A Very Victorian Education Chapter 6

A bit late with the latest chapter, a lot going on in my life at the moment.

To all who ticked the more box – Thank you so much it truly is gratifying to know that people like this enough to want more. I really appreciate the gesture. Thanks as always to those who took the time and effort to comment – it does mean a lot to get such good feedback.

Not much more to say other than I hope you enjoy this as much as previous chapters.

Next one could even be later as I’m due to go on vacation in September.

Usual apologies in advance for any typos- could only re-read this very quickly so heaven knows what mistakes there are.

Carrie.

A Very Victorian Education

Chapter 6

An extract from the diary of Lady Charlotte de Winter

Dear Diary

Such excitement, I can barely contain myself.

Finally some wonderful news to report- I simply had to commit it to paper. I had begun to despair that I would ever have the opportunity to effect a modification in male behaviour but this possibility has now arrived and perhaps it would be best if outlined some of the reasons as well as the events which have set me on this path.

From time immemorial women have been downtrodden by men purely on the basis that the male has superior physical strength. But this lack of physical prowess has only served to sharpen our intellect, our cunning if you will, and we have learned to use this innate intelligence to achieve small but vital personal victories.  In short we have found that through our feminine charms and not a little guile we can easily manipulate and subdue males. However this can come at a cost to some women and we should not have to always rely of these peculiarly feminine attributes, perhaps there is a more direct route and it is high time we realised that we are truly the stronger sex after all do we not bring life forth in the most painful and agonising way imaginable?- no man can or would want to do this. Of course when we produce a daughter it is greeted with great disappointment, it took me a long time to see through such nonsense. I even envied my dear, dear friend Amelia when she produced her son, Aubrey. However soon after his birth I feared  his father’s dreadful behaviour would be a malign influence, fortunately – and I am not ashamed to admit this, he like my own husband - met with an unfortunate hunting accident soon after Aubrey was born.  Coincidentally, around this time, several of my close friends’ husbands had also shuffled of this mortal coil, and all of them from the typically appalling and truly self-abusive behaviour associated with the male sex. Yet again I freely and happily admit these were no loss to the human race. All these ladies had similar experiences of their husbands philandering, gambling, and other male vices too numerous to mention here and over the years we have had several discussions regarding what could be done to rectify this abominable situation. As we head towards a new century women are beginning to finally realise that they do not have to tolerate such patriarchal nonsense. It really is time for a change , time perhaps for a matriarchy to be established, a subtle one of course but one where the male is left in no doubt as to who is in charge. My friends obviously agree but we all have different opinions as to achieve such progress. My own view is that the main disparity, apart from the obvious physical differences between the sexes, is males have far too much freedom which leads to the inevitable development of these awful characteristics. The poor things really should be pitied and need to be saved - from themselves.

A prime example of this is the aforementioned Aubrey whose arrival here has prompted this diary entry not to mention the opportunity to explore certain ideas I have which could be most beneficial to our sex. When he was a child – and under the strict supervision of his Nanny and nursemaid - Aubrey was an adorable boy, of course like most males of the upper classes he was kept in dresses until he was six years old. He was the most well behaved child, never climbed trees, got dirty, ran amok or got into any kind of mischief, he had perfect manners even at that young age. Unless I am very much mistaken I believe he had been taught to curtsy, a gesture he performed when he was introduced his mother’s friends.

Yes! What a delightful child he was. Naturally this was a result of being under the authority of two formidable servants who kept him under strict control at all times, of course he was also only allowed to associate  with girls which were usually a year or two older. I suspect this as well as his enchanting feminine attire helped modify his natural male traits. Oh, I should say these ghastly masculine characteristics occasionally came to the surface but were swiftly dealt with by his Nanny or his older companions. I distinctly remember one episode where he tried to assert his male authority, despite wearing the most wonderfully feminine frilled white pinafore over an ornate pink dress which underneath had several layers of ruffled petticoats,. The older girls very quickly brought him under control and without even seeking permission from his Nanny he was quickly and bundled over one girl’s lap while two others held him in place as he tried to kick his legs in a vain and pathetic attempt to break free  - much to the amusement of all present. He was given the chance to repent but even at that age his ridiculous male ego would not allow him to do so, however after a few strokes with a ballet slipper he soon came to his senses and as the tears rolled down his cheeks he apologised and promised to be a good girl for the rest of the afternoon. As a further punishment his dress was changed to a black one and with the white pinafore his clothes now looked like a housemaid’s uniform. He was then forced to serve afternoon tea for the girls. Although it was a very amusing scene to witness it was also very instructive how, given the right circumstances, a male can be kept under the control of the so called weaker sex. I often wonder does Aubrey recall that incident, I must remember to ask him when he comes down to lunch, of course that is if his Governess decides he has made enough progress in his training.

