morning. I hope you slept well. I have brought some breakfast, and when you have finished I will take you up to see our Mistress. She has told me that your training must begin immediately, so hurry up. She does not like to be kept waiting.’
‘Then she should send breakfast along sooner,’ Richard retorted, even as he felt a knot of excitement tighten in his stomach. He ate breakfast, while Heidi sat on the bed watching. When he had finished, she produced a key hanging on a thong around her neck and unlocked the padlock. The short chain once more dangled freely between his legs.
‘Please take a shower and get ready to go upstairs now,’ Heidi told him. She cleared away the breakfast things while Richard went into the bathroom. When he came out, he saw that she had left his clothes on the bed and had withdrawn, locking the door behind her. Richard shrugged and got dressed. Then he sat waiting for Heidi, or someone, to come let him out.
Presently she came back, beckoning him to follow her. She conducted him back along the hallway and to the lift. They travelled up to the main floor with only smiles between them, hers shy and his enquiring. Margaret was waiting for him in the drawing room, pacing impatiently backward and forward over the thick carpet. There was no one else in sight.
‘We are going for a short drive. I have many things to do today so I will leave you at Ingrid Wagner’s shop while I attend to them. She will outfit you and I will collect you this evening. Raymond or Heidi will tell you what to do next. Come along now,’ she said, as she gathered her coat and handbag and headed towards the door.
The BMW was waiting at the front door. Margaret drove back down the long driveway to the gates, where she again operated the electronic control to let them out of the grounds. This time she drove more slowly towards the village. Richard saw that it was a fairly large one, with a new shopping centre on the outskirts. The centre of the town was older, the streets narrow and cobbled and the buildings crowded together, a typical European town of the sixteenth or seventeenth century.
Margaret drove into a covered alleyway and turned into a minute car-parking space behind Ingrid’s shop. It was walled, and had gates. Richard noticed that there were no windows overlooking the small courtyard. Nor were there any streetlights that he could see. This would be a dark and private place at night.
Margaret led the way through the rear door and into the shop. The storeroom they entered was empty, but voices were audible in the shop itself. Richard recognised Ingrid’s voice, and at least two others – customers, presumably. Margaret glanced impatiently at her watch. She looked annoyed. Eventually the front door opened and closed as the customers left the shop, and Margaret led the way through the doorway. They met Ingrid coming back towards them. She smiled briefly at Margaret and Richard.
Margaret began speaking at once. ‘Ingrid, I am running late. I need to leave Richard here so you can start on him. I will be back around five in the evening to collect him.’
‘Margaret, you know I need more time with him. He is just getting started and will need a lot of work. You should plan on collecting him sometime tomorrow evening if you expect a good job of preparation,’ Ingrid said.
Margaret looked even more annoyed. Apparently she hated having her plans altered. But she said crossly, ‘Oh, very well. Keep him here until tomorrow. Just be sure to take the customary precautions.’ She produced a pair of handcuffs from her handbag and handed them to Ingrid. Then she ordered Richard to strip. She stood impatiently while he took off his clothes and Ingrid folded them into a plastic bag with her shop’s logo on it. This she handed to Margaret, who left immediately.
‘Is she always this cross and abrupt?’ Richard asked when she was gone.
‘Not always, but often enough. She is difficult to please. Always has been. But
‘Then she should send breakfast along sooner,’ Richard retorted, even as he felt a knot of excitement tighten in his stomach. He ate breakfast, while Heidi sat on the bed watching. When he had finished, she produced a key hanging on a thong around her neck and unlocked the padlock. The short chain once more dangled freely between his legs.
‘Please take a shower and get ready to go upstairs now,’ Heidi told him. She cleared away the breakfast things while Richard went into the bathroom. When he came out, he saw that she had left his clothes on the bed and had withdrawn, locking the door behind her. Richard shrugged and got dressed. Then he sat waiting for Heidi, or someone, to come let him out.
Presently she came back, beckoning him to follow her. She conducted him back along the hallway and to the lift. They travelled up to the main floor with only smiles between them, hers shy and his enquiring. Margaret was waiting for him in the drawing room, pacing impatiently backward and forward over the thick carpet. There was no one else in sight.
‘We are going for a short drive. I have many things to do today so I will leave you at Ingrid Wagner’s shop while I attend to them. She will outfit you and I will collect you this evening. Raymond or Heidi will tell you what to do next. Come along now,’ she said, as she gathered her coat and handbag and headed towards the door.
The BMW was waiting at the front door. Margaret drove back down the long driveway to the gates, where she again operated the electronic control to let them out of the grounds. This time she drove more slowly towards the village. Richard saw that it was a fairly large one, with a new shopping centre on the outskirts. The centre of the town was older, the streets narrow and cobbled and the buildings crowded together, a typical European town of the sixteenth or seventeenth century.
Margaret drove into a covered alleyway and turned into a minute car-parking space behind Ingrid’s shop. It was walled, and had gates. Richard noticed that there were no windows overlooking the small courtyard. Nor were there any streetlights that he could see. This would be a dark and private place at night.
Margaret led the way through the rear door and into the shop. The storeroom they entered was empty, but voices were audible in the shop itself. Richard recognised Ingrid’s voice, and at least two others – customers, presumably. Margaret glanced impatiently at her watch. She looked annoyed. Eventually the front door opened and closed as the customers left the shop, and Margaret led the way through the doorway. They met Ingrid coming back towards them. She smiled briefly at Margaret and Richard.
Margaret began speaking at once. ‘Ingrid, I am running late. I need to leave Richard here so you can start on him. I will be back around five in the evening to collect him.’
‘Margaret, you know I need more time with him. He is just getting started and will need a lot of work. You should plan on collecting him sometime tomorrow evening if you expect a good job of preparation,’ Ingrid said.
Margaret looked even more annoyed. Apparently she hated having her plans altered. But she said crossly, ‘Oh, very well. Keep him here until tomorrow. Just be sure to take the customary precautions.’ She produced a pair of handcuffs from her handbag and handed them to Ingrid. Then she ordered Richard to strip. She stood impatiently while he took off his clothes and Ingrid folded them into a plastic bag with her shop’s logo on it. This she handed to Margaret, who left immediately.
‘Is she always this cross and abrupt?’ Richard asked when she was gone.
‘Not always, but often enough. She is difficult to please. Always has been. But
Similar Books
