The Weekly Dormouse. (aka Bike, est. 2007) Part 3440 by Angharad Copyright© 2024 Angharad

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This is a work of fiction any mention of real people, places or institutions is purely coincidental and does not imply that they are as suggested in the story.
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I don't think Esmond had ever been to our house, and checked with Tom. Apparently he hadn't, though he knew the address or his secretary did because Tom had a Christmas card every year from him, which is more than I did. Then he wasn't really a friend of mine, rather a professional colleague and acquaintance and of course he was my professor as an undergraduate, so he was to me, at any rate, several levels above me and very much more experienced with playing politics than I was, when he wasn't chasing women. At least that was one thing he wouldn't do to me as he knew my murky past.

Being a woman, I wanted my home to look as neat and tidy as I could make it to visitors. Had it been a woman visitor, I'd have been cleaning for days before they came; women see things that men don't notice. Anyway, I explained to the girls that I had an important visitor coming so would appreciate their help in getting everything shipshape and Bristol fashion. It's a silly saying like many of them are, okay, ships need to be tidy because in rough seas, things can be thrown all over the place, and if it's been safely stowed, there is less likelihood of being hit by shrapnel if it does get rough.

I'm an okay traveller, but I have never sailed in really rough weather so I don't know if I'd retain my breakfast or not, I hope I would but can't be certain; however, unless we have a series of earthquakes, I should be safe at home. You may laugh but the UK has over 500 earth tremors every year. We're in low danger of tectonic plates moving under us as they are quite some distance away, so low danger of volcanic activity as well. So we got on with the housework and the girls really did help with Danni being the greatest help and who chivvied them up when she thought they were slacking.

When we had finished, and David was busy cooking up one of his exquisite meals I went up to shower and Danni did so too, I called her into my bedroom and presented her with a bottle of perfume for her help. She blushed but accepted my gift. Summer had decided to visit and accordingly, I wore a sleeveless sun dress, which came to above the knee and showed a little cleavage as well.

Simon, who'd been working most of the morning admired my taste and told me to cancel lunch and we'd go to bed instead. I responded by telling him that if I went to bed now, my hair was damp and would be all standing up on end. He said he didn't care he still fancied me. I told him that I did, and besides wanted to know what Esmond wanted to tell me. I relayed that he didn't want to talk about it over the phone, so unless his has been tapped, why couldn't he? That was perplexing.

I'd asked Tom if he had any inklings and he said he hadn't but would be pleased to see his old friend again. Esmond's Mercedes drove in and parked in front of the house, he came bearing flowers and presented then to me. I told him David should really get them as he cooked the meal, but I took them before he could offer them to my chef just in case.

The meal was delicious, one of Caradoc's poor lambs was the main attraction but David followed that with a roulade and before we had small pieces of pâté with wafer thin toast and bits of salad garni.

Esmond was greatly impressed with the meal and Simon's choice of wine, which was a Merlot. Before a second bottle was opened I dragged Esmond off to my study and asked Danni to make us some tea.

"Who was that you asked to make the tea?"

"Danni, she's the footballer."

"Pretty girl, lovely figure."

"She is very fit, she trains twice a week and often plays a game as well."

"She an international, isn't she?"

"If ever she realises how good she is, we'll have to get the doors widened." We both smirked at that. Danni brought the tea in and left shutting the door. I handed Esmond a mug of tea, offered him milk and sugar and then asked him what couldn't he tell me over the phone.

"It's about Laura."

"Our loosely connected royal?"

"Yes, a little birdie told me that the TERFs haven't finished with her yet."

"Do they really want to mix it with me again?"

"You didn't make any friends by destroying that church."

"They were preaching such hate, destroying it was an act of God."

"I thought that only applied to lightning strikes, thunderbolts and cyclones, not acts of banking and dare I say it, arson?"

"Well the next time will be."

"What do you mean, next time?"

"Well they rebuild their church and I destroy it again. I'm surprised they got funding for the rebuild."

"I think you don't understand American finances."

"I think that's quite possible, except I think they are probably more corrupt than British ones and they're bad enough."

"Arguably, you are right dear lady, but it seems they have someone to bankroll them and there are some very odd American billionaires, or at least they have very strange ideas and transsexuals are always in open season."

"Strange, look who's running for president against Biden, a convicted felon as well as cheat and liar."

"I take it you are not a fan of Mr Trump?"

"Let's put it like this, if they sentenced him to a firing squad, I'd pay for the bullets'."

"Ooh such violence, I don't know why they call women the gentle sex?"

"It's a statistical fact, that most violence is carried out by heterosexual males."

"Okay, I concede before you send for the firing squad."

"Good call." was all I said. "Now what do we do about Laura. Has anybody told her yet to disappear?"

"I rather thought that was your job, Cathy, she's one of your students after all."

