II. Ensnared
Suddenly the carriage stopped and Aunt Margaret asked him to help her down,
which he hastened to do, swearing at himself that he was so clumsy not to have
thought of it himself. They entered a small store, at least it appeared that way
from the outside. Inside it opened to a large salon, equipped with beautiful
antique furniture and a wealth of oriental carpets, lighted by shaded gas jets
everywhere. One wall was almost entirely covered with the finest crystal
mirrors, and more mirrors in golden stucco frames mounted on little wheels were
around everywhere. Two or three groups of deeply upholstered armchairs were
arranged around marble-topped tables covered with fashion plates and magazines.
Aunt Margaret was greeted effusively by Madame Heloise, the store owner. She
introduced him as her nephew who had just arrived from the province.
"You will best sit down someplace and read something, this may take a while. Do
you want something to drink? I am sure Madame Heloise can arrange something for
you."
"Of course," Madame Heloise volunteered, "what do you want, coffee or tea or
some juice?"
"If you don't mind, I would prefer a cup of tea."
"Of course not, Suzanne, get the young gentleman some tea please," she called to
her help.
The two women were soon deeply involved in a discussion of the design and
material of new dresses that Margaret wanted to have made while he had settled
down in one of the large easy chairs and thumbed through a fashion magazine from
Paris. He was fascinated by the women in the elegant new fashions.
The next thing he noticed was a cataract of hot tea gushing down over him. He
yelped and jumped up. Suzanne in bringing him the tea had evidently caught one
foot in the fold of a carpet and stumbled, falling all over him with the full
cup and kettle.
Madame Heloise came rushing to the scene, chiding Suzanne for her clumsiness.
However, his best suit was soaked like a sponge with tea, and he felt the fluid
soak through to his skin.
"Quick, undress yourself and give the clothes to Suzanne. If they are not
cleaned at once, the tea stains will remain forever... I am awfully sorry, such
a clumsy girl," and turning to her "quick, help the gentleman and clean his
things, couldn't you watch out where you walked, imbecile," and to him again "go
behind this screen to undress, I'll try and find something for you to cover
yourself. Give everything that is stained to Suzanne, she will clean it."
She turned to Margaret: "I am so sorry to cause such an inconvenience to your
escort, Frau Baronin, but I'll do my best to have the things all cleaned and
pressed in no time at all."
Margaret... after Jean-Marie had disappeared behind the screen... could hardly
contain herself. She almost burst from laughing. It all had gone so smoothly,
and without any rehearsal, too. Madame Heloise, when she had told her of her
plans, had just said "Leave everything to me, I guarantee you that I shall have
him completely undressed and without his clothes within five minutes after you
come in and then we shall be able to do with him whatever we choose."
Suzanne, Margaret thought, was priceless: no actress could have played her role
more precisely and to the point.
"Here, take this dressing gown for the moment. I am awfully sorry, but I don't
have any male clothes here. You see, I am dealing in ladies fashions
exclusively. And when you are dressed, please make yourself comfortable over
there. Suzanne will clean the mess at your table as soon as she finishes with
your suit and shirt."
With this, she handed him a silken dressing gown behind the screen.
He was reluctant to put it on at first, it being so utterly feminine with the
tulle ruffles around the neck and the bottom and at the wrists. But there really
was nothing else available and he couldn't remain stark naked behind the screen
all the time. A shiver finally persuaded him to put on the strange garment. It
was a tight fit around his waist and his stomach was well held in after he
buttoned the seemingly endless row of little round buttons from his neck to his
ankles, but otherwise it was a perfect fit for him.
He was glad that he had the tall screen to hide behind. He did not want anybody
to see his secret: During puberty, instead of growing a beard, his nipples had
grown and puffed out somehow like a girl's immature breasts. His voice had not
really cracked to a deep male register. It had changed but more than deepened,
it had gathered strength and volume. It was... in musical terms... something
between a tenor and a contra-tenor. All of this had led to terrible teasing at
the school and he did not want to be ridiculed by complete strangers even before
he had had a chance to talk to his aunt about it.
