[Caroline's Company 01] • After the Dreams

'After the Dreams' is the first of the four volumes that make up the erotic novel 'Caroline's Company'.

In this book, the characters and some of the locations are introduced.

There is a brief overture, designed to lead the reader into what follows. These characters all appear later in the plot, so will be described there.

Andrew, a young man who has recently lost his immediate family in tragic but as yet untold circumstances, arrives at an un-named railway station in the north of England. He is met by a beautiful and friendly lady, Caroline, to whom he is distantly related. Caroline takes Andrew to the Caraway estate, a large 19th century house set in extensive grounds, which is the scene of much of the action. (While a country estate may seem to be a cliché in this kind of writing, it is very useful and also fun to write about!) Andrew, who has definite transgender tendencies, is seduced by Caroline and her assistant/slave Sylvie. This seduction is one of the ‘set piece’ sex scenes that occur throughout the book. After a short crisis, Andrew decides that he would much prefer to be Cassandra, and assisted by Caroline and two of her friends who are medical doctors, commences a process of transition. Much of the first part is told from Cassandra’s point of view. Caroline, and her aged benefactor Benedict, who does not appear much in person, are concerned with running the Caraway Estate as a business and as sponsor to various charities. Caroline is also concerned to help people with confusion in their sexual identity. Much of this is not told overtly, but emerges as the story progresses. There follows a large dinner party, in which several new characters are introduced. The party has suitable erotic content, including naked waitresses, and the conversion of Poppy, one of the guests, into a pony-girl, and her husband, Philip, into a naked and chained submissive. After a night in which Cassandra is tied up and again seduced by Sylvie, she then has another encounter with Poppy the Pony, being driven around the estate by Caroline. Another ‘set-piece’ is the ceremonial mating in the stable yard, watched by the rest of the company, of Poppy and her stallion Philip, both of whom are suitably harnessed and restrained. (It is revealed later that this is a strategy to match Poppy and Philip’s different desires, and to allow Poppy to become pregnant.)

The party then adjourn to the lake which is a major feature of the estate, and enjoy a swimming and luncheon party. Janet and John, two of the dinner guests appear with Janet managing to fall by accident/on-purpose into the water. Cassandra (‘Cassie’) is has a long conversation with Sadie, one of the waitresses from the previous evening, who is also an MtF transsexual. Sadie describes her history, which includes some graphic descriptions of a very steamy London night club. Sadie has had some bad experiences, including the disappearance of her girlfriend Jenny, but has now been taken up by Caroline, and her doctor friends Jo and David Startway. Sadie’s parents, Belle and Fred Newcombe, have taken early retirement from the police force to help Caroline run the estate. The afternoon concludes with a croquet match, in which the players Cassandra, Janet, Sylvie and Sadie, manage to behave in various provocative ways not normally associated with croquet. In the evening, prompted by Sadie’s story of the missing Jenny, Cassie tells Caroline of her own missing cousin, Lucinda.

Since Caroline is occupied with her occasional lover Jo, Sylvie and Sadie spend the night with Cassie which permits another direct-speech sex scene.