Now that I think about it around the same time I also had occasion to study my cousin’s son, a boy of Aubrey’s age, who was freed from feminine clothing after his fourth birthday, much against his Nanny’s recommendation I should add. And how her fears were proved correct! It was a complete reversal of the scene I have described above, within a week this boy had picked up all the disgraceful and typically male characteristics that we ladies loathe- he was impertinent and disrespectful to all females especially the maidservants as well as being offensive and over-bearing to his young female companions. It was not very pleasant to witness and my cousin soon came to regret being pressurised into this decision by her oppressive and dictatorial husband. This reprehensible man was one of those husbands to which I referred to earlier and one I was not sorry to see the last of.

While I was observing these two boys I became intrigued as to how female clothing can be used as an instrument to curb the objectionable and offensive attitudes of the male. I was very keen to continue to observe how Aubrey, dressed in his feminine finery, would evolve over the next few weeks but unfortunately as his seventh birthday approached he was packed off to boarding school. It should be noted that this was much to the annoyance of his young female companions and I too felt more than a little disappointed at his departure but I suspect never was a boy more happy and relieved to depart for an all boys school.

That particular incident was twelve years ago but such was its impact the memory stayed with me all this time. Over the years since her husband’s death Amelia has been a regular visitor and as we are very close she would occasionally stay overnight with a very reluctant Aubrey in tow. By now of course Aubrey had been away at school for several years and with the exception of brief visits home had very little contact with the female sex and as a result he was evolving into the archetypal boorish male. It was the slippery slope and as he got older Amelia was finding it a little more difficult to maintain control over him. However a very strange thing occurred to me, I always noticed that despite this increasing male arrogance there was something....I could never quite put my finger on it ....but there was always a hint of nervousness when he was alone in a room with more than one woman. He became slightly flustered and appeared to find it difficult to retain his faux male superiority.

I recall one particular afternoon earlier this year when the three of us walking in the park and we came upon a nursemaid appropriately dressed in her pale blue uniform and pristine frilled pinafore apron with her young charge, a boy of five or six dressed in the most delightful dress and petticoats. The boy was restrained by a leather harness around his chest which the nursemaid controlled by two leather reins.  Obviously being mothers with an interest in the development of young boys Amelia and I stopped to inspect the dear child’s dress much to the consternation of young Aubrey who would have bolted except that he was tightly wedged between myself and his mother and just to be absolutely sure I took a firm grip of his hand. It turned out to be an extremely significant event that I recall the circumstances and conversations in almost perfect detail.

“What a perfectly enchanting boy you have. So well behaved.” Amelia said as she inspected the boy’s dress

“Yes Madam.” the nursemaid replied as she pulled the boy’s reins and he stopped, she bobbed a curtsy “say ‘good morning to the lady Master Vivian. And please do it properly”

“Good morning Madam.” he said , his face turning beetroot red as he  curtsied.

“Adorable! Simply adorable!” I exclaimed and questioned the nursemaid further as it was unusual to see a boy as old as this being paraded publicly in skirts. “Didn’t Aubrey have a dress similar to this one Amelia?”

“Yes I believe he had, although I think it was in peach taffeta. Or was it crepe de chine Aubrey?”Amelia asked a clearly very uncomfortable and by now quite flustered Aubrey.

“I ...err....umm....”he mumbled, either unable or unwilling to furnish an answer.

“Oh you looked simply divine. So sweet and angelic and so well behaved” I said stroking the boy’s cheek gently, the nursemaid continued,

“The young master has recently made the transition into male clothing Madam, and became a little too boisterous for the mistress’s liking so she suggested that a lengthy period of time in one of his old dresses as a punishment may improve his behaviour.”

“It appears to have worked.” Amelia said admiringly as she turned to me and caressed the boy’s cheek “he is so well behaved.”

I could feel the tug of Aubrey’s had as he tried to move away, I pulled it sharply to remind him he was not to move.

“Yes Madam.” the nursemaid answered proudly as she gave a little tug on the boy’s reins as he too tried to flee “the young master thought he had escaped his frills and flounces ...didn’t you Master Vivian?”

She patted the boy on the head, he was now scarlet and on the verge of tears as his nursemaid continued

“My mistress says that boys would benefit greatly if they could be confined in petticoats for longer periods. As you can see the young master is behaving impeccably.”

