Saints and Sinners

Chapter Six

The Procter Residence

Washington DC

Grace Stoddart had to be punished, of course. She had physically resisted her keeper and had tried to disobey her husband, so if she wanted to remain within the close-knit Reformist community, she had to suffer for her sins. No one was in any doubt about that as the gossip passed juicily from household to household, like wildfire. Brett Stoddart was horrified and embarrassed, but he was also a man of his word, so he gave his wife a choice. Miss Frobisher had already punished her quite severely by the time he got home, but he demanded to see her and offered her the only way out that existed for her. He did not put any real pressure on her either way, but he made it clear that if she could not cope with her role in his life, she had to divorce him. He explained that it would damage him, and finish her amongst the Christian right, but that he could probably survive the shame, in time, without ever seriously affecting his mission, which he reminded her was the reason he was there. They were in America, after all, and she had her rights. If she broke her wedding vows, it would obviously mean leaving the church, but she could not be kept against her will and divorce would be possible, outside the Reformist movement. Brett said if she wanted to abandon him, to go back on her vows and her promises, she could leave. And Grace really could not bear that, even the thought of that made her cry, and she did not want to let everyone down, to let Brett down, so she simply decided to stay. So, Brett just handed her back to Miss Frobisher to apologise and accept her fate.

"Good morning, Grace...my name is Miss Sinclair...and I am your new keeper," Deborah Sinclair announced as she calmly turned Grace back on, early the next morning, apart from her voice. Miss Frobisher had put her in a sleeping gown the night before, after beating her for what seemed like hours, with her chips on level three. She had no idea when that agony had eventually abated or when she finally went to sleep during the black, silent night, but the very next thing she knew, a large rather plump middle-aged woman dressed in keeper grey was standing right over her, holding the remote lightly in her fat hand. Miss Sinclair had a marked English accent, Grace noted, as she blinked in the sudden light. "Obviously, Miss Danvers and Miss Frobisher are employed to look after Mrs Procter and the dear twins...and considering your fall from grace, you need a keeper dedicated primarily to your care...so, I am on loan from the household of the British Ambassador, until a permanent appointment can be made to ensure that you are properly kept. Rest assured, you are in safe hands...I am English...and fully qualified...so, level two whilst we get you onto the cleaning frame, I think...then we can really get down to business!"

Olivia Procter felt so sorry for Grace, but she was also shocked by her behaviour. She did not think of things like an American, or rather she could not think like that, because she had been well-trained to respect the authority of her keepers. She could not even contemplate the idea of resisting Miss Danvers or Miss Frobisher, her current keepers, and the thought of ever disobeying her husband was an anathema to her. She was a Daughter of Eve at heart, devoted to God and her family, and she believed that was only right and proper, her rightful place. It was the life God had given her, in a world she believed that God had created, and she had learned her place in it, for her sins, earning God's love. And married to a decent man, it was a very good life. Grace loved her Brett, Olivia was quite sure of that, and she was committed to her cause, so her behaviour was inexplicable. It simply did not make sense, as she admitted to Miss Danvers when she had the chance.

"She is young, Olivia...and her upbringing was unconventional?" Miss Danvers said with a sigh as she tethered her charge to her seat after her morning devotions. Olivia rested her mittened hands in her lap, passively allowing her keeper to settle her. Miss Frobisher had taken the girls upstairs to start their daily lessons, but Grace was still kneeling in the centre of the drawing room, lost in her prayers.