As gently as I could, I broached the subject the following evening, and was most surprised when Indira showed not the slightest sign of jealousy; rather, she seemed very interested in what I was proposing and even eager to help me.
'What must be done must be done,' she said simply, 'and the faster and the better it is done, then the better our chances of succeeding, for I am worried they might find us before we are ready.'
'There is always that chance,' I agreed, 'but I am almost certain that I'll in some way have warning if we are in that sort of danger. We are well out of the way here, and the few people who might be able to identify us are earning too much from our project to talk to strangers. The story I've been using is that I fled from a violent French husband, and memories of the war with France are still fresh enough for all good Englishmen and women to mistrust the French, not to say hate them.'
In truth, I had used this cover story with the innkeeper, the dressmaker and the shoemaker. Our builder lived well outside town and would not have been the obvious person for any would-be spy to question, and besides, when I saw he had taken a shine to Molly, I took the precaution of asking her to allow him the enjoyment of her charms every few days. The lascivious minx, not particularly given to being selective in the past, and now quite happy to find herself with clients who were not likely to slap her about in a drunken rage, not only serviced Jonas White, but also took care of his two assistants rather than recruiting her two fellow whores to the cause.
'We must still not waste any time,' Indira stated firmly. 'I do not know exactly what it is you are planning, but if your intention is to attract the likes of Gregory Hacklebury, then I can well imagine. However, with that type of person we must be very careful.'
'Yes, I know,' I agreed, 'though the likes of Hacklebury as such are thankfully rare. Those men I have seen so far are not even pale imitations. They are simply looking to act out fantasies, and just so long as we provide the right theatricals for them, they will be happy enough to pay up and return to their wives and families.'
'So, this is to be a theatre?' Indira nodded thoughtfully, pursing her lips. 'And we shall all become good actresses. Yes, I think I shall make a good actress and so shall you.'
'You?' I said incredulously.
She looked at me, wide-eyed. 'And why not?'
'But you don't like men.'
'Not the sort of evil scum Hacklebury handed me over to, no, but then they are the only men I have known in that way, so I cannot make a fair judgement, can I? It would be like someone who has never seen a potato saying they don't like potatoes, wouldn't it? Besides, there will be many roles and many characters and I need not have to suffer a man inside me, not unless we find a particularly pretty man, that is.'
I immediately realised there was probably a whole lot more to Indira than I had originally suspected, and that the real Angelina had almost certainly not known her lover as well as she thought. In her company, the Indian girl would have likely acted the demure role expected of her in this age, whereas with me, who had spent much of the past twenty-four hours telling her about the world from which I had come, she was starting to express a different side of her personality.
'Right then,' I said, standing up and straightening my dress. 'Time we got to work. Mr White has not yet quite finished in the cellar, but we can use the large bedroom at the back of the first floor for our rehearsals. I have placed some of the props we will need in the small room next to it, so let's go and see what we'll need.'
'And we shall start with Molly, perhaps?' she suggested.
I turned to her and nodded. 'Yes,' I said, 'we'll start with Molly, and then use her to demonstrate to the other two girls.'
'Good.' She smiled radiantly. 'And I should like to be the one who introduces her to the feel of a cane across her backside. The girl has far too much to say for herself and is most disrespectful to me when you are not within earshot.'
'She'll not have so much to say once we get a gag in her mouth,' I declared. 'Our friend the shoemaker's talents extend far beyond footwear, and his flair has improved upon a couple of basic designs I gave him. Which reminds me, we shall have to add him to our client list, though on a preferential basis.'
Molly eyed the black leather corset suspiciously, but then that was hardly surprising, for not only did the hide and its colour lend it a sinister air, the sheer narrowness of the waist made it obvious it was designed without the slightest concern for the comfort of the wearer, and even more so than the standard foundation garments of the day.
'You'll never get me into that thing!' she gasped.
I eyed her naked body and shook my head, but not in agreement with her, for she had a slender build that belied her ample breasts. 'It will fit you,' I assured her, 'with a little persuasion. Why, I've worn much more rigorous things. Now, come over here you silly wench, and let's get it on you. Remember, you will end up as quite a wealthy young woman when this adventure is finally finished, unless you've changed your mind, in which case you can get dressed and leave in the morning.'
The promise of the money and the threat of losing it was more than enough to persuade our reluctant heroine, although I could see she was very nervous as I began hooking the garment about her.
'Relax,' I said, stroking her neck when the final fastening had been closed. 'It's not so bad. Perhaps a glass of brandy will help you?' I nodded to Indira, who turned to the bottle and glasses we had earlier placed in readiness on the long table running across one end of the room.
'It's bloody tight!' Molly moaned, pressing her hands against her sides as if to emphasise the statement.
I laughed and patted her shoulder. 'And it'll be a bloody sight tighter before we're done,' I warned. 'We haven't even started lacing it yet.'
Her eyes widened, but before she could utter another protest, Indira handed her a glass with a generous amount of what was a very strong spirit, especially when compared with the sort of stuff we're used to drinking in pubs nowadays. Molly gulped a greedy mouthful, swallowed, and coughed, tears welling up in her eyes. 'Fuck!' she exclaimed when she had recovered enough breath to talk again. 'That's got a kick on it like a carthorse!'
'And so it should have,' I retorted. 'I paid a lot of money for that, or rather, Erik did. Now, Indira, perhaps you would do the honours?'