When he emerged reluctantly from behind the screen, he was greeted by "oohs" and
"aahs" from Madame Heloise as well as from Aunt Margaret.
"You look great in it my dear," Aunt Margaret stated with a tone of genuine
admiration.
"You shouldn't walk barefoot here, there may still be some fragments of glass
buried in the carpet from a champagne glass that a client broke here last week,
put on these mules, I think they will fit you."
Before he could find an answer she had already knelt down and put a pair of
embroidered mules with two inch heels on his feet, making him totter a little
bit.
"Do me a favor and come over here, please, I want to have a look at this gown."
Margaret waved her gloved hand at him.
"Madame Heloise, you have never shown this to me. I find this design very
intriguing, the full skirt with just the hint of a train, it looks wonderful.
Please, Jean-Marie, walk over to the far side again and come back to me, I want
to see how it looks in motion. --- Not so fast, you are not on a sports track
now, take smaller steps, in a gown like this you should glide, not stomp through
the room. Do it again please."
He did not know what to think or feel, his mind was suddenly absolutely empty,
he was all skin, feeling the slithering, rustling material against it, sending
peculiar sensations up and down his spine. Automatically he followed Margaret's
instructions.
It was not until he had walked the entire length of the salon for about the
fourth time that he became conscious of his image in the mirrors on the wall,
and what he saw did not agree with the picture he'd had of himself before. He
saw a girl. Well, it was a girl with a peculiar hairdo, but there was a girl,
all right. The tulle ruffles high around his neck disguised the missing hair at
the sides to a degree and with the slim waist and the full skirt there could not
be the slightest doubt that the figure reflected in the mirror belonged to a
girl.
He was completely at a loss for what to do or what to say. One part of him
wanted to hide in a mouse hole, another part of him told him to act naturally,
as if there really wasn't anything to it, just as if he just had something on to
cover himself. But most disturbing of all, somewhere deep within him a cord had
been struck that reverberated and sent strange new feelings through him,
feelings that he had never known before. Pleasant feelings, he had to concede,
reluctantly.
He finally shook this off and managed to sit down in a chair just as Suzanne
reappeared, announcing that the stains were all gone and she had put the things
out to dry a little before she could press them. She acted as if nothing unusual
was around and busied herself cleaning the mess from the table, the chair and
the carpets. He tried again to concentrate on his reading, but his mind was
constantly distracted by the feeling of the silk against his skin. He even began
to make secret little moves to feel the silk slither over his skin again.
Aunt Margaret and Madame Heloise had gone back to their discussion and he heard
with half an ear Madame Heloise explain to the "Frau Baronin", that the gown had
been made to order for that Italian girl, that dancer at the opera that suddenly
had to leave Berlin after that scandal with the Russian duke and now Madame
Heloise was left with that gown and actually a complete new wardrobe for her on
which the duke had only made a small down-payment and of course, now that
neither of them remained in Berlin, she had no hope to collect the rest,
resulting in a heavy loss for her, because of course, all the dresses, coats,
even the lingerie had been made to measure and there were not many young girls
in Berlin, who could afford to buy at Madame Heloise's and she could not
organize a sale, as this could ruin her standing in the fashion world etc. etc.
She was still rambling about her big loss while pinning a dress on the "Frau
Baronin," when suddenly Suzanne reappeared, hurried to Madame Heloise with a
crestfallen expression on her face and whispered something into her ear. Madame
Heloise reacted suddenly with a hard slap to the girl's face and sent her out
with a flood of harsh words in French.
"Frau Baronin, I am desolate, more, I am completely desperate. I do not know how
to tell you. That stupid girl has put the shirt and the underthings of the young
gentleman on the window sill to dry and the vest, coat and trousers on hangers
and hung them into the open window and while she was here with us, some thief
must have come to our backyard and helped himself to a complete wardrobe.
Anyway, everything is gone and I do not know what to say and how to excuse the
girl."
