VII. An Unpleasant Experience
After a refreshing rest, Suzanne reappeared and dressed him in a delicate pink
afternoon frock, dripping with lace all over. Of course he had to wear a corset
again, and this time Suzanne had to close the gap entirely because the frock had
an even tighter waist than the others. It had short sleeves, and Suzanne put his
hands and arms in tight pink gloves that reached over his elbows. His feet were
shod in pink boots with very high heels. After having made up his face just a
little, she sent him down to take tea with Aunt Margaret.
Tea had been served in a large salon and Aunt Margaret sat at a little table,
reading a newspaper. He sat down next to her. When she let down her paper, he
addressed her.
"Aunt Margaret, may I ask you a question?"
"Certainly Dear, go ahead."
"Since my trunk did not arrive, can we go tomorrow and get some male clothes for
me?"
"Well, why? Don't you like the things you are wearing? Look into a mirror. You
look so pretty, you should always wear dresses. But if you insist, indeed I
shall get you some male things as soon as possible... however tomorrow is quite
impossible. I have been invited to visit friends at their estate south of Berlin
for the holidays. And you will accompany me, of course. We will not be back
until Tuesday around noon. I am afraid you will have to stay a girl at least
until then. So relax and enjoy it."
She returned to her paper leaving him to digest this shattering news.
The parlor-maid announced a visitor.
"Mademoiselle Coco, Madame."
"What a pleasant surprise, show her in, please."
Coco entered with rustling and swishing petticoats. She was impeccably dressed
again, and in the height of fashion in a plum- colored visiting dress with a
very narrow waist and wide hips. Aunt Margaret got up and went to meet her. He
got up too, following her. Aunt Margaret greeted Coco with little kisses on both
cheeks. Coco then turned to Gloria and extended her hand. He took it and held it
lightly while he respectfully curtseyed.
"Please sit down and have a cup of tea. What brings you here?"
"I am on my way to the Bergolds'; you know them. They have this terrible little
brat of a daughter. She is fourteen now, and a complete tomboy. Her mother had
asked me to make something to restrain and subdue her, and help her to become a
lady."
"And what did you come up with?" Aunt Margaret asked, seeming very interested.
"Look here... this will restrain her and at the same time be very beneficial for
her figure, as it pushes out her bosom."
"Show me, please. No, I have a better idea. Put it on Gloria here, so I can
really judge its effectiveness. Gloria, please get up and help her."
He was very reluctant, but had to get up. Coco strapped soft leather cuffs, to
which stout rings were sewn, around his arms, just above the elbows. Then she
stepped behind him and pulled the elbows together. He heard something snap into
the rings. His elbows were now held on his back with about five or six inches
between them. It was not really a restraint, he just could not bring his arms to
the front anymore. Coco began to pull on something and his elbows were pulled
together very slowly. The thing between the cuffs must have been some sort of
pulley. His elbows were drawn closer and closer. It did not hurt him but it got
increasingly uncomfortable. Finally his elbows touched. Coco took a small silver
chain with spring hooks and snapped them into the rings at the cuffs. Then she
released the pulley. He had hoped this would bring him some relief, but the
chain now connecting his elbows still held them pressed tightly together. He
felt... and indeed he was... completely helpless.
"Let me see it, dear, come to me," Aunt Margaret said, "Yes, it really does
something to her bosom. It seems to be a very helpful and healthy thing. And
yet she is not completely restrained: she can still move her hands and do a lot
of things. Do you have more?"
"Yes, in fact I do. Since you mentioned the hands; if a more complete restraint
is desired, you can put the lower arms into this glove. It is a single glove,
encasing both arms, holding them tightly together. It has separate fingers like
any glove, but each one holds the two fingers of the right and left hand tightly
together, so the wearer cannot bend them. A perfect restraint, don't you agree?"
"Yes, a great idea. Why don't you put it on Gloria, too, so I can see the effect
and how it looks."
"I am glad to oblige." Coco first removed Gloria's pink gloves and then started
to push, pull and knead the single glove onto his arms. When she was finally
done, she closed a little row of buttons at each wrist, pressing them together
even tighter. Gloria's arms were now like one from elbows to fingertips.
"Marvelous! This will certainly hold any unruly girl in check. But what if she
starts yelling and complaining? That can be a real nuisance."
"No problem. Look here."
She produced an oblong object that was fastened against a kind of soft and
pliable leather belt about 20 inches long.
