Missed 02: Ffordes Castle

"You don't need much and we have books in the library that could help you, Frederick. You could practise even when dressed as Prudence."

I sighed. A couple of weeks as Prudence and without Felicity would be boring. I suppose it was better than being arrested for treason but...

"I love you, Frederick." Felicity said.

I couldn't respond because Felicity was kissing me to prove her words. A few minutes later she was bouncing up and down on me. I wasn't yet aware of a growing bump but pregnancy seemed to have made Felicity more demanding in bed. I went asleep with Felicity in my arms. I was exhausted. She wasn't. She woke me up twice in the night to ride me again.

The next morning we had a letter from Great-Uncle Simon saying that he would be delighted to welcome Felicity and Graham and me when I could come.

By noon Felicity and Graham were on their way and I saw them off, dressed as Prudence. Felicity kissed and hugged me while we were still in the castle, unseen by anyone else. I stood with Mrs Simkins and her daughters Hazel and Rose as the coach, brought from Wantsumford Manor, pulled away.

We went back into the castle and I pulled the door shut before joining the three women in the gatehouse room. I was sad that Felicity had left me and it might be several weeks before I saw her again.

Mrs Simkins noticed my sadness and gave me, as Prudence, a fierce hug. When she let me go, Hazel, then Rose, hugged and kissed me.

"Never mind, Prudence," Hazel said. "You haven't got as much work to do now, and I and Rose will look after you."

I didn't understand what she meant but I appreciated the hugs and kisses.

+++

I had expected the next couple of weeks to be boring. They weren't. Although apparently I was Prudence, an incompetent and uneducated scullery maid, I'm actually well-educated and intelligent. The cleaning of Ffordes Castle was much easier because apparently we had no gentlefolk present. I, as Prudence, didn't count, so the principal rooms could be shuttered and the furniture covered in dust sheets and left.

All I had to do was clean up after the various contractors and they tended to do much of that themselves. I had started learning Turkish in the library but I had an idea. I started to teach Hazel and Rose French. They were competent pupils and after a week I could speak French to them and they could reply with simple expressions.

As well as supervising the contractors, apparently through letters sent to Mrs Simkins, I had been reviewing the domestic arrangements and had ordered several items of equipment to make the tasks of Mrs Simkins, her daughters, and their unskilled helper, Prudence, easier. The most appreciated acquisition had been a very new-fangled Singer sewing machine.

The four of us had used that to make new dresses for Felicity, some allowing for a pregnancy bump, and for me as Lady Hester instead of Fortuna. Of course I had to the mannequin for all the creations. Frequently Hazel and Rose were dressing and undressing me, taking off my Prudence shabby clothes and dressing me as a Lady. Too often their actions gave me an erection because I was missing Felicity. That amused them. Whenever they saw it, they hugged and kissed me so much that I suspected they wanted to drag their master off to bed, even if he was dressed as Prudence.

It was difficult to resist the temptation. It might have been harder if I had been married to Felicity for years instead of months.

The dressmaking had one other effect. I learned how to be a proper ladies' maid, dressing Hazel and Rose in gentlewomen's clothing and attending to their hair. If I had really been Prudence I might be promoted to be a tweenie - a maid who could work below and upstairs and show signs of becoming a real chambermaid.

But if I was to become Lady Hester instead of Fortuna, I needed some Turkish costumes as well as an Englishwoman's wardrobe. Soon I was wearing voluminous harem trousers, a short top with an embroidered waistcoat, and my face was partly covered with a yashmak. The first-made yashmak was too small and when Hazel put it on my face I was actually gagged into silence. Hazel took advantage of my inability to speak by dragging my head into her cleavage and breast smothering me. As she did that, my erection became very firm and painful. That night, in my solitary bed as Frederick, I dreamt that Hazel and Rose were making love to me. But what I really wanted was Felicity.

