How the rest of the guests found out I was a professional magician, I don't know; if I could curse people I would curse whoever let the cat out of the bag. The cry went up, “So you're a magician? Do a trick for us!” Not even a 'Please.'

If I didn't enjoy practising my magical art I would have fled; it would be nice to have an evening off in pleasant company not demanding that I perform. In a triumph of experience over hope, I had a small supply of tricks about my person, so was able to supply some entertainment; unpaid.

I was soon encircled by interested onlookers, some of whom were happy to pick a card and express a suitable amount of surprise when they found the card they had signed in their shoe. One thing led to another, as they usually do, and someone asked about bigger tricks. I explained that I had not expected to be asked to perform anything more elaborate than tricks with cards and ropes and other small items.

I resisted the calls for a larger illusion until I was approached by a beautiful woman who introduced herself as Diana. “I've always wanted to be a magician's assistant, but never got the chance until now. Perhaps you could improvise something.”

“Did you just volunteer to assist me in performing an illusion of some sort?” I asked. I looked at her face, figure and dress, all of which were pleasing.

“I guess I did, but I don't think I want to be sawn in half or beheaded tonight.”

“You're in luck, because I didn't bring my guillotine or sawing in half boxes. The next question is: do you want a private performance or in front of an audience?” I'm aware that some women like to have liaisons with performers and other people in the public eye, and if they are attractive enough, I am willing to do my part.

“Oh! Just for the people here at the party; I think I'd die of fright if I had to go on a stage in front of a theatre crowd.”

“Like I've been telling people, I didn't bring any big equipment so I'll have to find some stuff to help me do some magic with you. How about we meet back here in, say, twenty minutes or so? I'll seek out what I need and you can drum up an audience, so that our little performance does not go unobserved.”

She briefly glanced at the gold watch on her wrist, “How about we meet back here at half ten; that'll give you some extra time to find what you need.”

I headed off to find the host or hostess to see about acquiring the few items I would require to perform the magic that had come to mind when I met Diana.

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A 10:30 I returned to the spot where Diana and I had parted, only to find it was at the centre of a wide circle of people with Diana standing in the middle telling the assembled crowd that she had volunteered to be part of a larger piece of magic that I would be performing. The couple I was standing behind, quickly realised that I was there and parted to allow me to enter the circle. The rest of the crowd clapped my arrival.

I stood at the edge of the circle, with a light weight canvas shopping bag with mid-length handles, containing a couple of items that I had put in there. I was about to approach Diana when my jaw dropped; she had changed clothes since we had parted. She had been wearing a little black velvet dress that ended mid-thigh, but now she was wearing a spectacular gown of golden satin that flowed from her neck down the front of her body and around to meet at the small of her back and the cascaded over her hips towards the floor, stopping a hands-breadth from reaching it, thus showing her dainty feet in matching strappy gold-coloured sandals with a couple of inches of heel. The new costume was perfect for what I planned and showed off her slender figure to perfection.

“Time for our magical rendezvous, Diana.” She nodded in a way that betrayed a small amount of nerves; appropriate for when you have volunteered for a magician without knowing what they have planned; not that I had a plan when she volunteered. I strode forward and stood next to Diana. “I assume you have not told anyone what I plan to do with you.”

A flicker of surprise darted across her elegant features, before she concluded that I wanted her to confirm that this performance was not prepared more than half an hour in advance. “How could I? I only met you half an hour ago. And I spent most of that time finding an audience and changing into a more magical outfit; thankfully Mum had something that fit me.” She nodded towards the hostess who was at the front of the ring of onlookers surrounding us; I was about to perform magic on the daughter of the hosts.

I stood back and openly admired the flow of the fabric over her figure. “That's a lovely dress and you wear it well. It also happens to be even better for the idea I had, than what you were wearing before. Shall we get on with it?”

“Um, yes, of course. What do you want me to do?”

I reached into the bag and pulled out four leather cuffs with D-rings mounted on them. “Take these and get some of the folk on the front row to check them out then fasten them onto your arms; the narrower pair at your wrists and the wider pair just above your elbows. They are fastened with Velcro, which I find is generally more versatile than buckles and quicker to release in an emergency.” Diana looked a little concerned, but took the presented items to the audience to be inspected and applied. “Don't worry, it's a kind of escape trick. You'll be fine.”

