The Lady

The Lady
Leonie — 21 Sep 1998, 7:12 AM

I looked at the guide and I see that I'm still on for Lee-Marie/Tuvok/Kate and Chak so I will post the first installment which occurs after the big Race written by Jules. It may move but it is about Lee-marie dressing for the ball and setting up things to come for future stories.

"Pull Miss Annie!!!!" Lee-Marie took one more deep breath and held it as she bent over the chair in her room of the Ranch. Miss Annie was panting with exertion as the two women had been at it for more than fifteen minutes and compared to tightening the corset on a woman's body, buck riding was piece of cake.

"Miss Lee". Miss Annie was the other person that she would let call her that. "It cyanna go any tighter. Are you sure you can breathe in there?"

"It hurts, but I'll live." It did a little, but Lee-Marie remembered that she had lived with the pain once and she could live with it again.

"Why do we do this?" She groaned as she straightened herself and put on skirt petticoat, its flares only 1/3 the standard size of what her mama always termed "proper". It would be easier to ride with than a full skirt petticoat

Miss Annie looked at Lee-Marie and said, "Well sugar, I guess it's because we want to look our best for the men that we want to attract."

Lee-Marie groaned and put her hand to her forehead. "Miss Annie, all they really want to see is us with our clothes off not layered on and the strange thing is that they are the ones who defined that this is "proper""

"You wear pants all the time Miss Lee, so why are you gettin' all fancy and proper and going to the Ball?" Miss Annie was curious. She had seen Miss Lee in action, with all the shooting and happenings that had been going on and she had never figured her for the dress up type.

"Mr. Torres asked me and I couldn't say no." Lee-Marie actually looked sheepish. This was a first.

"Chakotay is a fine solid sturdy man, every woman in Voyager City is after him. You're lucky he asked you?"

"Am I?" Lee-Marie plopped herself onto the bed.

"You don't feel that way?" Miss Annie sat next to her on the bed.

"After all that has happened I have to wonder. He is a stubborn mule who talks more with his fists than his mouth. He can't see past one small mistake that someone has made in their past and is just too judgmental for me. Why I agreed to go with him on this date is just plain beyond me."

"He's a man in his prime, sugar, they're all like that. You be vexed with them, it isn't their fault, it's just the way that the good Lord made them" Miss Annie had a wicked grin on her face.

"Well the good Lord made us easy to give in to vapors, gave us the curse once a month and we still don't get as ornery as they do!!" Lee-Marie charged.

"That's why we were made second. God didn't make so many mistakes the next time."

They collapsed on the bed in helpless giggles. Miss Annie straightened up and looked at Lee-Marie

The Lady pt 2
Leonie — 21 Sep 1998, 7:14 AM

"What happened between him and Tom Janeway has its roots a long time ago. One day it will be no more. Don't let that be the basis on which you judge him" she said seriously.

"It's not only that, Miss Annie. There's Miss Kathryn. Something is not right there. I don't know what it is but that formation of Miss Kathryn Mr. Tom and Mr. Chakotay has some bad vapors coming off of it, I can't say what it is?"

Miss Annie took a sharp intake of breath. How did Miss Lee-Marie know? She forced herself to calm down. "What do you mean?"

Lee-Marie looked at the other woman intently. She hadn't missed what had just happened. She decided to hedge her bets and not say anything.

"Don't know Miss Annie, it just ain't right. And you don't have to pretend with me. I know that Miss Kathryn is going with the Marshal and that is the reason why Mr. Torres asked me to go with him. And there was another reason." Lee-Marie thought back to what had happened at that sunrise and she continued quietly."

"He fancies her, I know it. I wasn't his first choice"

Miss Annie was confused and a little concern about Lee-Marie's change of demeanor as she said those words. She just all of a sudden looked young and vulnerable. She had never seen that side of her before. Here was a woman who defied all conventional rules, she wore pants in public and a gun belt for goodness sake, yet she looked as if she would burst out into tears in any minute.

"You really like him don't you?"

Suddenly Lee-Marie looked up and caught Miss Annie staring at her and realized that she had forgotten that she was talking to her. Without even realizing it, she "fixed her face". It was an automatic response that her body had trained itself to give when caught being vulnerable.

"What's not to like. He's a prize stallion. I can always use one more prize stallion in my stable." Lee-Marie had a truly wicked grin on her face.

