Instead of indicating the straight back chair in front of her desk, Jane indicated the chair to her left. After Charlotte sat down, without saying a word, Jane gave her the fax she'd received from Judge Ruth, and watched as Charlotte read what Ruth had to say. Charlotte had been with Jane long enough for her to interpret Charlotte's facial expressions, which were at this moment, going from a surprised look to a questioning look. It was the questioning look Charlotte had on her face when she looked up from reading the fax and asked Jane, "What does it mean 'you'll see for yourself?' What's to see?"

Jane was shaking her head at Charlotte's question, and replied with, "I don't know, Charlotte. I wish I did, it might change my plans for Toby. And because Ruth believes he's been forced to steal, that alone might be enough to change my plans. And how I want you to act. So maybe, because of this fax," and Jane tapped the fax in Charlotte's hands, "it would be better if you played the part of a proper young lady until we learn more. And if I do give you a nod, just sass or question why you have to do something. Don't overdo it, I don't want to appear as a dragon until we learn more about Toby." Jane held out her hand and Charlotte gave the fax back, with Jane saying, "You better go and help finish getting our supper ready."

After responding, "Yes, Aunt Jane," Charlotte got up out of the chair and started walking to the Study doors.

Her hand was on one of the door handles when Jane said, "Oh, and Charlotte. Keep this to yourself. Francis isn't to know anything about this. Not yet at least."

With another, "Yes, Aunt Jane," Charlotte opened the study door and closed it behind her as she walked out of the study. Jane's monster was again suggesting using a bullwhip, but now, maybe not on Toby.

Jane started to get up out of her desk chair when the fax machine pinged, indicating an incoming fax. She waited until the machine said it was ready to print, before inputting a code, pressing the print button and waiting. Given the fax from Ruth, she expected it was another fax from her, but was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be from Jeb and his law firm.

From: Jeb Thorton, et al.

To: Ms. Jane Thompson

Jane,

I've spoken with Ruth and learned she'd given you some of the information we have discovered about the rash of shoplifting thefts in the area. I want to add to this information.

Our firms' investigators have been following Toby's brother everywhere he goes, and they discovered some interesting things. He meets up with a mixed group of boys and girls, about Toby's age, at an abandoned warehouse every day at the same time. Our people staked out the building and watched as the group of boys and girls, around twenty, went into that warehouse carrying bundles and came out empty handed. They waited until the brother had left before going inside and finding a storehouse of stolen goods, still marked with the store's price stickers. We passed this information to our contact within the police department, and they've put a stakeout team on that warehouse.

I hope you're sitting down because we think we've learned who is the actual mastermind behind this whole theft ring. None other than George Strom, CEO of Taylor's. Toby's brother was videoed meeting with Mr. Strom on several occasions, even going with the brother to the warehouse.

And that isn't all. Mr. Strom was then tailed and met up with a woman who the FBI has had their eye on for a long time, but didn't have enough physical proof to do anything. When our police contact learned of this, she immediately contacted her FBI contact, and they in turn put a tail on this woman.

I wish I could tell you, and Charles, that arrests have been made and the whole truth has been told in regards to his being implicated in the thefts, but I can't. We don't have enough physical proof yet. We do, however, have proof that Mr. Strom is living beyond his means. The FBI obtained a search warrant to have a forensic accountant look into Mr. Strom's bank account and other financial records. Seems he has acquired more than his yearly salary pays him. They're still digging because of what they initially found, and from what I've been told, Mr. Strom has a lot to explain not only to the FBI but the IRS as well. I believe once everything is tied up with a nice neat bow, arrests will be made, and the whole truth about my son will finally see the light of day.

