On Sunday, even though it was just going to be an easy relaxing day, Jenny insisted that I needed to keep wearing skirts and ‘proper’ shoes as a reminder of my assumed femininity, and when we went for a walk in the park down by the river I was definitely the odd-one-out, especially for other girls my age. Everyone else was wearing jeans and sandals or trainers and I felt conspicuous, although I did enjoy the fresh breeze drifting onto my bare legs the main advantage of skirts rather than trousers. I couldn’t really understand why girls and women squeezed themselves into tight warm trousers and leggings on a warm spring day when a skirt and bare legs was a lot more comfortable and pleasant.

We were sitting on a bench, basking in the warm sunshine, watching the ducks and geese scramble for the titbits that were getting thrown at them, eating ice cream cones when our peace and quiet was broken as we were approached by a couple of young men.

“Hi there, it’s Jenny Carter isn’t it, I’m Rob Williams, I don’t know if you remember me, I was in your class at school.”

“ Yes, I remember you Rob, you were always the quiet shy one at the back of the class, then you would never have dreamed of walking over to say hello, unlike some of your friends who were constantly trying awkwardly to chat us up.” she replied, smiling back at him.

“ I haven’t seen you for ages, and have grown up a lot since then. Do you mind if we join you and have a catch-up and talk about our old friends? This is Jim, a friend of mine from work, he wasn’t at our school.”

“ This is my cousin Jane, she has just moved into town and is staying with me.”

Although I knew perfectly well who Rob was, I wasn’t supposed to, so Jim and I made pleasant small talk while Jenny and Rob did a lot of reminiscing.

“ Whatever happened to your brother, Jack wasn’t it? Some of the people I’ve met who knew him at university say that he was as much a loner there as he was at school. In a way I understand why he kept himself to himself at school after his cross-dressing was exposed, but I would have thought that the much more liberal atmosphere at university would have let him take it further, but apparently nobody there ever saw him dressed as a girl.”

“He kept telling everyone that it was all a big misunderstanding and that it was just a bit of fun that got out of hand, but all you testosterone-driven boys didn’t want to damage your macho image by being seen even just talking to him, so you all just ghosted him. It’s just as well that most of the girls weren’t so bigoted otherwise he could have turned into a recluse with all sorts of personality problems. You can tell all the others that you still see that he has turned into an intelligent well-adjusted young man and is trying to make a success of his career.” She snapped back glaring at him.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you. You are right though about the boys being worried that their masculinity would be dented, at that age all of us, girls as well as boys, are too concerned about what others think of us and can be quite easily led into a herd response to events. Next time you see him give him my apologies. We were going to ask you if we could spend some time with you, maybe getting a boat out on the lake or something, but I suppose that there is no chance of that now, is there?”

Jenny looked at me questioningly and when I smiled back and nodded, she mellowed a bit. “ Why not, you have apologised and you seem a lot more outgoing and pleasant now than you all were then, let’s walk for a bit first.” she said as she got up, and holding hands she and Rob looked to us to follow.

After the lectures from Linda and Jenny last night I decided that I needed to brush up on my social skills, Jim seemed pleasant enough and I thought quite good-looking too, so why not? I held out my hand for him to help me get up from the bench and we kept them together as we caught up with the others.

We sent an enjoyable afternoon with the boys, boating on the lake, chatting over coffee in the lakeside café.

Despite not getting off to a good start, the day turned out well and it was a shame to end it when they walked us back home.

“Thanks for a lovely time boys, it has been fun, but we have things to do.” She seemed genuinely interested in Rob and put her arms around him to draw him in close for a deep kiss. I thought that really I should follow her lead and do the same. Jim was quite a passionate kisser and I was actually enjoying it, but when I felt an erection growing in his trousers it was time to pull back before it went any further. We said our goodbyes and they promised to give a call to arrange to meet up again.

“ I know that I told you that you need to learn to behave like a girl, but you have now really thrown yourself into the part. I thought that you were never going to let go of him.” She giggled as she teased me.

“ Tell me something Jen. With Jez the other night and with Jim just now, when we were kissing I could feel their erections, is it always like that and does it not put you off a bit.?”

“A lot of times, but you will soon get used to it. Depending on who it is it’s a nice feeling to know that they think you are sexy, it’s good for the ego. In fact we can encourage it if we want to by a bit of forceful pushing our hips forward rubbing against them. Obviously you shouldn’t do that because, well you know why. You’ve only been a girl for a short time, but you are already learning a lot of our tricks. You were much more relaxed today than you were with Jez, keep at it sis.”

“Im going to have a shower then put on a moisturising mask and do my nails, ready for work tomorrow.”

