Midnight Ch. 09

"Eh?"

Philippa sighed, "She doesn't think we can be trusted to choose our own partners. She wants us to pick from the stable of eligibles that she selected. Who happen to be the horse­faced offspring of her social circle."

I was gobsmacked, "What century is she living in?"

Nathan laughed, "I know! She can't get it into her head that I need someone with a brain and not one of the clueless elite she keeps trying to foist on me."

Philippa chimed in, "And her thick skull doesn't understand that I have absolutely no intention of settling down... At least not yet. I'm having too much fun. Besides, if and when I do, I will certainly not let her decide for me!"

"I see."

Nathan stretched out and crossed his legs at the ankle. He stared into space briefly and then said, "Actually, that's what the Ball is all about."

"Ball?" I asked.

Philippa said, "Yep! Next Saturday, she's hosting one her formal do's. It's supposed to be a Hunt Ball, but it'll be more like a meat market of people to be introduced to Nathan and me."

I frowned, "Really? But she already knows Nathan's with me."

Nathan squeezed my hand, "Yes... I am."

Something occurred to Philippa, "Manni, do you have a ball gown?"

"Well I bought a cocktail dress with me."

She shook her head, "Oh no no, no, that simply won't do. We need to get you sorted out. Tell you what, you and I can go into London on Monday to find you something nice, and I know just the place to get it."

Nathan laughed, "Okay. What's this going to cost me?"

Before Philippa could respond, I interjected, "Oh no! I can buy my own dress."

Philippa giggled, "Sorry Manni, but in this case no you can't. We're getting you a posh frock and Nathan's paying for it," she looked at him, "Budget?"

He shrugged, "How would I know? Two?"

"Pfft! Five!"

"Okay."

I was shocked, "No! I couldn't ask you to fork out £500 for one dress. And anyway, I'll buy it, I've been saving."

Philippa replied as gently as she could, "Manni, I didn't mean five hundred... I meant five thousand."

My jaw fell open, "Oh God! No, I couldn't possibly allow that," scandalised, I turned to Nathan, "I refuse to let you spend that much on one fucking dress!"

Nathan said, "Midnight, how can I put this? Look... it's going to be a big bash and the people who are going will be dressed to the nines. Ball gowns, formal suits, the works. I'm escorting you, and I point blank refuse to allow you to attend in anything less, than the best I can give you."

"But still, £5,000! That's ridiculous! It's more than you paid for Mofo!"

"Mofo?" asked Philippa.

"My car. I can't wear a dress that costs more than my fucking car!"

Nathan put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me to him, "Do you remember what you said at the end of our conversation about your one­off clothing allowance when we first met?"

I had to think for a moment and then replied with a wry grin, "I said 'I'm not going to win this one, am I?'" I sagged slightly, "Okay I suppose. But I'm really no happy about this. You've already spent a fortune on me. It's too much."

He grinned, "Midnight, I earn more than enough for my needs. And maybe I want to spend my money on you. Did you ever think of that?"

"I just... I just don't want you thinking I'm only after your money. Because I'm not. I earn my keep!"

Nathan was about to speak, but Philippa coughed meaningfully to get our attention and then said, "Nathan, why don't you head off and give us a minute."

He glanced at his watch, "Actually, it is getting on. We're in the red suite, Midnight. Do you know where that is?"

Philippa waved him away, "I'll show her, now go on, bugger off!"

Nathan grinned as he kissed me and then headed towards the hallway door, "Okay. Night, Lippy. Don't let her keep you up too late, Midnight."

Once we were alone, Philippa helped herself to a whisky and soda from a drinks cabinet in the corner, I just had a lemonade. Then she settled back into her armchair and gazed at me thoughtfully before she spoke, "You're very special Manni. Did you know that?"

"Me? No, I'm just a normal person. There's nothing special about me."

The corner of her mouth curled up into an instantly recognisable half smile, "Don't you believe it. There's a few things you need to know, that I suspect Nathan hasn't mentioned."

I frowned, "Like what?"

"I don't know if you know, but Nathan earns an absolute fortune doing what he does. And we both get a healthy allowance from Mum. He's a man with a simple lifestyle... You may have noticed."

I couldn't help laughing, "It hadn't escaped me. I think his only extravagance is his car... And me," I frowned slightly, "If I'm honest, it makes me a bit uncomfortable actually. I want to earn my pay and pay my way. I don't like handouts."