Give our love to Charles

Kindest regards,

Jeb

Jane read the fax from Jeb again, and now sat trying to decide if she should tell Charlotte about this or keep it to herself. She weighed the pros and cons of telling her, not wanting to get her hopes up only to see them dashed. Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the study door, which she acknowledged and was told by Francis that supper was ready when she stepped into the study. Francis then took 'the book' off the bookshelf, but Jane just shook her head. Francis put 'the book' back on the bookshelf, then stood and watched Jane get out of her chair, walk past her, never saying a word, leaving Francis to follow her out of the study, closing the door behind her. When they sat down to supper Marie could see the concern on Jane's face, but got a surreptitious head shake from Jane just before she could ask her question. Instead of getting an answer as to why Jane was concerned, she received a full report from Charlotte about her time modeling clothing at The Style Shoppe, and her concern that she didn't react like a boy her age would act around young girls in the act of changing clothes. Where Jane gave Charlotte one reason, Marie gave her another reason, "Because you aren't like other boys. You are a gentleman, chère. And a gentleman knows the proper way to act around women in the state such as you saw."

With supper over and the kitchen duties completed, Jane reminded Charlotte she had a paper to write about her experiences modeling, and Francis had History to read for her paper on the Napoleonic Wars. It was only after the girls had entered the library to do their homework that Jane took Marie with her to the study, and let her read both faxes she'd received. When Marie finished reading the one from Jeb, she put it down and told Jane, "So, you are wondering if you should tell Charlotte about what's been discovered? Thinking maybe if you do she'll get her hopes up only to have them dashed if nothing comes of what's been discovered?" Jane just nodded, it's the only answer she had at that moment. Marie sat the faxes on Jane's desk, looked at Jane, then said, "What can you tell her that can really help her believe her name will be cleared? Nothing. Absolutely nothing that she doesn't already know. I presume you showed her the fax from Ruth?" Jane nodded, picked up the faxes, unlocked a drawer before placing the faxes in the drawer and relocking it. "Then, tell her nothing more than she already knows. She has enough going on right now and doesn't need to be told something which might or might not clear her name. The time to tell her will come, and that time will be when her name can be cleared. N'est-ce pas (Is not it?)?" Jane nodded her head before opening the cabinet, turning on the monitor to check on her wards. As she listened, Charlotte was talking with Francis concerning her assignment, helping to clarify a few points. Maybe she could get away with using a guillotine on someone.

A clock in the downstairs portion of the house struck nine times, the ninth time fading as the energy given to the air dissipated. The girls heard a knock on the library door before it opened and Jane came into the room. "How is your reading coming, Francis? Are you ready to write your paper yet?" Jane couldn't let her know she'd been watching her, as Francis had started writing her paper or she'd learn things Jane wanted to stay hidden.

"I've finished the reading, Aunt Jane. I had to ask Charlotte if she knew anything about the Napoleonic Wars because I had some questions. And because of her answers I've started writing my paper."

Jane sagely nodded her head, then turned to Charlotte. "And the paper about your experiences from today? Has it helped you see an answer to some of your own questions?"

Charlotte smiled at Jane, then told her, "It's basically done, Aunt Jane. I say basically because most of what I've written is about what I did as I modeled."

Jane looked at Charlotte and asked her, "But you're having trouble writing down how you FELT while you modeled, oui? Because you're having trouble sorting out the answer to some of your questions?"

Jane watched as Charlotte nodded her head before saying, "Yes, Aunt Jane, that's exactly why it's basically done. If I sit and think about how I felt, not only do I think about my feelings but about me as a boy and my masculinity. And when I think about that, well, my thoughts start down another path then branch to another, and several more, before coming back to my original thought."

