Chapter XXII

"Nattie?"

It wasn't Sam. It was Cora. She poked her head in my room before giving the door a light rap. I looked up from my phone. "We're having dinner in a moment. Please come down." "But Sam always brings me my dinner up here," I explained, like she didn't know that already.

"I've decided to try something new, darling." She'd decided. She'd made the decision. A very clear choice of words that wouldn't go unnoticed, Cora was certain. Also certain was the fact that Natalie had changed out of the diaper she'd been given, because she was still quite willful. A shame.

I looked nervously at my employer's wife. Our deal was simple. She makes decisions, I listen. But we hadn't come up against a situation where that had happened yet. I was already dressed in my pajamas - a long cotton nightgown - and I didn't want to leave my room. But I never left my room, honestly. Maybe a change of pace was good for me... "Alright. I'll be right down." Trial number one.

"Good girl!" Praise. Praise was important - Cora would always prefer to praise than to punish. Once Cora made it to the dinner table, she sat down and took a brief moment to confer with her husband before their company arrived. "She's not diapered right now, but she did agree to come down without argument."

"Progress is progress," Ando said casually, taking a look at his phone, before turning off the device entirely. Dinner was a peaceful time. "It was risky to dress her as such." "It worked out," Cora said casually. "Don't be so flippant. One mistake spells disaster."

"And risk reaps rewards, too - we wouldn't be in a position of success without taking some risks, darling husband of mine." Ando didn't seem annoyed at that comment per se, but he did seem mildly bristly in his reply. "Let's not get overly confident, wife of mine."

All in all, Cora was right. Risks had to be taken. This one was dangerous, but it was calculated. Cora's sense of math was always impeccable. "Do you know how dinner will proceed?" he asked her. And as he expected, she had an answer. "We will talk about our day. Her leaving work early." Ando nodded. So he would continue to play Bad Cop. A role he was good at.

"I'd like to admonish her for not being diapered at dinner,” Cora mused, “but also wonder if letting her conceal the secret from you for a while longer might benefit her.” But perhaps they were jumping the gun…

The two continued their diatribes, fantasies and stories of a good little girl in their home. But though their interests aligned, that didn't mean they were equal. For Cora, this was maternal. A needy girl who relied on her. For Ando, this was uplifting. Someone weak he had power over. Diapers symbolized both: needy and weak. But dinner was nearly here, and they both knew they would have to be a little more patient. This was Natalie's first time letting Cora make her decisions, so everything had to go in Natalie's favor. Conditioning.

I was underdressed. Cora was wearing a gorgeous blouse and Mr. Gladstone was still in his work suit. I looked down at my nightgown with a little embarrassment, but Cora ushered me over to the table all the same. I took a seat across from Cora, with her husband to my right. It was strange seeing him around the house. I had lived here for about a month and I only ever saw him in passing. Dinner together... this was weird.

"I'm so glad you're here for dinner with us, darling." Cora reached over and squeezed her hand reassuringly, then sat back as the kitchen staff began to bring serving plates to the table. A simple dinner; chicken marsala with some crisp vegetables sautéed in duck fat. Wine glasses were filled, but not Natalie's - Cora made it quite clear to the staff that Natalie would be having juice.

"Yeah, of course..." A plate was set in front of me with... chicken and mushrooms or something. But if I'd learned anything in my month of living here, it was this: always eat the food. Not only was it required by my employer, but it was remarkably delicious. This chicken was not an exception. I took a minute to bask in the delight dancing on my taste buds, but it was shattered when Mr. Gladstone spoke. "Mabel said you missed the afternoon at work." When I looked up at him, I caught his eyes. I felt my stomach sink, my heart race... "I... um..."

"You left a new hire alone in your office, with your machine logged in." Those words weren't accusatory, because they didn't need to be - this was a time where simply stating the facts was more than enough to carry across any implication as to their meaning.

"I... she..." Anxiety was filling me up, like Mr. Gladstone was a waiter at a restaurant, holding a pitcher above an already full glass of water. What was I supposed to say? She scared me? I swore at her? She had me rubbing her feet all day? Tears started welling up in my eyes. But Cora stepped in.

