Tamsin and Josie became a team mostly because of their being together 24/7. Even though Tamsin was Elenora’s niece, she wasn’t that close with her aunt. Tamsin was very much her own woman.

For her, just being out of Birmingham was payment enough. For some reason, her own strong will to not only survive but also prosper didn’t go down that well with the men in her life.

Tamsin saw a kindred spirit in Josie. Someone who had broken free from the life that had been expected of her. The women in Tamsin’s family had a long record of teenage pregnancies, bringing up one or more children on their own or having a sometimes violent partner. Her mother had wanted Tamsin to be able to defend herself and had somehow managed to scrape together the funds for Taekwondo lessons. Tamsin had thrived until her career-threatening injury.

With her being successful in the sport, Tamsin moved to be close to her coach and his training facilities in the Erdington area of Birmingham. For some reason, she continued living there even after her career-ending injury. She worked as an instructor with her former coach. All that time, she knew that she was just treading water. Returning to London would tell her family that she’d failed and it was time to settle down. That was not what Tamsin wanted to do.

The call from Elenora had been the chance she needed to start again, much like Josie.

While playing the role of Josie’s minder, she had a lot of time, virtually doing nothing. She didn’t waste that time and began working on broadening her education as well as getting paid for doing so.

She’d been with Josie for almost three months when Josie decided that they needed a day away from the estate.

“Where do you plan on going?” asked Tamsin.

“I’d like to go to the sea. I was never able to do it when I was growing up. It wasn’t a thing with us. For my family, other than going back to Iran or Afghanistan, the only other place we’d go was to Mecca for the Hajj.”

“Did you go to Mecca?” asked Tamsin.

“No. I was supposed to go the summer that I finished school and then onto Iran to get married, but I had other ideas.”

“Well, I, for one, am glad that you are here right now.”

“Let’s go on Saturday? We can go to Oxford and take the train to Bournemouth?”

Tamsin shook her head.
“Don’t forget that there is a reception for the Rugby Club at the house on Saturday Evening.”

“Oh, I’d forgotten about that. We can go the following week.”

“The next question is… what are we going to wear? I hear that it is a pretty formal event. DJs for the men. Dresses for the women.”

“Then we should hit the charity shops in Oxford that morning.”

Tamsin smiled back at Josie.
“Could I borrow one of your wigs? The green one, perhaps?”

Josie laughed.
“When was the last time you had long hair?”

“Me? Never, but I am trying to grow it, she replied, grinning and stroking her fairly short hair.
Josie had been trying to grow hers, but it seemed to have gone to sleep when it came to growth.

“Then you can start by wearing a different one for the rest of the week.”

“Ok, you’re the boss.”

[Late Saturday afternoon]
Their shopping trip had been successful, and both of them had something suitable to wear. All that remained was to get ready. For Tamsin, this was a new experience. She was not someone who normally wore makeup or had polished nails. That reluctance had been the cause of her most recent breakup. Somehow, she found it hard to say no to Josie.

Back at home, a still reluctant Tamsin let Josie give her a makeover. Wearing makeup was not her thing, but she sat still and let Josie work her magic. That included applying some short false lashes just to thicken her own ones up.

Josie was a bit more daring with longer and thicker lashes. After their mascara dried, Josie said,

“Now for your lips.”

Tamsin grinned, and taking Josie by surprise, she kissed her. For an instant, Josie froze solid but relaxed and began to enjoy it. This was the first time that she’d been kissed on the lips.

“Why… why did you do that?” asked Josie.

“Because I wanted to. Didn’t you like it?”

“I did, but… That was my first.”

“Your first kiss?”

Josie nodded.

“Ok, my girl, I can see that this pupil will have to take charge when it comes to kissing.”

“I thought that you said that you have not had much success dating?”

“With long-term relationships, that is right, but I’ve had… or at least before leaving London, I had a lot of short-term flings.”

“We need to get going,” said Josie as she changed the subject.

“You look delightful, my dear,” said Elenora when Josie and Tamsin arrived for the reception.

Then she turned to Tamsin.
“As for you, my darling niece, I can see that Josie here is having a bad influence on you,” she said, grinning broadly.

“That dress and hair suits you. Are you keeping the hair?”

Elenora’s directness surprised Tamsin. Josie just grinned.

Tamsin turned to Josie.
“Should I?”

“Yes. You need some colour in your life. I was into blacks and greys before Elenora came into my life, apart from my hair.”

“We’ll see.”

“Let’s go inside and see who is here. I wonder who Charles is bringing?” suggested Josie.