"Open your mouth, dear."
He wanted to object, but one look at Aunt Margaret told him it would be
extremely unwise and, reluctantly, he opened his mouth. In a moment, the oblong
object was buried deeply in it, and the leather belt tightly fastened behind his
neck. He was so securely gagged that he couldn't utter any sound. He tried to
make some noise through his nose, screeching or humming or whatever. This was
immediately squelched by Coco, who simply pinched his nose shut, thereby cutting
off all air. He was afraid he would suffocate.
"See how simple it is to shut off the noise?" she addressed him, "if you promise
not to make any sounds, I'll let go. Nod your head if you promise."
He nodded immediately as much as he could while she was still holding on to his
nose, and she let it go.
"It is perfect. I would like to have all of this. But having the elbows strapped
together like this for a prolonged period of time... isn't this too hard on the
wearer? I think there should be another method to strap the arms behind the back
just as a simple restraint."
"Of course there is. Look here."
Coco drew something that looked like a long leather tube from her bag.
"This single glove holds the arms folded in the small of the back. It does not
hurt at all and can be worn for very long periods. I know women whose husbands
even make them sleep in it after an ardent session of lovemaking."
"I want this too. My little friend here sometimes is a little sassy and this
could teach her a little humility. Can't you leave it with me and give another
set to the Bergolds?"
"Of course, I'll just have to fetch another one and if I can have your carriage,
I can even be on time."
"Thank you very much, and of course I'll have you driven wherever you want."
Margaret escorted her to the door and gave orders to drive her according to her
directions.
Gloria still stood there in helpless silence.
"I think I should continue to lay down the rules for your stay in this house,"
Aunt Margaret started when she returned, "you see, in my opinion you are still
much too masculine. Since we will be spending the next three days among other
people, to whom you will be presented as a girl, we must undertake great efforts
to make you a little more feminine. You run around too fast, you are too sassy,
and you are too impertinent. A true girl aspiring to become a lady is shy and
much more reserved. To teach you to be more girlish, I shall train you
rigorously from now on and these items will serve me in this purpose."
He didn't believe his ears. He thought the roof would cave in above him.
"From now on, your hands or arms will always be tied behind your back, if you
are not actually required to use them, or when we have guests who do not know
about your training. Whether your elbows will be strapped together like they are
now, will depend entirely on your behavior. You will get black marks for every
bad or ungirlish thing you do, and each mark means you have to spend one day
with your elbows strapped together, including the single glove you are wearing
now, morning to night. If you complain, you will also wear the gag. Just so you
know what you'll have coming if you get a black mark, we shall start your
training right now, and until dinner you can stay as you are now."
That was really cruel. Dinner was more than two hours away and he did not know
whether he could stand this terrible constriction for so long. But he saw no
way out. He was afraid to complain, as he was almost certain, it would mean the
first black mark. He saw nothing he could do, but resign himself to his fate.
Margaret picked up her paper again and started reading, paying no attention to
his discomfort at all. He could not sit in one of the deep easy-chairs, so he
tried sitting down on a stool in a corner. After a while, he started walking
around the room, trying to catch Aunt Margaret's attention. He tried to express
his wish to leave.
Finally she said "All right, I won't be too severe the first time. You may go
upstairs and ask Suzanne to take you out of it and dress you for dinner."
He wanted to turn and dash out but remembered to curtsey as gracefully as he
could and then walk out slowly with small, girlish steps.
When he reached his room, he sounded the bell for Suzanne. When she saw him, she
exclaimed "Now isn't this nice and snug? Really, it does a lot for your figure."
She made no attempt to release him. He followed her around with begging eyes,
but she just said "stay off my tail... I have to prepare your dress for tonight.
Wait a moment: I'll fix you."
She took a long ribbon, tied one end around his neck and led him like a dog to a
wall-bracket, to which she fastened the other end. There he stood, unable to
move away, tied to the wall with a simple ribbon with only a loose knot. It
would have taken him less than a second to untie it if he had the use of his
hands, and even with his teeth he could have opened the knot in no time, but
there he stood, helpless like a puppy on a satin leash.
Meanwhile, Suzanne took out the dress he was going to wear, a new set of
lingerie, stockings, and court-shoes, taking her time selecting each item,
checking it against the others to ensure the colors matched, with no haste. She
must have spent at least 20 minutes doing it, until she had all the things
together. She turned to him again, took him off the wall and started to undo the
single glove which imprisoned his arms from fingers to elbows. After that, with
a great effort she unhooked the chain holding his elbows tightly together. He
sighed deeply when he could move his arms again and immediately wanted to undo
the gag. He discovered to his dismay that it was fastened not only with a
buckle, but was locked on, too. He was unable to remove it.
