Chapter 117. Enlightenment.
In ten minutes the turning of the key announced her return. She ignored their nudity. Perhaps she was used to it, thought Philip. She handed them each a pile of clothes.
“Get changed. These are temporary clothes. We don’t allow boys in here in grown-up things.” She looked them up and down. “Your hair will do for the time being. Not ideal. Yours is untidy, but we’re used to that,” she remarked, regarding Matthew’s unkempt thatch. “And yours” – Philip was still in his best baby curls – “that’s very pretty, actually.” She made a face, apparently her attempt at a smile, then quickly resumed her wonted severity. “Induction in the hall in fifteen minutes.”
“Th-the hall?” stammered Matthew.
“Turn left, red double doors on your right.” She paused. “What are you waiting for?” And she turned on her heel and left.
They examined their outfits. Identical. Big pull-ups. “Thank goodness for that,” said Matthew. “For a moment I thought she was going to be pinning nappies on us.” Blue vest. Puffy pink cotton rompers smothered in little red hearts and balloons, with short sleeves and legs just above their knees, fastening with buttons and Velcro. Soft padded pink bootees and matching mittens, trimmed with blue ribbon. Big pink pacifiers on ribbons to hang round the necks - Philip’s on a yellow ribbon, Matthew’s a blue one.
They dressed quickly. While Philip was finishing up, Matthew climbed on a chair to look out of the window.
“What’s going on out there?”
“The main gates are closed now. There’s a dog… No, wait. There’s some sort of security guard person…”
“Let me see.”
Philip climbed up beside his friend. He was right. There, apparently patrolling the grounds, was a short chubby woman in a tight blue uniform, accompanied by an alert-looking German Shepherd. As they watched another appeared, taller and slimmer, but in the same uniform. They stood together for a while, smoking and laughing. Number two had on knee boots, with what looked like a riding-crop tucked down the side of one of them.
“That doesn’t look good…,” murmured Philip. But a peremptory rap at the door terminated further discussion. They jumped down and pulled it open. Opposite and to the right, there were the red doors. No-one else in sight, apart from their mentor, who was standing there waiting for them.
“Come on, you two. Now!”
They hurried over. She pushed open one door. “Find yourself a place, sit down, and be quiet. No talking.” The boys entered the hall.
The hall was not large, but it was bright with sunlight, streaming in through a row of long windows on the opposite wall. The centre of the floor was occupied by a huge blue play-mat, on which was seated a group of three boys, all about their age, and all dressed exactly as they were. Two of them wore blue ribbons, and one yellow, around their necks. They looked up glumly as Philip and Matthew entered, all except the smallest, who stared fixedly at Philip, and continued to do so for some minutes thereafter. Standing one on each side of the room were two more “nurses”, short-haired, unsmiling, wearing short, close-fitting silver-buttoned tunics emblazoned with a pink cross, white riding breeches, with long pink rubber riding boots and pink surgical gloves, their hands clasped in front of them. Matthew gaped, and shivered palpably. Philip noticed they each had a silver whistle on a ribbon around their neck – one blue, the other yellow. The one opposite indicated to the boys to sit. They quickly took their places behind the others, who were facing a low stage on the right. They looked around. At the sides of the hall were more of those cage-playpens, strewn with baby toys, with plastic chairs in between. At the back, a big ball play enclosure, with tunnels and slides and a deep sea of coloured plastic balls, enclosed within high Perspex walls pierced by one small arched door, no more than two feet high. At the front, to the left of the stage, another, smaller, Perspex enclosure with a side door, containing a long central cupboard with doors and drawers and topped with a counter, like a kitchen unit.
Philip was pondering on these facilities, when one of the nurses spat out “pay attention, boys!” and Mary walked onto the stage. There was a lectern with a microphone, just like a school hall, but with such a small audience no amplification was needed.
“Good morning, boys. Boys for now, but when you leave this hall, babies, for the foreseeable future. I think you all know me. You may address me as Auntie Mary, or simply as “miss”, if you prefer. Welcome to RITE – Resborough Infant Training and Education. You are my first recruits of this session. There will be more joining you in the next few days – so consider yourselves fortunate to be stealing a march on them. You may have seen some of our facilities already, but as you can see” – she indicated the hall with a wave of her hand – we are well-equipped. And there is much more in the rest of the building, which you will become familiar with in the coming weeks.”
I wonder how much Estella’s paying for all this, Philip thought. And what about Jill? But his query was soon answered, and not in the way he had expected.
“Now I should explain, if any of you are wondering, how this is all financed. Well, as you probably know, this is a free service provided for selected boys” – here she looked around the upturned faces with a slight meaningful smile – “selected boys, and not always selected for their civility and good behaviour, in the hope of improving their manners and deportment. But that is not the primary purpose of this institution. Not at all. Our principle function is the education of young women in the raising of infants. We are a registered charity and our funding comes from charitable sources and from local government, and, thanks to the efforts of our dedicated staff, our reputation and income has grown so much in recent years, that we are now able to run a considerable surplus, and are able to invest in new equipment, and to start planning our expansion.”
Here, Philip and Matthew stared at each other. This was a surprise. Philip felt his dormant anxiety beginning to awaken again.
“But I’ve no doubt you’re all eager to know more details of the programme. Well, first of all, this is not a school. You will not have to sit exams or pass tests or do homework.” She bestowed a simpering smile on the upturned faces. “Not at all. You are required only to do as you are told. To do as you are told at all times, without question or hesitation. Then we shall all get along fine. You will be introduced to all your nurses in due course. Nurse Millicent, at the door there, you’ve all met already. Nurses are to be addressed as “nurse” or “miss”. Always. Obedience, as I have said – but I want to impress on you again – is key. Disobedience means you have decided that you don’t want to be a baby – and therefore, you become at once subject to adult punishment. We have a dedicated punishment room – you may have seen the small door at the foot of the main staircase – which I suggest you avoid.” She paused, her eyes stony, letting the threat sink in. “But if you co-operate,” she continued, reassuming a benign expression, “you will find your life very comfortable. Very. Soft clothes, soft food, soft treatment all round. Take your choice. There will be three weeks of training, during which time you will frequently be objects of inspection – and I hope admiration. We have arrangements with most of the local secondary schools and colleges, and you will be expected to conduct yourselves appropriately in front of the young ladies that will visit. Do not try to converse with them, and do not show off, please. At the end of the training course, you will each be allocated a local family where you will receive a further week’s practical experience. Your performance during this week will show us whether you have benefitted from your training. The family will be asked to complete a report form, and providing their assessment meets a satisfactory standard, you will be discharged. Failure, however, will result in your being returned for the next session. And this will continue until we are satisfied you have reached the required standard.”
Auntie Mary seemed satisfied with the impression she had made on the new intake. She regarded them for a minute with smug amusement, nodding slightly to herself.
“Right. I think I’ve covered everything?”
Millicent nodded from her place at the main door.
“Good. Right. Blue group follow Nurse Hannah, yellow group Nurse Jackie. Dismiss.”
Philip and Matthew were taken aback. They had time to exchange only a brief word before they were marched out behind their respective nurses. Matthew turned left, accompanied by two of the boys, Philip, with the other, went right.
Topic: The Settlement (Read 88853 times)