The formal part of the reception was an all-new experience for both of them. While the dress was formal, most of the event was mingling with others or, as some called it, networking. Charles had a muscular blonde woman hanging on his arm.

“Who’s that?” asked Tamsin.

“From the look of her, she’s the sister of the twins who are the prop forwards for the 1st team. I think I heard that she’s the captain of the Women’s team over at Henley or Maidenhead. From her muscled frame, I’d guess that she is one of their forwards.”

Josie watched the couple. Charles was certainly enjoying the attention of his date. She resisted shaking her head. Now that she knew Charles a lot better, she doubted that this woman would last the distance. Deep down, she knew that Charles was not ready to settle down just yet. He had lots of unfinished business at the workshop. He had to prove to his mother that he was capable of running his part of the estate. Only then would he think about settling down.

As the event was approaching its conclusion, everyone had migrated out onto the terrace, that same terrace where Elenora had entertained Josie on the day that they had first met.

After sampling the delicious finger buffet, they carried on mingling with the attendees. They’d just finished talking to one of the tenant farmers when they heard a lot of shouting coming from one end of the terrace.

Seven shaven-headed and fully bearded men, all dressed in black, grey and white Islamic-style clothing, marched onto the terrace. They made a beeline for Josie, who was at that moment talking to Elenora. Tamsin was nowhere to be seen at that moment. It hadn’t mattered because virtually the whole of the Rugby Club’s first and second teams were present.

Josie saw them and froze on the spot, and went white in the face.
Elenora, whose back was turned to the men, said,
“What’s wrong?”

She tried to say something, but no words would come out. Instead, she just pointed. Elenora turned and saw the visitors. Charles and his mates from the Rugby Club had also seen them. Charles immediately headed towards Josie and his mother. He tried to get in the way of the men.

The man at the front of the uninvited guests simply pushed him aside. That was the cue for a load of burly Rugby Players and Farmers to get involved.

Elenora grabbed Josie’s arm.
“Let’s get out of here.”

Josie was still in a state of shock. Elenora and she almost ran into the house.
“Follow me,” said Elenora as he headed down into the cellar.

With the door to the cellar closed behind them, the noise of the melee subsided. Elenora headed for a steel cabinet that was secured by a combination lock.

“This is just for protection. If anyone comes through that door and down the stairs, I’m going to shoot. No one outside my family has any business down here.”

Josie was still too shocked to answer.
Elenore opened the cabinet and took out a double-barreled shotgun plus a box of shells. She opened it up and put a cartridge into each barrel. Then she closed it up with a satisfying click.

“Now we wait.”

All Josie could do was stare at the gun and nod her head.

“I know that at least two people were on the phone with the police, but we’ll be safe here.”

“I… I hope so.”

“Was that your family?”

“Yes. My father, brothers and uncles.”

“They looked angry

“They are super angry because I caused them to lose face in their community. Only my head on a pole outside the Mosque in Afghanistan will repair the damage, especially for my uncles who are more hardline than the rest of the family. They are the real patriarchs of the family, so... They want me dead.”

“I had hoped that we were beyond that sort of thing in this country.”

“If the anger in their eyes was anything to go by, they want blood tonight…”

Together, they held each other. It was painful not knowing what was going on.

After half an hour, there was a rapid knocking on the cellar door.
A voice from behind it said,
“Mum, you can come out now.”

Elenora visibly relaxed. She unloaded the shotgun, put everything back into the cabinet, and locked it.
“Please keep the gun thing to yourself. It is legal, but the last thing we need is having to answer a load of awkward questions from the police.”

“I never saw a thing,” replied Josie with a nod.

“Good. Let’s get out of here.”

Outside, the seven intruders were talking in Farsi at a rapid pace. They were all in handcuffs, with a uniformed officer holding their arms to stop them from running off into the looming darkness.

As Elenora and Josie appeared on the terrace, all of those under arrest tried to move towards her. This time, they were held back by the officers. Tamsin came and stood right at Josie’s side.

A uniformed officer with a lot of crowns on his shoulders approached the two women.
“I’m Chief Superintendent McConaughey. You are?”

“I’m Lady Crowell, and this is my home. This is Josie Hayes. She is the person that those men came here to abduct.”

“That is a strong accusation,” said the officer.

Josie stepped forward and said,
“The one in the centre of the group is my father, Abdul Tariq Aziz. The three to the right are my brothers, Mohammed, Sayed and Shah. The other three are my uncles, Ali, Mohammad and Abdullah. They want to abduct me and either end my days or send me to Iran or, worse, Afghanistan, where it is likely that I’d be put to death for defying the word of Allah.”