"Well, that should not be such a big problem. I am sure Suzanne meant well and
it really is not her fault. I was going to get some new things for him anyway
and that suit really was not a thing that Beau Brummell would have cared to
wear. Why don't you send out Suzanne to buy something that will tie him over
until he gets his trunk from the station and I can really get him some decent
suits? Here, take some money."
"I am awfully sorry, but I think this is no solution to our problem; look, all
the stores have closed about half an hour ago and there is no store with
ready-to-wear men's fashions around here anywhere where I know the owner well
enough to be able to persuade him to open the store for us."
"Well then, we seem to be in a sort of fix. I had not realized that it was that
late already. And that makes it worse, because now I have to hurry. I have a
box at the opera tonight and I can't be late, as friends will be waiting for me
there. Hmm... I have an idea! You just said you had a complete wardrobe ready
for that Italian dancer. He is wearing her dressing-gown now and it fits him.
Why not dress him in something suitable so he can go outside and I shall take
him home as a girl. He already looks like one in only the dressing-gown. That's
it, that's what we shall do. Suzanne! Suzanne, come here and help us. You caused
all this trouble, so you shall act as his ladies' maid and help him to dress."
He tried to protest that he was certainly not going to go out dressed as a girl.
But it had the same effect on the three women as if he had talked to the wall.
They were so busy selecting things from cartons and racks, discussing the pros
and cons of certain items, that they did not listen to him at all. Aunt Margaret
only turned once to him and asked, "Well, what other suggestion do you have?"
Before he could catch his breath and gather his wits to make one, she continued,
"Well, evidently you do not have any. All right, then it is settled: you will
come with me dressed as a girl."
Suzanne suddenly proceeded to strip him of his dressing-gown quite
unceremoniously and in a manner that permitted no protests. He tried to cover
himself with his hands, but he was no match for the three women who handled him
like a puppet. Luckily, they did not react at all to the twin prominences
adorning his chest.
First, they slipped a vest of the finest cambric over him. Aunt Margaret then
took his hands and held them, while Suzanne and Madame Heloise clasped a corset
around his waist, closed the hooks in front and started lacing it. He only hoped
they would finish quickly and leave him alone. However, that was still far away,
and he had quite another problem to deal with. He did not know what caused it,
the deft touches of the women or the feeling of the soft material or the sudden
mounting constriction about his waist, but his manly tool chose this worst
imaginable moment to raise its head and lift up the hem of the vest. Suzanne was
the first to notice it.
"Look who is getting curious, le petit monsieur wants to see what is going on.
But unfortunately we have absolutely no use for you at this time."
He prayed that it would just shrink away. But on the contrary, it stood up like
a barge pole and everybody around could get a good look at it.
"A very fine specimen indeed," commented Madame Heloise, "but this is no time
for play. Suzanne, squeeze it under the tip of the corset busk, then get the
strap and fasten it in front and pass it to me under the body."
Suzanne did as she was told, seemingly with reluctance and not without giving
the shaft a few soft strokes before she fastened a strong satin ribbon about two
inches wide to the corset in front and took the other end between his legs to
the back, where Madame Heloise fastened it to another buckle at the back of the
corset.
He felt harnessed, but when he looked down, his front was flat and no sign of
his manhood could be detected. He was relieved a bit, at least he was decently
covered now... or was he? Wearing a vest and a corset? Madame Heloise reminded
him of the corset immediately as she restarted the lacing with fresh vigor. He
wanted to break away, putting an end to the ordeal, but Suzanne had circled his
legs with her arms, Aunt Margaret held his hands in an iron grip and Madame
Heloise drew at the laces with a power of which he had not imagined her to be
capable.
"Please stop it, you are cutting me in half, I shall suffocate, I cant breathe,"
he wailed, but to now avail.
"Listen, young man, don't complain about a little lacing. This is what we girls
have to endure every day to look pretty for you men." Madame Heloise went over
the laces from top and bottom to the middle again, taking out another foot or
two of laces.
"But it is too tight for me, how can you know how much you can lace me down, you
didn't even measure me before."