"Nattie wasn't feeling well. She called me to check on her, and it was my decision to bring her home." Her decision. Mr. Gladstone looked at her, then nodded his head. "I understand." He... understood? I looked at Cora, dumbfounded.

"She's going to have an extra productive day tomorrow, darling, you'll see - I bet she won't even leave her office for a bathroom break; that's how much she wants to do well for us." Cora ate a bite of chicken and winked at Natalie with the eye that her husband couldn't see. Ando considered those words and nodded his head, seemingly satisfied. "As long as it was your decision, my dear, there's no trouble at all. I hope you feel better tomorrow, Natalie."

...this was unreal. Was Cora really so powerful, just because she was married to Mr. Gladstone? She could change my entire life, if I asked her to. Could I get a raise? Not that I saw any of the money I was making anyway. Half of it went to room and board for Sam and myself - as per our contract - and the other half went to debt collection. Then I was hit with another unexpected question, but this time from Cora herself. "Mabel... that's the new girl you're training? What do you think of her?" I stared at her like a deer in headlights.

"Is she sweet?" Cora knew quite factually that she wasn't, and Ando made sure to tighten the screws on Natalie a little bit with a follow-up question.

"She's quite lovely, in my experience," he began, "headstrong, perhaps, which is a little bit of an undesirable trait, but I think she has potential."

I took another bite of chicken and looked down at my plate. I knew they were both talking to me, but I felt like... like I had no place in this conversation. Appeasing one of them would only displease the other. It was a lose-lose. But Cora forced my hand. "Nattie? What do you think?" I shrugged my shoulders. "You can be honest. I'm asking." I looked at her, then at Mr. Gladstone. For some reason, I felt like she was telling the truth. Maybe I could be honest... "I don't like her very much."

Cora had told her to be honest, she'd made that decision for her, and the two of them followed through on making sure she was rewarded for that faith and obedience. “You don't, darling?" Cora sounded surprised, and Ando nodded his head. "She is rather willful, isn't she? Maybe she isn't quite as good a fit as I'd hoped she would be." Not that she'd be going anywhere, but Ando wanted Natalie to feel heard.

"Really?" Mr. Gladstone nodded his head and I felt like I'd tumbled into an alternate dimension. For weeks, I'd been completely terrified of this man. But now he was listening to everything I had to say. I looked at Cora again and she nodded to continue. "She thinks Mr. Gladstone and I are sleeping together.”

"Please, Nattie. Ando is fine when we are at home."

"...oh. Okay." Ando. Wow, that felt super wrong. I mean, I knew his first name from the plate on his desk. But... well, that would take some getting used to.

"You do have an unfortunate reputation, my sweet girl." Ando conceded, clasping his hands together under his chin. "Reputations are not so easily cast aside, unfortunately. They must be broken down with time and energy. You and I both know the measures you're taking to fight your reputation, but those are not known to others. I'm certain Cora will be willing to help you redouble your efforts, however; she's an excellent decision maker, should you need advice."

I bit my lip and looked down at my plate of chicken. This conversation was getting so out of hand, going a mile a minute. I almost felt sick from the whiplash. “Um, there’s something else too. I swore at her. And… I think the whole office trusts her more than me, now.” Suddenly, I didn't feel like such a good office manager.

“We can figure that out together,” Cora said with a smile. “Tomorrow you're going to wear your new outfit” —and that meant the diaper too— "and you'll see how quickly the others will rally beside you.”

I didn't want to wear that onesie. I really, really didn't. But after everything Prin had said, after the way Mabel threatened to tell Human Resources, I... I was considering it. It was stupid. It was infantile! But it was, as Cora said, a rallying point. Soft, cute, childish. They couldn't be mad at me. “Okay," I muttered. It was only one day, right?

"May I be excused please? I'd like to lie down." "Of course sweetie." Cora touched my hand and gave me a reassuring smile. Weirdly enough, it seemed to help. I made my way up two flights of stairs and fell down on my bed, looking up at the low ceiling. Tomorrow would either be the best or the worst decision of my life. But it wasn't my decision - it was Cora's. If she could somehow get me out of all this, I'd never doubt her again.