XII. A Summer in Skirts
Life in Margaret's household had come to a sort of normalcy. Gloria was
continually being trained to be a girl. There were the lessons in ladylike
deportment, eliminating all traces of the male in behavior, gestures and other
manners of conscious or unconscious expressions. There was intensive voice
training and much more. She was kept busy learning to be a girl most of her
waking hours. And if nothing special was requested of her at any time, she was
tied up and often gagged.
When they had returned from the Easter-holiday excursion, Margaret had announced
that Gloria had collected eight black marks during the long weekend for not
being polite enough; not thanking their hosts at certain occasions, for not
curtseying correctly or forgetting to at all... mainly to Fritz. Gloria was
upset that she was requested to curtsey to Fritz at all. He was just a little
older than she, but Aunt Margaret explained that it was very becoming to a young
girl to act submissive toward any gentleman, especially if he were an eligible
suitor. And Fritz already was a medical doctor and was due some respect.
Aunt Margaret then decreed that the punishment of having to wear the
elbow-straps and the single glove for a whole day for each black mark would be
defined as having to wear it for twelve hours.
"However," she said in a condescending tone, "I'll make it easy for you. We'll
split up the twelve-hour period into six two-hour periods. You can serve one
two-hour period each morning and one each afternoon. That will stretch the
punishment period for eight black marks from eight days of twelve hours each to
24 days of four hours each... but then it does not interfere with your
training... and possibly with your dates with Fritz, which I am sure you will be
anxiously awaiting."
Gloria was not at all pleased to hear this. It was bad enough to be bound in
this very uncomfortable way, but she had figured that while wearing the single
glove she would escape the stringent training planned for her otherwise. Now she
would have to endure both. And since the training more often than not involved
being severely restrained in one way or another, it actually happened that
during her punishment period, working off the black marks, she was tied, bound,
fettered and restrained in one way or another practically all day long.
The dates with Fritz... mostly on the weekends... were the times Gloria was
living for, and Margaret as well as Suzanne used this as the carrot dangling in
front of her to spur her on to achieve remarkable results in her "girl"
training. She was very effectively brainwashed, and there were times when she,
herself, almost believed herself a real girl.
During this time, Coco became a regular visitor. She had many useful tips on how
to train Gloria further, but more and more an intimate relationship evolved with
Margaret. The night at the von- Eltzen-mansion must have touched Margaret deeper
than she had imagined it could. Margaret paid very little attention to Gloria
when Coco was around, and even more surprising was the fact that, with Coco,
Margaret was not her usual haughty self; she became almost submissive.
On Coco's suggestion, they went with Gloria to see the doctor, who had treated
Coco quite successfully in her change to a more girlish body. The doctor
diagnosed a slight case of gynecomastia with Gloria and stated that this could
probably be treated to achieve the desired results. Margaret had warned Gloria
not to interfere and be quiet, no matter what she would discuss with the doctor,
if she wanted to retain any hide on her back. Knowing she did not joke, Gloria
kept quiet.
The doctor finally explained "We are in the middle of experiments with extracts
from genital glands from certain animals and their effects on others. We have
found that certain extracts of such glands can change the whole outward
appearance of the recipient animal, even if the recipient is a totally different
animal."
He went on in scientific terms, which none of his guests could follow. He
therefore closed, stating, "what it boils down to, we think we have found some
substances, which can give an individual, even a human, the outward appearance,
mainly the secondary genital characteristics of the opposite sex. Men lose their
beard and body hair, develop breasts and wider hips while narrowing in their
waists, they get a higher voice etc. Your friend Coco here is a pretty good
example. He has now stopped the treatment because it started to impair his sex
drive, but he still comes around now and then for a refresher, to maintain the
status reached."
"The trouble is, we cannot get enough material to experiment with.
We get all available glands from the Berlin stock-yards, but a lot spoils before
we can process it and the extracting process is so expensive that the results
can never be turned into a drug that can be put on the market. But we are
working on it."
"Well, if I may support your work a little, I'll write you a nice check and I
hope you can help my nephew here to achieve the new body he desires so much."
"Thank you Frau Baronin, I shall take it as your grant toward progress in
science. I hope we can help the young man here. However I have to tell you that
there is a group of scientists in New York, who work in the same field and I
have a suspicion that they are even more advanced than we here. Maybe you should
see them."
From that day on, Gloria had to take a preparation, brought over from the
university clinic by messenger, with every meal. Soon after the treatment
started, Gloria noticed that her nipples were growing in size and becoming more
sensitive and her fleshy breasts grew even fleshier. When properly laced into a
corset, she now had two remarkable mounds, almost as much as many girls of her
age had.
