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Wednesday.
At some time on that Tuesday night there was a thunderstorm, for I was roused from sleep by a blinding flash of lightning and a roll of thunder which shook the garage to its foundations. Instantly awake, I was concerned - not for myself, trapped in a steel cage - but for my Mistress; and that not because I believed She was in any physical danger, but that Her sleep may be disturbed by the storm. But the thunder and lightning lessened, and finally ceased as the storm moved away, leaving only the steady drumming of rain on the garage roof to lull me to sleep again.
I was sound asleep when the cage door rose (I imagined my Lady waking momentarily in Her soft bed to drowsily press the button on the remote to open it) and I scrambled out of the cage to take up my duties.
I entered the kitchen via the passage from the garage to collect the U.S. Mailbag with my Mistress's replies which I was to take and exchange for today's bag of Mail. Pausing to stare out of the window, I noticed how the trees were shaking in the wind and rain, so I took up a plastic bin liner and wrapped the mailbag in it to keep it dry before leaving the kitchen by the back door.
Placed ready in the porch I found the sandals that my Lady permitted me to wear outdoors, but I took another look at the weather conditions and decided to go out barefoot. I also remembered seeing an old raincoat left in the garage by one of the gardeners, and debated wearing it for a instant. But, after quickly dismissing the idea on the grounds that if my Lady had wished me to wear any clothes She would have given me some, I went out into the wind and rain and trotted naked along the wet grass verge to the Estate entrance, the bell on my collar tinkling madly as I ran.
At first I welcomed the chance to stretch my limbs, cramped by my night in the cage, but then the cold, the rain and the wind beating against my body made me very glad to reach the shelter of the wall encircling Ms Scally's property. After a brief pause to catch my breath, I opened the hatch to the outside world. Withdrawing from the plastic bag the old Mailbag, I exchanged it for the recently delivered one, and added the newspapers my Mistress had ordered. Then I faced the wild weather again and ran back to the house.
I was exhausted, my breath sobbing in my throat, the wet leather muzzle clinging to my face, when I returned. Placing the bag in the shelter of the back porch, I went off and showered. After cleaning and de-odourising myself carefully, I took the Mailbag and newspapers into the kitchen where I put them on the table. I fetched the swill bucket from the garage, washed it out, and put it under the sink ready for the day's scraps. Then I unloaded the dishwasher, put everything away, and knelt by Ms Scally's chair to wait patiently for Her to rise.
It seemed a long time before I heard the rush of water in the pipes which denoted Her shower. I rose instantly and set the coffee to percolating, switched on the oven in readiness for her breakfast, then knelt in position again in the grey light.
Some minutes passed, and my Goddess arrived. She turned on the lights, and to me, although I kept my eyes fixed firmly on the floor, Her entry was as if the sun had come out. She sat.
"Boy! Coffee!" She commanded.
I served Her at once, not forgetting to put on gloves, and knelt by Her side while She sipped Her coffee in silence. I could sense She was regarding me with approval.
"You really are a clever slave, Boy!" She said.
A wave of gratitude and euphoria swept over me, and I automatically bent my head towards Her feet, only to recoil with a whimper of disappointment when I remembered my muzzle. In any case, Her foorwear was unsuitable for licking; Her shoes were whispy silk creations of a vaguely Oriental pattern. So too was the thin silk gown She wore, and I contented myself with leaning towards Her as far as I dared to enjoy its feathery touch and to get a hint of Her fragrance.
My Lady continued to drink Her coffee, Her free hand ruffling absently through my hair. Finally She sighed with contentment.
"Boy! More coffee! And bring my breakfast when you have prepared it!"
I obeyed at once, bringing Her another cup of coffee, then placing two croissants to heat in the oven. I brought Oxford marmalade and set it before Her, and butter in a Wedgewood crock, with a silver knife wrapped in a spotless linen napkin. I waited by the oven until Her croissants were hot, then withdrew them with silver tongs and served them to Her on a Crown Derby plate, all the time in ecstasy at being near my Lady and being allowed to serve Her. She had been taking Her newspapers from their plastic wrappers which She'd thrown on the floor. I fetched over the waste paper basket and got down on all fours to retrieve them.
She read Her 'Wall Street Journal' as She ate; when She had finished She placed the papers to one side and went through Her mail, expertly shucking off the envelopes and extracting the contents which she scanned cursorily before decisively placing them in one of three piles. Obviously these denoted correspondence to be dealt with now, later, and to be thrown away, for this the pile, much the largest, She threw to the floor for me to dispose of.
It was 8.30 by the big kitchen clock when She finished and bade me fetch Her briefcase from the Small Dining Room where She had been working on the day before. She slid the chosen documents into the case, rose, and left the room without a word, confident in Her slave's knowledge of his immediate duties.