"Experience, my dear boy. And by the way, the dressing-gown fit you and this was
meant to be worn without a corset by the same girl whose dress you will be
wearing and the dress will only fit if I close the corset to about an inch. And
if she, a frail and weak girl, would have been able to stand being laced down to
this dimension, I can see no reason why a strong and brave young man should not
be able to endure it. So stop complaining and move your body a little bit, it'll
help you and me. I will be done in a minute... only another inch and a half.
Altogether you will not be taken in more than five inches at the most. But if
you insist, I can of course close it completely."
"Oh no, please stop! I feel as if I am going to faint any second now."
He was already very subdued and could only beg.
"Just a little bit more, my darling," Aunt Margaret soothed him, and the magic
word "darling" from her gave him new strength.
"Look, it has to be done, otherwise the dress won't fit and if you have to be a
girl, I want you to be a pretty one. You will get used to it in a few minutes.
The body adjusts very quickly, you will see."
Finally Madame Heloise was satisfied and he was released from the grip of Aunt
Margaret and Suzanne. When they stepped away from him, he caught a look of
himself in the big mirror and had to admit, that the corset did wonders for
him... he had a marvelous girlish figure now. Not only was his waist minimized,
he realized that the top of the corset gave him a very realistic bosom and that
his backside protruded enticingly.
"Don't fall in love with yourself," Madame Heloise interrupted his thoughts, "we
are not finished yet." She beckoned him to sit down. He did so very slowly to
avoid any surprises caused by the tight corset. He noticed he could only sit
very straight: the corset did not allow any slouching. Suzanne brought a pair
of the finest black gauze stockings that she rolled up his legs and fastened to
garter straps hanging down from the corset. After that Suzanne brought him a
pair of drawers, like the vest, of the finest cambric.
"Hold it a second," said Margaret, vetoing Suzanne's moves to put them on him.
"I may sound overly conservative to you, but in my opinion drawers, pantaloons,
knickers or whatever you may call them are not suitable for a young girl. They
are basically masculine items and young girls should not even think about
masculine underpants, much less wear anything that is even remotely similar. I
know there is a new trend set by rather audacious young women to do away with
these traditions and maybe they'll win ultimately, because these items can be
very practical in cold weather... however it is not freezing out there today and
I am basically against young girls wearing male underpants, even if they are as
nice looking as these."
"You are absolutely right, Frau Baronin, I couldn't agree with you more," Madame
Heloise seconded Aunt Margaret's move. "However, if there is this modern trend,
I have to be able to supply what is wanted by my customers. But of course we
shall leave them out. Suzanne, bring the petticoats."
Suzanne brought two, one silk, that was very tight around his thighs and allowed
very little leg movement. Below the knees it flared a little bit but still
allowed only very small steps. Over it came a rustling taffeta petticoat, that
had two rows of wide flounces at its bottom. Finally, the dress. It was of light
blue taffeta with thick embroidery on the bodice, narrowing toward the small
waist. It had a tight and high collar, which was kept up by small stays under
the ears. It held his neck very stiff and high. The sleeves were long and tight
but were puffed slightly at the shoulders and repeated the embroidered ornaments
of the bodice.
The bodice closely followed the lines of his body... or rather the lines the
corset had created... tightly over his bosom and the narrow waist. The skirt
accented the hips and the posterior. At its hem, the motif of the embroidery was
again repeated all around. It stopped on the floor in front and made him wonder
how he would walk in it, as it obviously was too long in front.
Finally, Suzanne put a pair of small, medium blue, high heeled boots on him,
which reached almost to his calves, buttoning them on tightly with the help of a
button-hook. When he saw the terrible height of the heels, he was sure he would
not be able to stand in them, much less walk. After Suzanne had helped him up,
however, he was surprised to notice that the skirt came just off the floor and
he could walk indeed. Well, not like anything he had called walking before, but
he could move around in small mincing steps.
