The Cage Crinoline

"Come on, Harold!" shouted Lisa "Don't leave it there! What else could there be .. Oh No!" she ended as she realised what Harold might say.

"I think that Thomas is under threat of a violent attack .. Why I don't know .. Why he hasn't told anyone, I don't know .. and it must be connected with football but how I don't know ... " Harold's voice tailed off as the girls looked at him horrified.

After a long silence Alison spoke. "It seems far-fetched. After all we are an Amateur football club. We're not the Premier Division. Who would want to threaten an amateur footballer? Why?"

"But if Harold is right .. mind you it is IF .. Thomas would be the target because he's the team's best striker." Frances said "If anyone could influence the result of a match it would either be Thomas or the goal-keeper and ONLY Thomas is in every match. Or he was .. whether he will be from now on is doubtful."

"But why?" asked Lisa "Why would they want to alter the result of a Glossies match? We don't have vast sums wagered on our results at the Bookies. I doubt they take as much as ten pounds a week on bets on the local football teams."

Sandra asked "If it isn't to fix a result, what is it? What could Thomas do or not do that could affect large sums of money ..." Sandra stopped, appalled as she realised what Thomas could do.

They all looked at each other as the idea occurred to them as well.

"It must be the charity demonstration match" Harold voiced for all of them. "We've got five or six Premiership players coming and two of them are Internationals. If Thomas was to deliberately foul one, injuring him badly, then that, and only that could affect real money. Thomas must be under pressure to hack down a named player."

"I don't understand how Thomas could be vulnerable to pressure, I just don't " said Candice "He's not into drugs. He's got access to women - sorry Lisa - but if he wanted more than you there are enough of us who like him to oblige either with or without your knowledge. We'd probably tell you anyway and have a meeting like this about it. No one's noticed anything like that?" There were headshakes around the room "He doesn't really drink. The drinking he's doing now is a result of the problem, not the cause" Heads nodded in agreement. "He's not short of money is he?"

Alison replied to the last question "No Candice. He isn't. I checked his bank accounts this afternoon. No debts. No problems. No unusual changes. All perfectly normal. To do that I broke the law as well."

Harold concluded "It can only be blackmail. But how? It's not as if Thomas is an upright church-going married politician with everything to lose. He's a footballer for ****'s sake. Footballers are expected to be randy ******** and no one blames them for it."

Lisa spoke slowly "All this is making me remember some little things I'd forgotten. There have been some unexplained phone calls where no one speaks when I answer. Thomas has been secretive about a few calls but they didn't give me the impression that he was two-timing me. They seemed to frighten him now I look back on them. I'd not associated the idea of being frightened with Thomas - except frightened of me, sometimes."

Harold summed up. "So we think Thomas is being blackmailed into causing injury to some major footballer at the charity event but we don't know who is blackmailing him and we can't see how Thomas could be vulnerable to blackmail. Is that it?"

Lisa said "It seems far fetched but as a theory it fits what we know. But what do we DO about it?"

Sandra suggested "Thomas seems to have worked out what to do. If we're right and he is being blackmailed to cause injury, he's found a way out. If he's not fit for the charity event he can't do what is wanted, and it's not his fault, is it?"

"OK Sandra" said Alison "That would fit. He might be faking his unfitness to avoid playing that day. Is he?"

Lisa answered "I don't think he's faking it. He's getting really drunk and he is really off form not just with football but with me as well. He is useless at present."

"It could be dangerous for him to be found out to be faking unfitness" said Harold "It HAS to be real to protect himself. But if Thomas is unfit, that wouldn't stop them, would it? They'd need a back-up, an understudy, a substitute wouldn't they?" Harold paused for thought. "If it is so important to whoever, wouldn't they have got a second string lined up anyway?"

"George!" screeched Candice "They must be getting at George as well. He's looked really worried these last few weeks and he's not been playing well. If Thomas were dropped, George would take over."

"How can they be blackmailing Thomas and George?" asked Lisa "and for what? It must be something really serious if neither has been to the Police. When could it have happened? .."

Harold cut in " .. If we can think back to when it started we might get somewhere. How long has Thomas been acting up? How long has George been "worried"? What happened shortly before then? - that we don't know the details about .."

Sandra jumped "The stag party!"