I cleared away the breakfast debris, watching wistfully as the few crusts of croissant Ms Scally had left uneaten fall into the swill bucket, stacked the dishwasher, and relaid the table in readiness for the young lady. Then I remembered my Lady's guests, and hesitated for a moment before reflecting that my Lady herself, or one of the other Women, would instruct me in this matter at the appropiate time. After folding the newspapers neatly and arranging them on the table, I emptied the waste paper into a trash bag and took it out to the porch ready to dispose of it later. Then I re-entered the warm kitchen to kneel by my Lady's sister's chair to wait for her to appear.
But only five minutes later my Goddess Herself came back. I could not see - for, as was only right and proper, I dare not lift my eyes to Her face - Her smile of approval, but this approval was in Her voice as She told me that Her sister and Her friends were wont to sleep late on bad weather days like this one, and because of the long wait for them I should get into the wire mesh cage against the back wall of the kitchen and stay there for their orders. She raised the cage door with Her remote, and I scrambled in. My Lady then went off, leaving me grateful for Her consideration in allowing me to lie on the soft paper pad covering the floor of the cage.
I lay down and mused sleepily on wherever it was my Lady went to in the house. I knew only of the Dining Rooms, the kitchen, the patio, and the garage where I was kept. The property was huge by my standards; there must also be at least four bedrooms, probably, as this was the U.S.A., each with its attendant bathroom. Then there would be Living Rooms, Lounges etc.; and, in California, a swimming pool, none of which I'd seen yet, if I ever did. But wherever my Mistress was She was silent, and only the faint hum of the electric motor in the cavernous refrigerator broke the quietness. Finally I dozed off.
I was woken from an uneasy sleep by the entrance of my lady's younger sister, unkempt in an old towelling robe, battered 'mules' on her feet. Pushing back her undressed hair from her forehead she peered about her for my presence.
"Ah! There you are, Boy!" she exclaimed. "That big sister of mine is far too good to you!........Out you come!" (and she pressed the button on her remote to raise my cage door) "Now..........get my breakfast!"
As I knelt by her chair while she ate, Constance and Flora, Ms Scally's friends, entered the kitchen, at which the young lady ordered me to lay two more places at the table. Neither had bothered over much with 'la toilette'; Flora was clad in a drab towelling dressing gown and slippers, Constance in a garish housecoat and flip-flops. They took their seats, and ordered coffee, over which they brooded and exchanged small talk while they adjusted to the new day. A little later Ms Scally's sister went off, after telling the others to command of me what they would like for breakfast. On her departure I took up my position by the chair of Flora, as the older and senior Woman.
After some minutes the coffee worked its daily magic upon them them.
"I do declare," said Flora, "that I could face some breakfast! Boy! Bacon, eggs, and toast!"
The less sturdy Constance visibly shuddered at her friend's choice.
"Orange juice and dry wholemeal toast, Boy!" she told me.
I hastened to obey them, making certain I was wearing my plastic gloves while I did so. While I worked, and during their meal, they discussed me as though I was invisible, something I bore without resentment.
"It's such a pity," sighed Constance. "I do SO wish Scally would sell him to me!"
"I think you'd have competition, dear!" her friend replied. "I'd buy him from her myself like a shot! That cute bell on his collar!"
"He's so incredibly well-trained - and in such a short time, too!"
The two Women continued to lament their hostess's refusal to sell her slave for some time, until the young lady returned to command me to fetch my leash and come with her.
She put me on my leash and took me into the garage where she tethered me while she put upon my back a leather apparatus resembling a large rucksack. Straps over my shoulders,a belt, and a chest strap held it in position. Then she led me to the rear of what appeared to be an enclosed, weather-proof, electric golf-cart, and tied my leash to a welded towing staple there. She entered the tiny vehicle and evidently used her remote, for the garage door rose to reveal the wind and rainswept drive outside. The cart began to move forward, and soon I was following it at a steady jog.
The weather was, if anything, worse than on my previous excursion for my Lady's mail; the wind was higher and the rain heavier; water and mud spurted from below my pounding feet, and spattered my legs. It was soon apparent that the entrance to Ms Scally's Estate was our destination, and it was there, under the cover of the arch which pierced the estate boundary wall, that we halted.
On the dry paving lay a large brown paper sack which the young lady, after telling me to "Kneel!" picked up and placed in the rucksack on my bent back. She tightened down the securing straps, after which she regained her seat in the electric cart, turned it, and drove back the way we'd come. She hadn't bothered to order me to rise, nor did she need to, for, as the cart gathered speed so I was forced to come to my feet and trot after it into the storm. My load was heavier than I would have thought after seeing the apparent ease with which Ms Scally's sister had handled it - she had my Lady's athlete's body - but it must have weighed forty pounds or more. As for its contents - I had no idea, of course; and no more need to know than any beast of burden.
