TUESDAY.
There occured a sudden dramatic change in my treatment that morning. Very early,
while I was still shivering in my cage, Ms Cardew Herself entered the garage
where I was kept. Warmly dressed in a quilted dressing gown over Her nightwear;
fluffy bedroom slippers covered Her elegant feet.
She let me out and, after putting on my leash, led me on all-fours over to
the deep step upwards leading to the open air. She made a curt gesture; I lay
down on the cold concrete and felt Her weight as She used my body as a mounting
block to step up onto the threshold. She tugged my leash as a signal to follow
Her. Outside, in the chilly dawn air, She led me around a corner of the house
to a paved yard in which bordered by various small brick sheds. There She halted
me, commanded me to kneel, and, to my pleased surprise, began to speak to me.
"I propose to give you a trial period as My slave - or, rather, as Our Slave,
for you will obey My sister as you would Me. Since I was obliged to allow My
household staff a holiday during your visit, you will carry out those of their
duties I consider appropriate. Your slave-name will be 'Boy'......You will wait
upon My sister and I; your default position will be kneeling by My chair, or
that of My sister if I am not present. You will not talk; except to reply to
Us, and only then if We tell you to 'Answer!'....Do you know what this is, Boy?
Answer!"
She produced from a pocket in Her gown a slender silvery rod about six inches
long. Holding it pointed at me, She apparently pressed some sort of switch
which caused it to suddenly extend to a length of some two feet. I felt its
light touch on my left shoulder and saw Her forefinger move a trifle. Immediately
an agonising pain shot through my shoulder and I let out a stifled yelp of
pain.
"It is a slave-prod, and you will be punished with it — at least, by Me;
although My sister may prefer her dog whip...........Now, give Me your paws!"
Kneeling, I extended my mitted hands to Her. She released the small clips which
held them on my wrists.
"Take them off, and go over there into the shower I had put in for My gardeners.
Wash yourself thoroughly, use the animal deodorant I bought for you, wear the
old sandals you will find there, removing them only when you come indoors. Then
come to Me in the kitchen — you have ten minutes!"
And with that She left me. I went immediately into the shower and used it to
the full, exulting in the warm water against my skin. (First I'd debated removing
my collar; now that I had the use of my fingers I could have done so easily,
and replaced it without anyone being the wiser. But the Lady Cardew, my Owner,
had Herself buckled it around my neck to mark me as Her property; and only
She could remove it.) I dried myself on the skimpy, threadbare towels I found
there, and hung them up to dry, then I put on the sandals and made my way to
the kitchen. Before entering by the door to the yard, I removed them, and came
in barefoot to find Ms Cardew sitting elegantly at the large table, drinking
coffee. She spared me a glance as I took up my position kneeling at Her side,
then stretched out a slender arm and touched my wet collar. Her look of approval
enchanted me.
"What a clever boy you are!" She cooed. "Recognising that only
I can take off your collar. Now, unload the dishwasher, and put the things away.
Wait! Wear these! I will not eat from anything a slave has touched!" And
She indicated a large box of disposable plastic gloves.
I obeyed instantly, of course; and soon all the dishes, cutlery, etc. were
in their right and proper places. Unprompted, I resumed my kneeling position
while She continued to drink Her coffee.
Finally She rose: "Stay!" She commanded me, and walked off into the
house, leaving me to wait patiently for Her return.
Ms Cardew returned perhaps half an hour later. She had made Her toilette, and
changed into a lightweight summer suit of Lincoln Green; flat-heeled brogues
of the same shade on Her feet.
"Boy! Fetch your muzzle and leash!" She snapped.
I rose, and went immediately to where they hung from their accustomed hooks.
I brought them to Her in my mouth, being careful to hold them so that my saliva
would not accidentally touch Her skin. I knelt, and She put on my muzzle and
clipped my leash to my collar.
"Stand!" and She led me from the house into the by-now warm outside
air. Without a further word She walked on, I automatically taking up a position
half a step behind Her in the classic slave manner, and enjoying the strange
sense of rightness and security that being on my Goddess's leash brought me.
We walked on the grass verge at the side of the gravelled drive, in a silence
broken only by the sounds of early morning bird song and the faint tinkling of
the bell on my collar. Finally we came to an old, high wall, evidently the boundary
of Ms Cardew's property for a solid wooden gate closed off the entrance into
the world outside. Set into the wall low down was a large wooden hatch. Ms Cardew
opened it to reveal a U.S Mail bag, and a bundles of newspapers wrapped in plastic.
"Take them!" She told me, and I stooped and picked them up.
She tugged my leash, and led me back the way we had come. Back in the kitchen
She bade me put my load on the table. She took off my leash, and made me hang
it up. Then She opened the Mailbag and began to sort Her post while I took
up my position kneeling by Her chair.
