Cassie saw tears in her eyes again.
‘And they didn’t get any worse, because that evening Jo and David Startway came into the club, saw me getting totally blitzed, and started talking to me. The next night, when I was working, just behind the bar that time, they came in again and stayed really late so they could talk to me some more. They are lovely people; well you know that for yourself. I think they have more of their own troubles now, especially David. But they’ve always been incredibly good to me. Anyway, Jo helped me sort out where I was with Uni. She wrote letters and got me to do at least some work. She told me about Caroline and old Mr Benedict and suggested that I meet them. So I did, and so I’m here. Caroline has helped me no end. She’s made it possible for me to go back to Uni when I’m ready, and for now I’ve got an occasional job to do with the estate business. It makes me feel more useful, and I can get used to working with people normally, you know, just as any other girl. And I told you that she insisted on meeting my parents, and I really didn’t want that, but she arranged it, and explained everything to them, and now they’ve come to work here as well.’
‘Caroline is very ... kind,’ agreed Cassie.
‘Kind, and thoughtful, and very clever, and extremely ladylike, and very sensual and downright sexy when she wants to be. But she never forces people to do anything, she just helps them become what they want to be themselves. Mistress Victoria was kind to me, but she only wanted me for her own purposes. It was just as well I met Dr Startway when I did, ’cos the hormone drugs that Vicky gave me were not really what I should have been taking, and she had started to get on to me about getting big breast implants, and surgery to change my face and give me bigger lips. What she wanted was to make me into me into a kind of cartoon sex doll, a kind of Jessica Rabbit with a cock.’
‘And that isn’t what you want to be?’
‘No – not that. I realise that now. I’m still not quite sure about everything that I want, to tell you the truth. But I do know that I want to be elegant and stylish, and confident!’
‘You seem very confident to me.’
Sadie laughed. ’It is easy to be confident here, with all the support from Caroline and everybody else. It’s more difficult in... other places. That’s why I’m getting used to working in a normal job. It’s quite fun really.’
‘Where do you work?’
‘In the estate office in the town, but I have to go to the city sometimes.’
‘Do you think you will go back to University?’
‘Still not quite sure. I’d be older now of course; older than most undergraduates. I think I really should, but I’m not quite sure I could cope if you see what I mean. What about you? Did you have any plans before...before you came here?’
‘Not really plans.’ Cassie replied. ‘This last year was ..... got very difficult. I’d really wanted to do engineering, especially electronics.’
‘You should. There has to be a ready market for female engineers.’
‘Oh – yes. I suppose there might be.’ Cassie had not thought that one through. To be a female, at University! Would she cope with that, she thought to herself.
‘Anyway, you don’t need to decide till you want to, and feel you are ready. You’ll get all the support you want here. Do you want another swim? This afternoon sun is really warm.’
Cassie rather surprised herself by agreeing. Perhaps she was already growing more confident in this setting.
*****************************
As the two girls swam back towards the landing stage, they saw Janet standing there, waiting as her husband carefully navigated a rowing boat out of the boathouse.
‘Hello you two,’ she called. ‘We had a rather late lunch. Sorry we missed you. We’re going to row over to the far bank for some exercise before tea.’
‘What do you mean “we’re going to row?”,’ said John, as he pulled closer to the landing stage. ‘You usually just lounge about in the stern trying to look pretty!’
‘What do you mean “trying”?’ replied Janet. ‘And do watch out, there are two girls in the water here.’
‘Don’t worry. We’re well clear,’ called out Sadie, as she made sure that Cassie had reached the ladder on the end of the stage. John had brought the boat alongside where Janet was standing, and was putting a line through one of the mooring rings.
‘Just you hold that boat steady,’ Janet instructed John. ’You know I don’t like it when it wobbles.’
‘It’s a boat Janet. It floats on water. If you put weight on one side of course it wobbles!’
‘Well hold my hand then while I get in.’
The two girls had climbed out of the water, and were watching as Janet, clutching at her husband’s hand stepped heavily into the boat, which rocked wildly. Janet, in apparent panic, let go of the outstretched hand, waved her arms in the air, and fell over the far side of the boat. The splash was followed by another as Sadie dived cleanly into the water from the end of the stage, disappeared under the boat, then surfaced beside the struggling Janet.
