Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 Bettina Takes a Trip.

   It was a Saturday morning, and unlike most other Saturday mornings, when
she stayed in her bed as long as she could, Bettina was up early and had
almost finished her regular Saturday chores before her mother came down
stairs.  The reason for this uncharacteristic burst of enthusiasm for work
was that unlike most other Saturday mornings, today Bettina was going away.
A real holiday!  True, it was only for the weekend, but it was the first
time in her life that she had ever stayed away from home.  Her mother,
apparently, had business in Frankfurt, and had arranged for Bettina to stay
with Baron von Langsdorf tonight.  They were to take the nine thirty train
to Langsdorf, and the Baron would meet them at the station.  Nervous about
staying with a such a fine gentleman as the Baron, but excited about the
adventure it represented, Bettina was in a state of total nervousness.

   At breakfast she chattered nonstop to her mother; questions about the
Baron, about Langsdorf, and about how she should conduct herself.  'Now
just be yourself.  Remember to be polite and do as the Baron asks you. 
Always remember Bettina, the Baron is an important man for us, and you
should never upset him or make him angry.' As she instructed her daughter,
pangs of guilt gripped Elizabeth.  She was, she realised, virtually telling
Bettina to submit to the Baron's lust.  'Now, clear away the breakfast
things, and we'll get ready to go.' Bettina had cleared the table and had
finished washing up, when she heard her mother's voice from the living
room.

   'I thought you should have a new outfit to go away in.  We don't want
the Baron to think badly of us, do we?' Bettina gave a shriek of delight
and rushed into the room.  Her mother was holding up a blue velvet dress.
It had white lace trim, and mother of pearl buttons down the front of the
bodice.  Bettina, living as she had, in a genteel kind of poverty all her
life, thought it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.  Her
mother then handed her a brown paper parcel.  'You're growing fast
Bettina....  I think you should start wearing clothes more suitable for a
young lady.  Try these on....' Bettina tore into the package, her
excitement putting a smile on her mother's face.  When the paper storm
ended, Bettina was staring, dumbfounded, at a pile of ladies underwear. 
Perhaps 'lingerie' would be a better description.  There were slips and
petticoats, brassieres and panties; all in silk and in a wonderful array of
colours.  Bettina was speechless.  But only for a moment!

   'Mama!  Oh Mama!  Are all these for me?  They're beautiful!  They're so
grown up!  Are they really all mine?' Her mother smiled and lifted her
skirts to reveal a pair of powder blue silk panties.  'Mine are a couple of
sizes bigger!  I'm sure we'll be able to tell them apart!' They collapsed
into fits of giggles.  'Hurry!  I just can't wait to see what they look
like on you!' Elizabeth said, tossing a set of salmon pink bra and panties
to Bettina; who promptly flew up to her room to change.

   When she came down, her feet didn't seem to even touch the stairs. 
Bettina stood in front of her mother, the pink silk panties caressing her
hips, her legs exposed to the top of her thighs.  Her young breasts were
cradled lovingly by the brassiere, her nipples pushing against the thin
material.  Elizabeth looked at her and a tear rolled down her cheek.  Her
little girl, her baby, now stood in front of her transformed into a young
woman.  Something of a nymph, it had to be said, but there was no denying
natures work.  Bettina was no longer a child.

   'How do I look?  Oh!  Mother!  I love you!' Bettina ran into her
mother's arms and hugged her.  Elizabeth, tears now streaming down her
face, held Bettina to her and rested her cheek on her daughter's head. 
'You look wonderful, my darling.  Absolutely beautiful!  I shall have to
build a wall around the house to keep the boys away.' Bettina looked up at
her mother, her face darkening with colour.

   'Boys?  But I don't have any friends who are boys....' Elizabeth laughed
and stroked Bettina's hair.  'Not now maybe, my darling, but I think the
boys around here will soon want to become your friend.  I'm going to have
to beat them off with a stick.  There'll be hundreds of them.' teased
Elizabeth.  Bettina buried her face in her mother's bossom, embarrassed by
her mother's recognition of her budding sexuality, and all of a sudden,
acutely aware of the hair beginning to grow under her arms and between her
legs.  Elizabeth whispered, 'Don't worry.  The nice ones we'll let in!'

   'Mother!  Stop it!' Elizabeth let go of Bettina and fell into a chair,
gales of laughter depriving her of the ability to stand.  'Sorry my love,
but you should see the look on your face!' composing herself a little, she
then said, 'Now, the dress, and there's a pair of black shoes in that box
under the table....you'll have to get used to heels on shoes....and there's
a little black cape in that other parcel....should look nice....'

