Vivienne’s return to London from Paris was rather strange. It was strange in that she actually felt rather naked without the corset wrapped tightly around her body. Even after just a few days, it had started to be part of her. Then there were the brand new two suitcases that held all her purchases. If her daughters could see inside, then they’d probably keel over on the spot. She had spent quite a lot of money but Vivienne had plenty and it wasn’t as if she’d be going shopping in Paris every day or London for much longer.

With a Coffee and a Croissant in front of her, she watched the French countryside flash by with some regret. She had loved being in Paris with Gabrielle. For something that had been done on the spur of the moment, it had been wonderful. To spend the time with Jacques's daughter had been a delight and despite Vivienne's eccentricities, Gabrielle had played the perfect host and guide. Vivienne resolved to return the favour when she next came to visit.

---

Once back home, Vivienne was determined not to let the trip just be a flash in the pan. She went through her already depleted wardrobe and thinned it even further. The Clothing Recycle bin at the Recycling Centre was going to get a lot more donations within a few days.

Vivienne had promised Gabrielle that she would carry on wearing the corset. At first, she got frustrated when lacing it up. Gabrielle had helped her out but now it was down to her and her alone to get it right. After a couple of aborted efforts, it began to feel part of her again. She also wore stockings every day even under her leggings that were just more practical for sorting out the things she really could not do without. Most of her clothing that was in the back room ended up at the recycling centre. She had to keep reminding herself that she had a car full of things down in Devon.

Her solicitor gave her updates on the progress of the sale. The first week in July was the date that both sides had agreed too for the completion of the sale. All the monies for the purchase were sitting in the solicitor's escrow account. That was perfect for her but she hoped that Jacques would be back from Reunion in time.

This end date spurred Vivienne onto completing her own remodelling. She visited Maxine and Bea for a set of lashes and nails. She knew that the nails would not last long but it was a new experience for her to have extensions to her fingers.

Over dinner that night at Maxine’s, Vivienne recounted the trip to Paris.

“What is there left to do?” asked Maxine.
“You look fantastic and… well, I can’t think of much left.”

Vivienne looked down at the table before asking,
“I know this is a bit rude, but did you have implants? My Corsetiere suggested that I could to with a little more ‘top line’ if you get my meaning?”

Maxine laughed.
“My dear Vivienne, are you asking for a recommendation?”

She nodded her head.

“I had mine done in London so right on your doorstep.”

“Only if they can fit me in by early July. That’s when the sale of my house completes.”

“Then we shall give them a call first thing in the morning.”

Vivienne remained quiet for a bit.

“Is there something else?”

“Yes. But I’m mad so…”

“We are all a bit mad. It is what helps keep us sane.”

Vivienne picked up her phone and showed her a picture that she'd taken when Gabrielle and she had gone to the Tuileries Gardens one afternoon.

“Oh. I get you.”

“Can you help? Being a woman of the world so to speak?”

Maxine laughed.
“I’m hardly that but I think I might know someone who can help.”

“I did some research and found these,”
Vivienne showed Maxine a website.

“Oh! That is an interesting site.”

“I ordered this one.”

Maxine sat back and looked at Vivienne.

"When we first met, you were a little girl lost. Now, look at you. Am I to blame for this conversion?"

“You are most certainly not to blame,” said a grinning Vivienne
"Well, possibly just a bit. There has always been a person inside me waiting to come out. I repressed her for far too long. Meeting you and then Jacques and then Gabrielle has allowed ‘my little demon’ to escape and I want to enjoy it for as long as I can. Is this so wrong?”

“Far from it Vivienne. What does Jacques say to all this?”

“As far as I know, he knows nothing. Gabrielle told me yesterday that he's due back from Reunion at the end of next week.”

“The clock is ticking then?”

“It is.”

---

“They can fit you in for a consultation at five this afternoon,” said Maxine the next morning.

“Thanks,” replied Vivienne slightly nervously.

“Do you want me to come with you for moral support?”

