Chapter 4

We arrived at what looked like a mansion in Kensington. A valet helped me out of the car and drove it away to be parked after giving Walter a token. Walter took me by the arm, and we went inside. It had been totally rebuilt inside, with a proper cloakroom where I checked my fur, and he checked his overcoat. We went through a set of doors on one side of sweeping stairs, to a large dining room and were shown to our table.

He had been right, as we had several pictures taken of us before we were even seated. The photographer waited until Walter had placed our drinks order before coming over and asking who I was.

“The beautiful lady is Trixie Southby, one of the models for the new range of fashion being launched by Solon Brothers for Spring. She is wearing Hokem, the name of the suppliers. If you followed the business papers, you would know that Solon Brothers has bought the Hook and Hokem company, with the thirty stores that they had. If you contact our advertising department, I’m sure that you will get a ticket to the big fashion show which we will be organising for the launch.”

The photographer thanked him, took a close-up of me, and left us to our meal as the drinks were being brought out. I did notice that the photographer had obviously known who Walter was.

“So, Mister Solon. How many girls have you brought here before to have a photographer know who you are?”

He laughed and raised his glass.

“None as beautiful as you, dear Trixie. Unlike the previous girls, I rather think that our pictures will be in the social pages by the end of next week. He has never taken a close-up of my guest before. I’m sure that Moira will be getting a call to find out your background. Now, have a look at the menu and see if there’s anything you like.”

We ordered and talked about the launch. He thought that Monica was going to be allowed to organise the various fashion shows at the other stores, based on what was finalised for London. It would be something that he thought she would be good at. I found out more about his earlier days. His father was in real estate and would be talking to the Hook franchise owners about purchasing their stores, so allowing some to finish paying Robert. Walter admitted that he didn’t want to follow in the footsteps as he was more creative, so went for his Arts Degree. His father hadn’t been totally happy but had supported him in his wishes.

We were at the dessert stage, and I was toying with telling him that I had been a boy until I worked in the Southampton office. His face tightened and I could see him fighting with himself.

“Trixie. There is something I have to tell you that may destroy our relationship. Whatever you think afterwards, please remain friends.”

“Nothing will come between us as friends, Walter.”

“When I was young, I wasn’t very mannish. My father tried everything to get me interested in contact sports. My older brother was good at everything, and I worshipped him, but never wanted to emulate him. The arts course was my lifeline. While I was at the university, I was going out with a nice girl. We had a lot in common and had fun. She was from a very well-connected family, and they were adamant that we would be adding to the family line. They spoke to father and forced me to go for tests to prove that I would be a productive husband.”

“I think that I can see where this is going.”

“You’ll be right. The tests showed that I was deficient in the sperm department and unlikely to be a father. She dropped me like a hot potato and married a rugby player. Last I heard, he had given her a son as well as more than a few bruises, but her family was happy.”

“So, what’s the problem?”

“You don’t mind!”

His face lit up and I reached over and took his hand.

“As long as you don’t mind that I don’t have a womb.”

He started laughing and we giggled together.

“Taken away or never had?”

“Never had. I grew up as a boy and only transitioned last year. Those pictures that you fell in love with was a boy in a dress.”

He could hardly control his giggling, and I sat back as he took a drink and regained some sense of decorum. The waiter came to take away our plates and Walter asked for the bill. When he had paid, we went up the stairs to the ballroom. We were holding hands as we entered and joined the throng on the dance floor, with his arms around my waist and mine around his neck. He nuzzled my neck and whispered in my ear.

“You are the best-looking boy I’ve had the pleasure to know.”

“And you, sir, are the most handsome eunuch in the room.”

“We will have to talk about our early days, I expect that we’ll have a lot in common. Did you look at girls for their dresses as well as I did?”

“I did, and then I started painting those dresses.”

“I was getting work experience in the Southampton store a couple of years ago and bought a painting full of gorgeous dresses at a gallery there. I think it might have been wishful thinking on my part, but it gives me peace when I look at it.”

“Five hundred pounds and signed ‘T.S.’ I expect.”

“How on earth did you know?”

“It’s one of the last three of my early works. I sold lots at the Plymouth market and took the last three to Southampton. The gallery had about a dozen of my later works, but they were much more expensive.”

“They didn’t have the masses of dresses, though.”

“No. I did ten like the old ones for a gallery here, summer scenes with pretty ladies which all sold before Christmas. They all sold for about five times what you paid.”

“So, I have an original Trixie Southby on my wall. That means that I can look at it and feel closer to you than ever before.”