‘Thank you dear,’ Janet spluttered, as Sadie supported her. ‘That man knows I’m not very good in the water. He could have held that boat steadier.’
Sadie propelled Janet towards the ladder. Cassie had taken the mooring line and John walked up, quite slowly Cassie thought, to help his wife out of the water.
‘Oh dear, now I’ve got these clothes all wet.’ Janet flounced her way down the jetty. ‘I suppose I’ll have to take them off.’ Since she was wearing a wrap round skirt, and a top which tied round her waist, she managed to do this quite easily, revealing that she was wearing a white one piece swimming costume underneath, quite high cut, and showing quite an amount of cleavage. ‘I suppose this’ll dry of in the boat. And at least I’m not as much of an exhibitionist as you young Sadie!’
It was almost, Cassie realised, as though she wanted to do a striptease, but wasn’t quite sure whether to, or quite how to do it. She mentioned this to Sadie, after they had helped Janet safely into the boat. This impression was reinforced by the white floppy sunhat which Janet had got her husband to take to the boat, and under which she now lounged, showing of as much of herself as possible.
‘Yes it does look like that doesn’t it,’ replied Sadie. ’Excuse me just a moment while I fetch that.’ She slipped back into the water, and retrieved her bikini top which had come off completely when she had performed her rescue of Janet.
She re-emerged with her long blonde hair cascading round her naked breasts. Cassie thought she made a lovely mermaid.
‘I mean I love being an exhibitionist, as you may have gathered. But Janet never seems quite able to decide what she wants to be. I think she likes all the display and nudity here, but seems to hold back from joining in.’
‘Can I ask you a personal question?’
‘Don’t be daft. We’ve been very personal all afternoon.’
‘Last night, when you and Sylvie were naked, you had a tattoo, in the same place as Sylvie’s, but it’s...’
‘Oh the double rings, with the male and female symbols. That was just a temporary tattoo so we matched. It’s probably mostly washed off now hasn’t it? Caroline doesn’t encourage any of us to do anything permanent until we’re sure we want it.’
‘So Sylvie’s sure she’s happy to be... a slave?’
‘Caroline’s slave. Of course she is. Can you imagine anyone being happier?
‘Can I ask you another question?’
‘Go on.’
‘Well, how long...how long did it take for your breasts to grow?’
‘You don’t need to worry you know. I haven’t had the same history as you. You’re starting on proper treatment earlier than I did. Anyway, I’m sure that Jo has told you that we’re all different anyway, and it’s not just boobs you know, you’ll get a thinner waist, not that you can get much thinner, and a larger bottom and hips. You wait and see.’
‘Just how long?’
‘Poor dear. It’ll take as long as
it takes. And you are enjoying yourself anyway aren’t you?’
‘Oh yes,’ replied Cassie, with a blush.
‘I’m sure that everybody else here is enjoying you being here as well.’ Sadie ran her eyes over the other girl, rather lasciviously. ‘So just carry on Cassie! Sorry, I can’t believe I said that.’
Both girls giggled, and walked up the sun warmed-planks to the boathouse to shower and change.
Chapter Eight
Several games at once
From the south facing terrace of the house, Jo and Caroline watched the party on the velvet-smooth croquet lawn. Sylvie had offered to teach Cassie and Janet how to play. Sadie (who played a little before) offered to help. The teachers were wearing rather shorter skirts than might be considered proper for croquet, but all four of them had flat or wedge heels. Sylvie had pointed out, rather indignantly, to Janet that stiletto heels would only damage the turf and get her stuck into the bargain.
Caroline watched Sylvie show Janet and then Cassie how to hold a mallet. The match was to be blondes against brunettes.
‘I think that if Sylvie thinks she can use the game to show off to those two, she may get a surprise,’ she remarked to Jo.
‘Well croquet can be about the most vicious game played with balls!’ replied Jo. ‘As well you know Caroline Caraway!’