“If you are not too busy. I know that you have all sorts of work to do.”

"That's one perk of being the boss. There is nothing that can't wait until tomorrow. Unless of course, it is time for a VAT payment but as it isn't then I'm good. Besides, I want to see this house of yours before you leave. Why don't we go up to town, have lunch, see your home and then go to the clinic?"

“Ok then. That’s a deal. There is one thing that you could do before we go?”

“Anything that isn’t illegal. What do you want me to do?”

"Can you tighten my laces? I mean tight.”

“This is going to be fun!” smirked Maxine.

---

“Mr Johannsen will see you now,” said the receptionist.

“Thanks,” said Vivienne as she got up.
She cursed Maxine for going too far with her tightening as standing up was a bit of a problem but it seemed to be getting easier as her body adjusted to the enhanced restrictions.

After the examination, the surgeon said,
“Are you going to continue wearing a corset after the operation?”

“That is my intention. I will be getting a more substantial one in a month or so. I want to have it as a half cup hence my wanting an increase before then.”

“You have clearly given this some thought,” said Mr Johannsen.

“I have.”

“I can take you from your current A/B to a B/C without them being too big or out of kilter with your body shape. Is that the sort of thing that you had in mind?”

“Yes. That’s it.”

"I have to say, Ms Carter, considering your age, you have very little sag.”

Vivienne felt a little hurt by his comment. He noticed a change in her body language.

"That is a good thing, Ms Carter. You have obviously been giving them all the support they need. Far too many women don't which is a shame and will only get worse once they have an enhanced bust."

“If I was to stop wearing a bra altogether?”

“Not really a good idea in the long term. However, if you have sufficient support from your corset then I do not see a problem for a good few years.”

“Thanks. When can it be done?”

“Is there some reason for the rush?”

“I’m selling my home in London and moving to Devon. I’d like to get it done before I move away.”

“I understand. Please wait a minute while I see what availability we have.”

The next two minutes seemed to drag by. He returned with a smile on his face.

“How about next Monday. Bright and early. If you are here by 08:00 then we can do the operation and if all is well post-op, you can go home late the next day.”

“That sounds good.”

“Naturally, no food or drink for 12 hours before you come in.”

“I understand.”

“Good. Then my secretary can book you in and I’ll see you next Monday.”

Vivienne left the clinic feeling a lot happier inside.

“It looks like you are going to get it all sorted before Jacques returns home,” said Maxine when Vivienne had told her the good news.

“That is the hope.”

“I think it is time for me to see this house that you are selling. Then I’ll treat you to lunch,” said Maxine.

---

[the following Monday]

“How many fingers am I holding up?” asked the nurse.

Vivienne opened her eyes. She felt so tired and her chest hurt.

“Two.”

“Good. Mr Johannsen said to tell you that everything went perfectly and that you can go home tomorrow provided that there are no complications in the night.”

Vivienne sagged back into the bed and closed her eyes.

“You have a visitor,” said the nurse sometime later.

“Tell them to go away. Come back next year.”

The nurse laughed.

“I’ll send them in.”

Vivienne drifted off to sleep before the visitor arrived.

When she came around again, she could tell that something was wrong. Someone was holding her hand.

Wearily, she opened her eyes and saw Jacques.

“Hello sleepy,” he said softly.

“What?”
She closed her eyes again desperately trying not to show how angry she felt at not being ready for him for his return.

“I flew in a few hours ago. I tried calling you but your phone went straight to voicemail. Then I spoke with Maxine and she told me that you were here.”

“But Gabrielle said that you were not coming back yet?” mumbled Vivienne.

“I know but my Mother sensed that I had something on my mind. Eventually, she prized it from me and… Well, it does not matter. I’m here now.”

He leaned over and gently kissed her on the lips.
She turned her face away. Her eyes were tightly closed.

“You didn’t have to do all this for me,” he said softly.

“It isn’t just for you. It is for me. Didn’t Gabrielle or Maxine tell you about ‘my little demon’?”

Jacques laughed.