It took a while for Diana to get the cuffs shown to the audience, fitted and then checked to see that they were snugly attached where I had asked for them to be. During that time I palmed the last two items from bag and then tucked the bag itself under my arm.

Diana came back to me wearing the cuffs that she had taken away. I offered the audience a chance to further check the security of the cuffs, but had no takers. I had her stand facing me and put her arms behind my back. I stepped in close and put my arms around her. I guided a wrist near to her opposite elbow, where I used one of the zip-ties I had in hand to link together the D-rings on the adjacent cuffs. She gave a quiet squeak of alarm. “If you are uncomfortable with this, I can probably do something that will be less stressful physically, but would probably worry you more.”

“No, it's not like that. I was surprised, because I didn't know what to expect.”

“You've got cuffs on your arms and your arms behind your back, and you didn't know what to expect?”

She obviously expected me to attach her free wrist to its opposite elbow, because she moved it into place. With her arms pinned behind her, I sent her to show her predicament to the audience and suggested that some of the onlookers might want to check that the zip-ties were real and tight enough, which resulted in some clicks as they were tighten another few steps.

When she returned to the middle, I asked her if she thought she could escape her current situation.

“I guess, but it would take quite a while. I'd have to work out how to undo the things tying my wrists to my elbows or tease open the Velcro holding the cuffs in place; neither of which is going to be a speedy prospect.”

“So, if I put a bag over your arms, to hide what you were trying to do, it wouldn't be much of an extra problem.”

She gave a worried smile and nodded, which I took to mean, she didn't know where this was going, but she was already committed to seeing this through, having volunteered. I stood in front of her and shook out the bag from under my arm; primarily to assure the audience that there was nothing in the bag. With my arms around her again I lifted the bag to cover her arms, and pulled the handle nearest her body, up between her arms and her back. I collected the handles together and lowered them over her head so that the bag was suspended from her neck. The quick addition of a knot into the handles under her chin ensured that the bag did not fall low enough to uncover the cuffs.

“I know it's not the most comfortable position you've ever been in, but why don't you go and let the people see that you are properly tied up? In the meantime, I see if I can borrow a gentleman's jacket to cover your escape from your bonds, because they will be suspicious if I put my jacket on your shoulders. And, Diana, be careful; your centre of gravity isn't where you are used to it being and you can't put out your arms to break your fall.”

I headed for a gentleman who had nodded when I mentioned the loan of a jacket. I asked him to empty his pockets of things of value, either monetary or sentimental. He pulled a few things out of his pockets and handed them to the woman standing next to him, who stowed them in her purse.

I met Diana back at the middle of the audience-defined performance area, where I showed her and the rest of the audience the jacket I had borrowed, then wrapped it around Diana's shoulders. There was a sudden clatter, which once I had guided my volunteer from the spot proved to be a light canvas bag with a knot in the handle and something inside.

I asked the hostess, to check out the bag and its contents. She identified the bag as being the one she had lent me to enable me to perform the magic and from inside she pulled two pairs of mismatched cuffs (a wide one and a narrow one), each held together by a zip-tie. Someone in the crowd, who had been paying more attention than I had, called out in amazement that the pull end of the tie was on the correct side of the cuff and pointing the right way.

I suggested that Diana return the jacket that hung on her shoulders, to the gentleman I had borrowed it from. The man took hold of his jacket and Diana walked forward to reveal that her shoulders no longer had arms. Her bare shoulders ended an inch or so short of where they had ended before, in a shape reminiscent of a mannequin with its arms removed, but smoother and made of real flesh.

Diana's expression proved to all the spectators that whatever she had been expecting to happen, this was not it. They could also see that she was at least as amazed as they were and in no particular discomfort. I went to her and guided her back to the middle.

“How are you feeling, Diana?”

“I don't know. Surprised? Astonished? I don't know. At least it isn't uncomfortable; in fact it doesn't feel like anything much, although the ends of my shoulders tingle a bit, but it feels nice. How long do I have to stay like this; I assume I'll be getting my arms back sometime.”

“You can have your arms back any time you want; just let me know and it can be done in a minute or so. I would suggest that you catch me before I leave, but I can let you have your arms back straight away if you prefer.”

Diana briefly considered her options and then thanked me for letting her be a magician's assistant for a while. She strolled off, with a cheery see you later, and soon became the centre of attention, taking some of the pressure off me.