Victorian Victoria

by Jackie Simms

   

The summer had waned, giving way to the cool days of autumn. The leaves had turned giving us a last burst of color before succumbing to the north winds relentless onslaught. As usual, I had frittered away the summer. I had plans mind you, I just never carried them out. To some extent, it was laziness but it was also fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of change, and all my plans required change.

I was alone in the world, an only child whose parents had died when I was 21. I had never managed to keep a relationship going for more than a couple of weeks. My confusion over my own identity making it impossible for anyone to get close. My fear of rejection keeping me from making the changes I knew I needed. So, I lived vicariously through the internet. I surfed all the "tranny" web sites and made a few pen pals in the community. I was a cross dresser from as far back as I can remember. A familiar tale amongst the CDs I knew. I was also a submissive who was looking for someone to take care of me.

I loved this cooler weather. It gave me a chance to wear some of my extensive sweater collection and my long skirts. I love the feel of angora and mohair, they make me feel so feminine. On the other hand, I have always fantasized about wearing gowns from past eras. Ones with petticoats and corsets. Ones that made a woman a thing of beauty, but dependent on others. This fed my submissive desires. I had a couple of corsets and some ball gowns with petticoats, that I had made. But there was always something missing. For one, since I had to don these trappings myself, I was never able to get the feeling of dependence I was after. Second, they all had to be pretty simple as I was no seamstress.

On this particular fall day, I had decided to go to a local club that catered to the Gay crowd. It wasn't unusual to see a number of cross dressers there, so I felt comfortable going "en femme". I dressed in a fuschia, angora turtleneck and a full silk skirt that fell to my ankles. I buckled on a pair of 4 inch ankle strap sandals, did my make-up and added a brunette wig. I grabbed my handbag and flagged down a taxi, outside my apartment.

I had only been to this bar a couple of times before, so I wasn't well known there. Going to bars alone had always made me somewhat uncomfortable. I am not one of those people who can strike up a conversation with anyone. So, I went to a back corner and grabbed a table. I ordered a glass of wine and sort of surveyed the scene. It was pretty quiet at first, but as the night progressed, business picked up. Then I saw him. He was remarkable. Just his presence made everyone else seem dull. He was very tall, I would say around 6' 4", with chiseled features and beautiful blue eyes.

He looked around the club and his eyes came to rest on mine. The spark was immediate. We stared at each other for a couple of minutes and then he came over and sat down. It was like we had known each other all our lives. Within minutes, I was telling him my life story, my desires, my fantasies. In what seemed like the bat of an eyelid, the night flew by. He took me home, but didn't come up. I gave him my number, but he didn't give me his. He told me that whatever we had, was his to control. With that, he gave me a lingering kiss and left.

For 2 days he didn't call. Every time the phone rang, I jumped about 3 feet in the air. I was beginning to think he wouldn't call, that the whole thing had been a dream, when I finally heard his voice. It was just one line "Be ready at 7:30 on Friday night", then he hung up.

Needless to say, I was in heaven. Though, I was also in a panic. What did "ready" mean? What was I going to wear? I finally decided to wear a floral, strapless dress. It was linen, with a full skirt and a wide belt at the waist. I had to wear one of my corsets to get it on, but the effect was well worth it.

It gave me a very feminine silhouette. I spent hours getting ready. I made sure my make-up was perfect, painted my nails a light pink, matching the flowers in the dress, and selected my longest wig.

When he arrived, I slipped a pink coat over my shoulders, pulled on a pair of lace gloves and took my purse. I handed him my keys and he closed and locked my door before leading me to his car. We talked so easily during the drive that I didn't even notice where we were going or how long we drove for. When we finally stopped, it was in front of what looked like a castle. My door was opened by a liveried servant, while another opened his door. As we walked up the steps leading to the massive front door, he welcomed me to his home. I was speechless. He had given no indication that he was wealthy, let alone rich enough to afford a castle and servants!

He gave me a quick tour of the main floor, which included a living room, dining room, breakfast room study, ballroom, conservatory, library, music room and a number of smaller sitting rooms. There was a large courtyard in the middle with formal gardens and a fountain. He explained that there were stables, tennis courts, a croquet pitch and more gardens with green houses scattered around the 200 acre estate. There were also, 3 more stories to the mansion with bedrooms, more sitting rooms, games rooms, plus the servants quarters. In all there were 86 rooms and a staff of 50 to look after it. After the tour, he led me into the dining room where a sumptuous meal awaited us.

