Chapter 15 Curriculum Vitae

Fabienne volounteers to become a member of the DGES Drugs action group.

The Co-ordinition centre for this action group is L’Indienne, one of Paris premier strip tease night clubs.

She must however have an unpenetrable deep cover. She is asked to take part in a porno movie which would give her an impeccable CV. She is left to decide what conditions must be fulfilled to allow her to  deliver this requirement.

Fabienne has deep cover. she becomes a dancer at the crazy horse one of Paris premier Strip tease night clubs.

Alain Bernardin Owner of the Crazy horse commited suicide on thursday 15 september 1994

His club, which took off in the insouciant 1950s, became a haunt for champagne- sipping foreign businessmen seeking a harmless end to their evenings.

Mr Bernardin employed about 250 women in a strict no-contact-with-clients regime under which their weight and waistlines were regularly checked.

Between a fifth and a quarter of the women’s salaries were paid into blocked savings accounts for their time at the Crazy Horse to ensure that they had a nest egg for less lucrative days. Currently, a Crazy Horse dancer can expect to earn 20,000 francs ( pounds 2,300) a month.

When she started at the age of 18, Baby was thrilled to be naked on stage. ‘To show it, you have to like it,’ she says. But for the more prim, the body make-up, confined stage, dark auditorium and lighting shrouds help them feel unexposed. ‘It’s all set up so we are as much at ease as the public.’


A Crazy Horse dancer is put through a back-breaking rehearsal. Photo: Venetia Dearden

An irritation is those who mentally undress them when they learn of their work. ‘Just because we dance naked it does not mean that we are easy women,’ Fasty says sharply. ‘Very far from it. It’s a fantasy for people. It stays that way.’

These days, Crazy girls are not so insouciant and have their contracts checked by a lawyer, but their sacrifices are considerable. ‘The Crazy life comes before a private life,’ Fasty says. ‘As soon as we wake up, we come straight back here,’ Baby echoes, ‘and we have to look after ourselves, so we can’t party until 6am when there are three shows to do the next day.’ The work takes its toll on their bodies too.

‘I suffer physically,’ Baby says. ‘My nape, cervicals and lower spine ache, and my knees are starting to hurt, though I’m only 23.’ Fasty concurs: ‘We force our bodies into completely unnatural positions on 12cm heels, and even with half an hour of stretches and warm-ups, there’ll be a moment when it’s no longer possible. We all think of another life for afterwards. You have to. I’d like to run a business.’

Svetlana Konstantinova, the Crazy Horse’s Russian show manager, is a disciplined custodian of its mystique. ‘I have danced with many troupes, but this house is more serious than any other because it is so precise,’ she says. ‘I came to le Crazy at least 50 times before I worked here and tried to hold my body similarly, but it was only when I started working here that I understood how it was done. A lot of the techniques which accentuate certain parts of the body are kept secret. It’s impossible to change the style, as we know how to do it best. That’s why the Crazy Horse is a cultural monument – because it is a big secret.’

Even wardrobe mistress Amélie Escotte, a former Chanel employee, is enigmatic: ‘The G-strings are very specific. Without divulging too much, we have methods you never see elsewhere, for holding things together with nothing.’ The trademark wigs, which are cut to fit each dancer, involve ‘a whole stack of parameters’. What are they worth, I wonder. ‘I can’t say,’ Escotte replies firmly.

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Extract from The Prisoner of Foix--Chapter 43 -The EntranceNo need to buy a Kindle. Read it on your computer or tablet

John Stanley-26th April 1355

 

'Looks like we are going to see a bit of excitement, John. The Captain tried to get an agreement from the Prince that if there is surf running across the channel to Arcachon we will turn back to Bordeaux, but the Prince would hear none of it. Instead, he has offered to provide insurance for all three ships. If they are damaged or sunk, the owners will be compensated and every sailor who makes the passage will be given a bounty payment. What none of this seems to take into account is that if we sink in rough, fast-flowing waters we might all drown.'

John raised his eyebrows. 'But that is what we are going to do?'

'Yes, despite the fact that surf running accross the entrance is not uncommon and the deep water channel moves continually. In the end, the Prince attacked their captains on their weakest point, their professional pride! He threw down the gauntlet. He offered to take the Sally first through the channel, and to take control during the passage.' He raised his brow. 'We are going into the Bay of Arcachon, come what may! '

Extract from The Eagle of Carcassone -- Chapter 24-- A Real GoddessNo need to buy a Kindle. Read it on your computer or tablet

John Stanley - 22 July 1355

An hour later John walked with Ximene close to the river along the valley below St Feriole. It was the very essence of a summer’s day. The sun was fierce but in the shadow of the trees, it was cool and fragrant. The trees and shrubs along the riverbank hid their progress, from the Château, from St Feriole.

Eventually they reached a point where John thought it was safe to emerge from cover. To his satisfaction the stream extended into a pool with a sandy beach, shaded by trees. Where the stream entered the pool there was a flat grassy area, almost circular. Behind this, the bulk of two mountain ridges provided a splendid backdrop. He looked around once more ‘Not just a good training ground but a great training ground. If the Greek heroes knew about this they might be tempted to join me, to train with me’

Ximene laughed out loud. He turned to look at her. She had removed her outer clothes and was wearing a white chemise, cut short so that it barely reached her knees. Around her waist, she wore a plaited leather belt, obviously fashioned from the multitude of leather straps to be found in the tackle room.

She ran her hands down over her breasts. ‘When you were unconscious I heard you muttering about gods and goddesses, so  I have decided that from now on, for you, I will be the goddess.’

The Prisoner of FoixVol 1 of the series—The Treasure of Trencavel

Aquitaine, an English possession, is in crisis. It is under threat from neighbouring nations and internal dissension.

The Black Prince, King Edward III’s eldest son has been given the task of taking command in Aquitaine.

Suddenly there is an opportunity. Ximene Trencavel is the heiress to the lands of Occitan, to the east of Aquitaine: lands controlled by the Franks. Ximene wants independence, both for herself and for Occitan.

A union between Aquitaine and Occitan would be mutually beneficial. The Black Prince undertakes a secret journey to meet Ximene to negotiate a marriage contract. It is, however, a marriage neither of them really wants.

Meanwhile, the  Franks plot to murder Ximene to prevent ,not just the marriage, but any kind of union between England and Occitan.

The Eagle Of CarcassonneVol II of the series—The Treasure of Trencavel

The loose alliance between Ximene Trencavel and the Black Prince is under threat.

The Prince invades Occitan, to show his support for Ximene but it becomes an invasion which creates more problems than it solves.

The Prince has fallen hopelessly in love with Joan of Kent and Joan is now determined to marry him and become the next Queen of England.

Joan is therefore  determined to convince Ximene that she should not marry the Prince.

Part of her strategy is to encourage Ximene’s relationship with John Stanley—one of the Princes bodyguards—not an easy task as both John and Ximene have doubts about their compatibility.

However, John is grievously injured in a battle and Ximene commits herself to nurse him back to health.