The corset, the tight skirts and the high heels all worked together, making him
move in a way entirely different from anything he had done before. He couldn't
just swing his legs from the hips down, he had to move his entire body from the
waist, undulating his hips in rhythm with his thighs. The fact that he stood
almost on tip-toes prohibited his falling from one foot to the other with every
step in the way most men walk. Instead, he was forced to keep his legs straight
and close together and take small steps. He actually was gliding more than
walking, just as Aunt Margaret had requested before.
When they stepped away from him, he caught a look of himself in the big mirror
and had to admit that the corset did wonders for him: he suddenly had the curves
of a real girl. Not only was his waist minimized, he really stood straight now,
not slouching anymore, and the high collar made him carry his head proudly with
his chin up.
"Come over here, let me fix your hair and pretty up your face a little bit,
though it really doesn't need much."
With that, Madame Heloise made him sit down at a table covered with all kinds of
combs and brushes and cosmetics. Again, he could only sit bolt upright. Aunt
Margaret stepped closer, watching Madame Heloise with interest. She started to
unwrap and undo his queue, brushing out his fine blond hair.
"I shall just fix it here, high on the back, and let it tumble down. Nothing
fancy is possible right now."
She took a curling iron and produced a wealth of little curls in the part
hanging down.
"Now that doesn't look too bad, or does it? All right then, now for the face. A
little blue on the lids... it accentuates the color of your eyes and goes well
with the dress... a little mascara on the lashes. That is great. Now some rouge
at the cheekbones and... open your mouth just a little... a little
"rouge de l vres" on your lips. Finally a dab of powder all over and voila: A
BEAUTY!"
"By God, you are right, she is a beauty. I never expected her to look so good.
You look magnificent, fantastic, glorious!" Aunt Margaret bubbled over with
excitement.
"But I can't call you Jean-Marie if you look like this. Let me think, I shall
call you Gloria. Just take a good look at yourself: you are Gloria... there
cannot be any doubt about it. Here," she rummaged in her purse, "here is
something that you deserve to wear. I just got it back from rethreading."
She produced a marvelous double row pearl necklace, which she fitted around his
neck.
"Isn't she pretty?" Madame Heloise asked of no one in particular. At first he
didn't even notice, that they had spoken of him in the feminine gender, because
from what he saw in the big mirrors, the creature looking back at him could only
be spoken of in this way. But when it dawned on him that they had meant him, it
made him shiver. Protests welled up within him but one look into the mirror told
him that they were right. For all intents and purposes he now was a pretty girl.
Actually, that was what he had expected to find in Berlin: girls who looked like
the models in the fashion plates. But he had not expected to be turned into one.
He looked at himself in the mirror, and couldn't take his eyes off his
reflection, as he tried to understand what had happened. It was all so unreal,
happened so unexpectedly, yet so smoothly, and there was nothing really that he
would have been able to object to. And yet, he felt that this was utterly wrong.
He was NOT a girl, that he knew for sure. He was a boy and he wanted to stay
one. Girls were always the objects of his love and admiration, yet now... as the
image in the mirror proved beyond any doubt... there he was, turned into a girl.
He stood up cautiously, steadying himself on the armrest of his chair and then,
with the small steps that his skirts and high heels allowed, walked over closer
to the mirrored wall, watching himself all the time.
He could not avert his stare. It was too unreal to believe. Just a few hours
ago, he had come to the big city of Berlin, a young man, eager to enter a new
life of freedom, unrestrained, free from the pressures of school and small town
conventions, looking for adventures, and here he was in the middle of a totally
unexpected adventure. Unexpected because in this adventure he did not have to
fight with the outside world, with other people or with dangerous circumstances
around him. This adventure took place deep within him and troubled, disturbed
and uprooted his entire self.
He was always a boy with the tastes of a boy, acting like a boy, running around
with other boys, playing their games and sports like any other boy. All right,
he always had had trouble in games and sports, which relied on brute force and
power to keep up with the taller and heavier boys, but what he had lacked in
height and weight he had always successfully made up in agility and dexterity.
And after that stage when all boys made fun of girls and teased them, he had
begun to love and desire them.