Alison added "The stag party for one of the Fatstock Sow's husband-to-be .."

Sandra said "It must be that. It's the only thing Thomas and George have been to together in the last three months when none of us have been. Isn't it? Isn't it?"

Candice mused "George was very reticent about that night. Normally he'd have told me some of the things that happened but he was very quiet about it. What about Thomas, Lisa?"

"It fits" said Lisa "Thomas didn't talk about that night either. We'd usually have had a laugh about the things done to the groom but Thomas just didn't say much about it. It seemed to be from then on that things got cool between us, now I think about it."

"Who do we know who was at that Stag Party?" asked Harold. Most of them were from Hogstock but Thomas and George weren't the only Glossies there, were they? Any names - we must know someone. If we're desperate we could ask the groom but he might not remember much."

"I think, I'm not sure, but I think that Trevor was there" said Frances cautiously.

"Yes he was." said Sandra "but he left early. He had an interview in London the next day. He might have noticed something or if not he might at least be able to tell us who else was there."

"I'll ring him from the kitchenette" said Harold "I don't want to frighten him off with your voices in the background."

The girls sat and looked at each other while he was gone. They picked at the food disconsonately.

Harold returned.

"Yes. He was there. He said that Thomas and George were with two couples from London except that Trevor didn't think they were "couples". The girls looked more like professionals. They were the only girls at the stag party so Trevor thought they might be part of the "entertainment". When he left Thomas and George were sitting with the Londoners. He said that Duncan from Hogstock might tell us more. He gave me the number but it was engaged. I'll try again in a minute."

Harold left to go back into the kitchenette.

"Girls at a stag party?" asked Alison "That's novel but what could lead to blackmail?"

"Anything!" said Candice gloomily "I came here to help Lisa sort out her Thomas and now it looks as if we've got to sort out "my" George as well. What could they have done?"

The girls waited for Harold. Eventually he came back in.

"I got through to Duncan. Thomas and George left with the Londoners to come back to Silverbridge. The girls were very drunk and needed carrying so Thomas and George were going to help load and unload them from the taxi. They were going to the motel on the bypass. That's the last Duncan saw of them about 5am."

"What now?" said Lisa "They'd left the party without any trouble .." Harold nodded " .. so something must have happened on the way or at the motel. What? There's been no report in the local papers of anything untoward. What could have happened?"

"It's getting delicate now" Candice emphasised "If we start asking any more questions we're going beyond our friends and acquaintances. We could uncover a real can of worms and drop Thomas and George into real trouble. What we need is for them to tell us what's happening. How are we going to get them to talk if they're so afraid? And if they do talk, can we do anything?"

"I think that's the only way forward" said Harold "We have a theory but we don't know that we're right. Only Thomas and George could say whether we're on the right track. If we are, what then?"

"What we do depends on what we find out" answered Lisa "We'll have to get them to talk quickly. There's only a fortnight before the charity event. I'll try with Thomas but I think I'll need help. Jane and Alison, can you stay on tonight?"

"Yes" they replied.

Jane added "I go home, collect some things and say I'm here for a sleepover."

"Me too" said Alison "We'd better do that now. We want to be ready when the team coach returns."

"Frances, Sandra, can you two help me with George?" Candice asked.

"Certainly, Candice. We'll be at your flat in about half an hour." said Frances as Sandra nodded.

"When can we meet again to see what we've found out?" asked Harold "It needs to be soon."

"How about here early tomorrow morning say 7am?" suggested Lisa. "If we haven't found out by then we girls are wasting our talents"

"Sounds good to me. Then we should be able to go to work normally and so should Thomas and George - if you haven't been TOO rough, Lisa" said Harold.

"I'll make sure she doesn't break anything" retorted Jane.

"So will I" added Alison "We want information, not injuries."

"You two are always ganging up on me!" protested Lisa "I'm not THAT dangerous"

"Oh yes you are!!" came a simultaneous shout from around the room.

Everyone except Harold and Lisa left. Jane and Alison would return shortly and Frances and Sandra would join Candice. Harold was sitting on the chaise longue. Lisa came and sat beside him looking angry and miserable.

