself.”
He looked at her, but she was arranging one of her doll’s dresses.  Maybe she wouldn’t insist, after all
”

Chapter 78

He racked his brains to think how she could have found out.  Did someone spill the beans?  Then who?  Who could possibly have told her that?  It clearly didn’t come via her mother.  Even if she had found out somehow, he was sure she wouldn’t have cooly gone and told her daughter. 
After stewing on in for a couple of hours, he gave in and texted her.
“How did you know about that?”
“I know everything about you.”
That just made it worse.  Everything?  Now he was in a panic.  He needed to find the answer at any cost.  He sought out Nicole.  She was in the kitchen talking on the phone.
“Auntie.  I need to speak to you – urgently.”
“Lavvy
  Sorry, I need to see to something.  I’ll call you back.”  She looked at him enquiringly.  He looked in a bit of a state.  “What’s the matter?”
“Did you
did you tell MĂ©lisande about my boot boy stuff?”
“What?”
“Did you?”
“Of course not.  She’s a little kid.  I wouldn’t tell her anything about you.”
“Well, someone did.  Cos she knows.”
“No-one I know would do that
  There’s only us three
  Clare and Wendy
oh, and Wendy’s friends, I suppose.  But they have no connection with her
  Miss Poole certainly wouldn’t.  Who else is there?  Those three ladies at the meeting
.  Wait a minute.  Didn’t that – what’s her name – Murchison – didn’t she say something about seeing MĂ©lisande after the meeting finished?”
“Did she?”
“Yes.  You couldn’t hear, but she said something about giving her a heavier whip
”
“What?”
“When did MĂ©lisande find this out?”
“She only mentioned it tonight
”
“That must be it, then.  What a stupid b
  She must be one of those women who can’t keep their mouths shut – even with a kid!  You wait
”
“She must be the one who gave her the photo, too!”
“Photo?  What photo?”
“She has a photo of me in my pony gear with my hood off.  It must have been taken at the meeting!”
“I’m going to kill that stupid cow.”  She picked up the phone.
“Violet?”  She suppressed her anger and spoke sweetly.  “You don’t by any chance have Miss Murchison’s number, do you?  I wanted to ask her something about, er
  ah, yes, she mentioned a restaurant I should try, but I’ve forgotten the name
  You do?  Could you..?  Yes, text it to me.  Great.  Thanks!”
“Auntie?  Don’t ring her now, will you?”
“Why not?”
“You always tell me if I’m angry to sleep on it.  Otherwise, you say, you’ll make a fool of yourself.”
Nicole took a deep breath.  “You’re right, darling.  You’re quite right.  I’m fuming.  I’ll say something stupid, and then I’ll be in the wrong.  Okay.  Thanks.  Tomorrow, then.”
“Yes.  Cool down and discuss it with Aunt Lavinia first.”
“Good thinking.”  She relaxed a little, and grinned.  “So what did that little minx say?”
“She told me to bring my uniform with me when I go round to hers on Friday.”
“She did?  Well, you’ll have to do it, won’t you, or she’ll never let you rest.  She wants to see you in it – or maybe she just wants a boot-shine!”
“But I can’t
  She’s gonna laugh at me
”
“Oh, diddums.  Let her laugh.  You look great in it.  You can wear the new one I got you.”
“New one?”
“Make a change from the pinks and reds.  I’ll show you.  Wait there.”
She went up to her room and returned with a Fantastex box.  She took his uniform out piece by piece.
“So
the cap
yellow with a blue peak and “Boot Boy” in blue lettering
gloves
yellow with blue frilling
close-fitting yellow spandex T-shirt with “Boot Boy Bobby” in blue across the front – you can tuck that into your pants -  yellow socks – short ones for the summer.  New blue trainers with yellow laces.  Now they’re cool – are they not?”
Bobby looked at them appreciatively.  “I guess they are pretty cool – it’s the other stuff that I have to wear with them
”
“I also got you a cute little jacket.”
She produced a short, lightweight zip-up jacket with elasticated waistband and hood, both with drawstrings and acorn-shaped moulded rubber pulls, blue for the hood and yellow for the waist, all in fine translucent latex, the jacket yellow, the hood blue.  Bobby sighed.
“Don’t you like it?  It’s perfect for rainy days.  I was going to get you a regular one, but Cynthia insisted, so all the colours match.”
“So I’m going to be perfectly colour-coordinated.  And look like a total
”
Nicole ignored the remark.  “And last but not least
.”
She held up a pair of little latex hot pants - you couldn’t really call them shorts – in yellow and blue.  The tight little leg frills were azure blue, the waistband fitted with belt loops and a (quite superfluous) blue rubber belt, while the pants themselves were in halved colours: yellow, blue, yellow, blue.  The left-hand yellow front pane had a little yellow letter “B” inside a blue heart positioned just above the leg band on the outside of  the thigh.
“Cute, don’t you think?  The halving was Cynthia’s idea.”
Yes, that was exactly what they were

Bobby’s forehead puckered up.  “Auntie
”
“What?  Don’t you like them?  I discussed it with Cynthia.  She had all sorts of ideas, some involving natural, semi-transparent latex with coloured hearts or balloons in strategic places.  Would you have preferred that?”
“No!  Don’t be silly!”
“Sorry.  I’m not sure she was serious.  But I thought these would be great for Pitt’s Wood.  Pink always has girlie connotations.  These are much more suitable for a boy.”
“I don’t even know if I’m going to work there, aunt.”
“Oh, you must!  They’re relying on you.  And you’re going to be well paid, I know that for a fact.”
“Am I
?”  he felt his resolve weakening.
“Oh, and look.  They threw in pretty little blue choker edged with tiny, tiny yellow frills.  It even had your name printed in yellow letters.”
Bobby put his hand to his head in despair.
“So I’ll pack this all back up – there’s a sachet of lovely rose-scented talc in there too – and you can take it with you on Friday.”
“Auntie
”
“If I were you I would just go along with it.  What’s done is done, and it seems to be she has you in the palm of her hand.  If you try to thwart her, you might regret it.  Don’t you think?”
Bobby gave in to a little tantrum.  “It’s not fair!” he cried, doing a little impotent jump. “I can’t disobey her, now she has all this stuff on me!”
“And you’re her pony, too
” Nicole reminded him, with a faint smile.  “And I understand she has a new whip
  I think you’d better be nice to her, dear, and go along with what she wants

“I don’t have much choice, do I?” said Boby, dismally.
“I’m afraid not.  But you usually don’t mind being ordered about.  Clare says
”
“Clare’s a grown-up!  MĂ©lisande’s a twelve-year-old!”
“Yes, that must be quite irksome
” replied Nicole, coolly.  “So I’ll pack this in a bag, and pop it in your rucksack Friday morning, okay?”