After dining, we retired to the music room where he entertained me with his musical prowess, he was an accomplished pianist. As the night wound down, he suggested that I stay for the night. I hadn't brought any clothes, but he said that wouldn't be a problem as he was sure the servants could find things for me to wear. so, I agreed. He summoned a maid who led me upstairs to my suite. It had a large bedroom with a four poster bed, a sitting room, a bathroom and a dressing room with extensive closets. She went into one of the closets and emerged with an old fashion night dress. It was French lace with pink, satin ribbons adding some color. She asked if I would like help getting changed, but I declined. Once she left, I went into the closet to see just what kind of clothes he kept on hand. It was amazing! First, the closet was huge. It measured about 30 by 40, with row after row of garments. There were gowns of every color, shape and size. The outside walls of the room were lined with sets of drawers that contained undergarments of every variety, except modern. Everything was old. Not old in the sense of worn out, but from centuries past. The Tudor, Elizabethan and Victorian eras were each represented as well as the anti-bellum era of the old south. I could have spent months in that room. I got out of my clothes and dropped the night shirt over my head. It was light as air, wonderfully soft and fit like a glove. I went into the bathroom and found a toothbrush and hair brush waiting for me. After washing up, I crawled onto the four poster and slipped beneath the goose down duvet. The bed was wonderfully comfortable and I slept like a log.

In the morning, I was awakened by the maid opening the curtains. Another maid walked in with a bed tray containing a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice, a cup of coffee, a small bowl of fruit and a small vase with a single red rose.

She placed the tray on the end of the bed and retrieved a bed jacket, that matched the night shirt, from the closet. After helping me in to it, she placed a number of pillows behind my back. She retrieved the tray and placed it over my knees. while I sipped my coffee, we discussed what I would like to wear that day. Apparently, anything that was in the closet was available to me and she had been told to indulge my fantasies.

As I was finishing the light repast, she ran a bath for me. I slipped under the bubbles and relaxed as she washed me from head to toe. Then she expertly shaved my body removing all vestiges of hair. As I stepped from the bath, I was wrapped in a warm body towel and patted dry. It was like being in one of those expensive spas.

After I brushed my teeth, we went into the closet to pick some clothes. She suggested that for the morning I select a walking dress as it would be easier to get around in then a gown. I took her suggestion and selected an emerald green dress. The bodice was velvet with mutton chop sleeves and a high tight collar. There was embroidery down the front and on the sleeves as well as large brass buttons. The skirt was raw silk with a large bustle in the back. It had matching embroidery on the hem.

I was led into the dressing room and placed under a lacing bar. The robe I was wearing was removed and replaced with a chemise. She lowered the bar down and cuffed my wrists to it. She raised the bar until only my toes were touching the floor. I protested, but she said it was necessary if we were going to get the corset tightened enough to get the dress around my waist. She then wrapped one of the most imposing corsets I had ever seen, around my torso. She fastened the busk and started tightening the laces. After about ten minutes of tightening and re-tightening she tied the laces off and left the room. In about five minutes she returned with 2 more maids who grabbed my torso from the front and pulled while she redoubled her efforts to close the remaining gap. At some point I fainted. The pain was excruciating, but more importantly, I couldn't breath. They brought me around with smelling salts, but not until they had the corset completely closed. She told me to take shallow breaths and left me to go and get the rest of my outfit.

After hanging from the bar for about 10 minutes, my body started to adjust to the corset. I found breathing a little easier and the pain reduced to a manageable level. Before releasing me from the bar, she slid silk stockings up each leg and secured them with garters. Then shoe-horned my feet into a pair of walking boots with 4 inch heels and closed them with a button-hook.

She finally lowered the bar causing the pain to shoot up as my arms lowered and my body tried to settle down into its normal position. All three maids reached me just as I was about to faint again. Once again the smelling salts were used to good effect. Once I was stable, they attached the bustle and started dropping petticoats over my head. Next came the under-skirt which was a pale green and then the emerald over-skirt. Finally my arms were slipped into the bodice and the buttons, up the front, were fastened. A bonnet was placed on my head and secured with a ribbon beneath my chin. Last, but not least, a pair of French lace off-white gloves were pulled on and buttoned at the back of my wrists.