   An hour later, the two of them were standing on the station platform,
the train for Langsdorf announcing its presence from a kilometre away with
a blast of its shrill whistle.  Bettina stood next to her mother, holding
her hand and wondering how she would ever get used to the way men kept
looking at her.  As they had walked down the village to the station, she
had noticed several men had been looking at her.  The shopkeeper, Herr
Schuster, had even spoken to her as they passed his store.

   'Good Morning Elizabeth.  Good Morning Miss Bettina.  How lovely you
both look today!' Her mother had smiled at him in a way Bettina had never
seen her mother smile at anyone before.  Bettina's new clothes not only
gave her the appearance of a well-groomed young lady, but also emphasised
her developing curves.  Even Elizabeth was surprised at just how much
Bettina had grown recently.  Her old clothes were childishly voluminous,
and had concealed Bettina's figure.  The new ones, however, were cut to
show off the shape of the wearer.

   As the train drew to a halt in a cloud of steam, an elderly gentleman
with huge side whiskers and a spectacular moustache opened the carriage
door for Bettina.  She was quite non-plussed when he bowed slightly, and,
taking off his top hat with a sweeping gesture, ushered her into the
carriage.  Elizabeth followed, and with a smile she turned to the elderly
man and said, `Thank you sir, it is reassuring to know we are travelling in
honourable company.' she said, noting that he was casting an appreciative
eye over Bettina.  'Not at all my dear,' he replied, his eyes taking in
Elizabeth with a sweeping glance from head to toe 'the company of such
lovely ladies is a delight and a privilege!' At this, even Elizabeth
blushed.  She sat down next to Bettina and turned to her wide eyed
daughter. 'You see, it's started already.' She whispered.  'Just a change
of clothes and grown men begin to fall over themselves to please you. 
Never mind the boys in the village.' Bettina gave her mother a furious
look, and turned to look out of the window, her thoughts going ahead to
their meeting with the Baron.  She couldn't get the memory of his hand
stroking her bottom out of her head.  And did he really touch her secret
place?  And would he do it again, she wondered.  What to do if he did?

   The journey to Langsdorf only took thirty minutes, and as they alighted
from the train, the Baron himself was there to greet them on the platform.
'Good Morning Elizabeth!' he said, taking her hand and kissing it.  He
turned to Bettina.  'Is this really the same young lady I met at your
house, my dear?' Elizabeth nodded.  'Good morning Baron, yes, this is
indeed my little Bettina.' 'A delight to the eye, and I am sure, a treasure
to know!' He said kissing her hand in the same manner as he had her
mothers. A wave of guilt surged through Elizabeth as she saw the effect the
compliments had on Bettina.  To an adult woman, they would mean little, but
to a naive young girl such as Bettina, they could be very seductive, and
Bettina had coloured up immediately the Baron had taken her hand.

   They walked out to the waiting carriage, where the Baron's coachman,
Jurgen, was waiting.  He eyed them both with interest, especially Bettina.
Women, he knew, were the Baron's hobby, and he often had benefited from his
master's penchant for voyeurism!  Elizabeth and Bettina, oblivious to
Jürgen's role as the Baron's cohort in debauchery, climbed into the
carriage and were whisked off to the Baron's house.

   Baron von Langsdorf was a rich man.  Inheriting five thousand acres of
farmland, but having little interest in farming, (he considered it a labour
for lower classes of the Gentry) he had rented out much of the land, and
had re invested the money in property.  His unscrupulous methods had earned
him a considerable portfolio.  Many properties had been owned by the widows
of those unfortunates who had made the ultimate sacrifice for their country
during the war.  They had fallen to the Baron either by default of mortgage
repayments, or by simple bullying of the hapless widows.  Many of his
properties were tenanted by the previous owners widows; the younger,
prettier ones often falling prey to the Baron's voracious sexual appetite
when they were unable to pay their rents.  The Baron now owned over a
hundred properties, which furnished him each month with a handsome income
in rent, and many pleasurable hours of debauchery!

   His own house; built three hundred years previously, stood overlooking
the little town which bore the Baron's family name.  Indeed, most of the
property that the town consisted of had been built by the Baron's
ancestors, and were still owned by him.  At the rear of his house, a
hundred hectares of prime farmland, worked by local labour, and managed
very casually by the Baron himself, provided him with meat, vegetables and
dairy produce.

   Baron Maximillian von Langsdorf lived well, and sated all his appetites
by his own means!

   The little carriage drew up at the large front doors that constituted
the entrance to Hof Langsdorf.  Elizabeth and Bettina were helped down by
the leering Jurgen, and shown into the main entrance by a uniformed maid.
The Baron would have no men in his house except Jurgen.  His total staff
consisted of the maid, a cook and Jurgen.