Caroline, who loved the game, and who had often triumphed over Jo and David Startway, smiled.
‘But we have beaten you twice as I remember, despite your cruel and savage nature!’ Jo continued.
‘Only on the croquet pitch,’ replied Caroline, ‘and wasn’t it three times?’
‘Oh yes. You had that absolutely duff partner, and I had Poppy, who you thought would be pretty duff as well, but turned out to be much much better than you were expecting!’
‘That’s because she’s very good at doing what she’s told, Jo Startway, and I think you realised that straightaway didn’t you?’
‘Well yes I did. She likes having instructions whispered in her ear, and being told exactly what to do. Whereas your partner, what was his name, just wouldn’t take your advice would he?’
‘No, and not just about croquet.’
‘Ah well, that just goes to show that even you Caroline can’t win everything!’ The darker woman pulled the blonde towards her and kissed her gently, with one hand behind her neck, and running the other down her back to her bottom.
‘I don’t want to win everything,’ Caroline eventually replied. ‘Only the things that really matter, and that’s just the same as you Doctor Startway! But when I introduced Cassie to Benedict in the nursing home, I remember them talking about croquet,’ Caroline said.
‘Well I suppose there are stranger subjects for conversation between an ageing and infirm philanthropist and a young latent transsexual!’
‘Benedict is very good at getting people to talk, as you know, and he loves finding common ground with other people’s lives. Anyway, apparently Cassie has played croquet before. There was some kind of club at her school. She said that she, or rather he as she was then, wasn’t very good, but I suspect that now she feels more liberated she may deliver a different result.’
‘Does Sylvie know Cassie has played before?’
‘No she doesn’t. She didn’t ask and just assumed that she could pose as queen of the croquet court. This will be interesting!’
The two women moved away from the warm carved stone of the balustrade round the terrace to the shaded swing seat that looked out over the croquet lawn and the other gardens to the lake and the hills beyond. John came out of the drawing room doors, carrying a tray laden from the tea table set out inside.
‘Come and sit with us John, and watch Janet get a lesson in controlled aggression.’ called Caroline. John placed the tray on the balustrade, and served tea and cake to the two women, who moved apart so that he could sit between them.
‘I’m not sure that she needs lessons in aggression,’ said John, ‘but control would be useful.’
‘Well, that was pretty controlled,’ said Jo, as Cassie hit her blue ball straight through the first hoop.
’Oops,’ came from John as Cassie’s follow through shot hardly moved her ball.
‘Yes, but local rules say no croquet before the first hoop, so she should be clear away now,’ commented Jo.
‘But Janet has still got to get through,’ replied Caroline’, and even with no croquet Sylvie can still block her.’
This Sylvie proceeded to do, first pushing her red ball through the hoop, and then coming back through to place her ball to stop Janet hitting her ball through.
Janet, after a sign from Cassie, hit the black ball slightly to the right of but still behind the hoop. Since the hoop was still blocked, all Sadie could do was the same thing as Janet, but on the left side.
Sylvie called to Cassie, ‘You should go on now. Janet should get through after Sadie does.’
Cassie however had her own ideas. However unconfident she may have been while swimming, she felt at home on the croquet lawn, and wasn’t going to abandon her partner. Sighting very carefully, she hit her ball back through the hoop and made a neat croquet with Sylvie’s red ball. Having positioned her blue ball against the red for the roquet, she made a careful but powerful stab shot that sent Sylvie’s ball away to the far side of the lawn, and positioned her own ball so as to block Sadie from getting through the hoop.
‘Good shot,’ came from the spectator’s seat.
‘Where did you learn to do that?’ Sylvie asked.
‘Well I have played a little before, at school,’ replied Cassie, before whispering an instruction to Janet.
‘You might have said,’ came from an aggrieved Sylvie.
‘You didn’t ask her,’ Sadie told her partner. ‘It’s going to be a proper match now.’
It was.
Sylvie hit her red ball back from the far side, but didn’t manage to croquet Cassie’s blue ball. Janet was able to push her black ball through the hoop, and then made a little hit which took it about halfway to the next one. Sadie could do nothing but move her yellow ball to where Janet’s had been, still behind the first hoop.