As I turned around I caught sight of myself in a full length mirror. I couldn't believe my eyes. I looked like someone right out of the 18^th century! My fantasy come true. I left my suite and headed downstairs. I had to be very careful on the stairs as I wasn't used to walking with all that material around my legs. but, I took it easy and made it down without incident. I headed into the living room and found George waiting for me. He suggested we go for a walk around the grounds so he could show me more of the estate. I readily agreed, not understanding how the lack of oxygen caused by the corset was going to affect me.

I was used to walking in heels, so that didn't bother me, but the petticoats, bustle and dresses were all quite heavy. I found I could not walk very quickly, so our walk was more like a stroll. We hadn't gotten very far before I was exhausted. Luckily there was a bench nearby, so we headed over to it. It took me a couple of minutes to get things arranged properly so I could sit down. By this time I was almost ready to collapse. Sitting helped, but it also caused its own problems. The corset forced me to sit very upright and cut into my legs. I soon became uncomfortable and wanted to move on. But my body wouldn't obey. I wasn't used to the lack of air, or the extra weight I was carrying. My muscles refused to move, so I had no choice but to remain sitting, despite the discomfort.

We sat and talked for about an hour before I was finally ready to get up. We headed back for the house, making it before my body gave out again. We went into the conservatory where I stretched out on a divan. We talked while sipping on some lemon aid until it was time for lunch. The corset effectively prevented me from eating much, so I had a small, but scrumptious salad. George had some soup and a sandwich.

After lunch, he suggested I have a rest before preparing for the evening, to which I readily agreed. I discovered that climbing stairs in one of these dresses is far more difficult than descending them but eventually I made it back to my suite. The maid helped me out of my dress and petticoats but left the corset on. She provided me with a satin dressing gown trimmed with marabou. It was a bit of a struggle, but I managed to get up on the bed and soon was fast asleep.

She woke me up 2 hours later, saying it was time to get ready for the evening. I was led into the dressing room where she placed a blindfold over my eyes. She said that the master wanted my gown for the evening to be a surprise. The dressing gown was removed and numerous petticoats replaced it. An under-skirt and over-skirt covered them, followed by a fitted bodice with tight sleeves. This was covered by a jacket with balloon sleeves, cinched in by ribbons midway down my upper arm and forearms as well as at my wrists. It was fastened by a row of tiny buttons up the back culminating in a very high, tight collar. My hands were encased in extremely tight kidd gloves and my feet were forced into a pair of shoes with 5 inch heels and pointed toes. Once again, a button-hook was used to secure them.

The blindfold was finally removed and I turned toward the mirror. I was a vision to behold. The bodice was light pink with the jacket almost translucent, with chiffon sleeves. The over-skirt was a slightly darker shade of pink with embroidered flowers gathering the hem up in four places where the magenta under-skirt was revealed. The skirts were about 7 feet in diameter making my already small waist look tiny. The maid placed an attifet hat on my head and secured it with some hat pins. I was now ready for the evening.

Walking down the stairs was even more of an adventure with this gown. The voluminous skirts made it difficult to keep my footing and the extremely high heels didn't help either. George met me at the bottom of the stairs and escorted me into the dining room, where, once again we had a delicious meal, though I wasn't able to eat much of it. We retired to the music room again and spent another enjoyable evening together. I was beginning to wonder if this was all a dream, it seemed to good to be true.

As with the previous evening, my maid, Mary, helped me get ready for bed. In this case, though, it took a lot more work as all the clothes had to be removed. Once I was completely undressed, she suggested I wear a night corset, so I didn't lose the shape I had achieved during the day. The night corset was not as stiff as the day one, but was much longer. It covered me from just below my collar bone down to my mid-thighs. Rather than using the lacing bar, she suggested she tighten it while I was lying down. This way she wouldn't have to roust any of the other servants. This technique worked just as well. In no time, she had me tightly cinched in. Once complete, she helped me up so she could drop the night gown over my head. I was quickly back on the bed with the duvet pulled up under my chin. Despite the discomfort of the corset I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow and didn't wake up until morning.