“Maxine did and I love it. It reminds me of an old Fleetwood Mac song, ‘My little demon’.”

“You are just saying that. I’m just some mad, crazy old hag trying to turn the clock back. I’ve been so stupid.”

"I will hear none of that defeatist claptrap from you, my girl. You are not that sort of person."

“It is easy for you to say that.”

“It isn’t easy. Far from it.”
“Just you rest and I’ll be here to take you home tomorrow afternoon.”

Jacques kissed her again and quietly left Vivienne alone.
He didn’t see the tears that she shed later.

---

A new day dawned and Vivienne was feeling a lot better. She knew that she’d said some horrible things to Jacques but it was all a bit foggy. Mr Johannsen had told her that it was the effects of the anaesthetic and she should not worry about it.

Vivienne said nothing but really hoped that she had not embarrassed herself too much.

Jacques appeared just after lunch to collect Vivienne. He’d arranged for a car to take them to her home in North London. Vivienne was strangely quiet until they got to her home.

Waiting for them was a package. Vivienne nearly tripped over it as they entered the house. She’d forgotten about it and at that moment, wished that it would disappear in a puff of smoke.

Jacques made them some lunch. Vivienne had not really eaten anything for 36 hours but felt guilty about eating without her corset wrapped around her waist.

“I’m not that hungry,” she pleaded.
“Nonsense. You need to eat to get better.”

“It isn’t as if I have been ill now is it?”

“It does not matter. Eat!” commanded Jacques.
“And if you are thinking about your corset then the doctor said not to wear it until Friday.”

Vivienne wanted to fight him but knew deep down that he was just trying to help her.

“Gabrielle told me that you bought up half of Paris. I have to say that your tastes have expanded a lot since we first met.”

Vivienne shuddered. She was wondering what else Gabrielle had said.
Jacques noticed this.

“She didn’t tell me any of those deepest secrets that women share with each other if that is what you are thinking about…”

Vivienne had her doubts.

Without waiting for her, he opened the package that had arrived during her absence.

“This looks interesting,” said Jacques as he looked at the presentation case.

“Oh!” he exclaimed as he opened it and saw the contents.

“It is nothing,” said Vivienne.

“This is not nothing.”

Vivienne sighed.
“I was going to have it inscribed. Something like, ‘Je me donne à vous Jacques. Je suis à vous d'aimer et de jouer avec’.”

Jacques laughed.

“Sorry. The translation isn’t quite right but I understand the sentiment. Then what?”

“I had this mad dream that you would put it on me.”

“Like a wedding ring?”

Vivienne nodded her head.
“But it was a crazy dream.”

“Sometimes, dreams can come true.”

"But that wasn't all. Is there anything else in the package?"

Jacques looked and found a small velvet bag. He emptied the contents into the palm of his hand and smiled.

“My dear Vivienne, you have a side to you that I never dreamed possible.”

“You don’t mind?”

Jacques grinned and kissed her on the forehead.

“Not at all. I am interested to see where it might lead.”

“Are you sure? Sure, that you want to be associated with this crazy old bitch?”

“Crazy? Absolument. Old? So what. Bitch? Hardly.”

“Bollocks Jacques.”

Jacques decided to change the subject a bit.
“I spent an hour on the phone with Gabrielle last night. I hope you don’t mind, I sort of borrowed your phone from you when you were in the clinic. In the end, she told me what else you bought during your shopping spree with her. She was very reluctant to tell me but, in the end, she did and we both had a good laugh.”

“That’s great laughing at my expense.”

“No, my darling, not at your expense but rather at if you pardon the expression, the balls you had to waltz into a corset shop and then to buy those boots and I do look forward to you modelling them for me down in Devon and the total madness in buying all the shops stock of stockings. You really impressed Gabrielle and I know from past experiences that she isn't easily impressed what with her involved with Paris Fashion Week and everything."

“She also said for you to tell me about the underwear?”

“In another fit of total madness, I told her that I was done wearing it. When I came back from Paris I was as they say, ‘going commando’.”