That led to some experiments before I revealed my idea. Dressed as Lady Hester, I, with Hazel and Rose, went shopping in the nearby town. They and their mother thought I made an acceptable gentlewoman and had as Fortuna, but I had never been out of Ffordes Castle as a woman. The closest I had come to appearing to anyone else when female was as the drudge Prudence when the Police had come.

The three of us were pleased that no one had seemed to suspect that I wasn't the Lady I was dressed as. After three visits for shopping, one evening as we ate our supper I told the three of them what I intended.

I said that I was going to go to Dover and cross to Calais as Lady Hester with Hazel and Rose, who could now speak French. Once beyond Calais, inside the family coach which had returned from Paris, the two maids would help me to change back into Frederick. I would arrive to see Great-Uncle Simon as myself and stay in Paris until it was safe for me to return.

"But here is one problem," I said. "Lady Hester is known to be unconventional. She has never had a lady's maid. Hazel and Rose would have to be lady companions, not maids. Dressing them as ladies wouldn't be difficult in some of the clothes made for Fortuna. But in the hotel in Dover..."

I stopped, embarrassed to continue.

"In Dover?" Rose prompted.

"We three ladies would have to share a room," I blurted out.

Rose and Hazel laughed at me.

"Frederick/Prudence," Rose said, "We have been dressing and undressing you for weeks. We know we embarrass you and have sometimes teased you when doing it. A night together, even if in the same bed? We might enjoy it."

Hazel agreed with her.

"Frederick," Mrs Simkins said. "My daughters love you. So do I. They will look after you, whether as Lady Hester or as Frederick, even as they have done as Prudence."

I wasn't sure how far they might go to express their love, but if they weren't concerned about sharing a room with me, I shouldn't be either, but...

+++

Three days later we left for Dover in the family coach. Mrs Simkins had arranged for Ralph, one of her young nephews, to be the driver. He was excited. He had never been to Paris, nor had he been entrusted with being the driver before. Mrs Simkins, Hazel and Rose let him into the secret of my transformation but he wasn't to say a word to anyone, not even his father who had taken Graham and Felicity to Paris. Hazel and Rose threatened to beat him up if he did. They treated him like a much younger brother and I think he knew they meant it.

In Dover we went to the newest and most luxurious hotel. We had a suite with two bedrooms, a living room, and a bathroom. Ralph had a room in the servants' quarters in the attic.

Despite the two bedrooms, once they had undressed me, Hazel and Rose insisted on sharing the large double bed with me. Although all three of us were wearing voluminous cotton nightdresses, I was very aware of having two attractive women pressed against my body and frustrated by the conventions that, as a married man, that I shouldn't do anything.

The next morning, after breakfast, we took a ship to Calais. The passage was reasonably smooth but Ralph, Hazel and Rose were very pleased to be on land again. We had another suite in a hotel in Calais, but after Calais I was myself again and we had two rooms with Ralph in the servants' quarters at the hotels on the way to Paris. They might not have been sharing a bed with me, but in the coach Hazel and Rose frequently kissed and hugged me.

After Calais, Hazel and Rose couldn't be Lady Hester's companions. We pretended that they were Felicity's school friends, daughters of a City Trader, so prosperous middle-class, not nobility, and therefore not in the Almanac De Gotha. They were still too well-dressed to be maids.

When we were arrived in Paris I was surprised that, despite what the Police had been told, Great-Uncle Simon hadn't sent his mistresses away. Amelie and Marie had been taking Felicity around Paris and to balls etc. while Great-Uncle Simon had taken Graham to places that ladies couldn't go.

I was greeted by kisses from the two mistresses and Felicity, followed by more kissing for and from Hazel and Rose. Over the evening meal Hazel and Rose recounted my experiments as Lady Hester and our journey via Dover and Calais.

"You shared a room?" Felicity queried.

"Yes," Rose replied, "But he didn't do anything."

Great-Uncle Simon, Graham. Felicity and the two French mistresses were surprised.

"Why not?" Felicity asked me.

"They're our friends," I started to say.