Once again, I was greeted by the maids, though I couldn't sit up to eat breakfast until the corset was removed. To minimize the time out of the corset, I ate while being bathed. Soon I found myself hanging from the lacing bar again, having the laces of another corset pulled tight. Today's dress was a pale mauve walking dress with a large bustle. The front of the dress fell straight down with the only curves provided by my waist and bust. The bustle fell to a train that fanned out about three feet around me. The bodice had high poufed sleeves that buttoned tightly down my forearms. The wrists and collar were embellished with a spray of lace. Finishing the outfit were lace gloves and a bonnet that matched the dress.

I spent another lovely day with George and another elegant evening in a ball gown. All too soon the weekend had come to an end. After supper, George drove me back to my apartment. Mary accompanied us so she could help me out of the gown. This way I got to wear it for a while longer. Once we reached my place, Mary and George lugged a trunk into my bedroom. While George waited in the living room, Mary helped me out of the gown. After taking the corset off of me, she reached into the trunk and brought out the night corset. She explained that it was a gift and would help me maintain my shape until my next visit. She showed me how to tighten it myself, though I couldn't get it as tight as she could. Then she pulled out the night gown and dropped it over my head. Another remembrance of the weekend.

George and Mary finally departed, leaving me with wonderful memories and the melancholy of knowing it was back to reality time. I didn't hear from George all week and was starting to think it had been a one time thing when, on Thursday, I found a note under my door. All it said was "Friday 6 p.m. NO clothes". I wasn't sure what his plan was, but I was so excited I didn't care.

Promptly at 6, the doorbell rang. I opened the door wearing only a robe, expecting to see George. It was Mary and one of the other maids, no George in sight. They had another trunk with them, which explained the "no clothes" bit. I had spent every minute I wasn't out in the night corset and had even worn one of my own less restrictive corsets under my clothes during the day, so I had managed to maintain my shape pretty well. The corset they had brought, however, was the most severe I had ever seen. It would cinch my waist in a full 6 inches and was heavily boned. Now I knew why Mary had brought assistance. It took them an hour to get me into the corset, but once done, the rest of the dressing went fairly rapidly. The gown was salmon colored silk damasque with a very full skirt requiring many petticoats. It had a plunging neckline that showed off the cleavage created by the corset to good effect. Mary placed a tear-drop pearl on a gold chain around my neck, with the pearl nestled in the valley between my breasts. The gown was sleeveless, so opera length gloves were drawn up my arms and a sable stole was provided to keep me warm.

The maids escorted me down to the waiting limo. The ensuing drive was spent anticipating seeing George again and spending another fabulous weekend on his estate. He didn't disappoint, I had a marvelous time. The only bad part was having to return home on Sunday.

This arrangement went on for the next couple of months. Each Thursday I would get a note, Mary and usually another maid would show up on Friday, I would spend the weekend in Victorian splendor and then crash back to reality on Sunday night.

That all changed, though, when George asked me to marry him. Now, I know, I'm technically a male, but with him I never was. In fact, he has never seen me in male clothes. Not that he doesn't know, or something, he just sees me as a woman and loves me as one.

We talked for a long time about it and how it would work. Oh, by the way, I said YES! So I quit my job, gave up my apartment, in fact my whole old life. Now George, as I figure you have probably guessed, is an old fashioned kind of guy. He doesn't believe in living together, so I had to stay in one of the guest houses on the estate. During the preparations for the wedding, I started on hormones, dieted madly, had all my body hair removed and of course stepped up my corset training. This drove the dress maker nuts as my body had changed every time he came to do a fitting for my wedding dress.

Before the wedding, I had my name legally changed to Victoria. This made things easier at the wedding as very few people knew I wasn't a genetic female, and George wanted to keep it that way, for business purposes.

Finally, the big day arrived. My wedding corset was extreme, to say the least, but gave me the most incredible silhouette. My gown had a very high stiff lace collar, mutton chop sleeves and a very tight bodice laced up the back. It was covered in French lace with small pearls sewn in. The skirt was layered and extremely full with a long train. I had a diamond encrusted headpiece with 4 veils each longer then the next by about a foot the shortest ending around my waist. The blusher was 3 layers thick making it difficult to see where I was going for the procession.

The ceremony was beautiful and the party afterwards lots of fun, but I wanted to be alone with George more than anything else. So, we said our good-byes around midnight to start our honeymoon, our new life...

The End.

  

  

  

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