“What a splendid thought Amelia.”I said and looked directly at Aubrey “would you like to be returned to your dresses Aubrey? You were such a darling boy and with your shoulder length hair and pale skin you were indistinguishable from the other girls.”

“And so well behaved!...... unlike recent times.” Amelia snorted derisively and gave him a scathing look “perhaps this girl’s mistress is correct, a few days in petticoats and skirts may well improve male behaviour.”

“Please.... Mother” Aubrey said anxiously and by now clearly agitated by the direction the conversation had taken, “Can we go ...please.”

The encounter with the nursemaid was a brief but nonetheless enlightening one and as we strolled away it was obvious from Aubrey’s demeanour that this chance meeting had resurrected memories from his own childhood that found extremely embarrassing and would rather have forgotten. He remained quiet for the remainder of our walk and was visibly alarmed if either his mother or I referred to the subject. Of course this only served to arouse my interest and if I am entirely honest it also elicited a frisson of excitement which ...and I blush to admit this ...made me a little giddy and I felt a peculiar sensation in my..... well...my... most intimate area. I was not really sure why this was but the thought of a pretty young man like Aubrey dressed from head to toe in the silks and satins of feminine finery, stripped of his masculine clothing and emasculated in petticoats seemed to unlock something inside me that I found exhilarating. This was a feeling I had not experienced before  ...a sense of power over the male sex, an awareness that we females could, by merely dressing them in feminine clothing exercise an authority and control over them. I had yet to determine how this could be done but such an exercise I knew should not be beyond the imagination of an intelligent woman, there and then I resolved to explore this idea a little further. Of course at this point I did not feel it appropriate to share my feelings with my dear friend and mother of the young man who I believed would make an excellent choice for such an experiment and as we approached home an idea came to me.

By sheer chance I had given the staff a half day and the only one present was the new under-housemaid who opened the door.

“Oh Amelia!” I recall saying “I really must have your opinion on some new gowns I recently acquired from Paris.”

“I’d be delighted darling.”Amelia replied and here I launched my plan.

“I’d also be grateful for a man’s opinion.” I said slyly pandering to Aubrey’s youthful male ego.

“Er...umm... I .....ah...”he stammered the way most males do when asked to perform such a task.

I was not prepared to lose an opportunity to introduce the boy into an exclusively feminine domain. “I really would be most grateful.” I cooed and quickly linked my arm with his, “oh do persuade your darling boy Amelia.”

Amelia seemed taken with this notion and she too linked her arm with his and without even asking him she answered for her son.

“He’d be happy to do so, my dear.”

The boy had no time to protest and seemed temporarily stunned as we gathered our skirts and steered him upstairs to my room. Amelia is my dearest friend and although I knew she had little or no regard for the male sex and worried constantly that her own son would soon devolve into the arrogant and patronising male his father had been. I did not feel confident in divulging to her my innermost feelings on the subject of modifying male behaviour by confining males in female garments. And so, dear diary, I kept my thoughts and plans to myself as Aubrey now firmly secured between his mother and I had very little option, to the delightful music of rustling skirts and petticoats was immediately escorted upstairs to my bedroom.

As we entered my boudoir it was immediately obvious that the boy was extremely uncomfortable in fact he was almost paralysed by fear in this most feminine of environments, Amelia told him to sit while she and I stepped into my dressing room to retrieve the gowns I had spoken about.

“Aubrey seems a little ill at ease.” I ventured tentatively when we were alone, hoping for some insight from her.

“Yes darling.” Amelia replied “he’s like most males, appears self-confident and assertive in the usual familiar surroundings but when placed in a feminine locale like this he is quite nervous and insecure, almost........” she hesitated for a moment or two.

“Submissive.” I offered, helpfully.

“Yes.” she answered absentmindedly, as she examined the beautiful rose coloured silk evening gown I held up for her, she continued “now that I think of it he is always quite well behaved whenever he is summoned to my bedroom and will do anything in order to be allowed to leave as quickly as possible. It really must be something to do with the proximity to such conspicuous femininity.”

“How extraordinary.” I feigned surprise and saw my opportunity to proceed “That is very curious! I wonder how he would react if he had to engage himself in a task that boys would not usually become involved with.”

“I’m intrigued,” Amelia said leaving down the gown “I am always interested in ways of understanding him and perhaps discovering a means that may help him to become less truculent and dare I say it display less machismo. Besides, apart from earlier this afternoon, he has been extremely disobedient lately so I am open to any idea that would improve his behaviour. What did you have in mind?”

A few moments later we returned to my bedroom carrying two of my new gowns.

