"Sophronia!"

I winced at the ear-shattering scream. "What has your corset in a cinch, Preasha?" I yelled back. Technically, young ladies didn't yell, but this was a special case. Preasha just always made me want to yell.

"Can't you mop up your friends when they go all flopsy in the bathroom?" She sounded even more annoyed than usual, her always clipped voice positively murderous.

Unfortunately, the only person I could think of who would go "all flopsy" was Dimity, and the only thing that would make her faint was blood. Therefore, I rushed to the aid of my fluttery best friend.

The sight in the bathroom was impressive. Dimity, for it was indeed her, lay sprawled on the floor, her bloomers around her ankles. The bloomers were soaked in blood, and for a moment I couldn't think what had happened. Then I realized.

"Well, this is awkward," I muttered to myself. "I suppose no one ever explained this to you, Dim. And that leaves me to tell you the facts of a woman's life."

Firstly, though, I had to clean her up and get her off the floor before Preasha got too impatient. So I set to work, removing her stiff bloomers and putting them in a bin to be washed, before putting clean bloomers, with a length of cotton in them on her. I lugged her back into our room and applied the smelling salts. Soon, her lovely brown eyes blinked open and she sat up with a concerned expression.

"Sophronia," she said, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I seem to recall a lot of blood. In my – skirt."

"Yes," I replied, sighing. "That happens. It's perfectly normal, Dim. It'll happen every month, so you'd better get used to it."

"Every month? But that's awfully messy. Isn't there anything I can do about it?"

"No," I said. "You just learn to live with it. Didn't your mother ever tell you about this?"

Dimity said plaintively, "She's always busy. How long with this go on?"

I hated disappointing her, but I had to break it to her. "For the rest of you life, I'm afraid."

"That's – inconvenient."

"Tell me about it. Want tea?"

"Always."