“What else did she tell you?”

“There wasn’t a lot which means that she kept at least some of your secrets. Her words were, ‘for you to tell me and me to find out,’ whatever that means.”

“There is enough time for you to heal and for us to go down to Devon before your sale goes through.”

“What about your place and the farmers market? Haven’t you been away for too long already?”

“That’s exactly what Gabrielle said you’d say, either that or ‘I don’t want to be any trouble’.”

“Well?”

“You are probably right. I can’t impose on Sylvia for much longer.”

“Then go. I’ll be all right here. I promise.”

Jacques didn’t reply right away.

“Are you sure about this?”

"Yes, I am.”

He clearly didn’t want to go.

“There is one thing that you can do for me before you go?”

“Anything my dear. What is it?”

“Lace me into my corset. If I am going to wear one all the time then it will be good practice for you.”

“But the Doctor?”

“Hang the Doctor. I feel naked without it ok!”
Jacques laughed.
"Anything you say, Mistress!"

With Vivienne all nicely laced up, he took his leave but not before giving Vivienne a long passionate kiss.

---

Vivienne could not wait for her stitches to be removed. Ten days was an age to wait but the day arrived.

It ended up a bit of an anti-climax. Mr Johannsen was very pleased with the results of the operation.
“They will be sore for a few weeks yet so go carefully.”

"Thanks, Mr Johannsen."

“Please wear a sports bra for the next few weeks. Then you can go back to normal.”

Vivienne was about to say that would be not a problem but she thought better of it.

After leaving the Clinic, she headed straight down to Soho and an appointment she had to get her nipples pierced.

As she approached the shop, she recalled the determination that she'd had when she walked right into the Corset shop. She did exactly the same with this shop. No hesitation. She knew that if she had hesitated then she would not have done it.

Twenty-five minutes later she emerged with the deed done. She had with her a very strong set of instructions about how to care for them for the next four to six weeks.

The warnings about infection had made Vivienne very cautious about going too far too soon so she kept them clean almost to the point of them becoming sterile themselves.

On the other hand, she took a load of old financial papers into the garden one evening and burnt them. When the fire was well alight, she took every pair of knickers that she owned and ceremoniously burned them. All but one of her Bra’s followed. She’d found walking around wearing just a loose skirt with absolutely nothing underneath strangely liberating.

As she watched them burn she toasted the death of another part of her past. Then she drank another glass of an excellent Chiraz as she wondered what her daughters would make of her burning her knickers. Like Queen Victoria, they would not be amused.

The absence of her daughters was a bit worrying. Then she realised that as her car was still in Devon, they probably thought that she was still away. “Long may that remain!” she said to herself on more than one occasion.

---

Now that Jacques was back she was itching to get down to Devon if only to collect her car. She regretted not going to fetch it before she’d had her operation. After a bit of thought, she found that there was a window of opportunity before the men came to clear her house to rectify the problem of no car.

Deciding to go was a real no-brainer for Vivienne. Her only regret was that she could not let Jacques know that she was coming. His lack of a phone was going to have to be sorted out sooner rather than later.

After packing a small case, Vivienne simply walked to the nearest bus stop and headed for Devon by train.

Four and a half hours later a Taxi dropped her off at the bottom of the track that led up to Jacques’s Smallholding.

As she walked up the hill, she remembered what had happened the last time she'd arrived at that very place. Since then she'd been to Paris, had her breasts done and… lots more besides. She was systematically destroying the little world that she'd built around herself over the years. It was more than a little world. It was more like a protective shield.

When she reached the top of the hill, she saw her car for the first time in a while. It was sitting right next to the Land Rover. To her relief, a thin wispy plume of smoke rose from the chimney of the cottage. Jacques was at home.

When she walked towards the cottage, she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. Jacques was working on the waterwheel.

Vivienne put down her bag and almost ran towards him. Several times she nearly broke into a run but just stopped herself.
“Play it cool woman!” she kept repeating to herself.