Philippa pouted with her lower lip and blew her fringe away from her eyes, "Like I said. Special. Look, Nathan has had several girlfriends in his time, obviously. But only a few of them ever got brought to meet Mum. And none of them ever returned for a second visit. As you've found out, Mum can be... difficult."

"You fucking said it!"

She ignored me and carried on, "Of all of them, you are the only one who tried to refuse to allow him to spend his money on them. The only one! You are the only one that I know of that can even attempt to keep up intellectually. He's a super genius. He got the brains," she thrust out her chest with a giggle, "And I got the fantastic bod."

"Well, yeah but­"

"There are no 'buts'. He keeps in semi regular contact with me via email and I keep Mum up to date on what's going on in his life."

Ah, I thought, that explains how they know about me.

She fixed her gaze on me and said, "And since he met you, you are the single most popular topic of conversation in his emails, even over that dinosaur thingy you found. That has never happened before. He loves you Manni. He loves you like I didn't think he was able. I was always the emotional one. In fact, at one time I thought he was Autistic, he could be so unemotional. And he's never really cared about money, regardless of the fact that he's rolling in it. So if he decides to spend it on you, don't analyse it, don't feel guilty about it. Just accept it as something he wants to do," she grinned again, "Besides, knowing him, it's probably the only way he has of letting you know he loves you. He's not the most romantic man in the world."

I couldn't suppress smile of my own, "Don't you believe it!"

Philippa immediately placed fingers in both ears and chanted, "La la la la, I'm not listening, please don't tell me, I don't wanna know!"

I laughed again and then grew more serious, "Still... It's a lot of money for one dress."

She took a sip of her drink, "Not for Nathan it isn't. He wants you at the do with him and he wants you to look like the Belle of the Ball. Not for him, but because he thinks you're worth it and because you deserve it," once again her eyes met mine, "And from what he's told me and what I've seen for myself... I do too."

"Oh stop it!"

The conversation then drifted on to other things, eventually I asked , "Why did he call you Lippy?"

Philippa laughed, "It's short for Philippa, but it's also what he calls me when he thinks I have too much to say... Which is mostly. Okay, why does he call you Midnight? I know that nobody else is allowed."

I thought hard about explaining. After all it was deeply personal to me, but then decided that I would share it. So I went over the translation of my name and how it had been used as a basis for racist humour, until that fateful night when Nathan first used it, how he meant it... And why I liked it so much when he did.

She smiled, "I can see how it would be special to you. I like it too. Don't worry though, you're still Manni to me."

Not long after that, we called it a night. She directed me to the red room where I found Nathan asleep in bed. His iPad was face down on his chest and I saw that he'd been reading an article titled 'Microraptor Zhaoianus Discovery Strengthens the Dinosaur-Bird Connection Theory'. I placed the iPad on his bedside table, undressed and slid into bed next to him, being careful not to wake him up. Then I too, promptly fell asleep.

At some point in the night, I started having a rather sexy dream and drifted into wakefulness. The room was dark and silent, and I could feel a hand gently stroking my tingling, wet pussy. I smiled, "Are you awake?"

"Might be."

I reached for him, "Good."

I had to bite a pillow quite hard that night, after all, I didn't want to give wake Hattie and give her yet another reason to hate me.

The next morning, I woke up in a good mood. The night time activity and a good sleep had completely swept away the tension from yesterday. A short while later found us all at breakfast.

We could have a full English cooked to order by Mrs Jenkins, but as there were no bagels in the house, I just had some cereal. Philippa was her usual chatty self and Nathan was half in the room and half buried in some technical text or other as he ate. Hattie had the Times Business Section next to her plate and was also less than conversational.

Eventually, she remembered there were other people in the room and asked, "So what's everyone's plan for the day?"

Nathan said, "I've got some reading to catch up on," he smiled at me, "It's good to be able to relax with some light reading for once."

After a quick glance at the article he was perusing entitled, 'Characteristics and Behaviors of Pterosaurs' I agreed, "Yes. Light reading."

He grinned and returned to his article.

I said, "I don't have any plans for today. I don't know what there is to do around here."

Hattie had returned her attention to her newspaper before I was halfway through my answer. I saw Philippa give her a hard stare before she said, "I think I'll give Manni a tour of the house and later we can pop into the High Wycombe for some window shopping. We might get some ideas for her ball gown."