“You can’t get much closer than we are at the moment.”

“You’re right. Have I told you that I love you?”

“You did tell me that you loved my picture. Does this mean that you have embraced reality?”

“You have me there, darling. I love you, Trixie, even more now we have bared our souls.”

“I think that I can feel your love, my darling. Do we have to keep on dancing when there are other things we can be doing?”

We stood still and kissed, only stopping by the sound of a camera whirring. He took my hand, and we went back downstairs to collect our coats and ask for the car to be brought to the door. I took the opportunity to go and freshen up and add a little lube. His apartment was overlooking the Thames, and his bed was inviting. We took our time and I found out that the dilator and the dildo were way behind in second place when it came to pleasure. I didn’t have to imagine anything, and he didn’t have to worry about feeling less than manly.

He dropped me off at the house just after midnight, and I was able to get to my room without bothering the other girls. When I undressed for the second time that evening, I smiled as I thought about our lovemaking and our admissions. I had fallen for a girly-boy, who had also fallen for a girl who was a boy. Our coupling had been gentle, yet robust, and we had shared orgasms, both knowing that there could never be an unfortunate outcome. That, alone, allowed us the freedom to be as adventurous as we could ever want.

I slept late and the others were finishing breakfast when I came down.

“Who had a good night, then?”

“I did. How about you girls?”

“Oh. The usual, you know. Janice washed her hair, Tracey worked on her nails, and I just read a sexy paperback. How was the meal?”

“The meal was good, the place was amazing, we were photographed for the social pages, danced, and then went to his place for two hours of torrid sex.”

They all chuckled.

“Now what really happened.”

“I’m not telling you anymore if you don’t believe me. Anyway, he’s picking us all up at twelve and taking us for lunch. Even you, Tracey, as he thinks that having a full house of beautiful girls on his arm will give him brownie points.”

That put the cat among the pigeons, as it was almost ten. I had my breakfast as they all went to their rooms to get ready. I hadn’t told them that we were going to a country pub, close to his family home, and that his family would be joining us in a neutral zone.

When he pulled up in the Bentley, I was in the front and the three girls were in the back, after Tracey was introduced to him. He took us to a place near Windsor, and the carpark was littered with other expensive vehicles. As we went in, we saw a long table with four people already sitting, with one waving to us. Walter held my hand as we approached.

“May I introduce Trixie Southby, my leading model and girlfriend. We also have Monica and Janice, who are also models in the new Spring and Summer launch, and Tracey, who lives in a share house with them and works in the city as a financial analyst. Girls, the man and woman are my parents, Frederick and Susan Solon, while these two hulks are my more athletic brothers, Anthony is older, and Gerald is younger. They must have been granted some genes that bypassed me.”

Frederick stood and came to us, shaking his son’s hand, then giving each of us a hug.

“When Walter said that he may bring along a few friends, I never thought that he would turn up with such a bevy of beauty. Why don’t you all take a seat, this meal is on me.”

While he was talking, the two brothers quietly moved so that the other girls had to sit flanking them. Walter and I sat next to his parents with me next to his mother. His father went to the bar after asking us what we wanted to drink, and Susan put her hand on my arm.

“So, you’re the girl who has taken my son’s heart. I could see it as you walked in, so natural as a couple.”

“We feel natural together. He did tell me about his problems and I’m sorry for him, but it doesn’t change the way we feel about each other.”

“It’s all right, Trixie. I have my other two sons who will be giving me grandchildren. It looks like they’re trying to find a wife as we speak.”

I looked along the table to see my three friends in deep conversation with the two boys, oblivious to what was going on around them.

“Are they both following the real estate path?”

“No. Anthony is in the company business, but Gerald is a whizz with figures, and after Walter broke the mold, we have allowed him to do an accountancy course in uni. He graduates this year. He may end up in the company as our finance officer, or he may join the brothers in their financial side. It all depends on his degree.”

“You seem to have a very successful family, down both lines.”

“We have been lucky. What do your own family do?”

“My parents have an acreage south of Plymouth, growing flowers for the flower market. They wanted me to join them, but I became a graphic artist, although not with a degree.”

“I’ve been told about your talent. I believe that you were the one whose output brought your employer to the attention of the Brothers. They were happy to get a new line of clothing and thirty shops in one hit. It was an expensive purchase, but much cheaper than looking for suppliers and finding new shops to open.”