   Once inside, they were shown up a large, sweeping oak panelled staircase
to the bedrooms on the first floor.  A large room with a canopied four
poster bed stood at one end of the room, and a large fireplace at the
other. A window, some four metres wide, and three metres high, hung with
red velvet curtains, let in light, and gave a panoramic view of the town.
Next to the bed, a small door invited Bettina's curiosity, and as she
explored behind it, she was amazed, (as was her mother), to find a
bathroom, complete with flushing toilet and a large bath.  Big thick towels
hung from a rail on the wall, and perfumed soaps and oils stood on a glass
shelf.

   'Well!  I've never seen the likes of this before!' exclaimed Elizabeth,
flushing the toilet and gazing at the water as it disappeared from view. 
'Surely it can't be hygienic to have a toilet in the house?' Bettina wasn't
listening.  She was busy sniffing the soaps and rubbing her face in the
large fluffy towels.  They unpacked Bettina's little bag, putting her
clothes in one of the draws of a dressing table standing next to the door
of the room.

   'I'm afraid I must leave you now, my dear, so remember what I said, and
be sure to be well behaved, but if the Baron wants you to act improperly,
don't be afraid to tell him to stop.' With a kiss to her daughter's
forehead, Elizabeth left the room, giving her not quite teenage daughter
over to the tender mercies of the Baron.

   No sooner had her mother left than the maid knocked on the door.  She
was a woman of some thirty years, and had the responsibility of
housekeeping for the Baron.  She eyed Bettina somewhat sadly, and then
informed her that 'The Master' had requested her company on a shopping trip
in the town.

   Now, the word 'shopping' was one that sparked an immediate and very
positive response in Bettina.  Her recent acquisition of new clothing had
awakened her dormant feminine instincts, and the possibility of acquiring
more desirable artefacts spurred her into action.  She grabbed her little
cape and in a flash was out of the door and following the maid down the
stairs.

   They found the Baron sitting at a large desk in his study.  As they
entered he stood up and smiled.  'Ah!  Bettina!  Jurgen has taken your
Mother to the station, and I thought we might walk through the town and do
a little shopping.  Show you my little domain, eh?' Bettina nodded
enthusiastically, her face flushed and her eyes bright with anticipation.
The Baron donned his coat, picked up his cane, and the two of them,
followed closely by the maid, set off on the short walk to the town's high
street.

   Although Langsdorf was small, it cannot be said that it was
impoverished. Apart from the usual baker's, grocer's shops and hardware
store, the town also boasted a ladies and gentleman's outfitters, a small
jewellery store, and a book shop.  To Bettina's delight, it was the ladies
outfitters that they entered first.  A young girl approached them and asked
if she could help, but almost immediately she was swept aside by a matronly
figure, who dismissed the girl with a flourish of her hand, telling her
that she would 'See to His Lordship personally.' There then followed a
period in Bettina's life that, many years later, she could describe in
minute detail.

   The Baron said they had come for handbags and accessories.  He then
instructed the woman to see to it that Bettina had enough for a young lady
to complete her wardrobe, then he retired to the back of the shop and sat
in a chair.

   First there was a small black purse on a long strap, and then a matching
handbag.  A similar one in brown, and (Bettina's favourite) a white
drawstring bag 'suitable for matinees and summer outings....' the woman
informed her.  Two change purses and a little velvet bag 'for Madam's
jewellery' and a vanity case completed the line-up.

   Bettina was in heaven.  The woman then brought out a selection of gloves
and scarves, and helped Bettina chose three pairs of gloves and three
headscarves.  To top it all as they were leaving the shop, she was
presented with a blue parasol that matched her dress, 'With the compliments
of the establishment.'

   As if all this was not enough, their progress down the high street was
punctuated with a visit to the little jeweller's shop, where the Baron
picked out a gold chain for Bettina, and fastened it around her neck
himself.  'Now, you have all the trappings of the beautiful young lady you
are!' He told her with a big smile.  Bettina, still speechless from the
shock of all the handbags, could only throw her arms around his neck and
(much to his delight, and the embarrassment of the jewellerr) kiss him!

   The bakers store, however, with freshly squeezed lemonade and cream
buns, restored Bettina to a much more natural state.  She looked at the
Baron over the top of her lemonade glass.

   'Thank you so much Sir!  I'm afraid Mamma will be angry with me, you
having spent so much on me....' the Baron waved his hand dismissively. 
'Your mother, I can assure you, will say nothing.  As no doubt you will
become aware, I answer to no one for my actions.  If I wish to buy you nice
things, my dear Bettina, you shall have them.  Your mother will say
nothing...nothing at all...I promise you.' He smiled at her again, and
Bettina had a feeling that there might be more to the Baron than just
generosity.