Expertly She sorted the wheat from the chaff in the morning's mail, piling
the various documents in three piles.
"Fetch the bin!" She ordered me, and I scrambled over and brought it
back. She tossed the rejected mail onto the floor; I picked it up and put it
in the bin. She stripped off the plastic wrappers from the newspapers and treated
that likewise.
"Throw all that into the trashcan in the backyard. Then come back and fix
Me some coffee — and use your gloves!"
I did as She said, returning to find She had put two croissants into the oven
to warm, and had put plates, cutlery, and a Jar of Cooper's Oxford Marmalade
on the table ready for Her usual breakfast.
I made a pot of fresh coffee, and brought it to Her on a silver salver, earning
from my Mistress an appreciative smile which made my heart bound with joy.
She made a leisurely breakfast; when She finished She ordered me to remove
the used crockery and cutlery to the dish washer. I scraped the flakes of pastry
into the leftovers bucket into the sink, staring hungrily at its contents as
I did so.
"You will do this every morning for me, Boy. That is, when your cage door
opens in the morning you will shower, deodorise yourself, and put on your muzzle.
First you will fetch My mail and newspapers from the hatch at the end of the
drive. Then you will make coffee and lay the table, then you will wait outside
the back kitchen door until I order you to Me. Do you understand? Answer!"
"Yes, Mistress!" I spoke the first words to pass my lips since I had
met Her at the Airport.
"See that you do!.....Now go into the back yard and take a drink from the
tap; you may remove your muzzle to do so, but make sure you replace it immediately.
Then take up your default position outside the back door and stay there until
you are called!"
With that She swept the mail and papers into a Louis Vuitton briefcase, and
left the room. I did as She told me, and was pleased and touched at my Lady's
kindness in providing a small square of old carpet for me to kneel on the concrete
threshold of the back door.
There I knelt, quite comfortably and relaxed with my hands resting on my knees,
despite my hunger. The house was silent; of my Mistress there was no sign.
I reflected with satisfaction on the changes in my circumstances; I had thought
being Her dog or Her draught animal a privilege I could hardly aspire to, but
to be Her slave, and to be so much more often in Her close company was something
I had never dared to dream of!
This train of thought was broken abruptly by a call from inside the kitchen.
"Boy! Come here!"
The voice was that of my Lady's sister; I found her sitting at the table in
her usual early morning deshabille. She yawned as I knelt by her chair.
"Orange juice! And cereal! Bring the organic milk in the blue container!"
I moved quickly to do as I was bid, bringing spoons and sugar too; then I knelt
again and watched her eat. She finished, yawned again, then rose and left the
room. Unbidden, I cleared the table and fed the dishwasher, after first scraping
the milk-sodden remains of her uneaten cereal into the scraps bucket. Then
I knelt outside the back door again.
The young lady called for me about half an hour later. I found her in the kitchen,
her laptop case and her briefcase on the table. She made me fetch my leash
and told me to kneel as she clipped it on. Then, after ordering me to pick
up her cases, she led me outside into the sunny morning.
Along shady paths and through sunlit glades we went, until we reached the Summerhouse
where she intended to work that morning. There, she made me put down the cases
on the table, then led me off the wooden boardwalk and tied my leash to an
upright at the end. She went back to sit at the table, while I lay down on
the patch of cool grass my tether allowed me to reach where, in spite of my
hunger, I fell into a light doze.
I was woken abruptly by a sharp call from the young lady.
"Boy! Come here!"
I undid my leash and scrambled back onto the boardwalk to where she sat; there
I fell to my knees expectantly.
"Get me a drink! Perrier water and plenty of ice!"
I hastened to obey. Finding another large box of disposable gloves in the tiny
kitchen, I poured the lady's drink carefully. I brought it to her on a silver
salver, then knelt by her chair to await her further instructions.
She sipped her drink, worked at her laptop, and ignored me.
After a time her mobile telephone gave a discreet buzz.
"Yes?........Yes, Sis...............Yes...........I will!"
She turned to me.
"Go at once to the front door of the house, take off your muzzle, and get
into your box!......Go now!"
I must have shown some inadvertent reluctance at the prospect, for she took
up a short whip and lashed me twice in quick succession across the shoulders
as I knelt before her. Painfully I rose to my feet and ran, the bell on my
collar tinkling madly.
Through the dappled sunlight I ran, until I came to the front porch of the
house where the tiny cage, its wooden sides and top already assembled around
it, stood waiting for me. I took off my muzzle, than wriggled into the cage
under the raised wooden end piece which came down, trapping me inside, once
my feet cleared the threshold.
It was hot and stuffy in the box, and my surroundings were completely silent.
