Chapter 3

I would have preferred to stay up all night, just to see if the alcohol would wear off, but that would not have been proper as Amelia. So all things considered, it would be best to go to sleep and hope that we would wake up, in the morning, and find ourselves back in our own time. I was plenty scared but I didn't want the other guys to know how much. I knew that Rob could handle it, and Eddie could probably handle it, but Marty might wind up as a basket case. He needed somebody else's strength to draw on, for his own courage to shine.

I pulled the sash next to the bed, and several minutes later the maid, that had helped earlier, came into the room.

"Would you like me to help you get ready for bed, Miss Amelia?"

"Yes, please. What is your name?"

"It's Betsy, Miss."

Betsy stepped behind me and started unbuttoning my dress after I had removed the bodice. I guess that they didn't have zippers in this time. I simply stood there as she worked to remove my clothes. First the dress and bustle pillow, then the corset cover, and finally the petticoats. She hung everything up in the wardrobe closet as she went. Down to my underwear, I started to feel the chill a little, so Betsy stoked the fire in the fireplace. Then she untied my corset laces and started to loosen them. When it was sufficiently loose, she separated the busk pieces at the front. I simultaneously felt relief, and fear. Relief from the fact that I could breathe easily, and fear because without the support of the corset, I was finding it difficult to stand up straight. I held myself as erect as possible as Betsy continued. She stripped me right down to the altogether. Then she put a fresh chemise on me, and a sleeping corset. The shorter corset gave me the support that this body needed. I felt better immediately. She helped me on with a heavy nightgown before asking me to sit down. When I did, she removed my shoes and stockings. She asked me if I wanted my slippers on, and I said yes since I was not going to go to bed immediately. From start to finish, it had taken about 30 minutes.

I thanked her as she left, and I waited for a few minutes, and then went to Roberta's room, after putting on a robe. When I knocked, Betsy answered the door. She said that Miss Roberta was dressing for bed. I asked her to tell her that I would stop back later. Then I went to Martha's room. When I knocked, I heard her say, "Come in."

I entered and found her sitting on the edge of the bed, still fully clothed. I went over and sat next to her. I put my arm around her and said, "Have you rang for a maid to help you?"

"Not yet. I'm still trying to get up the courage."

"You have to do it. The servants will start to talk if you don't."

"What do I care if a bunch of servants talk about me."

"If they do, it will only be a matter of time before it gets back to the family. That's something that we cannot afford, Martha. Look, you're a beautiful young woman; there is nothing to be ashamed of. No one is going to think anything is wrong unless you start to act suspicious. And not dressing for bed is suspicious. So do what you have to do, and pull the sash cord."

"I can't Amelia. I just can't." Martha started to cry. I pulled her to me and held her as she wept. I began to wonder if being in these bodies was affecting our minds. I don't think that Marty would ever cry, even if he wasn't the bravest of our little group. Since we now occupied female bodies, that meant that female hormones might be beginning to affect us. I had heard speculation that hormones caused a lot of the emotions and mood swings that women showed, that men did not. If that were true, then we would slowly begin the transformation to being completely female, both in mind and body, if we remained in these bodies for too long.

"Martha, you must do this. I have done it. Roberta is currently doing it. And now it's your turn. Just keep thinking feminine, dear. You're a beautiful woman. You have a beautiful body. It's time to step up and pull that cord. Now let me see you do it."

She looked up at me, then stood and walked very slowly to the cord. She turned to look at me once more, then pulled the cord twice. She walked towards me and began to cry again. I went to her and held her until she got herself under control. She wiped her eyes and hugged me until a maid came in. It was good that the maid had come in, I was starting to get aroused as I stood there holding her. I may be in a woman's body, and I may be starting to think a little like a woman, but I still had years of thinking like a male in me. Standing there, holding a beautiful woman had started to affect me, even if I no longer had the same equipment that Andy had had.

The maid's name was Doris. I left once she started to lift Martha's dress over her shoulders. I had told her that I would return when she was dressed for bed.

I went to Elizabeth's room. Upon knocking, she called for me to enter. I found her already dressed for bed. Doris had been there just before coming to help Martha.

"Are you alright Elizabeth?"

"Yes, Amelia. Doris was very kind. She did practically everything. I only had to stand there. There wasn't a lot that I could do though."

"I'm glad that you were able to get through it. The first time for each new thing that we must do will be the hardest. Martha is going to have the most difficult time. We must all help her as much as we can, alright dear?"

"Yes Amelia. I'll do what I can."

"Thank you, Elizabeth. I knew that we could count on you. You've always been there when we needed you."

"Amelia?"

"Yes, dear?"

"Do you think that we'll be able to get back?"

"Yes, I do. It's just a matter of finding out how we got here in the first place. There's got to be a path back." I tried to sound more confident than I was feeling. I had no idea where to start looking for a way back if it didn't happen automatically when the sun came up. I was hoping that, if a spirit were in fact responsible for us being here, the spirit's power to hold us here would disappear during the daytime. I began to wonder how long we could stay in these bodies before our minds were affected to a point that we simply accepted our fate, and stopped trying to return to our time and gender. The other girls were doing quite well with their outward mannerisms and speech. It distressed me that I was encouraging their rapid change. Did I just say the 'other girls'? I guess that it was happening to me also. The quicker that we got out of here the better. I sat with Elizabeth for about 20 more minutes. We talked about how girls act and talk. Not that I was an expert, but I had an older sister where Elizabeth did not. I told her that our most difficult task, after convincing people that we were girls, was to learn about our backgrounds. We couldn't very well ask people to tell us about our pasts, so we would have to learn by stealth. We must each keep our ears open and minds alert to any mention of each other's history, and pass on the information as soon as possible.