"Friends? They're more than that, Frederick. They love you."

Rose and Hazel were nodding.

"But..."

"No buts, Frederick," Felicity interrupted. "I'm pregnant and sometimes don't feel great. Soon I'll be too large and then after the birth I couldn't. I am sure both Hazel and Rose would be happy to substitute for me. Rose? How much do you get paid as maids at Ffordes Castle?"

"Eight guineas a year plus food and board." Rose answered.

"Graham? How much do you pay the women who have your bastards?"

I blushed. I knew Graham had bastards but I didn't expect them to be mentioned by my wife.

"Twenty guineas a year," Graham replied.

"That's not a lot," Amelie said. "We cost Simon far more than that."

"Yes, but you are my companions as well as my mistresses," Great-Uncle Simon replied. "You are intelligent, sophisticated and I can take you anywhere. The mothers of Graham's bastards are just maidservants."

"Not any more, they're not," Graham retorted. "They are full time mothers and apart from making love to me sometimes they have no other duties."

"So, Hazel and Rose? Would you be happy with twenty guineas a year, living free of charge at Ffordes Castle?" Felicity asked.

"As Frederick's lovers?" Hazel asked.

"Yes, as gentleman's companions to Frederick instead of lady's companions to Lady Hester and as substitutes for me when I can't or I'm not at home."

Hazel looked at Rose who nodded.

"Yes, we would."

"They you are, Frederick. Our two friends will be more than that for you," Felicity said.

"Do I have any say in this?" I asked.

There was a chorus of 'No' from all five women and Great-Uncle Simon.

"In which case, I accept their generous offer," I said.

I might have said more but Hazel and Rose were demonstrating their new status by hugging me and kissing me into silence. When I could speak again I said:

"Felicity? We now have insufficient staff at Ffordes Castle. It was already inadequate now it is our home instead of an infrequently visited minor part of your family's dwellings. Now we have NO maids at all, except Prudence."

"What are you suggesting, Frederick?" Felicity asked.

"We need some maids including a lady's maid for you. We ought to have a butler. We need a chef and assistants; and estate manager, gardeners, farm workers and so on. Eventually we will need a nursery maid, perhaps a wet nurse and later a governess. Mrs Simkins can be the Housekeeper but at present she is doing too much herself. Now her daughters will be companions and ladies of leisure she will need a staff."

"How about a French Chef?" Great-Uncle Simon suggested.

"That would be fantastic," Felicity said. "Any candidates?"

"Yes. My chef has a son, Alfred, who completed his apprenticeship two years ago." Great-Uncle Simon said. "He is helping his father but is underemployed. As the chef in charge he would be great for you. Do you want to interview him, Frederick or Felicity?"

"I think it would be better if Rose and Hazel did that," I said. "They can tell him what the kitchen at Ffordes Castle is like now. They can speak French."

"Rose and Hazel?" Felicity asked. "Do you want to do that? If you say yes - he's employed."

"You're sure?" Rose asked.

"Yes," Felicity and I said.

"We trust your judgement, and we will need you and your mother to find the other staff," I added.

I was swamped in another frenzy of hugging and kissing by my new 'companions'.

They went off with Great-Uncle Simon's butler to meet Alfred.

Over tea we discussed what Felicity and I would do during the next week. Amelie and Marie would take Felicity, Hazel, Rose and sometimes me as Lady Hester to balls, soirées and other events. They were also going to go to dressmakers. There were two problems. If I went to a ball as Lady Hester I would have to learn to dance as a lady being led by a man. Amelie and Marie undertook to teach me. But when they went to dressmakers I couldn't be Hester. Any competent dressmaker would see through my impersonation but I could go as Frederick to pay the accounts for Rose and Hazel. Felicity would pay for most her dresses from her allowance. When the six of us went to Worth I bought two couture dresses for Felicity as a present. The cost of those two would have made a serious dent in her money.