We returned to the dry warmth of the garage at a fast pace; too fast for me, wet, cold and muddy as I was, and panting with exhaustion.
The young lady made me kneel, withdrew the sack which she dumped unceremoniusly in a corner, and removed my harness. Taking up my leash she led me out again through the door to the front porch. At the steep step outwards I was made to lie down as usual so that she could step up onto my body to gain the outside. The concrete was gritty and cold beneath my damp chest and belly as she put her weight onto them and my bones ached as I was ordered to rise.
Outside it was cold and damp, though the porch sheltered us from the rain.
I realised with a sinking feeling what was about to happen. Sure enough, she made me kneel, and removed my leash. Then:
"Boy! Into your box!" she commanded.
I obeyed, scrambling in as fast as I could. She may have detected some reluctance on my part, for she cut viciously at my rump as I wriggled into the narrow confines of the cage. The wooden end piece was lowered, leaving me in cold, dank darkness.
Cramped and uncomfortable as I was, I had fallen into a doze when the sounds of footsteps, and the familiar ring of my Lady's voice brought me wide awake.
"Clean shoes for departing guests!" I heard Her exclaim. Then: "You first, Flora!"
Her older friend's sensible, solid brogues appeared before me. I licked them clean and was given water. Then Constance's - altogether unsuitable for the weather - footwear; a pair of lacquered pumps was offered for my services. And then, the 'piece de resistance'; my Goddess's sturdy but chic all-leather brown shoes! I washed them thoroughly with my tongue; the soles - of Her's alone did I lick the soles - were slightly muddy, and I would not have them soil the carpet of Her SUV, if She was to use it. And She was, for after a few exchanges of the "See you tomorrow at the auction" type, I heard the distinctive smooth rumble of the SUV going off up the drive, leaving me alone.
I spent some time trying to moisten my mouth enough to swallow the grime my tongue had collected before I fell again into that half trance which I was becoming prone to doing in these conditions.
Some time later I woke, to be aware that the wind had died and the rain stopped. The sun must have come out too, for the once cold, clammy cage was becoming uncomfortably warm. And then I heard the sound of the returning SUV, and my heart leapt for joy. I heard the car stop; the door slam, and my Lady's quick, decisive footsteps as She came up onto the porch. But though I whimpered to attract Her attention She walked straight past me where I lay crouched in my cage, and it was only after some considerable time that She returned and opened the wooden door for me to wriggle out at Her command.
Her voice was solicitious as I knelt at Her feet, dazed with sleep and dazzled by the light.
"Poor thing!" she said. "We forgot all about you!...Come on, let's feed you!"
With that She clipped on my leash and led me to the entrance down into the garage where, at Her curt gesture, I lay down so She could step downwards via my back.
I stayed on all-fours as She led me over to where her sister had left the bag I'd carried here earlier. She bade me kneel, and put on my mitts before tethering me to a ring in the wall and removing my muzzle. Then She fetched from somewhere the battered plastic dogbowl, and splashed water into it. She left me for a moment to drink; when She returned She carried a spade with which She expertly split the paper sack longways in order to take up a small spadeful of its contents. This She placed in my now empty bowl before leaving me.
I looked dubiously at the contents of the bowl. A crumbly cake-like substance; mostly grey in colour, but speckled with yellow and brown patches, it smelt of nothing at all. I lowered my head to it hungrily and took a mouthful. It tasted of nothing too, and it was all the world like chewing damp cardboard. But it was easy to eat, and very soon I'd chomped down all of it.
My belly full, I knelt on the hard concrete and allowed my mind to wander. I glanced over at the paper sack and tried to decipher the printing upon it, upside down as the young lady had put it. I soon found out what it said. 'All purpose Animal Feed: Grade Four. For Pigs, Calves, and Chickens. Do not over-feed!' I wasn't in the least upset by this revelation, of course; Ms Scally had to feed me on something, and I suspected that She regarded their scraps and leftovers being insufficient for the amount of energy She was making me exert.
After a time, though in the unusual state of not being hungry, I was feeling the effects of my long imprisonment in the box and kneeling on the hard concrete floor was becoming increasingly painful. I was vastly relieved when my Lady appeared to take my leash, muzzle me, and lead me out onto the lawn in front of the patio. There She paused and spoke to her sister who sat at the table in the sunshine.
"I'll just take Fido for a walk - poor thing; it must have been awfully cramped in its box all that time!"
"OK, sis!" came the cheery reply. "I should still be here when you get back. You're dining out tonight, aren't you?"
"Yes, with Sophie and Donald. What shall you do?"
"I dunno.........order a pizza or something, I expect!"
My Goddess was still laughing tolerantly as She led me off.
Across the lawn we went, and into the shade of a path through the woods, slowing often, and stopping occasionally for my Mistress to examine some plant or other. This gave me the opportunity to work out how She would want me to behave when She was walking me; with the following results.