As soon as she mentioned them by name, they all started speaking rapidly to her in Farsi.

“Do you know what they are saying?” asked the Chief.

“They are saying that I should die and go to hell right away for being an insult to Allah. That’s the clean version. My mere presence on this planet is a direct insult to the word of Mohammed.”

Then Josie added,
“Chief Superintendent, there is something that you need to know. I was born male.”

He cursed under his breath.
“Sorry about that. Hate crimes are a nightmare when it comes to paperwork. It starts to make some sort of sense now.”

“Chief Superintendent,” said Charles, who had been standing by watching Josie.
“Perhaps I could make a suggestion?”

“Please. I’m open to good ideas.”

“I’m sure that Josie does not want to have the public and the media, especially social media, making an issue about her gender. Fifteen seconds of fame and all the baggage that comes with it is not what she wants.”

“So? What do you suggest?”

“Have you arranged for a translator who speaks Iranian? They may well refuse to speak English when dealing with officialdom even though they all speak it perfectly,” said Josie.

“Farsi is their main language, but they also speak Pashto from Afghanistan,” said Elenora.
“If you have translators for both languages, they can’t deny understanding what is being said to them.”

“I will have to do it. They are all refusing to speak English, but it is clear that they all understand it,” said the chief superintendent.

“Chief, I suggest that they all sign a statement showing that they will not return or do anything to hurt Josie and that if they do, the hate crimes will be brought out of cold storage. The uncles would then be deported, which would not go down well with them. Who knows what fate awaits them in Kabul? Then, if you add in some conspiracy charges, they’d be looking at a very long sentence. Josie just wants to live a quiet life here,” said Charlie.

“Are you a lawyer or something?”
“I have a degree in Law, but I’m not a two-faced lying scumbag who loves to stiff their clients for every penny that they have.”

“I get you,” said the Chief, then he added,
“Why are you doing this?” asked the Chief Super.

Charlie smiled at Josie.
“Because Chief Superintendent Josie is a wonderful woman and deserves to be treated as such. I hope that signing those statements will allow her to live her own life and prosper.”

“Take them into custody and keep them separated,” said the Chief to a sergeant.
“Arrange for several interpreters who speak both Farsi and Pashto. Also, arrange for a solicitor for each of them. I want this cleared up tonight, understand or at the latest by lunchtime tomorrow.”

“Yes, Sir.”

The Chief Superintendent turned to Elenora and Josie.
“Luckily, I was close by when the call came in. But I will need a statement from you both before I leave. I think that the suggestion by your son, Lady Crowell, might work if the only alternative is to appear in front of a magistrate and face a spell on remand. I take it that your father and brothers ones are naturalised citizens?”

Josie shook her head.
“My brothers were born in Iran and came here when they were very young. I came along four years later and was born at the Hospital on Mile End Road.. My uncles are from memory here on refugee visas. My father is naturalised, as are my brothers. They have Afghan passports as well as British ones.”
Then she looked a bit embarrassed.
“Sorry for repeating myself,” she admitted.

“That is good to know. We can subtly threaten them with revoking their visas and citizenship if they do anything. Don’t worry about repeating yourself. Everyone is a bit tense at the moment.”

“Chief Superintendent, you don’t quite understand. They want me dead as a way to repair the reputation of my former family in their community. If you doubt me, please contact the Police Community Relations Officer in Limehouse. They’ll brief you on what honour killings are all about in their community.”

“Thank you for the heads up. I’ll make sure that the right decision is made.”

“Come on, my dear, we can make some tea and start writing down our statements,” said Elenora as she and Tamsin took Josie by the arm and led her back into the house.

“What’s wrong now?” asked Elenora as she put a cup of tea down in front of Josie.

“It has been a bit of a shock… Just when I was starting to settle down.”
She managed a smile at Tamsin. She had a weird look on her face.

“Is there something that I should know about?” asked Elenora, who had picked up on the smile.

“Auntie, I think I have feelings for Josie here,” said Tamsin.

“Is that so bad?” asked Elenora.

“It is in so many ways. It just does not feel right, and besides, we have not even dated.”

“Time, my dear, just give it time.”

“What if ???”

“Stop right there. Tamsin, you are my niece, and Josie is someone special. From the reports I have been receiving from my tenant farmers, you two seem to be well-matched. If it comes to pass that you are serious about a relationship, then you have both mine and Charles’s support.”

“If it does not, then I’d have to move on,” said Josie.