"Don't think you can pass me all your rubbish, Esmond. This is the second time you have done it, remember you did it with Debbie as well."

"I only did it because I knew you'd pull them through and that they were aware of your unique selling point to them."

"Just because I got through it, doesn't mean I have to help everyone else, because things are always going to be different for each individual."

"I appreciate that, Cathy, but you do know the ropes."

"We're all different, what worked for me might not for anyone else."

"I'm well aware of this, but I know that you are one of the most capable protectors I know. "

"That doesn't explain why you dumped another one in my lap, after all Sussex is much bigger than Portsmouth. Or is it you don't want anything to upset the applecart for the knighthood you are expecting one of these days."

"Even I am not that shallow, Cathy."

"No, oh well I apologise."

"If Laura disappears for a while, she could continue her degree online until it's safe for her to re-emerge. Does she have somewhere to go?"

"I think you had better ask her."

"But if you try to hide her again, they'll find her and I'm told a very public humiliation is what is required this time."

"That's what I gave them last time."

"Yes, I don't think they've forgotten."

"Good because if I have to do it twice, they'll regret it. I'll get Diane to ring her tomorrow and ask her to come and see me."

"Can I leave it with you to organise? I'll let you know what my sources convey as soon as I can."

"Why isn't Special Branch involved, I thought they dealt with anything affecting the royals however small it is?"

"Be careful, Cathy, I suspect they are playing for keeps."

"I'll ring Henry and ask about Special Branch."

"Might be a good idea. Right, I have to go; thank you for inviting me to dinner, your chef is something else, isn't he?"

"David is a one-off, but tends to beat most hotels and restaurants."

"He surely does that. Give him my regards, won't you?"

"I think he'll prefer the bonus Simon will give him at the end of the month."

"I expect he will. Must go," he kissed me on the cheek and left.

"What was that about?" asked Simon.

"You know the expression, Turf Wars. I think we've just been notified of a homophone." He stood for a moment working out what I had just said.

"So they want to play dirty, do they?"

"Be careful, darling."

"Oh I shall make a few phone calls and they will cease to exist."

"Who do you think you are, MI6?"

"No, but I do have some friends who are and Sammi has more and Dad knows everyone."

"I'd like to keep Sammi out of it if we can, she is so vulnerable."

"I'll protect her in your absence," he answered. That was what I was afraid of but couldn't say anything.

I left him to go on the warpath while I more discreetly spoke to Henry and waited for his advice but we agreed to try and get Laura away as quickly as we could. I then rang James to warn him that I may need him at short notice. He replied nonchalantly that I was nonpareil, I just laughed and he rang off pretending to sulk.

So tomorrow, we have to get Laura off somewhere like Switzerland and hope the enemy don't hear about it before she goes. Once abroad I suspect she'll have enough of a network of friends to disappear, or her father should. Once established, she can continue her course online and reappear once the danger is past. That's the theory, but they say in theory, theory and practice are the same, in practice, they are different. So I half expect a royal shambles. Oh well, Diane will do her best, she always does and she likes Laura and dislikes the TERFs for giving women a bad name. I loathe them because they think they are superior to us neo-women, why I don't know because most of them don't breed they just spout hatred, adhering to the rubbish that was published by an American radical feminist, who tried to suggest that transgenderism was a ploy by American men to infiltrate the Women's Movement by creating men who resembled women, viz transsexuals.

The theory, like many thought up by loonies, doesn't hold water. I'm sure that many transwomen don't even think about such things, they are too focused on making their body and mind match up in a way that they can live with. So what deluded lesbian feminists are doing probably never enters their minds unless they fall foul of them.

It's all so ridiculous and we should be on the same side because we are both looking to stop violence against women, however they go to that state, and let's face it transwomen are more likely to suffer abuse than bio-women, although they may be slightly older before it begins and after they try to do something to sort themselves out. Some boys are like me, and showed their feminine side before they realised that it puts them in danger from others, it seems a social crime, that feminine boys are seen as pariahs but butch girls are not. Society is sick, it is the majority who have the problem and showing abuse and violence to anyone for just being different is a reprehensible fault in many men and some women. They are in the wrong but they make us targets because they can't understand differences. It's pathetic, but then much of society has a reading age of about 7 and cognitive skills to match as will be demonstrated by Nigel Farage and his hateful supporters, who should receive counselling to deal with their enjoyment of unpleasantness like those supporting Trump, another malignant narcissist psychopath. If he becomes President, then American democracy will fall and the likes of Putin and other dictators will try to run roughshod over the rest of us. For all of our sakes, pray that Trump fails.

I eventually went to bed but didn't sleep much worrying about how life was going to get rather unnecessarily messy because some people hate themselves so much they have to try and spoil it for others. Oh boy.