“Aubrey dear.” Amelia called out to the boy who was sitting on a chair and looking increasingly nervous “We require your assistance, Lady Charlotte wishes to change into one of her new Paris gown’s and my wrist still hurts from that game of tennis yesterday so will you be so kind as to unbutton it?”

“Um... I ....emm .... can’t her maid...”he stumbled, his face beginning to redden.

“Lisa, my maid is a little unwell at the moment.” I lied “and the new housemaid has the most gargantuan hands almost like a man’s, she would be quite unsuitable to perform such a delicate task.”

I took hold of his hands, not quite petit but in no way could be described as manly, and examined them closely before continuing,

“Now yours my dear boy, are....exquisite....practically the same size as my maid’s and I’m sure equally as dexterous, ideally suited for buttoning and unbuttoning a lady’s gown. Now do be a darling boy and unbutton me.”

“Oh do come along Aubrey.” Amelia said brusquely and her eyes smiled at me as we interchanged a brief glance “we do not have all day.”

We both looked at the boy with a similar expression, one that only women can convey which both communicated our impatience at his delay as well as our bemusement at his hesitation in performing such a simple undertaking.

Amelia withdrew to the chair to observe the scene as I stood facing the large dressing mirror with my back to Aubrey, a position in which I could monitor his every move but even more importantly I could scrutinise his facial expressions.

There was no doubt that Aubrey was intimidated as much by his surroundings as the two – and I make no apology , dear Diary, for this description- formidable and statuesque ladies. After being rebuked by his mother he timidly approached me with his eyes downcast, ashamed to glace at his reflection in the mirror. I watched him intently as he nervously placed his fingers on the first button at the nape of my neck and attempted to unbutton it.

“He may be a little slow at first Charlotte.” Amelia said nonchalantly and not even bothering to look up from the magazine she was flicking through, “it has been a few weeks since he helped dress and undress me and he may be a little out of practice.”

“Mother!” Aubrey beseeched her in a voice laden with embarrassment.

“Oh don’t be silly dear.” his mother replied “it’s the truth, I pressed you into service when my maid, Sara, a nice young girl left abruptly earlier this year. I’m sure you remember ......”

I could see Aubrey was becoming even more embarrassed as his mother related the tale, he stopped unbuttoning me to implore his mother.

“Mother.....please......” he pleaded hoping to silence his mother.

“Aubrey, will you please concentrate on your duties.” Amelia chided him and ignoring his appeal spoke directly to me “You see Charlotte, Aubrey took a little fancy to this girl, as he did with many of the servant girls, and began to make inappropriate remarks and unsolicited advances. Naturally I was not pleased as I spent weeks training her to the correct standard for a lady’s maid and was most annoyed when she gave her notice and left however it meant that until she could be replaced I had no lady’s maid. It was a most unsatisfactory situation, of course I had to have one of the housemaids attend me but at certain times when this was not possible I pressed Aubrey into service, so to speak, as his disgraceful behaviour was the reason I was left without a maid in the first place.”

The recounting of his disreputable episode with his mother’s lady’s maid had its effect on Aubrey, I could practically see the shame envelope him as he continued to unbutton my dress, his eyes glued to this menial exercise, afraid to even glance in the mirror in case he caught my eye. I could not help myself even if I wanted to – I decided to increase his discomfort.

“He has such delicate hands for a boy Amelia.” I said, directly addressing his mother and ignoring him as if he was a mere servant, I noticed he winced at my comment, I continued “so unlike my most of my own housemaids with their coarse and clumsy fingers. He is extremely suited to the task such a pity he is a boy, he would make an excellent lady’s maid.”

This appeared to be the final straw and his eyes began to well up with tears.

“Oh ...for heaven’s sake Aubrey, stop crying like a girl,” his mother exclaimed “Lady Charlotte was only having a little fun with you, some gentle teasing.”

By this time he had unbuttoned the back of my dress and I turned to him and embraced him, my breasts pressed firmly into his chest.

“Yes Aubrey I was only teasing you.” I said insincerely, and as I released him he went to leave but I held out my arms inviting him to pull the sleeves of my dress “oh you haven’t finished yet, I’m afraid. Now why don’t you finish off undressing me like a good .....boy.”

“But....I ...you will....”he stumbled and it was obvious he was completely bewildered, he looked to his mother for help “Mother........ please.... I .....”

“Oh do stop snivelling Aubrey.” Amelia casually disregarded his plea as she examined my new gown “you have done this for me several times and seen me in my corset and petticoats, Charlotte is like a second mother to you. Now please hurry up I really want to see what this gown looks like on.”