When we were stationary my default position was on all-fours with my head level with Her near leg, and my eyes fixed on Her foot to warn me should She move off. I aimed at being already moving in the direction She wanted me to go before Her tug on my leash reached my collar. If we were to be stopped for any length of time She would make me kneel, my front paws before my knees, my haunches resting upon my heels. This She conveyed to me by, at first, the command 'Sit!' accompanied by an upward tug on the leash and a cut from Her whip on my rump. But we progressed to just the command and the blow, and finally I needed just the flick on my rump to take up position. (She taught me to answer to Her whip in taking up other positions too; very soon I learnt that a cut in the middle of my back meant 'Lie Down!' and a flick on the shoulder, before She was to move off, meant 'Come!' Quite quickly She needed no verbal commands at all to control my movements, merely the use of Her whip; as for me, I prided myself on Her not having to exert Herself to tug my leash; I came to know the exact length of slack in the leash at any time and the precise position of Her hand holding it in relation to my collar).
So it was we proceded, the bell on my collar tinkling faintly, through patches of sunlight and cool shadow in the warm air, the air revitalised by the past storm. I was frankly enjoying our excursion, mainly due to the immense feeling of security I had when Ms Scally held me leashed. I delighted in Her sure and gentle guidance and control, and would even occasionally go so far as to deliberately fail to respond so that I could feel Her reassuring tug at my collar.
We'd covered some distance, and perhaps my kindly Mistress thought I was getting tired in the arms, for She increased Her pace in order that I had to come upright to keep up. And She may have meant to see what I would do when She slowed again. I didn't disappoint Her; when She slowed enough for me to keep my place on all-fours I fell to that position; when we stopped I did likewise. Finally we fetched up at the Summerhouse, where my Lady tethered me in the shade before She got Herself a drink and sat at the table to read.
The sun was low in the sky when She led me back in the cool lengthening shadows. When we reached the front porch She put me in my box again, something I accepted quite cheerfully. My Lady was going to change to go out and dine; Her shoes must be thoroughly clean for this occasion.
And so it was to prove; after I'd lovingly licked Her shoes, paying particular attention to the smooth soles, I heard Her drive off to Her dinner appointment.
Sometime later the young lady came to my box; I heard her talking on her mibile telephone.
"Yes, with anchovies.......In half an hour?......Yes, leave it in the hatch!"
She released me, put on my leash, and led me into the garage with the usual necessity of my prostrating myself in order to save her the long step down. There she harnessed me to my cart. I co-operated quite docilely with her, allowing her to bend up my arms behind my back for the arm-binder, and opening my mouth for her to insert the bit after she'd taken off my muzzle.
She took her seat and flicked me into motion through the twilight. I enjoyed the run, though her touch on the reins was heavier than her Sister's, and her use of the whip much more frequent, and I was almost sorry when we reached the Estate entrance.
There she dismounted to retrieve her pizza from the hatch. On mounting again she whipped me back to the house as fast as I could run, no doubt to prevent her pizza getting cold too quickly. On the lawn in front of the patio she tethered me to a rail before going off into the kitchen to eat.
A long time later, in full darkness relieved only by the soft lights of the patio, she returned. She untied me, I heard the cart creak as she mounted, and she tugged my head round and flicked me on the rump to start me moving across the lawn and into the blackness of the path. I was worried about being able to see my way, and indeed we had some near misses, much to her anger. It was my fault, of course; as her draught animal I should never question her judgement in which way to go; my place was merely to obey the varying pressures on my bit. (My Lady Herself was to cure me of this habit later in my stay). What with the distance we covered, and the painful way the young lady took out her frustration with her whip, I was very glad to be halted at the garage entrance just as my Lady returned.
"Taken him for a run, little sister?" She enquired with a smile.
"Sort of," came the reply. "But the goddam thing's shy in the dark - when it's not sure of its path!"
"Oh dear! Of course! It's my fault, dear; I haven't trained it to that yet. I'll break it into running blind later, I promise! I know how you enjoy your evening rides."
"Thanks a lot!" Her mollified sister replied. "You want your shoes cleaning?"
Ms Scally considered.
"No.......not tonight. Just put it away; and feed and water it for me."
"OK, Sis!.....Come on, Muffin!"
She led me into the garage, removed my bridle and bit, unharnessed me and then led me to my cage. She waited while I sucked down the water she gave me, then poured a shovelful of the Animal Feed into my trough. She waited while I ate that too; before muzzling me and leaving, switching off the lights behind her.
As I prepared for sleep, I was as happy as I'd ever been in my life. What though they kept me as an animal, naked, collared, and muzzled in a cage? I had a full belly for the second time that day, and much more important, I knew that my Goddess occasionally thought about me and considered my welfare. That alone was reward enough for anything they inflicted on me.
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