If he had had time enough now to dig deeper into his feelings and analyze them,
he would have discovered that he had always been most attracted to the girls who
were dressed best or in a special way, either very elegantly or with a certain
knack for fashion... or what fashion had filtered down to the small town where
he had lived. He had loved to look at the fashion plates of magazines and had
pictured himself taking out a girl like the models in the plates.
He did not have time now for such reveries, however. Aunt Margaret's coachman
had entered the store and respectfully addressed himself to her.
"Madame Heloise," Aunt Margaret said after hearing the coachman's message and
sending him out again, "I fear we have yet another problem to overcome tonight.
My coachman has just informed me that the young gentleman's trunk has not
arrived yet, and is not expected to arrive until tomorrow around noon. But I
think this really should not be a big problem, after what you have created. He
just will have to remain Gloria until then. The only question is, do you have a
suitable evening gown for her tonight? You know, we planned to go to the opera
with friends."
"But of course I have... I told you, I have an entire spring wardrobe made for
that Italian dancer and if this dress fits him, all the others must too...
naturally. There is everything a girl could wish. This Russian duke was so crazy
for her that he filled her every wish... and I tell you... did she wish!"
"Alright then, Suzanne should pack everything you have ready and have my
coachman put it into the carriage. We can select it at my house, because I have
to get myself ready, too, and we cannot stay here any longer to attend to
Gloria's needs."
"Then I shall send Suzanne with you. The shop closes now anyway and she would go
home, but after she caused all this trouble to you, she can supply her time and
act as Gloria's maid tonight or, come to think of it, for as long as you need
her tomorrow. As tomorrow is a holiday, I do not need her here."
"Splendid idea! Go ahead Suzanne, hurry up, girl!"
Madame Heloise turned to Jean-Marie. "I shall get you a wrap and a hat, so you
can go home. Here, put on these gloves in the meantime," and she gave him a pair
of small, delicate, medium blue kid gloves. He slowly worked them onto his
hands. They had long, narrow fingers and were very tight. He was afraid he would
break their seams if he made a fist.
When she came back, she fixed a little, dark blue straw hat, decorated with
flowers, on his head and pulled a veil that was fastened to the brim over his
face and fastened it under his chin. He was really thankful for this addition,
because he hoped he could somehow hide behind it. Then she stepped behind him
and held out a cape for him.
"Here, slip your arms into these armholes. This cape has some kind of inside
sleeves so it cannot slide off your shoulders if it is worn open. Just put your
arms back and I'll slip it on. There you are."
And with that, Madame Heloise pulled the cape up and over his shoulders and
immediately buttoned it in front. His arms seemed to be caught inside. They were
actually folded against his back.
"Hey, there is something wrong here, my arms did not slip out, help me out of it
please," he begged, but Margaret steered him to the exit already.
"No time for this now, you are fine, we have to hurry. Good bye now, Madame
Heloise, and thank you for your help. We shall take everything along with us and
make our selection as soon as possible and return everything we do not need
immediately," Aunt Margaret said, already walking to the door.
"Goodbye Frau Baronin. There is no hurry with these things... take your time.
And please excuse again the foolishness of Suzanne. Keep her as long as you
want."
She had put one arm around Jean-Marie's shoulders and was steering him to the
door.
They had almost reached it, when she explained, "There is nothing wrong with the
cape. It was designed this way. The duke wanted his girlfriend to be restrained
a little bit when she wore it, he loved to have her helpless and in bondage
without anybody knowing it. Your aunt can tell you all about the scandal on your
way home. Have a good time in Berlin, and tonight at the opera, and good night."
With that, she had pushed him outside and closed the door behind him. Aunt
Margaret was already proceeding to the carriage that was waiting about 60 feet
away at the curbside. Jean-Marie heard the key turning in the lock behind him,
and he knew there was no turning back.
Suddenly, he felt very lonely, and very miserable. There he stood, dressed as a
girl, not dressed inconspicuously, but rather the opposite or so he thought. He
was afraid that everybody would be staring at him it simply had to be that way.
Everyone surely had to see through his disguise, and there could only be two
more seconds until the whole world would come jeering at him. He closed his eyes
for a moment and waited for the inevitable to happen. He counted slowly "One,
two, three ..."