As she got close, she said,
“Need a hand?”

Jacques nearly jumped out of his skin. Then he saw her and a smile broke out on his face.

“I was wondering if I should start charging parking fees for your car?”

Vivienne stopped dead in her track. Then she saw the smirk on his face.

"Oh, you!"

That’s as far as she got. Their embrace lasted several minutes.

Vivienne stayed two nights with Jacques. She didn't want to leave but there some matters that needed her attention in London.

“I’ll be back as soon as my house is clear. All that will be left are the things I want to bring here.”

“When you come back, I’ll have a little surprise for you.”

“I like surprises. Want to give me a little hint?”

He answered her with a long kiss and sent her on her way. Vivienne had decided to leave her car in Devon. Jacques just smiled.
“Not having a car in my drive seems to keep my daughters from visiting just to give me hell. I can take a taxi or a bus if I need to go somewhere.”

Jacques didn’t seem convinced but let her have her way.

As her train left Totnes Station on its journey to London, he stood watching her with a huge smile on his face.

---

Vivienne’s solicitor gave her regular updates on the progress of the sale. The one downside was that every time she called, Vivienne had a virtual heart-attack as she feared that the process had broken down and she’d have to put the house up for sale again. Her fears were groundless but were there all the same.

She spent a lot of time breaking in all her new shoes and boots. Going downstairs in 5in heels proved a bit of a problem at first but Vivienne put her mind to it and soon got the hang of it.

On one fine day, Vivienne decided to wear one of the pairs of boots for a trip to the shops. She found a long skirt that hid the fact that they were really thigh high. After preening herself in the mirror, she headed out of the house intending to take the bus to the shops in Hampstead Village.

Vivienne had just come out of one shop when she nearly ran into one of the two people in the world she did not want to see, her daughter Janice.

“Mum? What are you doing here?”

"I could exactly say the same about you? This is hardly Victoria Street is it?"

“I’m going to the Dentist. What about you?”

“Just doing a bit of shopping as you can see,” said Vivienne holding up her shopping bag.

“Mum?”

“Yes?”

“What have you done?”

Janice was pointing at Vivienne’s nipples. Vivienne had somehow forgotten to put on her sports bra that morning.

“I had them pierced. So? Didn’t you have your tongue pierced before you were old enough?”

“How could you at your age?”

“My age? I’m not in my grave. Not for a long time if I have anything to say about it.”

“What are you wearing on your feet?”

Vivienne pulled up her skirt a bit to reveal a pair of black leather boots.

“These? I got them in Paris the other week. Do you like them?”

“Mum! Do you know how bad they are for your feet?”

“I do. Cool eh?”

Before Janice could ask another question, Vivienne said,
“The sale of my home will be completed in less than two weeks. I will be glad to get away from the pair of you. I didn't raise you to be so about 'me', 'me', 'me'. Just stop trying to organise my life ok. I've very happy with my life right now. Oh, and don't try to find me, I'm going to live totally off-grid. No phone, no internet, no nothing. You should try it sometime. It is very liberating."

“But Mum! We are only trying to look out for you in your old age.”

“I am not about to start pushing up the daisies just yet my dear. Not by a long chalk so just leave me be ok? I am enjoying my retirement and I’m not going to sit down and wait for the grim reaper. I am starting a totally new and different phase of my life outside London.”

Vivienne started to turn away but turned back to face her daughter.
“I’ve also stopped wearing any underwear so put that in Suzanne’s five quid vegan coffee and drink it.”

Vivienne then had to run to catch her bus. Despite the boots, she made it. She sat down with a huge grin on her face. She was imagining the phone call that Janice was making to Suzanne at that very moment.

By the time Vivienne got off the bus, she had a plan to thwart their next move.

That plan had been staring her in the face for days.
She was going down to Devon right away.

Once she was back home, she booked a mini-cab to take her to Paddington. Then she packed two cases with some essentials including the new makeup case that she’d bought in Paris.

The mini-cab arrived right on time. Vivienne climbed in the back and strapped herself in.