I was becoming cramped, and beginning to pant in the heat, when I heard the
distinctive soft purr of Ms Cardew's SUV being driven up. I heard it stop on
the gravelled drive, then heard the doors open and close as its occupants alighted.
There seemed to be three of them, all Women by their voices; one of whom my
own dear Goddess, whose clear tones became audible to me where I crouched in
the hot darkness.
"Ah! There it is!.....You first, Flora; then you, Constance......I will
not have my guests with dusty shoes!"
Immediately a broad, heavy brogue was placed upon the grid in front of me.
I lowered my head and began to lick it clean. A little water in a small dish,
then the other shoe. I continued with the smaller, plain leather shoes of Constance,
then with the elegant footwear of my Lady herself after which the other two
walked off while Ms Cardew remained to lift the wooden door and let me out.
"Go and wash, and use your deodorant!" She ordered me. "You may
drink, too. Then put on your muzzle and take up your position at the back door.
Wait there for orders.....and you will obey my friends as you would Me!"
Ten minutes later I sat on the scrap of carpet on the back door porch, ready
and waiting. Sure enough, after a few minutes, a call came to me from the patio.
It was an unfamiliar voice. "Boy! Come here!"
I scrambled to my feet and ran the few yards around the corner of the house
to where Ms Cardew's two friends sat in comfortable chairs in the shade. Instinctively
I went to where the older Woman sat to kneel by the side of her chair.
"Fetch drinks for us! Fresh orange juice with plenty of ice!" she commanded.
I rose, and went at once into the kitchen where I arranged glasses and a tall,
frosted pitcher of ice cubes and orange juice on a silver tray, taking care
to don plastic gloves before I did so. I carried the salver to them, placing
each glass on a coaster on the small table at the side of each chair. Then
I knelt again by the elder's side.
"So this is Cardew's new slave," said the younger, in syrupy 'Southern
belle' tones. "He seems quite intelligent!"
"I think you'll find that's due to Cardew's training," drawled the
other. "She hand-picked this one from a good many applicants."
"Wonder if she'd like to sell him?" mused her companion, sipping from
her glass.
"Not at the moment, Constance dear!" came the reply from my Owner,
who had made a silent entrance.
She took a seat, whereupon I went to kneel by Her side while She continued. "I
chose him from a long list — but only after I had an in-depth psychological
study done on him. He's my slave, or my dog, or my pony as I please; he's quite
intelligent and entirely tame and obedient. I'm rather pleased with him!"
At this, I rubbed my head affectionately against the hand She had casually
draped over the arm of Her chair. She ruffled my hair for a few seconds, then
commanded me to fetch fresh juice and a glass for Her.
I obeyed instantly, and on my return the Goddess ordered me to lie on the floor
in the centre of the group. There I lay, my head on my front paws, while they
discussed me as though I wasn't there, or as if I was only an animal who couldn't
understand what they were saying.
"He seems to have been naughty!" said one of them, prodding the welts
on my back with her shoe.
"Yes!" said my Lady with amusement in Her voice. "My younger sister
has a short fuse when faced with what she construes as less than instant obedience!"
"How do you punish him, Cardew?" enquired the other.
"I don't need to," my Goddess said. "Except when I think he's
being a little slow to obey. But he DOES obey me; he's no longer capable of not
obeying me."
"Show us!" Her friends demanded.
My Lady shrugged.
"If you wish!........Boy!.........Fetch your whip!"
I rose and scuttled on all fours into the kitchen where I retrieved the short
whip from its hook on the wall by the back door. I brought it back to my Lady
in my mouth, being careful to hold it well below the handle. There I presented
it to Her in my begging position.
She took it from me and rose to Her feet.
"Sit!" She commanded me. Then She brought down the whip with all Her
strength across my shoulders. As I writhed in agony She flung the whip from Her.
"Fetch it!" She ordered me.
I did so, with the same result. Several times She repeated these manoeuvres
until I was crawling back and forth, gasping with exertion and sobbing with
pain.
Finally She instructed me to lie down.
"There......satisfied?" She enquired in a hard tone.
"Very impressive, dear!" said the older Woman, after a short silence.
"You'd get a good price for a well-broken in slave like him, Cardew," the
younger of Her friends remarked, "and you could always get another. In fact,
you could start up a nice little business!"
"I have quite enough money for my needs!" my Mistress informed her,
a touch of frost in her well-modulated tones.
"All the same, Cardew dear," Flora, the older Woman remarked, "Constance
has a point. I'd buy him myself like a shot — though not as he is now. I'd have
him cut first."
"Cut?" wondered Constance aloud. Then: "Oh! I see! Like they do
to horses!"