Hattie's ears pricked up at this point, "Ball gown? Whatever for?"

Philippa rolled her eyes, "So she's not dancing naked at the ball. Obviously!"

Hattie's eyes narrowed as she glared at me, "She won't be attending. The ball is for family and friends, not the staff."

I was mortified and could only look down at my half eaten breakfast. Yet again this hateful woman had ruined my good mood.

Nathan looked at his mother in shock, "Manni isn't staff, she's my partner."

"That's as may be, Dear. But I really don't think its suitable for you to­"

"Mum!" barked Nathan, "I'm not putting up with this. I'm escorting Midnight to the Ball or I'm not bloody going either!"

"Nathan, really! If you think­"

"Mum, I mean it. I don't understand why you're being like this. Midnight hasn't done anything to you and you're being a complete bitch!"

"NATHAN SMETHWICK, HOW DARE YOU!"

He tapped the edge of his hand against his forehead, "Because I've had it up to here! Every time I've brought someone back it's been the same thing. Every. Single. Time. Why do you think I visit so rarely? Because of the way you insist on acting. But this time is different, at least it is for me. Midnight is very special to me and I won't have you treating her like this."

She tried a different tack, "Nathan, you must understand. Your lady friend wouldn't really be at home. She'd clearly be out of her depth."

Nathan was exasperated, "Jesus! You really don't know how to stop, do you? Midnight isn't my 'lady friend', she's my partner! And I'll tell you one last time, if she doesn't go then I don't go!"

Philippa snapped, "Nor me!"

Hattie began, "If you insist that she goes, then I won't­"

Nathan snapped, "If that sentence ends in any kind of ultimatum, then be aware that you will not like the decision I make!"

You could have cut the atmosphere with a knife as Nathan and his mother glared at each other. I was just pleased I wasn't between them as I would have been sliced in two, having just discovered from where Nathan had inherited his diamond drill stare.

Can you spell 'long uncomfortable silence'?

Eventually, Hattie stood up and gathered up her paper. She glared at me and hissed, "Fine! Bring your secretary. It's a fine thing when I can't even decide who gets invited to my own function! I'll be in my office, I'm very busy today."

Then without another word, she turned on her heel and marched away to her office. Thankfully we didn't see her again until dinner time.

After she had left, I sagged down in my chair and said dejectedly, "I don't want this. I don't want to cause any trouble. Maybe it's best I don't go to the party."

"Rubbish!" shrieked Philippa.

"Yes," Nathan agreed, "I'm sorry she's being such a bitch to you Midnight, but she has to learn. She will not be allowed to pick my partners for me!" He reached over, took my hand and kissed it, "You're not causing trouble, she is. You are a big part of my life and she is just going to have to accept it."

I couldn't help smiling and planted a sloppy kiss right on his lips, "I love you so much."

Philippa made a gagging noise and cried, "Get a room!"

The tension melted from the room and we all breathed a little easier. I've gotta say, I've had more relaxing holidays!

After we had finished breakfast, Nathan flopped down into an armchair and lost himself in his reading whilst Philippa gave me the grand tour.

She showed me the games room that had a full sized snooker table and a couple of card tables by the wall, it even had a bar at the far end and there were easy chairs dotted around the place. I got a viewing of all the bedrooms except the master suite. I must admit my favourite was the Chinese room that Philippa was in. Back on the ground floor, she led me past a formal drawing room that was straight out of the 18th century and a huge dining room with a dining suite that seat twenty people. The corridor led off to Hattie's offices, which Philippa decided would be best avoided, leaving only the kitchen. Philippa said, "Right, we're normally not allowed in here, but as long as you remember to touch absolutely nothing, we should survive."

Philippa led me into the kitchen. Mr Jenkins was sat at a small dining table in his shirtsleeves, reading a paper as he enjoyed a mug of tea. Mrs Jenkins was stood at a chopping board preparing vegetables. She stopped working and looked at us suspiciously when she heard the door creak open.

Mr Jenkins jumped up and asked, "Can I help you, Miss?"

Philippa smiled, "It's fine Mr Jenkins. I'm just giving Manni the grand tour," she grinned at Mrs Jenkins, "We promise to keep our fingers to ourselves."

