The Corset Diaries by Katie MacAlister

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No woman in her right mind would consent to wearing a corset for a month. Especially a "skinny-challenged" woman like Tessa. But dreams of being debt-free dance in her head at the offer of appearing in a reality TV show. "A Month in the Life of a Victorian Duke" is about real people pretending to live on an English estate, circa 1879. And Tessa's leading man-a real-life Duke-is so handsome she can barely breathe, with or without the corset...

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I prayed that everything would return to normal once I took off the torture device, a thought that was soon driven from my mind as the camera lights suddenly came on and I realized they were filming me. I forced my lips into what I hoped was a pleasant, not in the least bit terrified, smile, and made it down the last couple of steps without tripping or stumbling.

"Ah, there you, my dear," Max said, and came forward from where he had been standing behind a man and a woman. He held his hand out for me. "We have been waiting for you. You look lovely, as usual."

I stopped dead when I got a good look at him. In everyday clothes he was handsome, what with his black hair and light blue eyes and nice chin and stuff, but in Victorian clothes, black frock coat and pants, patterned waistcoat, snowy white shirt with high collar points, he was breathtakingly gorgeous. I couldn't keep from staring at him; just the sight of him melted my innards, or what was left of them.

He took my hand and bent over it, his back to the camera, his lips brushing my knuckles as he hissed, "Your mouth is hanging open."

"Gark," I said, staring down at the glossy black waves of his hair, then managed to drag my eyes off him. "Good morning, um…uh…" My mind was a blank, a total and complete blank. What was his name? Why couldn't I remember it? Come to think of it, what was my name?

"Max," he said out of the side of his mouth.

"Max. And…uh…good morning to the rest of you. Here I am! A bit late, but you know us women, always late!" I groaned beneath my breath and closed my eyes for a few seconds, horrified by the words that had been chosen by my oxygen-starved brain. My first moment on film and what do I do? I stereotype my own sex. Lovely. Women the country over would now hate me.

"Shall we begin? My dear if you would just stand here. Melody -- "

Max had a lovely voice, not loud by any means, but deep and rumbly, the kind of voice that reverberated around in my bones and set up a kind of thrumming in my groin. Then again, it might have been the corset causing the lower half of my torso to go numb, it was hard to tell what exactly was causing all the gurgly feelings in my nether parts, but I'd rather think it was Max than something so mundane as gas.

A horrendous pain spasmed through me as Max droned on and on and on. I know the prayer only took a couple of minutes, but it seemed like an eternity as I stood next to him, surrounded by strangers, hot lights blazing off the cameras, bound and trussed, waiting for the torment to end so I could seek relief.

"…may God so protect us. Amen."

"Amen," everyone said. There was a particularly loud rumble from my guts that I hopefully drowned out with my own amen.

Max turned to me and flashed a smile. "My dear, you would like to add something?"

I stared at him in horror, then realized he wanted me to add a prayer, probably something about the family and home. "Um. Why yes, Maximillian, I always do, as you know, ha ha. Uh…may the lord bless all creatures great and small, and…uh…may we all live long and prosper."

"Amen," Max said, with an odd look on his face.

Copyright © 2004 by Katie MacAlister.