If it had not been for the endless little tyrannies exercised by Margaret and
Suzanne, her life as a girl would have been really pleasant. They went out a
lot, during the day to the race tracks or to exhibitions, or were invited to
teas, and at night to theater and cabaret shows. There was so much to see and to
discover for Gloria in the big city.
Both Margaret and Suzanne took great care that Gloria was always dressed just
right for each occasion. Nothing had ever been returned from the wardrobe they
had brought back from Madame Heloise, on the contrary, more things were added
almost daily, sometimes a hat, a pair of gloves or smart high heeled boots
colored to match a certain dress, sometimes a dress or a cloak for a certain
occasion. Going shopping or visiting fashion salons actually took up a lot of
their time and inevitably something was added to Gloria's already big wardrobe.
Suzanne was extremely fertile in thinking up restraints that would not show but
severely restricted Gloria's freedom to move. Almost every time they went out,
Gloria was secretly restrained somehow. Almost continually she had to wear a
petticoat, which hobbled her legs relentlessly. It was so tight that she could
take only the tiniest steps and when she sat down, which pulled it up just a
little, it would actually tie her calves and thighs tightly together.
Of course, while they were at home, Gloria's hands were always strapped together
on her back, either in the single glove (working off black marks) or simply
handcuffed. She was not released for meals even, either Suzanne or Margaret had
to feed her and usually she was fed less than she wanted. The result was a much
slimmer figure within weeks and... of course... tighter corsets.
One day in June, Margaret came up with the idea for a trip to Paris and urged
Gloria to accompany her.
"Just think, we could go to the Paris designers and buy some really elegant
things for you. Wouldn't that be fun?"
"Yes, I think so, I would love to go with you, but then I would have to go as a
boy. I do not have a passport and if I'd get one, I could only get one for
Jean-Marie, a male, not for a girl."
Gloria was nursing the hope that this could be her chance to return to male
clothes.
"Now, don't you worry your little head. I have already taken care of this."
"You know you were born in the United States. This automatically makes you a
U.S. citizen. I thought it is always an advantage to have two passports and
therefore started some enquiries. I hired an agency in New York to find your
birth certificate... and I was successful. The agency, however, reported at
first that there was no male baby with the name of Jean-Marie listed for your
date of birth. There was, however, a Mary-Jane a girl... registered in the
town where you were born."
"I made them investigate more thoroughly and it turned out that evidently your
father had sent one of his workers from the railroad camp to the next town to
register your birth and this guy had to pass one or two saloons on his way to
the town hall. When he finally arrived there, he only remembered that the baby
was to have a double name, one of the two was Mary and the other had a funny
French sound but started with a J. When the registrar suggested Mary-Jane, he
had said "that's probably it"... and so you were registered as a girl."
"I have asked the U.S. Consul General for a passport for you based on your
birth-certificate and, with a little persuasion to cut through some bureaucratic
red tape, he issued it. Here it is: your passport with your photograph. It
shows you are Mary-Jane von Leydenburg, female, a U.S. citizen... officially
stamped and sealed."
That certainly stuck a needle into the balloon of Gloria's hopes. She could
foresee that this would only multiply the possibilities for Margaret to dress
her as a girl in the future. Jean-Marie's existence as Gloria was now officially
recognized and sanctioned.
They went to Paris a week later, Margaret, Suzanne and Gloria. The trip itself
was wonderful. Gloria, however, would have enjoyed it even more without the
little tyrannies of Suzanne, who really seemed to delight in every little
fiendish cruelty she could exercise on Gloria... and she was very imaginative.
She never passed up an opportunity to remind Gloria that she was a mere boy and
did not belong to the superior species of women even if she looked like one.
Margaret had mellowed down a lot, but basically followed her initial plan to
turn her nephew into a girl and thereby make him completely dependent on her,
eliminating any chance that he might have to meddle in her affairs. If he acted
as a girl, she came to accept him as such and showered him with her affection.
Gloria noticed this and to get to her good side, she played the girl role to the
best of her ability. When Margaret suggested they visit the famous Salon Worth,
the most eminent of the Paris designers, the epitome of the Haute Couture,
Gloria was enthusiastic. They went and for an outrageous price Gloria got a
beautiful evening dress and Margaret bought a house dress for herself, another
one for Coco, and a walking dress for Suzanne. They also visited the salon Rouff
and a newcomer, who had opened her couture house only a year ago, Jeanne Lanvin.
Here too, they bought dresses for all of them.
Paris was... no doubt about that... the cultural center of the western world at
that time and Gloria fell in love with it right away. The "Grands Boulevards"
were full of elegant dandies and fashionably dressed women... apparently there
were a lot of people in Paris who didn't do anything but enjoy life. It was said
that some of the highly paid courtesans ran literary salons where you could meet
all the famous writers, poets and composers of the time. And of course... the
courtesans were always the avant-garde of fashion, as their rich escorts were
proud to be seen with them in all their beauty, and they strived to outdo each
other.