He gestured to Suzanne to get her to take it off.
"Can't do. Don't have key. Madame has key. Must wait until she comes."
Because he could not speak to her, she spoke to him as if he were a little
child, or somebody who didn't speak the language. Then she proceeded to dress
him for dinner. He had to keep on his extremely tight corset. The dress was
beautiful; a soft rose tone with dark red applications, a little bustle
emphasizing his behind and a trained full skirt. The sleeves reached to his
elbows, where they ended in a flurry of rose colored lace. His gloves were long
and tight glace kid and disappeared into the sleeves. The court shoes had the
highest heels of all he had worn so far. When he gestured that he thought them
too high, Suzanne calmed him.
"They are just a little over four inches. They are very smart. You'll get used
to their height very quickly and you'll love the way they make you walk."
When he came down to meet Aunt Margaret at the dining table, she unlocked his
gag and took it out of his mouth. He was glad to be rid of it and touched his
cheeks and moved his jaws to see if everything was still working.
"Well?" Aunt Margaret looked at him inquiringly.
He quickly remembered to say "Thank you, Aunt Margaret," and to do a graceful
curtsey.
"The next time I have to remind you, you'll earn a black mark."
During dinner Aunt Margaret told him more about Coco. His real name was Conrad
and he came from a good family. A few years before, he had decided he wanted to
live as a girl and with the encouragement and help of his mother, he had done so
ever since. He had his own business, making costumes for the large number of
medium and small theater and music-hall productions playing in Berlin. He did
most of the designs, and employed four girls who did the sewing. And if anybody
wanted to have anything specially made, he was the one they turned to for
extravagant and bizarre things.
Gloria wanted to know if nobody objected to a man living as a lady.
Aunt Margaret explained that, not only were the people in Berlin extremely
tolerant of their neighbor's foibles, even the police were very tolerant. They
actually had issued him a paper, stating that the fact that he was living as a
woman was known to the authorities and that there were no objections. There was,
in fact, no law against cross-dressing. At the most, it could have been called a
disturbance of the peace if people had objected, but in any event this was rated
as nothing but a misdemeanor and if nobody complained, peace was not disturbed.
Aunt Margaret explained that even though male homosexuality was punishable under
the existent law, and there were many homosexuals around, who did not even try
to hide their inclinations, very rarely was anybody tried and convicted. The
police were keeping a watchful eye on male prostitutes (which were all well
known to them) who tried to blackmail their lovers. If such a case was made
known to them, they went after the blackmailer full force and the blackmailed
person's case was handled most discreetly, with rarely any damage being done to
him.
After dinner, Aunt Margaret sent Gloria to bed early, as the next day they would
have to rise early to take an early train.
"We are visiting very dear friends of mine. They have a son who is just taking
his final exams to become a medical doctor, I think you will like him. Oh,
before I forget it, remind Suzanne to pack at least two evening dresses. I think
there will be a ball held at the mansion Sunday night and probably there will be
a dance Monday night, too."
The idea of having to dance in skirts, and probably with a man, did not thrill
him at all, but as Sunday night was two nights off, he was not too scared. There
might even be a chance to find some male clothes at that place and he could put
an end to all this nonsense.
When Suzanne refused to let him out of his corset, he protested a little but
soon gave in. He was convinced he could get out by himself as soon as she had
left. He even went along playfully as Suzanne slipped his wrists through the
loops of the adjustable garter-straps, "to get your hands out of my way while I
clean your face," she said. It isn't even a real restraint, he thought, I can
slip out any time. She pulled the nightgown over his head but left his hands in
the loops.
"Have a good night and sleep well, tomorrow will probably be a long day," she
said as she tucked him in and left him.
When he tried to slip his hands out of the garter straps, he discovered he could
only draw the loops tighter around his wrists, but however he turned and tugged,
he could not slip out of the damn things. After about half an hour of
struggling, he gave up. He had underestimated her: she had outwitted him and he
had blindly walked into her trap. Now he had to keep on this dreadful corset
until she released him in the morning. Well, tomorrow he would put an end to
this all as soon as he got some male clothes. The fact that their hosts had a
son sounded promising. He would probably help him.