Harold spoke quietly to Lisa "Please, Lisa, remember that if we are right Thomas is in trouble and has been trying to work a way out by himself. He wants help not a new set of bruises. Be gentle with him, please."

Lisa answered "I know, Harold. I do lose my temper from time to time but Thomas has meant a lot to me. For the sake of the good times in our past I'll be careful with him. You may not believe it but I have been very tolerant of him for the last few weeks. A year ago I'd have beaten him up for coming home to me too drunk to stand up. Now I've just helped him into bed."

Harold queried "You refer to Thomas as if your relationship is over. Is it that bad?"

"Yes, I think it is. Even before this - whatever it is - we were growing apart. I think we're both too fiery to be good for each other in the longer term. I'm sure Thomas wants to leave and now I'm not sure I want him to stay. I'd like us to end as friends but I wish he'd trusted me about what's bothering him. It's not like him to be so secretive."

"Maybe, just maybe, if your relationship had not been waning he would have done." suggested Harold

"You might be right and that makes me feel guilty for not discussing our problems."

"But if it wasn't for this happening, you would have had time to work it out. Whatever it is has brought matters to a head too soon. I must go. The others will be back soon and I don't want to know what you three are planning for Thomas. It might scare me stiff." Harold said.

He stood up. Lisa went downstairs with him to the front door.

"Goodbye, Harold. See you at 7am"

Lisa pulled him towards her, hugged him and kissed him hard.

Harold staggered "What was that for?"

"For being a good friend, again. You are so dependable. We come running to you with our problems and you are always there to help. You should get some thanks for it." Lisa caressed his hair "Now run back home to Mummy before I get other ideas of how to thank you."

Harold paled and left hurriedly. Lisa stood on the doorstep watching him go. She thought that it would be easy to imagine ways to thank Harold properly. It was also very easy to get him embarrassed since he was shy of demonstrations of affection.

* * *

While she waited for Jane and Alison, Lisa decided to make a petticoat cover for the large cage crinoline. The cream one she had used to try it out hadn't really been large enough. She removed the stand and found that the cage stood up by itself. She measured the cage carefully and then cut out and machined a petticoat for the outside. Then she made one for the inside and tacked them together above and below the lowest steel hoop. She looked inside the cage and decided to sew through both petticoats to link the inner one to the outer one to stop the inner one sagging. When Jane let herself in Lisa was sitting inside the cage sewing carefully through the two layers while humming to herself. She didn't hear Jane enter the workshop and was startled when she spoke.

"Hello! Lisa! Where are you?"

Lisa popped her head out of the waistband of the cage.

"In here Jane!"

Jane turned and then burst out laughing. Lisa's head was only visible down to the eyes. The rest of her was hidden under a large domed petticoat.

"What ARE you doing?" asked Jane "You look ridiculous like that."

"I'm joining the inner and outer petticoats together to cover the cage" explained Lisa. "The outer petticoat is fine, but I want the inner petticoat to follow the cage structure so I've got completely unfettered legs when I wear this thing."

"But it's far too big!" protested Jane "It looks more like a bell tent than a crinoline."

"That's what I thought at first. It wouldn't do for normal events but I thought it might do for a parade such as this year's carnival procession. It wouldn't look too big in the open air."

"Maybe .. but wouldn't it make your upper body look too small?"

"It might if I had your shape, or Candice's" said Alison "but the size I am, I thought it might make me look more like a Victorian lady than the top heavy lump I am."

"You know most of us are jealous of your "top heavy lumps" and the guys seem to like them a lot" said Jane.

"I know, but this cage might make me feel like a normally developed woman for a few hours. It would be an interesting experience for a while. There, I've done. Can you lift the side of the cage up while I crawl out, please?"

Jane lifted the edge of the cage. Lisa crawled out.

Jane exclaimed "It's incredibly light! I thought it would be heavy for that size."

"No, Jane, that's the whole point of a cage crinoline. It's much lighter than the layers of petticoats needed instead. It will hold up even the heaviest skirt without needing to be heavy itself. Under a light skirt it should move really freely. I want to try some of the other smaller cages in some dances soon. They're more practical than this monster. I'll say one thing for this one. It's so strong you can sit on it. I'll show you."

Lisa perched herself on top of the dome. The top of the cage compressed very slightly, but the shape remained intact.