Mrs Jenkins shrugged and returned to her work. As Philippa led me through the large farmhouse style kitchen, I could feel the eyes in the back of Mrs Jenkins' head following us around the room.

Out of the back door and into the safe zone, Philippa then showed me the path that led through some trees to three cottages. One was the residence of Mr and Mrs Jenkins, the next was where Georgie and her boyfriend lived and the last was empty. It was reserved for a gardner, the last one having just retired and now living with his son in Welwyn Garden City. Hattie was still waiting for a suitable replacement.

She showed off the heated outdoor swimming pool, pool house and excercise room. The rowing machine, static cycle and the parabolic could go and get collectively fucked as far as I was concerned. However, I decided there and then that I'd be buying a swimming cozzie that very afternoon. It seemed to me that having you own pool was the height of decadence and it would be a crime not to use it. Just a shame though that I'd have to stick to the shallow end, due to never having learned to swim.

Philippa though that was hilarious and vowed to teach me by the end of the week.

"Besides," she said, "Nathan is bound to want to take you scuba diving at some point."

"What?"

"Didn't you know? He loves it. Doesn't get away often enough, but he loves the diving in Jamaica."

I was gobsmacked! I must admit that the thought of going scuba diving sounded fantastic, so I was determined to at least learn to not drown by Friday.

The afternoon was spent wandering around the shops in High Wycombe. I saw some lovely frocks and actually did get an idea of what my ball gown should look like. We also tried on many shoes... Well we're women, of course we did!

We had coffee and cakes in little corner tea house, and I bought a rather nice swimsuit in Baywatch red.

After a lovely time in town, we returned to Radleigh just in time for dinner... And the good mood went right out the window.

As we sat down to eat, Hattie returned and was in just as bad a mood then she had been this morning. Philippa and I regaled ­ a clearly uninterested ­ Nathan with the details of our afternoon whilst he demonstrated a desire to instruct us on the finer points of testing soil samples for biological matter.

Every so often though, Hattie would make a comment, sometimes interested in the topic of conversation, but more often some sort of barb aimed at me. All three of us did our best to ignore them, but they became less and less veiled as the conversation continued.

Actually it became so bad Nathan finally snapped completely. It all came to a head when we were discussing my education plans of all things.

I smiled at Nathan, "You've already been too generous. I want to pay for my own degree courses and tuition fees. I have savings and my wages... I was thinking of a student loan as well."

Nathan replied, "Midnight, there's no need for that. I want to help you with it."

Hattie gave me a coldly calculating look and said snidely, "Oh, well played."

Nathan slammed his hand on the table and shouted, "ENOUGH! I didn't bring Midnight here so you could use her as a fucking punch bag."

Hattie looked daggers at him, "I think you have a nerve shouting at me like that in my own house! How dare you? First you bring the help," she glared at me before returning her attention back to Nathan, "You bring this... girl... as a guest and then put her in your room with you. What would our friends say if they found out about the way you're behaving?"

Nathan's voice became very cold and dangerous, "What did you say?"

"You heard me Nathan! We have a position to think about. And you bring yet another gold digger here. Sniffing around after your money!"

I was mortified and Nathan was fuming, "For the last time, Midnight is not the 'help' as you so nicely put it! She's my partner who just happens to be my executive assistant. She's also the best thing that ever happened to me, and you should be happy for me that I found her! And another thing, she didn't even know we had any money until we arrived here yesterday. She loves me, not your bank balance!"

I was glued to my seat staring down at my plate. I was so embarrassed that I couldn't move and didn't dare look at anyone sat around the table. I felt Philippa's hand take hold of mine and squeeze it.

Hattie shouted, "Look at her! She's not one of us. She'll never fit in. We have our position to think about, and you bring this tramp to my house!"

Well, that was it! I burst into tears and shouted at her, "FUCK YOU! AND FUCK YOUR MONEY!"

Hattie was shocked and her face twisted into anger, "How dare you!"

I sobbed, "I'm going home!"

I fled from the room. I had no intention of staying here to be insulted like that. Out in the hall, I made to run upstairs, then changed my mind...Then changed my mind again. I looked around, but had no idea what to do. I was stuck here, I couldn't just run as I had no means of getting home without Nathan, but knew It would be impossible to stay. So I could only stand in confusion, sobbing with no idea what to do.