When he reached ten and nothing had happened, he opened his eyes a little, just
as he heard Aunt Margaret call from the carriage.
"Gloria! Don't just stand there and gather dust! Hurry up, get in here."
He noticed that, except for an occasional appreciative glance from a passing
man, nobody paid any attention to him. He came to the conclusion that these big
city people were too blase or too jaded to take notice of anything less
extraordinary than a calf with two heads, although he almost felt like one.
So, when Aunt Margaret urged him again, he gathered all of his courage and
slowly proceeded to the carriage, his head raised high in defiance of the cruel
world. As a matter of fact, he could not have done otherwise as his skirts and
heels forbade any longer stride and the corset and high collar kept him from
slouching or even lowering his head. But much to his surprise, nobody took any
notice of him. He was evidently accepted as a well dressed, pretty young lady,
and when he reached the carriage, his anxiety had almost left him.
Aunt Margaret had been waiting for him and helped him to mount the two steps
into the carriage. What a change it was from their arrival, when he'd had to
help her. He felt as if it had happened not just an hour or two before, but
years ago, in another century; another life.
Jean-Marie wondered where Suzanne had gone, and he nourished a small hope that
someone may have found another solution and brought him some male clothes, so
that Suzanne's coming was not necessary at all.
His hope was shattered at once when Aunt Margaret remarked, "Suzanne had too
many things with her to come with us, so the coachman sent her home in a cab.
She will be waiting for us at the house."
He tried to sit comfortably, but the moment he let himself just a little bit
down from a bolt upright position, the lower edge of the corset dug unpleasantly
into his thighs. Aunt Margaret was in her former exuberant mood again and when
they turned into the "Linden" again, she showed him the famous cafes, the
"Kranzler" and the "Bauer," and she succeeded in making him almost forget his
predicament. After a short trip, they passed the "Hotel Adlon" ("The only place
to stay if you are somebody," Aunt Margaret remarked), rode though the
"Brandenburg Gate" and turned left into "Tiergarten Street".
Aunt Margaret explained that this was a most fashionable part of the city...
lots of the foreign embassies and consulates were located here. It bordered the
"Tiergarten", a magnificent park with old trees, little lakes and beautiful
lawns that now were studded with yellow and blue crocuses. Aunt Margaret told
him that the Tiergarten was a huge park formerly just outside of the city gate,
but now right in the middle of the city that in the very last year had spread
out beyond it. It was bigger even than the Hyde Park in London, reaching all the
way to Charlottenburg, formerly a suburb, but now more and more becoming part of
the city.
He was very impressed, and would really have enjoyed the ride, had he not with
his every movement been reminded of his confining clothes. He noticed that
several gentlemen walking along the road were tipping their hats to them. At
first, he believed them to be acquaintances of Aunt Margaret, until he noticed
that she was looking the other way, and the reverences were apparently paid to
him.
After a ride of about 15 minutes, the driver turned the carriage into a big
wrought iron gate that was just opened at their arrival, and pulled up a short
driveway to an impressive building.
"Here we are, my dear, finally at home. I hope you will like it here. Welcome!"
He got off the carriage, but as he jumped down the last step, he slipped from
the step and would have fallen, had not the coachman, who had wanted to help him
get down, swiftly caught him. But instead of setting Jean-Marie on his feet, the
coachman simply took him in his arms and carried him up the few steps leading to
the front door and inside.
"Careful! Careful with the young horses, my dear. You could have broken your
ankle there," he said as he let him down on the floor and stood him up on his
high heels very cautiously. Then taking off his cap respectfully and bowing to
him, the coachman returned to the carriage.
"Now wasn't this a great entrance, being carried over the threshold of your new
home in the strong arms of a man like a blushing bride?" aunt Margaret observed
as she came in behind them, "Look, she really is blushing" she turned to
Suzanne, who had suddenly appeared.
"Go upstairs with Suzanne and get dressed for the evening. I shall be expecting
you here shortly."