“Paddington, right?” asked the driver.

“That’s it.”

They’d only gone a few hundred metres when Vivienne spotted Janice’s SUV turning into her street. Vivienne ducked down out of sight. The driver started to slow down fearing that something was wrong.

“Keep going. That is my daughter’s car and I don’t want her to see me. She is a right pain in the ass if you get my meaning.”

“You’re the boss lady,” said the cabbie with a big smile on his face.

---

Vivienne arrived at the station full of hope. She looked at the departure board and saw that a Plymouth train was just about to leave from Platform 2. She saw that the next one was in half an hour.

Vivienne relaxed. That extra time would give her a chance to buy a ticket and grab something to eat for the journey.

Her phone buzzed again. It hadn't really stopped ringing since about five minutes after she'd met Janice. It seemed that one or the other of her daughters was taking it in turns to try to speak to her.

She put the phone in ‘flight mode’ and shoved it to the deepest recess of her handbag. As she did so, she muttered, ‘They can wait. I have more important things that need my attention at the moment.’

Twenty minutes later, Vivienne settled herself into a comfortable First-Class seat and started to take stock of her situation.

As the train was gliding out of the statin Vivienne suddenly had a moment of panic as she remembered that the house clearers were due the next day.

After extracting her phone and enabling it again, she started to make some phone calls.
By the time the train passed through Slough, it was all done and she could relax again. The house clearers would get the key from the estate agents for their work. She’d made it clear to the boss of the clearing company, Andrew Stavros that he was to make it abundantly clear to his team that anything going missing from the items she had put aside would mean that he would not get paid.

By the time the train pulled away from Reading Station, she knew what she had to do about her daughters.

Vivienne dug out her phone once more and disabled flight mode. Twenty-six missed calls her phone was saying. Then another text showing that there were ten messages on voicemail. She ignored all of them and composed a text to her Lawyer, Verity May.

“Verity, my offspring are on the warpath again. I'm sure that they'll be around to see you very soon. You know what to do. I've left town for a few days. I'll be back on Monday to clear the last of my stuff from the house. I'll see you for lunch for it is ok? Vivienne."

She pressed ‘Send’ and waited.

A few minutes later, the phone beeped again. At first, she thought that it was yet another message telling her about a missed call. Then she saw that it was from Verity.

"Understood. Enjoy the Country. Lunch? Camden Lock? You know where… at 1 pm. Verity."

Vivienne replied.
“Gotcha. See you then.”

This time, Vivienne switched her phone right off. She made a mental note to get a new SIM card ASAP. She also made a note to get a phone for Jacques at the same time.

---

The train arrived in Totnes right on time. Vivienne soon climbed into a Taxi to take her to where Jacques lived. Would he accept her just turning up out of the blue and wanting to stay? This might very well be crunch time for her and Jacques.

The Taxi driver decided that the track up to Jacques place was too narrow and laden with pot-holes for him. Vivienne didn’t really disagree with that so she paid him off at the bottom of the lane.

Then she started to walk up the lane carrying one suitcase and dragging a wheeled bag behind her.

To her eternal relief, she saw some smoke rising from the chimney of the cottage. That told her that Jacques must be at home or close by. This raised her spirits no end.

She reached the top of the track and her car was exactly where she’d left it. Jacques’s Land Rover was parked next to it. She could not see him working in his Poly-tunnel so she walked down to the Cottage.

“Jacques! Are you here?” she called out.

There was no response.

She tried again.

“Jacques! It is me Vivienne!”

Still no response.

She walked into the kitchen of the Cottage. The door was wide open so she knew that he could not be that far away. She felt the Kettle that was on the edge of the wood-fired stove. It was warm. The mystery deepened.

Vivienne went back outside and called again,
“Jacques? Where are you?”

There was still no answer.
It was too much for Vivienne. She sat down on the chair that Jacques had made himself and began to cry.
The bravado that she'd displayed for the past week had finally caught up on her.

[to be continued]