Jane had sat down in a chair next to Charlotte, looked at her, smiled, then told her, "So your thoughts are a Mobius Loop, starting and ending at the same place. No real beginning and no real end, perhaps you need to make a beginning and an end. Perhaps you need to cut the loop at branches in the path so you have an end and a new beginning. Perhaps how you felt while modeling, and the answer to some of your questions, lies in the parsaled sections of the thoughts you separate into strips of thoughts. Perhaps your current thoughts are a sheet of writing paper, and you lay a ruler lengthways on that paper so you can tear that paper into strips and then examine each one individually. Do you understand what I'm saying Charlotte?" Jane saw the half confused and half accepting look on Charlotte's face, then told her, "Don't be concerned by your thoughts going off in tangents before returning to the beginning. Take the tangent thought, pull it out separately and examine it on its own merits. Then do the same for each thought. A jigsaw puzzle has to be assembled piece by piece. Each piece fits an exact place in the puzzle as a whole. And it's only by examining each piece can the puzzle be assembled into a whole picture."

Jane saw the light go on in Charlotte's eyes, and watched as she chuckled to herself then said more to herself than to Jane, "Guess I'm not as smart as I thought I was. I should have realized that." Charlotte had dropped her head after what she said, feeling stupid for not realizing what Jane had just said.

Jane reached over, put her fingers gently under Charlotte's chin, lifted her head and told her, "No, chère, you are smart. You could not have known to break down your thoughts because you are not in your usual situation. You are used to thinking in literal terms, this happens, that's the response. Being here, with me, has caused you to relearn how to think, how to reevaluate what you see and do. You are Charlotte now, chère, and Charlotte doesn't always think in literal terms of this happening and that's the response. Because Charlotte has never existed before and is as a baby taking its first step. Learn to let Charlotte learn. Don't compare her to Charles, because Charles has not only learned how to walk but run as well. Because as Charlotte, you are just learning how to walk. Keep working on your paper, it will be complete when you're ready for it to be completed. It's time for you two girls to get to bed, we've a busy day tomorrow."

As they always did, Jane went up with Charlotte and Marie with Francis. When Jane and Charlotte were in Charlotte's bedroom, Charlotte asked, "Aunt Jane, why is there so much disparity between males and females? Both are human mammals. Their anatomy is different in some aspects, as is their roles in procreation, but they share the same type of feelings, needs, and desires, even though males seldom let on they do. So why should one be treated better than the other? Why should it be thought that males are superior to females in many ways?" Charlotte had walked into the bathroom to clean her face, brush her teeth, and use the toilet before getting into bed, after asking Jane the questions.

Jane stood dumbfounded by Charlotte's questions, wondering where this child obtained such questions. Wondering if the school she attended knew just what type of a student they had or her intelligence, or cared. Charlotte may not realize how deep her questions went, or how difficult they could be to answer. When Charlotte came out of the bathroom, Jane gave her face a good inspection, pronounced her face clean, and told Charlotte, "You dear, child. Those questions are not some a person your age would even think of, much less ask about. Where did they come from and why do you ask?"

Jane sat down on the edge of Charlotte's bed and patted the space beside her, indicating for Charlotte to sit beside her. She watched as Charlotte formed her thoughts before she heard, "It's what I saw during the fashion show, Aunt Jane. Oh, not just my seeing four naked young girls who were beautiful in their own right, but how others reacted when they saw us walking down the runway. As I watched the women and young girls in the audience react, they were excited by the items we wore, the young girls particularly interested in everything they saw. Their mothers, I assume they were their mothers, were more subdued when we came out in swimsuits, sleepwear, and underwear, some telling their daughters, 'No way in hell,' I believe one mother put it. But none acted as though we were anything but young ladies modeling clothing."

"As you know, The Style Shoppe has a large glass front, which allows shoppers to see into the store without any trouble. As we modeled I saw from the runway, and from behind the curtain, the large number of young boys and men who stopped and watched us as we modeled. It wasn't difficult to see how aroused many were as they stood and watched."

Charlotte laughed at the remembrance of the boys who held themselves as they ran to the restroom. "You found something funny about being watched, Charlotte?" Jane had to wait until Charlotte stopped laughing to hear an answer to her question.