She wasn't fooling Miss Annie, but she sensed that this was what Miss Lee needed to from what she had just told her. She played along.

"And what happens when they get old?" she said with a smile of her own.

"They get put out to pasture. If they've been a good mount, I may keep them in my stable just a while longer, for old time's sake, but I won't take them out on such *challenging* rides, as I would the younger stallions"

The two women burst out laughing again. When they stopped, Miss Annie turned to Lee-Marie and said

"What are you wearing?"

"This!!!" Lee-Marie ran and opened her closet door.

The Lady pt 3
Leonie — 21 Sep 1998, 7:17 AM

Miss Annie whistled. In it was the most gorgeous dark gold dress that she had ever seen. It would play off Lee-Marie's dark complexion exquisitely. It was made of a light baroque type of material with a faint rose pattern of a slightly lighter gold all over the dress. It was sleeveless and Miss Annie could see the shawl hanging in the closet next to it. From the cut of the dress, she could see that Lee-Marie would really get some attention tonight. That was, if anyone recognized her.

"Miss Lee, I think that you are going to be the talk of the Ball. The women would be making a lot of cat talk because of how good you're going to look and the men are going to wonder who you are, they wouldn't recognize you. What are you wearing with it?"

Lee-Marie showed her the jewelry. It was an hierloom piece that she had kept in the Bank Safe. It was one inch thick and it had trellis pattern to it, solid gold which ended in a V. The earrings and bracelets matched the necklace.

"Where did you get this?" Miss Annie was stunned. No one that she knew could afford that kind of jewelry, and certainly not an assistant Fore(wo)man and Miss Annie knew real gold when she saw it.

"It was a present from a *friend*" Lee-Marie said simply, but Miss Annie noticed that she turned her face away from her as she replied.

"Can you introduce him to me?" It was supposed to be a joke, but Lee-Marie was very serious as she said quietly.

"He's dead now." *At least to me he is*

Curiosity got the better of Miss Annie.

"Lee-Marie, who are you?.

Lee-Marie tried to force a smile as she said. "I'm Lee-Marie, Miss Annie. Have you been down to see the Doc lately? You're acting like you're on his *type* of medicine.? Now come on, I have to get dressed before a certain *stallion* comes a calling."

Miss Annie gave Lee-Marie a fierce hug and said, "You have a good time ya hear!!!" and with that was gone.

The Lady pt 4
Leonie — 21 Sep 1998, 7:18 AM

Lee-Marie breathed a small sigh of relief, that was all the corset afforded her. She knew that she should not have let Miss Annie seen her getting dressed, but she needed the help. She knew it was going to get worst when she arrived at the Ball. But it had been so long, and she wanted to give Mr Chakotay Torres a good look at what she had to offer as a woman. And secretly, she wanted to give Miss Kathryn a run for her money. She had seen the two of them together and she didn't like it. She thought that Miss Kathryn must have a pretty mean streak to lead a man on like that. It would be nice for her to get a taste of what it would be like to have the shoe on the other foot.

She went over to the dresser and picked up the necklace, lost in memories. She shouldn't do this. She thought that she had left her old life behind and now she had to dredge it up again. She had too, what was happening was alarming. Someone might see and someone might find out and then.....The consequences were too horrible to contemplate. That which she wanted the most, she would lose forever.

It had happened before.

Lee-Marie shook her head and made a motion to get dressed. Chakotay would be there in 15 mins and it would take about half an hour for her to get finish getting dressed. She had the standard ten minutes to keep him waiting, as he would have arrived five minutes early, as was proper. She didn't want to wait a minute more.

***

When Miss Annie was halfway between the house and the Torres's quarters, she looked back to the main house. In the window, she could just make out Miss Lee with an object in her hand. The silhouette did not move. Miss Annie knew that Miss Lee had avoided answering her question and she wanted to know why. Something was different about Miss Lee. When they were dressing, she moved with the knowledge of a woman who had done this many times before. Miss Annie had expected her to be like B'Elanna and not know how to put the layers on together, but Miss Lee worked like a pro. There was also the matter of that dress. Miss Annie had spotted the New York tag on the inside of the dress. It was from one of the best couturier in East. And the jewelry. She wondered where Miss Leonie-Marie got her hands on something like that and she wondered again.....

Who Miss Leonie-Marie Peters was.

The end?
Of course not.