Gloria would have loved to be a part of it as a male, but as a pure and
protected young girl these doors had to remain closed to her. It was therefore
partly with regret, partly with relief that she returned to Berlin.
After the relative freedom Gloria had experienced in Paris, Margaret felt it
necessary to draw the reins a little tighter after their return and when her
personal maid asked for two weeks off to visit her family, she made Gloria fill
the empty spot.
Gloria then was required to sleep in a little room just off Margaret's bedroom
and to perform all the services of a personal maid. She was also required to
wear a uniform, which was specially made for her. During this time she learned
to wash Margaret's dainty lingerie, to clean and press her dresses, to polish
her shoes, and to attend to her "toilette" by dressing and undressing her,
brushing her hair and do all the many other little things required of a maid.
Gloria enjoyed most of the tasks because it gave her an opportunity to be very
close to "Madame", whom she still worshiped. Margaret however kept her distance.
After all, Gloria was now only a servant and one does not associate too closely
with these.
The summer passed and toward the beginning of September Margaret announced that
she had commissioned a famous portrait painter to do Gloria's picture.
"I want something to remind you and me of your time as a girl," she told Gloria.
The next week the painter, a professor from the Berlin Arts College, started.
Gloria was to be painted wearing the Worth evening gown. The trouble was, she
could not hold the required pose long enough. Her arms would sink, her head
turn, her body move as she shifted weight from one foot to the other... the
professor got furious. He complained to Margaret about it. The result was that
two days later two workmen brought in a steel rack with movable parts. Gloria
was made to back up toward it and in no time at all she was fastened against it
in just the exact way the professor had requested it... completely unable to
move. All she could do was blink her eyes.
The professor worked for two or three hours every morning, when the light was
the best. For Gloria it was like being bound to a stake of torture. She felt
like a butterfly on a pin in a butterfly collection. She was always ready to
fall down as soon as she was released. However sometimes Suzanne, who should
release her, took her time getting around to it. Sometimes she played with her
helpless captive, reaching under her skirts for instance and caressing her
thighs, massaging her prick in its confines until Gloria thought she would pass
out from pent up desire.
One day... Gloria was again immovably stretched and fastened against her rack
and the professor was painting quietly... the doorbell rang and when the
parlor-maid opened, Gloria heard two military officers enter and ask whether
Jean-Marie von Leydenburg was living here. The maid asked them to enter and led
them into the room where the professor worked. After a minute Margaret appeared
and asked the officers what they wanted.
"We have a warrant here for a certain Jean-Marie von Leydenburg.
When he left his school, he gave this as his future address. He failed to report
for military service and is now wanted as a deserter. If we find him, we have to
arrest him and take him to jail. Is he with you?"
"Most certainly not. I do not give shelter to deserters."
"May we look around?"
"Of course, and if you find any young man in the house, I would be most
interested to meet him."
Of course, the search was in vain. Margaret, however, seemed to be quite upset
about the incident. As soon as they were gone and the Professor was out of the
house, she called Gloria and explained to her that her house was not a safe
place for her anymore. There would be a very good chance that they would check
the registers of the inhabitants at the police station and find a Mary-Jane
registered, born on the same day and in the same place as the Jean-Marie they
were looking for. That would certainly cause suspicion and they would be back to
check this coincidence.
"You'll have to leave... and the sooner, the better. You have an American
passport, you should go to America."
"But in America I'll have to be a girl, I am a female according to my passport."
"So what, it is much better to live in America as a girl for a while, than sit
in jail as a deserter over here. I have an idea: I'll send you to a finishing
school there. It'll only be a few months until I can clear up things here and
the heat will be off. And it'll do you a lot of good. The world is getting
smaller everyday and it is good to know the English language. Your Latin and
Greek will not help you very much when you'll travel later on. You'll have to
learn English, anyhow."
Gloria could not argue with her. She was absolutely right. He suddenly was the
boy Jean-Marie again and a very frightened one too. The farther away he was from
this mess, the better it seemed to him.
Three days later, he departed from Le Havre, a fashionable young lady on her way
to a finishing school on Long Island, chaperoned by a young governess...
Suzanne, of course. He didn't even have the time to say goodbye to Fritz; he had
just managed to send him a postcard from the train.
What he didn't know was that the whole affair with the officers looking for him
was staged by Margaret to get him off to this school... close to New York, where
the scientists that Coco's professor had mentioned, worked. Margaret had made a
sizeable grant to their institute in return for the promise of the complete
feminization of her nephew. Actually he had been exempted from military service
months ago on account of a paper that the professor in Berlin had prepared and
which declared him unfit for the service for medical reasons.