“It was good for Robert Hook and allows him to retire to a warmer climate. It looks as if everyone came out of the process better off. I wondered if the old Head Office would be closed, but it seems to have come through as the website centre for the whole group.”

“Did you come out better off?”

“Robert did give me a bonus for our work through the lockdowns and my input into the on-line site. I was out of the old company well before the end of last year and hadn’t spent much time in the office for almost a year before that.”

“What were you doing?”

“I was going around all the shops that survived Covid, painting murals.”

“I saw the one in the Holborn shop. I went to see what the brothers had taken on. It was lovely, and such an interesting take on the familiar scene. You are very talented.”

Frederick came back with a tray of drinks, then went off for another tray. When he sat down, he looked at his wife, who nodded.

“So, Walter. I’ve been told that you did well overseas, with these lovely ladies. Alphonse has put you in charge of the campaigns, I believe.”

“Not totally, Dad. We have to run it by Moira and get overall authority from the board. Janice, Monica, Trixie, and I have a cell with four desks with a dedicated server. We will develop the Spring campaign over the next couple of weeks, with both Janice and Trixie being graphic artists, I think we’ll be well within deadline. Monica will be planning the fashion shows. After that, we will move on to the summer launch and then we’ll be planning the next big shoot. I’m thinking of New Zealand for the Winter shoot. There’ll be snow on the Southern mountains then, and there are lots of good places. The whole range is being promoted as the clothes you buy when you’re successful and travel, without breaking the bank. So far, I think that the range the girls wore in the last shoot fitted that brief magnificently.”

“That must have been fun, you and three lovely ladies in the sun.”

“Actually, there was five of us guys and ten lovely ladies if you include the crew. There were six lovely models and they all worked hard for the five weeks. We’re going through all the pictures, but I know that there’ll be a lot unused, this time. We may end up with some that can be scattered through the website.”

“There was a time when I never thought I’d say this. I’m proud of you, my son.”

Walter got up and went to give his father a hug. I could see the glint of tears in his eyes. His mother stood to envelope him in her arms. It was quite a charged family moment. We all had a good lunch, and the talk was good, with Walter’s brothers being pulled into general conversation. One thing that stood out to me was how well Gerald and Tracey were getting on. Anthony was sharing his time between Janice and Monica.

As it reached the stage where we were sitting with drink and the table had been cleared, Anthony looked along the table.

“Dad. These two lovely ladies have agreed to come with me to see the football match. It’s a women’s game and they’re keen to experience it. I’ll bring them to the house when it’s over, in time for dinner.”

Frederick nodded and the three of them stood, thanked him for lunch and left. I looked out of the window as they got into a Porsche Cayenne and left the carpark. Susan was watching as well.

“They’ll be perfectly safe with Tony. He is the perfect gentleman. If he has eyes on one, I know that he’ll have a suitable friend at that match who will make up the foursome. That won’t be until after his ex-girlfriend sees him there with his arms around two models. She plays in one of the teams and is almost a chunky as he is. She dropped him a couple of weeks ago for being too easy-going. She would out-drink us all, combined, and had the vocabulary of a porn movie. I don’t know what he saw in her. All she saw in him was money.”

“That makes her sound like a monster.”

“Not a scary monster, just one who would squash any man smaller than Tony. She’s not even the most butch one on the team.”

“It sounds as if Walter will be taking us home a lot later than I thought.”

“That’s right. I like you, and so does Freddy. In fact, we like all four of you. You are all lovely, hardworking, talented, and qualified. Walter, dear. If you follow us to the house, you can show Trixie around. I’m sure that there will be a lot to interest her. Gerald and Tracey can come with us. When Tony brings the others back, you can take them all home again after dinner.”

The smile on Walter’s face said it all. He was back in the arms of his family, with both his brothers interested in the girls he had brought to lunch, and his girlfriend winning approval from his parents. We went out to the carpark and Tracey got in the back of a Roller with Gerald while we got in the Bentley.

“That went well!”

“Trixie. That is the understatement of the century. I never thought that my father would approve of my life choices, let alone say that he was proud of me. The Brothers may have kept him up to date with how the shoot went and that they were giving me more responsibility. I could say that it was the best day of my life, but that happened yesterday.”

“You really are an old smoothie. I didn’t expect to end up at your family pile for dinner.”

“One thing you need to know about all the Solon family, is that they plan for every eventuality. If you hadn’t clicked with Mother, we may have been heading back to London.”

“I think that she appreciated you bringing a group of ‘lovely, hardworking, talented, and qualified’ girls to lunch. That’s her words, not mine. If it was brownie points you were after, you have banked enough to last you a few months.”