Sometime Great-Uncle Simon would take me and Graham to Parisian venues that a lady couldn't go to. I enjoyed them.

When Rose and Hazel returned from the kitchen they were excited.

"Alfred is a great cook, but better still his English is more extensive than our French," Rose said.

"He is excited at the idea of being the chef of an establishment and especially as the kitchen at Ffordes Castle is more modern and extensive than the one here." Hazel said.

"While we were in the kitchen, so was our coachman Ralph. Two of the kitchen maids were teaching him French..." Rose said.

"...and other things," Hazel added. "He seems an apt pupil and very eager to learn French and..."

She laughed.

+++

That evening Alfred's father had made Alfred do everything as a sample of what Alfred could do for us at Ffordes Castle. We were impressed and satisfied with Hazel and Rose's decision to employ him.

That night Felicity announced that she was feeling 'delicate'. She insisted that we should share our bed with my two new companions. Felicity rode me first, gently and slowly before she moved aside for Rose to bounce up and down on me very vigorously. I was still erect as Hazel took over. When Felicity smothered my face with her breasts I came into Hazel. I went to sleep against Felicity's breasts with Rose and Hazel pressed against my body. In the morning, Felicity felt much better and insisted on riding me until she had received several orgasms. She got out of bed, leaving Hazel and Rose to demonstrate what they could do as 'companions'. They left me about nine o'clock but I was so shattered it was eleven o'clock before I was able to stagger out of bed into Felicity's hug.

The dresses ordered for Felicity, Rose and Hazel took about two days to make but a week for the Worth creations. When her dresses were delivered, Felicity insisted on seeing what they looked like on me. With my breast forms I was exactly the same size and shape as Felicity. I couldn't wear the dresses made for Hazel and Rose because they are solid countrywomen, with thicker bodies than Felicity or me, and also slightly taller. Graham was slightly embarrassed that Felicity also wanted him to demonstrate her gowns. With a spare set of my breast forms, because he was Felicity's twin, when wearing her gown he showed exactly what Felicity would look like.

One evening Amelie and Marie decided they too wanted to see what Graham and I looked like as women. We sat down for the evening meal with Great-Uncle Simon accompanied by five real women and two slight men dressed and behaving like women. Graham was criticised far more than me. Although Felicity had been using him as a mannequin since they both became adult, all he had had to do was stand still to show off a dress. Now he was expected to behave as a fashionable lady. I as Fortuna/Hester had months of practice but this was Graham's first attempt.

The next morning Felicity had a letter from her father. He, my father and Lord Edmundsbury had convinced the authorities that although I had been at the meeting, I wasn't a Fenian. My name had been mentioned in a Police Gazette of a week ago as being no longer wanted and had stated that I was wholly innocent of any wrongdoing. But the authorities would like an account from me of what had actually happened at the meeting and who, if anyone, I suspected of having serious intentions to cause mayhem.

I sat down and wrote my account. I said that those on the dais with the Chairman were possibly genuine Fenians but that most of the audience, while capable of being aroused to participate in a riot, had little sympathy for the cause. They were just troublemakers and any excuse might do.

I added that the stewards who had ejected me were security staff employed by the venue who were just doing their job to prevent a disturbance.

Now I was free to return to England and resume my life as Frederick, lord and owner of Ffordes Castle. The drudge Prudence could cease to exist because the Police Gazette notice had exonerated me completely. I would no longer have to hide from the Police. But I could still be Fortuna/Hester from time to time.

But now things would be different. I had a pregnant wife and two gentleman's companions who wanted to compensate for what Felicity couldn't do. I would be run and organised by three women who loved me, or four if you counted Mrs Simkins, While Ffordes Castle might soon have an adequate staff, who would be in charge? It might be Felicity or Hazel and Rose. It wouldn't be me. The three of them would organise and use me. I would never sleep alone but in the arms of one or more people who loved me. It seemed an idyllic prospect particularly as would never have to be Prudence again.

Or would I? I couldn't see a need in the future but...