"That's incredible!" said Jane "You're no lightweight but it's scarcely moved. Can I try?"

"Sure" said Lisa sliding off.

Jane sat on the cage and then found she wasn't in the centre. She hitched herself upwards and backwards and then ... her backside slid into the waistband and she was left hanging with her head, arms and lower legs out but her body and thighs folded inside the cage.

"Help! Lisa! Get me out of this!" cried Jane.

Lisa was incapable of helping because she was laughing too much. Then she grasped Jane's arms and pulled. Jane fell towards her but the cage was still locked around her body. She now had her feet and hands on the floor but the cage sticking up behind her like a large white flower.

"What?..." screeched Jane "I'm still stuck!"

Lisa found the cage's waistband and unbuckled it. She was then able to pull the cage off Jane and release her. Jane stood up, rubbing her bum ruefully.

"That thing is like a lobster pot. You can get in, but you can't get out." said Jane" It's a menace. I thought I was going to be swallowed whole."

"If you had been swallowed whole it would have been very easy to get out underneath. It was getting stuck in the waistband that was ..." Lisa thought for a second" ... fun to watch!"

Jane saw the joke and laughed with Lisa.

"I'd like to see someone else caught like that. Alison is coming shortly ..." Jane looked at Lisa and winked.

"OK. We'll see if Alison will fall for it. I'll have to demonstrate sitting on it again for her to try it." said Lisa.

Lisa stood the cage back on it hem and stood back. She thought there was something else she should do, but what? She couldn't bring it to mind. As she was pondering what she'd forgotten the doorbell rang. Jane went to let Alison in while Lisa looked at the cage and tried to think.

"Hello, Lisa" said Alison "Is this the new cage crinoline?"

"Yes" replied Lisa "I was just about to demonstrate how strong it is by sitting on it"

"I don't believe it could be THAT strong" said Alison

"It is" said Lisa hitching herself onto the cage. She sat down and ... ended in exactly the same position as Jane had been a few minutes before. She was trapped with her arms and legs waggling and her bum well inside the cage. Alison and Jane nearly had hysterics before they could get Lisa out. It was a struggle but by treading on the hem they could exert enough pressure to pull Lisa out like a cork from a bottle.

"Pheeww!" said Lisa. "I thought I was stuck for good. As I slid in I remembered what I'd forgotten. I hadn't fastened the waistband after getting Jane out"

"And you were going to do the same to me!" objected Alison "What a fine friend you are!"

They all laughed again. Then Lisa put the cage on properly to show how it should be worn. Alison and Jane tried it too, but thought it just too large to manage easily.

"Enough silliness" said Lisa eventually. "We need to get ready for Thomas. He should be here in about an hour."

"So what are we going to do to get him to talk?" asked Jane

"I thought that we'd try seduction first" said Lisa "Thomas likes Western women's fashions with masses of petticoats. If we dress up like that we should be able to get him receptive. If he doesn't succumb to love and teasing we might have to get tougher. So we'll have other equipment ready for hog-tying and some gentle bondage."

"How about using this new cage?" suggested Jane. "Hasn't that got some possibilities?"

"I don't know. It's very easy to get out from underneath. It's so light you can lift the hem with a finger .. " said Lisa

"..But if you couldn't lift the hem? Then you'd be trapped!" retorted Jane.

"But how do you stop the hem from being lifted?" asked Alison

"We did it by standing on the hem of the petticoat while we were pulling Lisa out. If you fix the petticoat down, say with staples to the floor, then it really would be a trap." replied Jane

"I'm not sure about stapling it to the floor. The petticoat might rip on the staples .. " mused Lisa

"I've got it!" said Jane "I said it looked like a tent. Tents have groundsheets. If you stitched the hem to another piece of material it would be impossible to get in or out except through the waistband. When we've finished, the stitching could be unpicked and it then reverts to a crinoline"

"Yes ... that would do" said Lisa "and I've got just the right thing. I've got some wide quilted material so the "groundsheet" would be padded as well. I'll get it if you can lift the cage up to this sewing machine we'll have it fixed in minutes."

The three girls sewed the quilted material to the hems of the two petticoats with three rows of machine stitch. They hadn't cut the new material to shape so it appeared that the cage was just resting on a square piece of quilting.