Yes, its been a while. And might be again when I finish this, but this was an itch I needed to scratch. Thanks go to James for his editing work, to fembotheather for her avatar inspiration and help, to Andy McCluskey for a certain video, and lastly to Mary Brooks, for just being herself.
Of An Innocence Divine
New York 1925
Margaret Odell looked Pamela Hoyt in the eye, and sighed.
“So what’s your cousin like, and just how long is she likely to be staying here in the US with us?”
“To be honest, I dont know that much about Lucy—or Lucienne, to give her full name. They all moved to Paris soon after the war ended; Her brother had married a French woman and she wanted to go back home, and live there. But now Lucy is old enough to go to college, and her father wants her to do that over here, rather than in Europe. Quiet type of girl, so I’m told, so she’ll fit in perfectly here . . . I dont think!”
Margaret gave a coy smile, and laughed, “You do realise, your dear mother probably has no idea what an active life two young ladies like ourselves lead! What with the musicals, the socialising, and the...”
“Sex?” Pam said with a grin, “No, mother hasn’t got a clue, that’s safe to say. Still, I’m sure we can give Lucienne as fine an education as the best college can manage. I don’t know which would be more fun, if she stays at the college, or moves in here with us.”
Both girls burst into fits of hysterics at the thought of her staying there.
As the ship pulled into port, Lucy Garner, or Lucienne Garnier, as her mother much preferred her to be called while in France, was wondering just what she was letting herself in for. It had been five years since her family had left Rhode Island, and she hadn’t been back in all that time. She’d heard of great changes, the freedom for women to vote being the most important one. She’d heard tales of the ‘Roaring Twenties’, which, despite the prohibiton of alcohol, seemed quite an exciting time to be back in America. That wouldn’t worry her too much anyway: she was only just about old enough to drink at home, and she’d had only the odd glass of wine and little else up until then.
She had a tattered, slightly faded picture of her cousin, taken about five years before, as her only guide as to what she looked like. So, on reaching the arrivals hall, she looked about for someone who vaguely matched the picture. No one did!
Then she heard a voice, “Lucy, Lucy, is that you?”
She glanced around to see a stylish young lady calling to her. She looked nothing like her picture. Gone was the loose, long hair, and fullish face. Standing in front of her was a woman with a tight bob hairstyle, an impish smile, and the most incredible eyes she’d ever seen.
“Pamela, is that you?” she asked.
She laughed, “No, I’m not. I’m her friend Margaret, Margaret Odell.” She took a quick glance at the photo in Lucy’s hand and said, laughing, “I don’t look anything like that, but Pamela does—well, slightly at least! Now where has she gone? Ah, there she is!” Finally, Margaret took Lucy by the arm and led her across, ignoring the thronging crowds as she did so.
To Lucy’s eyes, at least, Margaret didn’t seem to concern herself too much with discreet, ladylike behaviour: If she needed to get from A to B, she seemingly did so, and if people didn’t move out of her way, well she drove on regardless.
“Pamela, Pamela, I’ve found your cousin. Lucy, this is your cousin Pamela.” she said, with a twinkle in her voice.
They greeted each other, and then Lucy took the chance to study her cousin. She had changed, though not as much as when she had thought Margaret was her cousin. Pamela seemed far more fashionable than the young girl in the photo, and her hair was also shaped in a bob, though nowhere near as tight, it seemed, as Margaret’s.
In the cab on the ride back, Margaret asked her, “Which college are you going to be studying at?”
“Hunter,” Lucy replied shyly, trying to get to grasp with the speed of life here, and not used to talking to strangers, especially ones as self-confident as Margaret appeared to be. She had been speaking English on the ship across, but, even so, much of the time her mind worked in French, not English as her first language nowadays, which all added to the confusion of her new life.
“Margaret, let her get settled in, then ask her lots of questions,” Pamela ‘scolded’ her close friend.
“Yes Ma’am,” replied Margaret, trying to keep a straight face as she did so.
“So when are we allowed to show her off around town?” Margaret asked a few days later, “I trust it’s before she scurries off to college at least? And, I hope, before I have to work my socks off for my next Broadway show, too.”
“The Divine Innocent?” as Pamela had started calling Lucy when she wasn’t around, “Do you think she’ll survive out there? I’m not certain she drinks, and I’m pretty sure she’s still a virgin.”
“Survive? Oh, she’ll be fine with us to look after her!” Margaret replied with a laugh, and then added with a whisper in Pamela’s ear, “I’ll ensure nothing happens to her. Well, nothing too much, anyway ...”
Pamela smiled back, “Well in that case, it’s time to show Lucy the town, I think.”
“Or show Lucy to the town,” Margaret quietly replied, “… and one person in particular.”
Luckily for them, Lucy didn’t really take a whole lot of convincing about the idea of going out for the evening, even if the details of it were pretty much kept from her, for an obvious reason: the fact they were going somewhere where alcohol ‘might’ be freely available. She did try to resist when the two women offered her something more suitable to wear, and to do something to her hair, but finally she gave in and let them get on with it. Much though she didn’t like to admit it to them, she quite enjoyed her new look when they showed it to her in the mirror.