Having lost his appeal and without looking me in the eye he reluctantly obeyed his mother and began drawing the sleeves of the gown down my arms and after which he proceeded to draw the heavy velvet material down until it fell in a mass of fabric at my feet. He was on his knees by now and arranging the material in such a fashion that I could easily step out of it. Although my face did not show it I thought such proficiency in the duties of a lady’s maid was remarkable in a young man- indeed in a man of any age – and I wondered why Amelia had never mentioned it before. I made a mental note to ask her about it later.

“Do you know Charlotte I think an extra taffeta petticoat would really enhance this gown, perhaps a nice ivory coloured one.” Amelia said.

“Yes I think you may be right.” I answered looking at the boy at my feet, now completely overwhelmed by his duties.

“Aubrey, do stop dawdling.” Amelia said tersely, as if speaking to an inattentive servant girl “and fetch Lady Charlotte’s petticoat. You will find it in the bottom drawer of the tallboy.”

Stung by his mother’s reprimand the boy immediately rose to his feet, and as he made his way across the room she called out to him,

“And do not forget – it is the ivory taffeta one. Just like the one you helped me choose at Madame Elsie’s Lingerie Emporium last week.”

“You brought him to Madam Elsie’s?” I asked, as the boy busied himself at the tallboy searching for my petticoat.

“Yes darling.” Amelia replied in a hushed tone as we observed Aubrey continuing his quest for my petticoat. “Obviously he hated every minute of it but I still hold the purse strings and told him I may reconsider funding his second year at Oxford so he had little choice. I really don’t like threatening him and would prefer if he modified his behaviour by his own volition through self-awareness and open-mindedness. However once we arrived at Madame Elsie’s he soon lost his male arrogance and mannish ways once he was immersed in such a feminine environment, in fact he became completely docile and respectful.”

It was obvious that she was deeply unhappy and concerned at her son’s seemingly inevitable slide into masculine loutishness. I desperately wanted to share my thoughts and ideas but feared it may be a little too much for her to accept, at least at this point. I empathised quietly and she continued in a quiet voice so Aubrey would not hear. 

“You see I think he may be growing up too fast and I feel I am losing the sweet boy I once had. If I could keep him with me for a few months I’m sure I could instil in him  some of the outstanding qualities our sex has to offer but he is off to university shortly and I fear I will lose my opportunity. Such a pity he was not born female. As you know daughters tend to be more controllable and more importantly.... obedient and I miss that with Aubrey. Your Felicity always seems so well-trained and disciplined as daughters usually are but boys appear to lose that quality once they reach a certain age. As that wonderful Mr Wilde put it, ‘All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That is his.’

I nodded sympathetically as we watched the boy return with the required garment, it was quite obvious that the events of the last few minutes had a most beneficial effect- although I’m sure he would have disagreed. He approached us with his head bowed in humiliation- a disposition which I found refreshingly novel in a male and it caused a ripple of excitement to course through my body. I had rarely experienced having complete control over a male - at least not over the age of twelve – and I wanted to know could something as simple as female clothing actually help to modify male behaviour?

As the shamefaced boy stood in front of us I was gripped with feverish curiosity, would being introduced to the rigours of female corsetry as well as the sensuousness of silks and satins subsume his male arrogance and lead to a life of subservience to female authority, to the power of the petticoat?  

My thoughts were rudely interrupted by a knock on the door, my maid entered. The silly girl had returned early and as any well trained maid would have done, hurried to attend her mistress. Under normal circumstances I would have been appreciative but that particular day was not a normal one, her entrance distracted both Amelia and I, more importantly it also broke the spell the boy was under. He immediately recognised his opportunity and before either his mother or I could prevent it he practically ran to the door depositing my petticoat into the hands of my startled maid as he left.

Amelia laughed as he ran from the room like a scalded cat, I feigned laughter but inside I was deeply disappointed. It was an unsatisfactory conclusion to the afternoon’s little experiment but it did serve a purpose- it clearly displayed the weakness of the male when removed from his familiar masculine environment and placed into the unfamiliar soft, delicate and graceful feminine domain. This made me determined to get the boy into skirts at the next available opportunity. I simply had to know if I could impose a feminine regimen on this boy.

And so dear Diary, in the last few days the Fates have smiled on me and my fondest wish has been granted, as I write these words the dear boy is undergoing a rudimentary education in femininity by his newly appointed Governess and shortly he will be presented to me so I can judge his progress. It will be very interesting to see just how much.........

Ah..... I hear a knock at the door. I wonder what he’s wearing today?

I think it is now time to bring this entry to a conclusion I don’t want to keep the poor boy waiting too long.