“ Wow, you are turning into a real girly girl, I have created a monster.” She joked as she playfully threw a cushion at me.

Later we sat for a while with a glass of wine chatting about all the things we had been up to over the weekend, and she really surprised me by telling me that she had been feeling a bit horny and if it hadn’t been for me that she was thinking about inviting Rob in and taking him to bed, and she described in graphic detail all the things she wanted to do with him. It was not a conversation that I thought I would ever have with my sister talking about her libido and sexual feelings, but she was treating me as her sister not her brother now, and was able to share a lot more with me.

Along with my own thoughts about how I felt with the boys, and the things Jenny had described to me, my mind was in turmoil and my sleep fitful, as I was totally unsure about how I felt things were developing.

At work, the early part of the week was just routine, I learned nothing further to give me a clue as to who was the office mole and was getting a bit frustrated at the lack of progress. Wednesday was Angie’s birthday so after work all of us, at least all the girls, made our way to a local wine bar to celebrate with her. I thought tongues might loosen after a few glasses of wine, but other than a bit of bitchy sniping at Sally by Maggie, it was all just general chatter.

“ What’s wrong with Sally then, I thought she was popular with you all?” I tried to probe a bit further.

“She was just a bit up herself, she thought being the boss’s PA made her better than everyone else and sometimes she could be quite patronising. Just because she lives in an expensive house and drives a flash car, she thought she could look down on those of us who could not match her expensive tastes.” Liz added.

“ She didn’t strike me like that.” I replied in her defence.

“ Well you don’t know her like we do, you only worked with her for a couple of days, and being so close to the birth she is now a bit mellow and mumsy, so you only saw the good side of her.”

Apart from that and a bit of bitching about the habits of their partners, it was a pleasant sociable gathering, even Maggie seemed to join in rather than being aloof and superior as she normally was. I learned a lot more about all the other girls, their families, their home life, how they viewed their lives. Discussions were a lot more open, wide-ranging and interesting than when I had previously been out with groups of men.

After my nights out withJenny and her friends, I was totally comfortable in the company of the girls and joined in with all their chatter even when they were giggling about some of the men at the bar and making comparisons with their husbands and partners. It was becoming a lot more natural for me to see things from a female perspective, and as well as dressing as a female I was beginning to think and feel emotions as one too.

Things started to change on Thursday, when James called me into his office, before I had even had a chance to sit down with a coffee. “Ah, good morning Jane,” he said to me as I walked into the office, “don’t bother taking off your coat, I’d like you to come to a meeting with me this morning. We’re off to Bolton Manor to talk to the owners of the land which we are proposing to develop.” Fortunately as it was a warm day, I had decided to wear a light belted Summer dress which could be read as either formal or casual and felt that it would be appropriate for a business meeting.

I knew that Bolton Manor was a huge private estate owned by a local aristocratic family. As well as the house and gardens there were extensive woodlands, a deer park, and hundreds of acres of pasture, much of which was the other side of a public road and let out to tenant farmers, However I was not prepared for what hit my eyes as we drove though imposing entrance gates. The main drive twisted through woodland and pasture land with cattle and sheep grazing, before opening into a grand gravelled entrance approach to a magnificent huge Georgian Palladian style mansion. The whole effect was to give an impression of style, wealth, and the power associated with it.

As we approached the main door set under a colonnaded porch, we were greeted, rather formally, by a middle-aged man in a business suit with an obvious military background, who I assumed to be Sir Charles Bolton, baronet, grandson of an earl, and ‘something in the City of London finance world’, but was quickly corrected when he spoke.

“Welcome to Bolton Manor, I’m Geoffrey Marshall, Sir Charles’ major-domo and private secretary. Please come in, Sir Charles is waiting for you in the study, I’ll show you in, arrange coffee, or tea if you prefer, and join you in a few minutes.”

If Geoffrey was the image of a formal businessman, Sir Charles was the total opposite, unkept grey hair, casually dressed in country style, green corduroy trousers, chequered twill shirt and suede brogues, with his two labradors lying at his feet, someone obviously comfortable in the aristocratic lifestyle and with no need for pretentious formality.

“ Hello, James old chap, nice to meet you again.” he warmly welcomed us as he casually shook James’ hand and then looked across to me. “And who is this delightful young lady you have brought with you, she has put me in a better mood already,” he gave me a big smile as he gently took my hand and gave me a formal kiss on the cheek. It was plain that political correctness and equality had not yet reached Bolton Manor and that we were still in the days of old-fashioned charm and polite respect for the fair sex. Rather than let James introduce me, I warmly smiled back at him and replied for myself to try to assert that I had a mind of my own. “Good morning Sir Charles, I’m Jane Harrison, Mr Cartwright’s PA, pleased to meet you at last, James has told a lot about you and the plans you both have to develop on your estate.”