"Exactly!" exclaimed Flora. "I'm surprised you haven't had him
cut already, Cardew; don't you find his male smell unbearable? And you surely
don't intend to breed from him?"
"I may have him gelded when he's with me permanently," my Lady drawled
languidly, Her fingers ruffling though my hair. "But he's quite docile as
it is. I shall only consider it should his training show signs of wearing off.
As an animal I don't particularly object to him smelling — animals do smell!
When he's in slave mode, as now, I make him shower several times a day; and I've
bought him plenty of dog deodorant. If I decide to breed from him, it shall be
by Artificial Insemination anyway; not so much fun for the subjects, but far
more reliable!"
"I have an idea!" Constance broke in excitedly. "There's to be
a slave auctioned off at Dolly's place on Thursday - I heard it through the grapevine!
What say we all go over and see what price it fetches? And you could show off
your new property, Cardew!"
This proposition being agreed to, the Ladies fell into a friendly silence,
sipping their drinks, and enjoying the soft, warm air. I was left to reflect
on the recent conversation. To my surprise, I wasn't in the least concerned
about what they'd discussed. Ms Cardew was my Owner, and what She decided for
me would happen; as Her property I would not be consulted or even informed,
and that was as it should be. I was more interested in the automatic, unthinking
way I'd obeyed the commands of my Lady's friends; in fact, the same way I'd
obeyed, and still obeyed, my Goddess's younger sister. And, I realised, I was
unthinkingly mentally using a capital 'W' in the words 'Woman' and 'Women';
it struck me that I'd become completely unable to disobey an order coming from
one of these infinitely superior beings, chief amongst whom was my own Mistress,
Ms Cardew. It was perfectly true what my Lady had said; I WAS now absolutely
unable to disobey Her; the very concept seemed too difficult for me to grasp.
And it had been like that since I read Her first message to me; She had put
an invisible collar around my neck at that moment to claim me for Her own.
This train of thought was broken by my Lady ordering me to lay the table for
four in the Small Dining Room, then to run at once to the Summerhouse to carry
back her sister's cases. I did as I was told, meeting the young lady as she
was about to leave. She brought me back on my leash, took her cases from me,
and bade me sit on my patch of carpet and await orders.
I was by now very, very hungry, and the delicious smells coming through from
the kitchen were tantalising. Some sort of fish, it smelled like, with a delicate
sauce and lightly cooked vegetables was to form the main course.
I wasn't called to serve the Ladies, but while they ate my Owner made me scrape
out the cooking pans before placing them in the dishwasher, and when they'd
finished their delicate confection of a dessert, She called me in to clear
away the dirty dishes. Then, at last, after I'd stacked the dishwasher again,
the young lady came into the kitchen and told me to take the swill bucket from
under the sink, to go to my position outside the back door, to take off my
muzzle and eat what scraps and leftovers I could stomach. Afterwards, I was
to wash out and replace the bucket, shower and deodorise myself, and wait for
further orders.
She followed me, and watched for a moment as I fed ravenously from the smelly
bucket, shovelling the mixture of scraps into my mouth with both hands; finally
she turned away in disgust and left me.
About an hour later, I was kneeling comfortably on my scrap of old carpet with
my stomach full, and enjoying the cool breeze which had sprung up as the sun
passed its zenith, the my Lady's younger sister came to me. I hadn't yet replaced
my muzzle, and I felt a twinge of fear at this omission, but she made no comment,
merely clipped on my leash and led me around the house and into the garage.
There she harnessed me to the cart I'd pulled yesterday. I stood completely
unresisting as she fitted my heavy leather harness and strapped my forearms
together behind my back, and I co-operated by opening my mouth for her to insert
my bit when she tightened my bridle around my head. I heard the cart creak,
and felt its balance alter as she mounted into her seat, then she remotely
opened the large garage doors and drove me out with a flick of her whip on
my haunches.
Ms Cardew's sister made me move at a smart trot; it wasn't at all tiring, and
I found I was enjoying the feeling of the cool air against my skin as I ran
along the shady paths, the short turf soft and cool beneath my pounding feet.
As we went along, I was struck by the realisation of how little I knew about
the geography of my Lady's grounds, in spite of my several journeys around
various parts of them since I'd arrived. But the solution was, of course, that
I'd almost always been led or driven, where I was going had never been a decision
I'd had to make.
I pulled her along in the cart for about half an hour when we returned to the
house from the opposite direction, ending our run on the lawn before the patio.
There I was tethered to an upright in the shade and left to myself.
The young lady had vanished into the house and there was neither sight nor
sound of any of my Goddess or Her friends; the fresh sea breeze was keeping
away the flies, and I was perfectly happy just to stand there, a tethered beast
waiting patiently for my Mistress.