"Aunt Jane," Charlotte said, as her laughing slowed to a chuckle, "During one of the girls' walk, we were wearing two-piece swimsuits at the time," and she chuckled again before continuing, "I watched from behind the curtain as several boys grabbed themselves and ran off to the mens restroom. As I watched from behind the curtain, until it was my turn, each time a girl walked the runway wearing the swimsuit, more boys would grab themselves and run off. When it was my turn, I watched, and after watching me, a boy presenting as a girl, more did the same. And it got even worse when we switched to sleepwear and underwear, because now it wasn't just the boys who grabbed themselves, but men as well. That's when I decided to really ham it up while wearing the all black underwear, and there were only a few boys or men left standing watching the show from outside of the store."

Jane didn't have to imagine how Charlotte hammed it up while wearing the all black underwear, she watched her do it from a room in Brenda's store. What she saw Charlotte do made her wish Art had been there with her. She shook off that thought and started thinking of answers to Charlotte's questions.

"Charlotte," and Jane paused, gathering her thoughts. "Answers to your questions are simple yet complicated. You saw with your own eyes how those men and boys reacted to you girls as you modeled the clothing. You can look to nature and see the same thing occur, and none are wearing what we'd consider clothing. The male brain is wired to find a female attractive, attractive enough to copulate in order to procreate our species, it happens with every species. By the same token, it's up to the female to decide whether or not the male who wants her is the one she wants to become the father of her children. Boys your age, and some men who never grew up, have trouble controlling themselves when they see beautiful women or young girls. The boys because their hormones are running wild and they have yet to learn to master the desires their hormones produce. The men know better, but possess the desire to mate with any female they find attractive, whether they are mated or not. By mated I refer to being married. As to why women are treated differently than men? It stems from long ago, a man had to protect the woman he was with or she'd be taken away from him by other men. Men are built differently than women, so are able to deal with situations women would have found difficult to handle. That isn't to say all women would find the tasks difficult, but the majority would. Because men began to think of women as the 'weaker' sex, it was believed women didn't posses the abilities or intellect to do what many men were capable of doing. And when 'modern' women wanted to stop being 'babied' and started exerting themselves, many men felt threatened. They felt as though they were losing control of everything around them. They never discover what some men discover, that a woman completes the man, that the woman makes the relationship whole. That she is the right hand the man had been missing his entire life. You didn't see those men who discovered the truth watching you as you and those girls modeled, Charlotte. You saw those men who wanted to possess something they couldn't have, watching you. To them, you five girls were nothing more than a desire to have sex with you and then move on. They had no interest in becoming your soul mates."

Jane again saw that Charlotte was thinking, and learned what she was thinking when she asked, "But if a person really loves someone, the true part of that person, not what they see that person present, should it matter if it's more than just man and woman?"

Jane marveled at the depth of Charlotte's question, because it's a question that has caused a great deal of strife. "Charlotte, very few people ever learn to love the true self of a person, they can't get past the presentation they see in the other person. Many don't even know there is a true part to every person, because it isn't what they've been told while growing up. If you watch television, read a magazine, listen to the radio, or see any type of media that displays products produced by others, you will see the vast majority deal with the appearance of the individual, and not their true self. They have the world believing that it's more important how you look than how you conduct yourself in the presence of others. They have convinced the world that men want women who are the most beautiful. They have convinced women they want men who ripple with muscles and stand tall above other men. But not one, to a letter, has ever said that it's more important to seek a person's true self and not look at the outside package. They are the ones who've made it difficult for women to show they are capable of doing what men can do, and in some cases, better than a man. It would be nice, Charlotte, if everyone sought the other person's true self and not how the person looked, it would keep so much trouble from happening. But we, as humans, aren't mature enough for that to happen. We, most of us anyway, are still trying to learn how to walk. Enough talk. Let's get you into bed. You've an interesting day tomorrow."

As Charlotte told Jane goodnight, and Jane left her bedroom, closing the door behind her, she wondered if she could get away with just pushing the SOB off a short plank hanging out over a deep canyon. Her other self told her 'no.'

