Thread: Dresses and Derangement (Shikokudarkstar & Charlie_Death)

Zachariah Thomas Haly, or Thomas as he liked to be called, was not the type of man that anyone would want to meet. Quite frankly he had clawed his way from the bottom of the depths of society. His mother had once been a servant to the Count, Simon Lalor but had gotten herself pregnant with his bastard child. She had been flung out of the house without a recommendation. None of the aristocracy would have her after the Count had thrown her out and so she had to make a living by resorting to prostitution. It was among the streets that Natalie Haly had her bastard child then years later died of disease. He had only lived with his beloved mother for ten years before she past and had resorted to thievery to keep food in his belly. He often used the other working girls to collect information on some of the aristocrats before stealing from their homes. This arrangement worked for years but it didn't get him off the streets. It wasn't until early into adulthood he came up with an idea. It wasn't conventional but over the years of living with the prostitutes and often seeing more than he should for his tender years, he had learned he prefered a strong male body over a fair lady's. He had heard whispers of others like him but the tales had also told of what could happen should they be caught. Bedlam was only one of the kinder treatments. Mostly prison and death were choices for those who found themselves caught. But Thomas wanted more than that for himself. He knew it was a risk but he decided to make another identity for himself. Zachariah Thomas Haly used some of his connects to make the identity of Arabella Eve Lamb. From there he dressed into woman's clothing an disguised himself as a middle class lady who offered her services as a female escort for those with the right amount of coin. Of course before going fully public with his services he had to learn to read and write as well as manners befitting a proper lady. It had only taken him a year before business started booming. He shared his profits with the ladies of the street who had helped raise him and used the rest to buy a house and other supplies for his work. It was fairly easy to portray a lady. He had always carried a little extra fat on his chest and usually helped the girls with their make-up. The corset gave him a modest bosom that in some of his more daring ball gowns attracted the attention of many of the male admirer. His adam's apple was never noticed, since some ladies had a more pronounced neck than he did. Etiquette worked in his favor against anyone finding out his real gender and usually he didn't attract enough attention to garner any real scrutiny. At least most of the time. Some of the aristocratic men had intruded his home hoping to buy him. He hated those kind of men. He only had one who had been troublesome enough for Thomas to have to use his underworld connections. It had simple been blackmail to drive him off but due to a stroke of misfortune the gentleman in question had been murdered during a robbery. Walking down the street dressed as Arabella, Thomas quietly walked down the street. His feet were sore and aching due to the long night escorting Miss Peters to a ball. Her mother had fallen ill and couldn't take her so they had hired Arabella, one of the best escort ladies to attend the ball with her. Thomas had taken Miss Peters home before taking the carriage close to home. He decided to walk some of the way so that when or if asked, the hackney had no idea as to were Arabella Lamb lived. His clients knew where he lived and only word of mouth was how anyone knew how to hire Miss Lamb. Thomas sometimes missed living on the street. He watched the shadows where he once lived out of the corner of his eye. People were more free with their emotions. He liked that he always knew where he stood with those of the underworld. Now he had to watch of for jealous women, greedy men, and all around backstabbers. He hated the aristocracy with a passion but he could find way to make a living and avoid them. At least like this he was free to talk about the dandies that speckled the Ton. He could flirt with the gentlemen and gossip with the ladies. It wasn't perfect. He wanted a lover like all the woman talked about having but he was far too burned with cynicism. That was of course if you also forgot the fact that he was a man who played the part of a woman. Oh and buggery was illegal. That was a big thing too. Moving to avoid his dress getting in a puddle, Thomas greeted those who greeted him. Otherwise he was happy to ignore everyone like a proper lady should.