“I hope that I have banked enough, with you, to last a lot longer than that.”

I pondered on that as we followed the Roller through the gates of an imposing driveway, and then some way further to the house. It wasn’t a stately home, but still in the Georgian style and big enough. We stopped behind the Roller and got out, leaving the keys in so that a suited man could take it to be parked. A maid held the doors open as we went in. If I hadn’t realised that the Solon families were loaded, it was brought home to me now. Frederick took Walter off for a talk, man to man, while Gerald and Tracey disappeared up the sweeping staircase.

“Don’t worry about her, Trixie. Gerald has had some problems with his thesis, and I think that Tracey is the girl to get him over the bump. I doubt that we’ll see the two of them until the dinner gong. Now, there’s something I need your advice on.”

She led me through to a room which was obviously her own domain, with very feminine furnishings with needlework on the table and a knitting bag beside a comfortable chair.

“Have you seen the painting that Walter brought back from his time in Southampton. I wondered at his thinking at the time, but he has said that it gives him peace.”

“No, I haven’t, but when he described it, I knew what it was.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“It is one of three works that I took to Southampton when I moved there. I used to paint them when I lived in Plymouth and sold them to tourists at the market.”

“Interesting. You seem even more talented than I thought. Before Christmas, I bought a painting at a gallery in London. I often look around galleries to see what emerging artists I like. This one is similar, but a lot more refined.”

She reached behind an armchair and brought out the picture.

“I was thinking that it may be nice to give to Walter for his birthday, in May.”

“Did you look closely at the signature?”

“It says ‘Trixie’, is that you?”

“That’s one of ten I painted in November for that gallery. I think that Walter will be ecstatic if you give him that.”

“Oh, my! I’ll have to keep it well hidden then. How often do you have pictures there?”

“That was the first big delivery, and I haven’t had time, with Christmas and the photo shoot, to build up another bank for them. I had finished working for Hook in October, and didn’t start with the agency until January, so had time for painting. I don’t know how I’ll go while working on getting the Spring collection together. If I devote my weekends to painting, Walter will just have to be alone for a couple of days a week. We will be working in the office, together, for the weekdays, so it shouldn’t be too hard on him.”

“Don’t you be too sure of that. I’ve seen the way he looks at you, and I think he’ll need to see you every day or else explode.”

She pressed a button, and a maid came in. Susan ordered tea and cake, and we sat at a small table, no doubt only there for such an occasion. When the tea and cakes were put on the table, we sipped and nibbled, with me following her lead on how to act, while talking about things. I found out that she had been working at a rival real estate firm when she met her Freddy at a clearance auction, where they were both looking for good furniture to dress houses due for auction. Her ladylike manners were, she said, acquired over her years of marriage and her mixing with others of that particular breeding. When we had finished, she led me back out and through to a sunroom where Frederick and Walter were sitting in comfortable silence with a bottle of whiskey on the table between them.

“Walter, don’t you think that you should take Trixie on a tour around the house? The garden is starting to get the spring shoots.”

Walter stood and took my hand to give me the grand tour.

“I have a plan, my love, to kiss you in every room.”

“Sounds good to me.”

So, we kissed in the drawing room, the dining room, and the main hall. The cooks were startled when he kissed me in the kitchen and giggled at the sight. One called ‘Way to go, Wally!’ and they all laughed. We kissed in the billiard room, and then went upstairs to kiss on the landing, before going into his bedroom to kiss. We didn’t see the garden that day and needed to use his bathroom to wash the smell of sex off of us.

When we went back downstairs in the drawing room, Gerald and Tracey also looked freshly showered and Tracey gave me a wink. I gave her a hug.

“Did you manage to help Gerald with his thesis?”

“I did. I graduated from the same course and gave him some pointers on multiplication theory and practice.”

“More than once, I think.”

The door opened, and Anthony walked in, holding Monica’s hand, while a lad we hadn’t seen before was holding Janices’.

“Hello, you guys. This is Clive, he works in our office with me.”

Tracey and I were introduced to Clive, who gave each of us a hug.

Gerald looked at Anthony.

“How was the game?”

“The score was three-two to them. It was a brutal game, with one of our team being sent off. I think that she had seen something on the sidelines that made her mad.”

The gong sounded for dinner. I was starting to really like the family, they were rich and powerful but were still down to earth and played games with the mind. I would have to be sharp-witted if I was to be part of it.

Marianne Gregory © 2024