“No need for all that formality dear, in here today we are Charles, James and Jane, although when he returns my PA prefers to be called Mr Marshall, he’s a bit stuffy like that and I like to humour him.” I was warming to Charles, he was an old fashioned aristocrat, he didn’t need to impress anyone.

Marshall returned, followed by a maid/housekeeper carrying a silver tray with porcelain cups and saucers, two cafetières of coffee, one rich roast and one decaf, milk and Demerara sugar, along with a plate of petit-fours and biscuits, which she laid on the small table between us before leaving. I thought that as the only female and the most junior person, that I would be expected to pour and serve the coffee, but as I was about to get up, Marshall took charge and did the honours, maybe old-fashioned courtesy had it’s advantages.

Marshall and I had both been briefed to take note of the discussions, and we sat apart from our two bosses, out of the conversation, but just listening in and recording what was happening.

“Charles, I really would like to get the land deal wrapped up, I have backers all lined up to invest, and if there is not progress soon, I can see some of them losing interest. I have been told that there will be no problem getting outline planning permission to change the land use from agricultural to retail and all that it needs for us to go forward is for you to agree to the land sale.”

“James, you made a fair offer, but as I’m sure you are aware, there is someone else interested and they have bettered your bid, This estate costs a fortune to run and maintain and, to be frank, the extra money is more than welcome. In the times of my ancestors when the estate was established and the house was built, labour was cheap and plentiful, but times have changed, understandably everyone wants, and indeed needs, a decent wage and lifestyle. So we all have to adapt. My role in the city provides me with a very good income but the estate is a money pit, and I have to look at alternative ways to fund it all as best I can. ”

“I’ve been thinking about that and have a proposal for you Charles which may help. I’m certain that my offer is realistic considering the price of other land sales in this area, but I am prepared to offer you, in addition, a significant shareholding in the management company that will operate the development. Judging by other developments in which I have been involved that should generate more than enough funds to help run the remaining estate. As you are aware, agricultural land rents are fairly low and dividend income from the development will be far in excess of what you are currently receiving from the tenant farmers. Also, no disrespect, you are getting on a bit, and must have serious problems coming up over what could be considerable death duties. If we put the shareholding in the name of your son, William, that should reduce any taxes on your death when it all passes down to him. How does that sound?”

Without any outward reaction to the offer, Charles stood up and moved away from James. “Please help yourself to coffee and cake, I will leave you for a few minutes while I have a think about it. Marshall, follow me please.”

When we were left alone, James smiled at me. ”I think we have hooked him, it’s will be just a matter of tying up the details.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, why do you need me here, I would have thought that discussions like this would be better one to one.”

“Three main reasons. One,I wanted a witness and a note-taker which is your job. Two, no disrespect, I wanted you as a bit of a distraction, a bit of eye-candy if you like, like most elderly aristocrats he is a bit of a charmer with an eye for the ladies. Three, I want your opinion on how he reacted and whether I will need to offer him more.”

“I agree, I’m sure that he is interested. However, if you get his agreement, that is your main problem overcome but there is still the issue of how the information leaked to someone else which has caused you to improve your offer. Maybe he can help us out any information will help me on that score.”

Having given the offer his consideration, Charles returned with Marshall. “Subject to agreeing the details and the terms of the contract, I am prepared to accept your offer, but on two conditions. One, the development is to be called ‘The Bolton Centre’ or similar. Two, we need to agree the level of shareholding, I suggest 10%.”

“ I’ve no problems with the name, in fact I was going to suggest that anyway. However, 10% shareholding is far too much and unrealistic, although I understand you suggesting that as an opening bid. I have to consider the interests of the investors who will be funding the development, which will be a considerable cost to them and they deserve realistic rewards too. I think 1% is more appropriate and even that should provide enough in dividends for you to maintain your estate.”

“I would like at least 6%.”

“”2%”

“4%”

“3%, and that is honestly as far as I am able to go.”

“Ok James, we’ll settle for that. Get your lawyers to contact mine and arrange the purchase. Marshall, fetch the Hennessy XO for a toast to this agreement” As an afterthought, looking at me he politely asked “ Is that fine for you my dear or would you prefer something milder?”

“Thank you Charles that will be fine. I quite like the occasional cognac, but not quite in the same class as the XO. The days have long gone when we womenfolk retired to another room, leaving you men to enjoy your brandy and cigars.”

James gave me a warning glance to suggest that I may have gone too far, but Charles burst into a grin and chuckled.

“I like you Jane, my dear, you have spirit, I like my women a bit feisty and unpredictable just like my favourite hunter. You must come and visit me again, I find you amusing.”