"You've an interesting day tomorrow," was replayed in Charlotte's mind, as she lay in bed wondering what her next adventure was going to be. She had closed her eyes, trying to relax and let sleep overtake her, but her mind kept going over the events at The Style Shoppe, and the role she played.

"Charlotte, Charlotte, wake up, you're dreaming. It's just a dream, wake up."

Her sight was blurry as her eyes fluttered open, and she saw Jane standing over her. "Aunt Jane? Why are you here? Is it time to get up?"

Charlotte had to clear her throat several times while she spoke, it was raw for some reason. "You were screaming in your sleep, Charlotte. You must have been having a nightmare. Can you recall what you were dreaming? Try hard, it might be important for me to know."

Charlotte caught a glimpse of her dream, which helped her recall the whole dream and that caused her to burst into tears. Jane sat on the edge of Charlotte's bed and held her while she cried, coming up with more ideas which her other self told her she still couldn't do. Slowly, Charlotte calmed down, and when she had stopped crying Jane asked, "Can you tell me about your dream now?"

Charlotte remained silent for several long minutes, before saying, "We'd gone to the mall. You left me to window shop while you took Francis to get some much needed items. You didn't say it, but you did that so I'd see I was only seen as a girl. I started walking past this one empty store, one of the single stores, when hands came out of nowhere, grabbed me, and drug me into that empty store. I was dragged to the back of that store, someone held my hands up over my head on the floor, two others held my legs down and apart, then I felt my dress ripped up the center and my panties torn off and then someone was on me and in me," and Charlotte broke down again as she croaked, "and there wasn't anything I could do to stop it." And even though she was crying, Jane managed to understand her when she got out, "And they all took turns raping me."

Jane remembered a story she'd read for fun about invaders who'd treated those they'd conquered badly, especially one woman. She was repeatedly raped by several men at the orders of their commander. As fate would have it, the invaders were finally driven out, and that commander captured. The woman, with the help of several other men, stripped that ex-commander naked, held him down on the ground as they drove a sharpened stake up into his rectum and out his back, making sure not to hit any vital organs. They then raised the stake impaling the man, and it was set into the ground so that the cross piece against the man's rectum kept his feet from touching the ground. And they left him there to rot. Her other self told her again, no.

Charlotte is a boy, who, according to all the information she'd received, had never had such a sexual experience as she was describing. So why had Charlotte dreamt about that horrible event? Charlotte had calmed down again, holding on tight to Jane. Jane decided to try working backwards to see if Charlotte could give her any clues which lead to the nightmare. "Charlotte. Can you remember what you were dreaming before the dream of the rape? Or can you remember what you were thinking about as you went to sleep?"

Charlotte sniffed her nose, wiped her eyes, then told Jane, "I was dreaming I WAS a girl modeling, like today. I was having fun wearing all the clothing, even the sexier ones. I wore ball gowns, mini skirts, skirts girls could wear to school and some underwear that'd rev up any man's motor. And then you and Francis were there and, well, you know the rest. I had trouble falling asleep because I kept thinking about being a model for the afternoon, and how it turned out to be fun. And then started thinking about those four other girls and the boys getting aroused watching us, and I woke up with you shaking me. Could I have wanted to do to those four girls what those boys watching wanted to the five of us? Is that why I dreamt of being raped? Was my mind showing me how I'd feel if I done that to those four girls? But I never had any feeling to act that way even when those four were completely naked while changing. Never, Aunt Jane. You got to believe me. I would never do something like that to any girl, it isn't who I am inside, Aunt Jane. I don't understand why I had a dream of me being a girl and being raped?"