Pamela quietly whisked Lucy into the club for several reasons. Firstly, she didn’t want to take the chance on Lucy realising what a speak-easy club might be. Secondly, you didn’t really want to draw too much attention to yourself when entering these places, even if both she and Margaret had good reason to do so. Chorus girls were literally a dime a dozen around Broadway at this point, so nothing that drew you out from the crowd was ever going to do you any harm. But preferably without the eagle eye of the police noticing, even if most of them were successfully paid off not to notice these things.
Margaret strolled in, much more casual and open about matters. Someone stopped her as she entered and asked, “Who’s the new girl with you?”
“A relation of Pamela’s, over here to go to college; or should I say her plans at present are to go to college. Of course we all know that she might ...” Margaret’s words drifted off, and she winked at the man.
“She might do something different?”
“Well, you might convince her to do that, but that’s not for me to say.” Margaret replied, before heading into the depths of the club.
By the time Margaret entered, Pamela and Lucy were already sat down, with three drinks in front of them. Judging by Lucy’s red face, it was clear she had already tried her drink, and had discovered that, despite prohibition, it was stronger alcohol than anything she had tried previously.
“You’ve introduced her to the ‘tea bar’ I see?” Margaret said, grinning at Pamela.
“Yes, I think she was surprised by the strength of the milk.” she replied coyly, with a smile.
Between splutters, Lucy replied, “But, but, that’s not tea.”
“Officially, sweetness, while the prohibition is on, it’s tea. If ever they repeal the rules, it might be known as gin.” Margaret said with a grin. “Do you like?”
“It’s strong!” gasped Lucy, “never had anything like that before.”
Pamela signaled to a waiter, “Fetch the lady some water, please.” and he rushed off to do so.
“Water?” Lucy asked.
“Tonic water. You clearly need it diluted a bit more than some of us regulars do.” Margaret said, and winked at Lucy.
Diluted further, and now expecting alcohol, Lucy sipped the rest of her drink without further amiss.
A short while later, the man who had spoken to Margaret at the door moved over to greet them.
“Margaret, Pamela, always a pleasure to see you here between shows. Who’s your friend?”
“My cousin, Lucienne, over from France to go to college.” Pamela replied, suspecting he knew this already, but for the sake of a good show. “But while she’s over here, we’re calling her Lucy.”
He took her hand and kissed it, “Delighted to meet you, Miss Lucy. Always a pleasure to have new visitors to Pandora’s Box.”
“The name of the club,” Pamela whispered in her ear, “Supposedly, it’s named after the Greek myth: all the ‘evils’ of alcohol are released into the world whenever he opens the doors of the club.”
“Nice to meet you too, Mister ...?” Lucy said
“Just call me Andrew.” he replied mysteriously.
“Err, nice to meet you … Andrew.”
He smiled at the ladies, then walked away, towards the back offices.
“Don’t worry sweet, even we don’t know his name beyond Andrew, and we’ve been coming here, err, a little while now.” Pamela told her.
“Who is she, Andrew?” A voice asked from the dim light of the room.
“Relative of Pamela’s, over here to go to college. Of course, college is expensive, and the young lady might need a job to cover her expenses. Margaret suggested to me earlier that we might be able to find an opening for her.”
“Pretty?”
“More than enough to suit our needs. Only question is whether to make it a full time role, or let her go to college as well?”
“Dancer?”
“I suspect that, unlike the other two, she has no formal training in that sense. But if she has brains, as well as looks, she might prove more than useful here. Also, I wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of Margaret with her, can’t turn her into a girl that can only say ‘boop boop a doop!’ and little more.”
“So?”
“Door Girl: she’s pretty enough to attract them in, and clearly she can count, so that might be ideal. Could also work as a barmaid, or waitress if we need her to.”
“Processing?”
“Margaret wouldn’t have given me the nod when she came in, if they didn’t have that in mind. She didn’t actually say she had to go to college, but I would imagine that’s the best route with her. She’s young, judging by her reaction to her drink, fairly innocent, and I wouldn’t be surprised to hear she’s a virgin too.”
“Handy bonus. Get it arranged with the ladies, then. Oh, and Andrew …”
“Yes, sir?”
“Make sure both pass their auditions for the next Follies show. They probably don’t need the help, but all the same ...”
“Just leave it to me, sir.”
A fortnight or so later.
“Wonderful news! It seems both of us have got roles in the new Follies show, and that should more than pay the rent. How have the first couple of days of college gone, Lucy?” Margaret asked.
“Seems to be going well, thanks. And being able to stay here with you is so nice as well.”
Pamela winked at Margaret, and then turned to Lucy, trying to look serious. “You do realise that it would be nice if you paid something towards the rent if you’re going to stay here, don’t you?”
Judging by the look on her face, it was clearly a concept that hadn’t occurred to Lucy.
“But where would I get any money? How?”
“Pandora’s Box is always looking out for door and bar staff, and you only need something part-time to bring in a few dollars. You have to study first; that’s the main thing. We can always ask Andrew tonight to see if he has any openings,” Pamela told her.