“One other thing Charles I hope you can help me with.” James jumped in to change the subject. “It is obvious that word leaked out about my proposed development on your land, and the only people that knew what I was up to were us, our staff and Andrew Hargreaves, the chief Planning Officer. Personally I think that it is one of my staff and I am trying to find out who it was. If you will tell me the name of the company that was bidding against me it may help us to find a link to one of my people and sort it out. I value loyalty, as I am sure you do too.”

“No problems old chap, I was approached by Acumen Developments, and to be honest they seemed to know a great deal about what you are up to, they obviously had a lot of information from somewhere.”

Business completed, James and I said our goodbyes and after a fatherly hug and peck on the cheek for me we made our way back to his car.

“I’m glad I brought you, I thought that he might be less aggressive in the presence of an attractive young lady and you seem to have hit a soft spot with him, I think that you amused him.”

“Oh, is that what you think of me, what was it you called me before, ‘eye-candy’? Women have a lot more to offer nowadays, you know.”

“Look Jane, I did not mean to insult or demean you, you have a lot of talent and a sharp brain. It was a good idea of yours to find out from him who our competitors were. As regards ‘eye candy’ you make an attractive and personable young lady, I find it easy to forget who you really are. You fit in with the other women so well you would have no problems if you decided that was the life for you.”

I quickly told him that he was talking a load of nonsense and that as soon as this issue was sorted it would be goodbye to Jane, but his comments struck a chord with me and set me thinking, perhaps he might have a point.

Back in the office I spent the rest of the day researching Acumen Developments who had opened a local office about two years ago and were becoming a major player in the area. Looking further into who their main personnel were. I struck me that Alistair Ridgeley, their marketing director, lived in our town, in fact not too far from Jenny’s flat, and with his local knowledge it was likely that he was involved to some extent in their rapid growth in competing with Cartwrights. I resolved to find out a bit more about him and his company, but it would have to wait until the next morning.

“Jen I’m going to tell you something and I want you to give me an honest reply, no matter how you think I will react, ok?” I started a conversation as we sat having our dinner that evening.

“This sounds interesting , go on then.”

“I was out with James Cartwright today, up at Bolton Manor visiting Sir Charles Bolton trying to seal a land deal with him, but that doesn’t really matter. However after we left James told me that he mainly took me along as a bit of eye-candy to try to mellow Sir Charles and seal the deal. It did help as Sir Charles is an old charmer and was quite taken by me and suggested that I must visit him again sometime.”

“Nothing wrong with that, why are you so uptight?”

“Afterwards James told me that I am so convincing as a woman that he sometimes forgets who I am, and sort of suggested that I ought to think about living as, or becoming, a woman.”

“I hope that you told him that this is only a disguise for you to help him and Darren with a problem and that Jack will be back soon !”

“That’s the problem, although I said something like that to him, ever since it has kept coming into my mind that he could be right.”

“Wow, that’s a shocker ! I had no idea when we started preparing you to pass as a girl that it would affect you so much, it was just a bit of fun for us. Having said that, I agree with him that it is easy to forget that you are not really Jane. When we have been out with the girls we all, me included, just think of you, and treat you, as just another one of the girls, you just blend in with us.”

The other thing that I agree with him on, is that it is easy to see you as eye-candy, you come across as a very feminine attractive girl. It is easy for me and the other girls not to have to think ‘I am a girl am I doing everything right’, it is just part of our life, who we are, and we don’t have to think about how other people see us. You, on the other hand, must be constantly aware of how you are walking, talking, reacting to things, and are making much more effort, and that comes across as a very girly-girl.”

“Obviously I am, and always have been totally male, but since this started I have adjusted so easily to life as a female. I am enjoying the company of girls, as a girl, not as a boy on the lookout for a partner. Apart from the cincher you have made me wear, I enjoy the feel and look of the clothes, I look forward to improving my looks with makeup and styling my hair every morning before I go off to work as I want to look my best. I am actually enjoying being a girl.”

“That reminds me, just so you know that there are downsides as well as benefits to being a girl, we need to tighten up the cincher as far we can tonight, although you fit in your dress quite well, for tomorrow night it never does any harm to have a trimmer waist. At least you don’t really have to prepare too much tonight, you are booked in with Susie at 2:30 tomorrow afternoon for the full works, facial, hair nails, etc, just tell James that you will have to leave work early, I’m sure he’ll agree. Don’t worry for the moment about thinking about how much you are enjoying living as a girl, decisions like that are best left until you have a calm mind, when all this is over we can talk about this again, but whatever you decide, I will always be your sister and love and support you.”

To be continued