Jane so wanted to kill the bastard who's mentally hurt this boy, but elected to take deep breaths in order to calm herself down. "Charlotte, no one knows why we dream of events we'd never think of doing in the real world. Some try to explain it away by saying the desire is buried deep in our subconscious, that it's our self consciousness that keeps the subconscious in check in the real world so that deep desires are never allowed to occur. They claim that during sleep the subconscious takes over and manifests in our dreams. You are a male, Charles, not unlike the males on this planet. You have a desire to have sex with women, but unlike most of the males on this planet, the desire to have sex with a woman doesn't control your life. Your self awareness, your moral code of life, your knowing right from wrong all work together to show you how to live your life. That is what drives your life, not an animalistic desire. Are you feeling better? Do you think you can go back to sleep now?" Jane felt Charlotte nod her head and felt Charlotte release her, moving to lie back down in her bed. Neither said any more to the other, Jane just quietly left Charlotte's room, turning off the light and closing the door behind her.

Jane didn't go immediately back to bed, but went to the kitchen instead, finding Marie there fixing two cups of tea. "Is she all right now, Jane?"

Jane nodded her head and told Marie, "Yes, she seems to be now. The modeling she did at The Style Shoppe got to her more than she realized, it played on her subconscious. She dreamt she'd been window shopping and was grabbed by several guys, dragged into an abandoned shop, held down and raped. Repeatedly by all of those holding her. It would seem that being Charlotte, even for this short time, has really played into her subconscious. Charles may have been doing more analyzing of being Charlotte than he realizes, actually putting himself in the shoes of the girl named Charlotte." Jane picked up her cup of tea with shaking hands but sat it back down, afraid she'd spill the entire cup if she tried to take a sip. Marie laid a hand on Jane's hands, held them until Jane's hands stopped shaking. Jane looked over to Marie and growled, "Maire, I'd like to kill the bastard who caused this sweet boy all of these troubles. I wouldn't care what happened to me if I could make sure he didn't do this to another boy like Charles."

Marie nodded her head at Jane's words, totally understanding how Jane felt. "I know, chère, I feel the same. But...we both know that isn't the right way for us to proceed. We both know our role lies here, at Seasons House, doing what we do best in helping young boys find the path they should be walking and not the path they've decided to take. We have to trust those who are looking into all this, trust they will find the truth and all of those behind this. Try to drink your tea, chère, then go back to bed. I'll keep an eye on our Charlotte tonight."

Jane nodded her head, picked up her cup of tea, and together the two women sat silently and sipped at their tea until they saw the bottom of the cups. Both women thinking the same thoughts without saying a word to each other. Perhaps there's more of Charlotte in Charles than Charles realizes. Perhaps Charles isn't that far from actually becoming Charlotte, even though he seems comfortable being himself. It was as though a silent signal had been given and both women looked at each other, nodding towards the other before Marie said, "Perhaps we need to have him speak with someone better versed in that area than we are, oui?"

Jane slowly nodded her head in agreement with what Marie said, "Oui, ce serait peut-être pour le mieux. But he will have to speak with me first," Jane said, a smile forming on both women's lips.

Marie giggled then told Jane, "You two must remember there are children in the house, so you must not speak too loudly, as you yourself often do when the two of you speak."

Jane playfully swatted Marie's arm, saying, "I do not speak that loudly when he and I are in discussion. He causes me to um...rephrase my responses to his, um...inquiries. That's all."

Marie eyed Jane with a look that said, 'Uh, huh, sure,' before both women broke out laughing. Patting Marie's hand, she told her, "Wake me if you need me. I think after talking to me she'll sleep through what's left of this night."

"I will, chère, go get some sleep," Marie replied, and watched Jane leave the kitchen.

Marie picked up both tea cups, took them to the sink, rinsed them out before placing them on the counter; she'd wash them in the morning. As she walked up the stairs to her bedroom, she thought back to all the boys who'd affect Jane as Charlotte was doing, and could only think of a few that got under Jane's skin. She wondered when she'd need to be the one who'd need help getting over those who'd been sent to her but shouldn't have been here. She wondered if there would come a time when she would have to say enough, and go find her own peace.