The Diary of Jewel Delacroix Ch. 12

Jules started to sob "Please Leanne...please stop...I'm...sorry..." Softly saying the words made Jules feelings of shame and self loathing overwhelm him. He started to bawl like a baby.

Leanne watched as the countess cried and blubbered; a good first indicator that her discipline was having the desired effect. Leanne allowed the countess to go on for several long minutes. Once she observed the countess begin to recover from her disciplinary whipping and her sobs lessened Leanne moved on to the next step.

"Jewel," Leanne moderated her tone to sound soothing and understanding "I can understand how hard this can be, but you have to do it. You have no choice now. You agreed to the wedding, you signed the documents, and your family all agreed." She spoke in short sentences, as if speaking to a child.

Jules closed his eyes. "No. I said no. I was supposed to marry a woman, not be a woman. This is wrong." resignedly.

Leanne knew what she said next would likely help break her resistance. She had consulted with Jewel's therapist and together they had contrived a method to expedite Jewels cooperation.

If Jewel was convinced that her family was in danger and her obedience would keep them safe, he would be predisposed to accede to the count's expectations and become a willing bride. Leanne's subtle threat of peril coupled with the hypnotically implanted memories in her subconscious should accelerate her willingness and cooperation.

"Jewel, Honey..." Leanne began carefully, "It's up to you to follow through with your commitments and keep your family safe."

Leanne waited and watched Jewel's expression change as her words sank in. The confusion of her expression leading to the question she knew she would ask.

"Safe?"

Leanne would have smiled if she hadn't needed to keep her expression serious.

"Jewel, if you fail to follow through with your agreement by acceding to your husband"s wishes and desires, then you place your mother and sister, your whole family in Jeopardy. If you don't do as he asks the count can claim breach of contract and file a grievance with the crown. If he does that he has the right to claim compensation from your family. Your mother and sister would be liable as they signed an agreement that you would marry. They vouched for you."

Jules looked flustered as Leanne continued "He can claim them as vassals of his land and as such he could do anything he wanted to extract compensation. Would you want to see your mother forced into indentured servitude? Or your sister forced to become a registered concubine? These things can and do happen. You must protect them."

Jules had thought that he could never have felt lower than he did when the count raped him. His inability to resist the assault angered him to no end. Now he felt more conflicting emotions than he ever had in his life. Hatred for the count, anger at himself for not reading the marriage contract more closely, anger at his father for getting into trouble with the law, and regret that he had ever come to this damned country in the first place.

The ambivalence of hatred and loathing; and utter disdain for Leanne and what she was making him do; he couldn't think rationally, but in this, the lowest point in his life, he did know one thing, he had to escape and he had to save his sister and mother from a similar fate. He had to play along.

**

Jules days became quite monotonous after that; always the same thing, day in day out. Always restrained, when he was sitting down, always escorted by guards, Leanne always telling him what to do and how to behave properly.

The variety only came in the afternoons where each day had a different special training session.

Leanne kept Lady Delacroix to a precise schedule, based on the counts known preference for order and punctuality. Furthermore if the countess was kept busy she would not have time to get into trouble. She glanced at the paper copy of the schedule the count had just signed and authorized.

7am Wake up, Tea and Biscuits.

7:15 Toilet, bath.

7:45 Prepare for Yoga/Swimming

8:00 Yoga/Swimming

9:30 Shower/Bath. Beauty and hairstyling.

10:30 Brunch.

Noon: Lessons. Monday Dance lessons.

Tuesday Grace, etiquette, and deportment refreshers.

Wednesday Current fashion/fashion refresher.

Thursday Cosmetics and Beauty

Friday Philanthropy

Saturday Various appointments. Therapist.

Sunday Church

5pm shower and toilet.

6pm prepare for dinner. Beauty and Hair. Dinner dress.

8pm Dinner.

10pm Prepare for bed. Beauty for intimacy.

1030 Bedtime. (Restrained to the master bed.)

Leanne knew a schedule was nothing more than a basic plan from which to deviate. Social obligations and unforeseen events always demanded last minute adjustments. But having a training plan in place would provide the daily structure needed to keep the countess busy and focused on her feminization.