Elenora shook her head.
“I’ll have none of that talk. You are part of this family. You have seen how we treat our tenants. This estate is a team effort with me as the captain. Without them, this place would not work, and you, my dear, are a key part of that team for as long as you want it to be.”

Josie could not hold back her emotions any longer. She started to cry, and Elenora was on hand like a mother should be to give her a handkerchief and an arm around her shoulders.

When she had recovered, Josie said,
“Thank you, Elenora.”

“No thanks are needed. Now, my dear, the statements. Then the two of you can go home and enjoy each other’s company. After today, you deserve it.”

When they had completed the statements and delivered them to an officer who had been taking statements from witnesses, Elenora found her son Charles supervising the clearing up of the grounds.

“Charles, I would like you to come to dinner tomorrow night. I have something to say to you, Josie and Tamsin.”

“Josie and Tamsin?”

“Yes. It appears that they might be a couple, but what I’m going to say affects us all.”

She gave her son a look that told him to shut the hell up, and all would be revealed the next day.

Back in the house, Elenora found Josie and Tamsin getting ready to leave.

“I’d like you both to come for dinner tomorrow night. I have something to say to both of you and Charles.”

“What about?”

“I’ll tell you tonight. In the meantime, please go home and relax. Oh, and it is just us, so no need to dress up. I’ll be doing the cooking.”

“Thank you, Elenora.”

When they reached Josie’s cottage, Tamsin took control of the situation. Josie was very silent. The shock of seeing her family like that was starting to hit her hard. It was a reminder that her life was at risk if the wrong people found her.

Elenora sent the staff home early that Sunday night, so it was just the three of them having dinner in a small room off the main dining room. Now that the excellent main course had been consumed, it was time for Elenora to speak.

“Charles, as you know, I’m not the first wife of my late husband and that your brother was from his first marriage.”

“Yeah, I know that.”

“What you don’t know, and it is my fault for not telling you when you came of age, but I was busy nursing your father through his last days.”

Charlie was about to say something, but Elenora put up her hand to stop him.
“What you don’t know is that you were adopted. The first Lady Crowley had a sister who became pregnant, and the birth was very complicated; she died a few days later from Sepsis. We stepped in and adopted you as a newborn after all, you were family.”

“I know that. Dad told me before he died.”

“There is more, and this affects you, Josie.”
Elenora took a deep breath before continuing.

“I’m like you. I was born male. I’d started living as a woman before I met your father. I was upfront with him after our first meeting, but he was not one to take no for an answer. His family slowly came around to the fact that he was going to marry me, even if they disowned him. So, they paid for all of my transition before I was unveiled as the next wife.”

Josie could not believe that Elenora had been just like her. Suddenly, the way Elenora had accepted her from the start made sense.
“We were married the next year and had all the reception and everything, but it was never registered as it wasn’t legal then. I did marry your father just before he fell ill. This was not long after the change in the law to allow same-sex marriages.”

An uneasy silence fell around the table.
“That’s why, my dear, I was so accepting of you, and that's also why Charles is as well. He was brought up to understand the issues of the LGBT community.”

“Thanks, Mum, it all makes sense now. But why tell us now?”

“Yesterday, I saw Josie and Tasmin together properly for the first time. There is a chemistry there, much like there was between your father and me. Take your time, and if it works, then you both have my blessing.”

Elenora’s admission that she was trans was backed up by some photos.
“This is me just after I met your father. I had no idea who he was, and he kept quiet about it for months. Then, one day, he said, ‘Get dolled up, we are going for lunch at Harvey Nicks’. He gave me a wad of twenty-pound notes and said, ‘Get your hair and makeup done professionally. With what’s left over, buy something great but not overly sexy.’”

“What happened then?”

“The lunch was where he showed me off to his parents. There I was, a tranny from Deptford rubbing shoulders with a Lord and Lady. I was so far out of my depth that I’d drowned at least five times before the starter had been served. I kept myself together until, between the starter and main courses, Lady Crowell took me to the ladies. She checked that we were alone, and then she said, ‘Does my son know about you?’ She’d read me almost right away.”

After a sip of wine, she continued.
“He does. I told him after our first date. He has his mind made up.”

“’ Good,’” she said. “‘Then we can move forward.’ That was it; She didn’t even hesitate or try to stop it. That sort of decision-making blew my mind. From that day on, I was part of the family. My new mother took over my transition. She was there at my side. ‘This is women’s business’ was her favourite saying. I hope, my dear, that I can do the same with you. Don’t worry about the cost.”

“You look so… so different,” said Josie.

“True, but as you can see, my face was wrong from the start. Yours is much more feminine.”