“Yes, that might be nice; at least I’d know where I was working,” Lucy replied.
“Ideal; we will ask him tonight then!” said Pamela, already knowing, but not telling Lucy, that she knew they had a vacancy all lined up for her—well, after ‘training’ anyway! “We have a good reason to go there and celebrate tonight.”
“As if we really need a reason to go drinking ‘tea’ at the club!” said Margaret with a laugh.
Margaret caught Andrew’s eye soon after they arrived. “All primed and ready, so expect the big set-up tonight. Nothing too tacky, or brain-numbing lined up for our Lucy, I trust?”
“No, nothing of the sort, that I can promise both you and Pamela; but I would rather not say more out here. We have no desire to stop her studying at college. Mind, of course, she will be expected to service the customers from time to time ...”
“Wouldn’t expect anything less!” said Margaret with a grin. “That will do her the world of good anyway! Fair enough; your word is more than good enough for me.”
“I can safely say you have ‘His’ word of honour on the matter too,” replied Andrew.
“Say no more, then.” said Margaret, as she headed towards her first drink at speed.
Lucy never knew it had all been pre-arranged. Despite having been told that they were always on the lookout for staff at the club, she was still thrilled when Andrew told them that they had an opening for a part time Door Girl, and hours could be arranged to fit in around college with no difficulty at all.
Andrew gave her a form to fill in with her details, and told her to bring it with her to the official interview in two days time.
“Just a formality, but it has to be done. Just to keep the authorities happy, you understand?” he told her, winking as to suggest it really was just a formality.
Back office, Pandora’s Box club, 2 days later
“Is everything prepared, Andrew?”
“Yes Sir, all set up as requested. Primary role as Door Girl, secondary training as a waitress. And, of course, most importantly, full training as escort to our premium customers, as all our finest and most attractive staff are.”
“Excellent! Then I will leave the rest in your very capable hands.”
Andrew left the office, double checked that the operations room was ready, then went back to his office to wait for Lucy. He wasn’t altogether surprised when she arrived five minutes early, even if both parties knew that punctuality wasn’t a major ingredient of this interview. They shook hands politely, formally went through the pretence of a proper interview, then Andrew proceeded to immediately tell Lucy that she had the position.
“All we need to do now, is measure you up for your uniform, check that it fits, and then confirm your first shift at the club. So, if you will follow me …”
Lucy did as requested, following Andrew out of the door, and walked straight into a chloroformed rag that he was holding. She struggled briefly, but he was far too strong, and she was soon asleep. She woke up again shortly afterwards, to find herself tied tightly to a chair, with some sort of helmet type hat on her head.
“Ah, Miss Garner, welcome back from the land of nod.”
“What … what are you doing to me? I will tell my cousin about this.”
“Believe me, your cousin knows all about this already. Don’t worry, we don’t plan to harm you, just put you through our staff indoctrination scheme, that’s all.”
“What?”
“Staff indoctrination scheme, Lucy. When it comes to training, there are two ways of doing it. Periods of time spent learning the role from someone else, and hoping that most of it sticks in your sweet head. Or there is this way of doing it that guarantees every detail will remain in your mind. Of course, one method is legal, one not quite so legal, so, therefore, we don’t give our staff the opportunity to choose which one, especially as we prefer to use the not-so-legal one.”
“What … what are you going to do to me? I’ll … I’ll tell the authorities on you.”
“Lucy, dear, by the time we’ve finished, you will have no desire to tell the authorities about anything. Oh, and you’ll learn a couple of things in addition to your work role as well. So, let’s get started.” Andrew twisted some dials and pushed some buttons, and Lucy felt some strange sensations in her head. After a short while, she passed out ... until ...
“How do you feel, Lucy?”
“Fine Andrew, thanks. What happened?”
“I think you passed out with excitement when I told you that you’d got the job!” he replied. “But, if you are feeling OK now, I think you can go home, and we will see you for your first shift in three days’ time. We will have your uniforms all ready for you by then.”
“Thanks, can’t wait.” She gathered herself together, somewhat shakily, and Andrew put her in a cab and sent her home. He then headed once again for the back office.
“Well?”
“All fine, a little shaky, but that’s hardly surprising seeing we tested out the higher settings on her, just to make sure.”
“And they worked?”
“Perfectly. As I say, slight side effects of dizziness when she came round, but, beyond that, no problems at all. She won’t even be confused by the fact that she knows the job without any formal training whatsoever.”
“And all the extras?”
“All loaded into her innocent mind, ready to be activated. And the transmitter is set so that she only is controlled while in the building, or within a 100-yard vicinity. To anyone else, she will be exactly the same Lucy as they knew “before we improved her”. “Oh, and Sir ...”
“Yes, what?”
“She is a virgin; I checked while she was being processed.”
“Excellent! I may have to relieve her of that tiresome burden myself, she is quite pretty, after all.
“Yes Sir; that seems an excellent idea.”
“So when does she start?”
“Three days’ time. Margaret and Pamela will be rehearsing for the show that night, so we will have her to ourselves. Not that they would object anyway, but ...”