**

After the first week, Jules knew which activity he hated the most.

At Noon on Monday after brunch Jules was taken and forced to wear scandalously revealing dresses for private dance lessons. Ballroom dancing, swing, the waltz or tango or any other number of styles of dance; he was told he had to be proficient in them all.

Jules hated that he was required to be led while dancing, but Leanne explained it rather succinctly.

"You are the wife. Your husband leads and you follow."

"But why the dresses, can't I just wear the yoga pants and sports bra?" Jules asked.

Leanne smiled at the question. She wondered if he was even aware of the significance that he was voluntarily choosing to wear one sort of women's clothes over another, just as Leanne's training and the therapists conditioning said she would.

"These are the dresses you will wear when your husband takes you dancing. He was quite a dancer back in the day I am told. I know you will want to look good for him in front of his peers."

Worse than the actual dancing were the heels she made him wear. Never less than four inch heels when dancing. Jules' calf muscles ached after each 2 hour session. Even worse was that he was never allowed to not wear high heels! From sunrise to sunset, he was always required to have them on. His feet and toes constantly ached from the angle they were kept and the compression of the leather upon them. When he complained to Leanne she merely smiled at him and said he had to wear them in order to become accustomed to wearing them.

Jules hated her circular argument and tried a bit of rebellion one more time. He took them off and threw them out an open window, refusing to participate anymore, he said. But Leanne merely had the bodyguards hold him down as she strapped him into the styling chair, then put a new pair of tighter and higher heels on his feet. Mary Jane's, he recalled forlornly, because with the strap of the shoe going over the top of his foot he was unable to slip out of them or kick them off. He sat in agony. She threatened him with locking shoes if he took them off without her permission. Strangely, after nearly a month of forced wear, his feet seemed to be adapting and were accustomed to them.

Leanne smiled at Jewel when she chose what shoes she was to wear each day. Leanne always made Jewel select a pair from an assortment she had preselected for the days events. Leanne knew she had several pairs that would be the best for training Jewel to walk and wear high heels, but she seriously wanted to get Jewel out to a store for some shopping. The state of her shoe closet was nowhere near where it needed to be for all the social engagements a lady of the realm would reasonably be expected to attend.

Leanne also smiled when she noticed how Jewel's feet were adjusting to wearing heels. Leanne made sure Jewel wore high heels almost 24 hours a day, even when sleeping. Lady Delacroix's husband loved that his wife wore high heels to bed every night, but Leanne had another more sinister reason.

Foot Drop Contracture Deformity, the medical text called it. She thought of the process as similar to the old practice of foot binding in the orient. The obsolete practice of binding women's feet so they bent back under and looked smaller and more attractive.

The enforced wearing of high heels in Leanne's experiment was to cause immobility of the foot and calf. Long term wear was shown to cause atrophy of certain muscles. If Leanne was successful, then Jewel would soon be unable to place the heel of her foot on the ground, or to raise her foot at the ankle. She would then be unable to walk without heels on! Leanne was excited that her discovery appeared to be working. She only wondered if there would be any negative side effects.

Tendons, ligaments, and cartilage require motion to stay healthy; disuse can cause weakness and lead to exhaustion, so Leanne made sure that Lady Delacroix had plenty of exercise. Her daily yoga and walks through the manor and grounds, as well as other weekly activities should prevent any serious side effects, but Leanne decided that if there were any side effects then she would just have to deal with them when the time came.

Leanne had other motives though. She needed to reinforce and affect Lady Delacroix's self concept; her individual self-esteem and feeling of self worth. Leanne was determined to bring about a profound change in Lady Delacroix's body image, social functioning, identification and achievement. Leanne knew the process would be lengthy but she had the skills, she had a willing sponsor, and she had Lady Jewel Delacroix to test her theories.

Particular events such as a sudden change can produce drastic changes in a client's self esteem. Leanne had helped nearly a dozen women accept their arranged marriage status, and she saw no reason that the techniques she perfected for her female clients shouldn't work on a male-bride as well.

Leanne was proud of Jewel and her progress so far and she smiled happily as she knew her work here would be precedent setting!