Josie looked at the before and after pictures of Elenora.
“You didn’t mind all those operations?”

“Not really. I’ve had a pretty good life here, haven’t I? At first, I hoped that you and Charles would get it together, but it was soon clear that you would be just good friends, and those are in short supply when it comes to the challenges that you have ahead of you. What I’m going to say is unconditional, and I don’t want a decision tonight, ok?”

Elenora looked at the three young people at her table.
“Josie, just like my mother-in-law did for me, I want to fund your transition. I know that I have said it before, but this time, I have witnesses. Whatever you want done or not done, that is your choice. That was what was said to me when I was sitting where you are right now. I decided that if you pulled your weight around here, then I’d offer you that pathway. You have more than done that.”

“No pressure then?”

Elenora chuckled.
“There is none from me. You are a decent person who just needed a break in their life. You have shown that you can be a positive benefit to the estate since you came aboard. If I can be the person to give you that, then great. Whatever happens between you and Tamsin, you have a job and a roof over your head. You have proved to be a diligent worker. I’m so glad that your previous boss wanted you gone. It is clear to me that he could not see what a good employee he had. He offered me four of your colleagues when I asked the company for some temporary help. I looked at your CV, and something didn’t fit, so I got a friend from South London to do some digging. Your identity only went back to when you were nineteen. Then he sent me your missing persons’ photo. That was when I knew that you were worth taking on.”

“But… why didn’t you tell me?”

“I wanted you to tell me. Wasn’t it better that way?”

Josie thought back.
“I suppose it was.”

“You were using your change in gender as a weapon to keep people away. I knew that if you found a place where you were accepted for what you were, then that weapon was useless. It worked, didn’t it?”

“Thank you for letting me stay here.”

“That sounds a lot like you want to leave?”

“I have to, don’t I? After today with my family finding me. That has changed things.”

“Do you want to take them to court?”

“No. I don’t want the publicity.”

“Then write them a letter and push their faith back at them. Isn’t Islam supposed to be a religion of forgiveness? Like Catholics, confess your sins to the Imam, and you are absolved. If he is faithful to his religion more than his family, then he should be able to forgive you and let you live your life as you want to live.”

“But the teachings of the Imam tell us that it is a sin to wear women’s clothes.”

“Are you still a practising Muslim?”

“No. I’ve not even thought about praying or fasting since I left home. I knew that the world of Islam and what I had to do would not mix.”

“There is your answer for you. Not everyone can fit into little boxes with labels. We are just some of those who don’t and can never fit those ideals. There are radical Christians in America who would want to kill us for being who we are. They are not that different from the likes of the Taliban in how they view women and the role of women in life. That is part of the life we have to live.”

Josie got up from the table and came around to where Tamsin was sitting. For the second time that day, she had a good cry.

With Tamsin close by, Josie managed to get some sleep. That was the last night that they spent sleeping in separate beds.

Thames Valley Police worked with the Met Police in Limehouse, and the proposal that Josie had made about asking for forgiveness from the Imam seemed to work. The message came back that as long as Josie did not venture to that part of East London or try to make contact with any relative, her family would let her live her life in peace.

With Tamsin at her side, she blossomed and, after a year, was appointed deputy Estate Manager. Tamsin passed her exams and became a student at Oxford studying Estate Management. Elenora was sure that with the two of them at the helm, the future of the estate would be guaranteed regardless of what her eldest stepson wanted to do. Charles could carry on tinkering with cars, and she could relax. The future was secure. That was what she’d promised her late husband just before he died.

Together, Josie and Tamsin were inseparable and enjoyed facing the challenges of life together.

Josie had broken free of her old life. Her new one was the best day of her life, and in Tamsin, she had someone to love.

Both of them tried to grow their hair long. Josie succeeded and kept hers coloured reddish/copper. Tamsin’s hair decided not to grow, so she gave in and wore her green wig for life around the estate and then changed it to blue for university. It was her way of keeping the two very different parts of her life separate.

Just before the end of her first year, and despite the hormones that Josie had been taking, Tamsin became pregnant. She gave birth to a baby girl whom they called Elenora and then suffered severe PND. Josie took over being a mother as if she had been doing it all her life.

Now, she had two ‘somebodies to love’.

[the end]
PS, after the birth of Elenora, Tamsin’s hair decided to start growing again. Now it is Oxford Blue all the time.

[Author’s Note]
The title of this story is cribbed from the 1984 Queen song of the same name
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Want_to_Break_Free
The Wikipedia article on this describes how the band dressed in drag for the video. Even then, this caused controversy in the USA. Not much has changed in 40 years.