If Sylvie had thought that Cassie’s play so far had been merely lucky, the next shot should have convinced her otherwise. The blue ball moved unerringly to hit the black, used the roquet shot to push the black through the second hoop, and then went though itself. Using the follow through, Cassie managed to croquet the black ball again, and with the roquet positioned both black and blue to line them up for the third hoop.
There were cries of approval and prolonged applause from the spectator’s bench.
‘Well done partner,’ Janet dropped her mallet and hugged Cassie. ‘You’re brilliant, you should take Caroline on!’
And so the game went on. Sylvie and Sadie did manage to catch up a little, from having been one-and-a-half hoops behind, but Cassie’s boldly aggressive tactics pulled away from them again. What was really noticeable was the flagrant posturing and posing adopted by Sylvie and Sadie. If either of them played a good shot, they would hug and kiss, more and more provocatively. When Cassie or Janet played, they would lean against their mallets, their hips touching. They would smooth down each other’s skirts, check each other’s faces, and groom each other’s hair.
Janet was reacting to this kind of competition more than Cassie. Now, after Cassie played a good shot, she would hug her, and kiss her on the cheek. Then, when Cassie had briefed her to play quite a difficult shot which had come off well, she dropped her mallet, turned, waved to her husband, pulled her partner towards her, and with an arm round Cassie’s neck and one round her waist, gave her a prolonged kiss on the lips. Cassie, carried away by the game could only respond in kind, and with Janet’s urgent prompting, the two of them became almost as flagrant as their opponents. Janet delighted in thinking up more and more provocative poses. Cassie’s new found confidence allowed her respond in ways the spectators had not seen before.
‘Well, this is a v
ery educational game,’ Caroline remarked.
‘And croquet always brings out the worst in people!’ came the reply from Jo.
‘I’m glad Cassie’s enjoying herself. It’ll do her so much good to beat those two. Sylvie will be shocked to be beaten at her own game; and Janet certainly seems to entering into the spirit of the thing,’ observed Caroline to John.
‘I think she’s enjoying it very much,’ came the reply. ’Although I wonder quite how many games are being played out there! You’re managing to bring out her... latent qualities Caroline.’
‘You think she has...latent qualities?’ asked Jo.
‘Ooh yes,’ replied John. ’She certainly does, and she seems to be enjoying discovering more and more of them.’
‘Do you think she needs more help?’ asked Jo mischievously.
‘I think that Caroline might manage to arrange for her to get some... help! In fact, it’s something I was going to mention to you Caroline. I’ve got a long overseas trip coming up in a few months, and Janet was wondering whether to come with me. But it’s nowhere she hasn’t been before, and to tell you the truth she doesn’t really like the travelling. So, if you invited her, she might very well like to come here and discover more of her... latent qualities.’
‘That would be very interesting, and probably a great deal of fun,’ replied Caroline. ‘She certainly seems to enjoy Cassie’s company, although perhaps she’s not quite as sisterly as she was last night.’
This last remark was prompted by Cassie and Janet leaning towards other propped on their mallets, and kissing each other over the last hoop.
The two blondes were whispering together. Despite all the playacting and posing, and sometimes really aggressive play by Sylvie, Cassie had maintained the lead, and now all the blue and black balls had to do was to ‘peg out’ by hitting the central multi-coloured stake. At this point however, they were vulnerable to attack. If the blonde team could push either of the blue or black balls onto the stake, then that ball would have finished the course, and no longer be able to play. That would leave the remaining ball vulnerable to attack by either of the red or yellow balls, which might manage to keep it away from the stake until they had caught up. The next to play was Sadie with the yellow ball. After a whispered briefing from Sylvie, Sadie tossed her long hair behind her, and lined up for the shot. She had the endearing habit of sticking her tongue out a little when she was concentrating. Her aim was good, but she hit the ball rather too hard. She did indeed croquet Cassie’s blue ball, but moved it quite a distance away from the stake. The whole game could now depend on how Sadie managed the roquet shot.
After the Dreams (Caroline's Company) Page 13