Robin reached down for my hand. I clasped hers and crawled closer to the window. Then Robin leaned in small increments until she was looking into the room. What she saw made her jaw drop. She looked at Teal, who peered in and then pulled back quickly, her head against the wall.
Stepping back to make room for me, Robin tugged at my hand and I rose to look through the window.
M'Lady Three wore a pair of jeans and a bra. She had her thick arms around M'Lady Two, who was in her uniform, and they were dancing. M'Lady One was on the bed to the right, dressed only in her bra and panties, smoking what looked like a joint and laughing as the two danced.
M'Lady Three had no rhythm. She was like a treetrunk, unmoving. M'Lady Two turned out and moved well to the beat. Then M'Lady Three let go of her hand and reached for the joint M'Lady One was smoking. She lay beside M'Lady One. M'Lady Two kept dancing while the other two shared their joint, watched, and laughed.
How could they do this without Dr. Foreman knowing and approving? Was it some way of rewarding them? Or were they just confident she wouldn't hear them or bother with them?
Suddenly, M'Lady One clapped her hands and cried, “Take it off, take it off,” at M'Lady Two, who was still dancing. She laughed and turned to them and began a striptease.
Robin leaned in to look over my shoulder, and Teal lowered herself and peered in now through the opening in the window. We watched in awe as they cheered on M'Lady Two. She dropped her jacket and undid her blouse, turning and swaying to the music as she disrobed. When she stepped out of her skirt, the other two stopped cheering and watched with fascination.
“This is stupid and disgusting,” Teal whispered.
Robin shook her head and put her finger to her lips.
The striptease continued. M'Lady Two unfastened her bra and held it up and then flung it at them. They laughed and sat up watching as M'Lady Two slowly took off her panties. Then she bent over and wagged her rear end at them and they laughed. When she turned and straightened up, she looked toward the window and we didn't get our faces back fast enough. That was clear from the expression on hers.
Teal scampered on all fours under the window and we rushed to return to the place where we had boostedourselves up on the roof. We could hear the window being opened wider.
“Who's out there?” M'Lady Three cried.
The three of us stopped and dropped on our stomachs, hoping we weren't seen. We held our breath, but our hearts were pounding like three jungle drums.
“I see them,” I heard.
“Let's get them!”
Teal rushed to get to the edge of the roof, lost her grip, and rolled over with a short scream. I heard her hit the barrel below.
Robin and I swung our legs over the roof and, as gracefully and carefully as we could, lowered ourselves and dropped. We fell on our rumps, but neither of us got hurt. Teal was squirming on the ground, holding her ankle and crying.
“I smashed it against the barrel,” she moaned. “It feels like it's bleeding!”
“No time to look,” Robin said.
Without delay, we got her up and had her put her arms around our shoulders. Then we moved as quickly as we could, staying within the darkest shadows, Teal limping along. We were practically carrying her most of the way. When we heard a door close behind us, we tried to go faster. Teal moaned and nearly fell, even with us doing most of the work. Neither Robin nor I looked back.
When we reached the barn, we opened the door and hurried in, setting Teal on her cot.
“My ankle feels like it's on fire.”
“You'll have to put up with it and keep quiet, Teal,” I said. I helped her get her shoes off and then we got her under her blanket and made it to our cots and under our blankets just as the door was opened. Incredibly,
neither Gia nor Mindy had awoken, or if they had, they pretended to be asleep.
I thought the buddies would put on the lights and start screaming at us, but it was quiet. I had my back to the door and looked at Robin, who had hers to the door as well. Finally, I did hear footsteps over the straw and, moments later, jumped when a stiff forefinger was poked sharply into my side.
I spun around.
M'Lady One was kneeling at my cot. In the moonlight that poured through the barn windows, I could see her dropping her cold smile over me. “Been flying about, Phoebe bird? You and your new friends?”
I started to shake my head, but M'Lady Two pulled the blanket off Teal, who screamed. M'Lady Three approached her. Mindy and Gia finally turned and sat up.
“What's going on?” Mindy asked.
“We're doing a bed check. Shut up and go to sleep,” M'Lady Three ordered.
Mindy lay back and practically pulled her blanket over her head. Gia remained sitting up and stared silently.
“Get up,” M'Lady Three ordered Teal. She looked at me helplessly and struggled to her feet, swallowing as much of her pain as she could.
M'Lady Three saw the blood leaking through Teal's white sock. “Hurt yourself running about, did you?” she asked in a mock sweet voice.
Teal nodded. “I need to go to a doctor. I need an X ray. I might have broken my ankle.”
“Oh, sure. We'll just bring the limousine right up and get you into it. Move!” M'Lady Three ordered, pushing her toward the door.
Teal started to cry. “I can't walk on it!” she moaned.
“Move,” M'Lady Three repeated, poking her sharply in the ribs.
Teal limped toward the door. “What do you want? Why do I have to go outside? It's late,” she pleaded.
“I want you to