Indira smirked and nodded, moving around behind Molly, where she undid the loose knot at the ends of the laces and began steadily pulling at them.
Molly groaned and took another drink, though this time she exhibited a great deal more respect for the fiery liquid. 'That's far too tight,' she protested as Indira completed the first pass up and down her spine. 'I can't bloody well breathe now!'
'Of course you can,' Indira chided her. 'Why, I've barely started. Look, there must be another three inches to go yet.'
'You black bitch!' Molly all but shrieked. 'You think it's funny to take the piss out of a white woman, do you?'
'That's enough,' I snapped. I stepped in front of Molly and raised a finger to her face. 'Listen, you stupid little trollop,' I hissed, 'if you ever mention anyone's skin colour again, I'll have Erik flay yours off you with a horsewhip, do you understand?'
The tone of my voice must have surprised Molly as much as it surprised me, but in truth I was very angry and it was all I could do to stop myself from slapping her face. I tried to calm myself with the thought that our Victorian ancestors had been brought up with a different outlook where other races were concerned, but at least my outburst served to chasten Molly.
'I'm sorry, miss,' she mumbled, 'but she's hurting me.'
'So would you rather go back on the streets of London?' I suggested. 'That's where you could really learn all about what it means to be hurt. You'll like as not even end up in the Thames with your throat cut if what I've heard is anything to go by.'
She looked down and shook her head.
'Right then, Indira,' I said in my firmest voice, 'get that corset closed up and let's get on with this. You'll get used to it
, Molly,' I continued, turning away to get myself a drink, 'and you'll like what it does for the figure. You'll have men crawling at your feet if you pay attention to what I'm going to teach you.' When you're not the one doing the crawling, that is, I added to myself, for Molly's training still had a long way to go and these things would be best tackled one step at a time.
Half an hour later we had Molly more or less ready, thanks to a lot of pulling and tugging by Indira, who was much stronger than I was in this body, and thanks to the smelling salts I had thoughtfully put close at hand before we started. Still struggling to come to terms with the correct way of breathing in a corset, Molly stood before us, red-faced and unsteady, but apart from that she looked perfect for the role and would have reduced most men to a sticky surrender almost at first sight. To be honest, the sight of her was doing things to me and I could see my lover was just as appreciative.
'You see,' Indira said, demonstrating with her hands, 'I can very nearly span your waist now, Molly. A man could probably make his thumbs and fingers touch on both sides.'
It was a bit of an exaggeration, but Molly was visibly unimpressed anyway. Neither did she seem at ease in the high boots, which reached almost into her still bare crotch and which Indira had laced so tightly I was pretty sure the poor girl would not be able to bend her knees more than the slightest fraction. The same was probably true of her arms and elbows, for the leather gloves were equally close fitting, so that even her fingers were as good as useless. I thought back to those other gloves Megan had forced onto Angelina's hands and arms, the satiny ones with the fingers sewn together so they acted like mittens and made delicate tasks impossible for the wearer. She would appreciate these creations, I knew, except if she one day ended up wearing them, a prospect I hoped would eventually be realised.
The final touch to Molly's bizarre outfit, apart from the masking hood I did not yet want to introduce her to, took the form of a neck collar that was itself really a corset, for it laced at the back and was contoured so it forced Molly to stand with her head erect, and made turning her head more than an inch or so in either direction completely impossible.
'Excellent,' I announced.
Molly scowled. 'I feel stupid,' she grumbled. 'What man would find this attractive, eh? Why, this damned thing even covers most of my titties.'
I smiled and stepped forward, stroking beneath the leather-covered orbs. 'You'd be surprised how many men, and women too, prefer to see a pretty girl dressed so rather than simply naked.' Gregory Hacklebury, for one, not to mention generations of other men down through the ages, both before this time and ever since. I was maybe half a century or more ahead of this time in my innovations here, but I was willing to bet the early Victorian man would find this sort of fetishist display equally as appealing, as would a goodly number of men and women back in my own era.
'Now, please place your hands behind your back, Molly,' I instructed.
She did so obediently, and Indira pounced, buckling a cuff about her left wrist with commendable speed and efficiency. Immediately Molly pulled her right arm back around in front of her and tried to spin away out of Indira's grasp.
'Molly!' I warned. 'Please, let's not have any foolishness. Of course, if you'd rather leave us after all I'll understand, but it would be a great pity.'
The girl hesitated, looked at me uncertainly, and then slowly put her arms behind her back again, where Indira quickly completed the task of fettering them together.
'There, you see,' I said in a soothing tone, 'that wasn't so hard, was it. And who knows, I think you might just be a bit surprised at how much fun this can be. Of course, as the saying goes, there's no pleasure without pain, but in this case we're only talking about a little pain.'
'And a very great deal of pleasure,' Indira added, smirking behind her victim. 'Should I gag her now, mistress?'
I shook my head. 'No, not quite yet, Indira.' I turned away with the intention of refilling my glass.
'G-gag? ' Molly stammered. 'No one said anything about a gag!'
'Oh, no need to worry, my sweet,' I told her as I raised the brandy bottle and began pouring. 'It's just so you don't make too much noise from all the pleasure we're going to give you. We wouldn't want to alarm the other girls, would we?' In fact, the other girls were probably several hundred yards along the riverbank by now, for I had given Erik instructions to take them out for an evening stroll once we began Molly's tutorial session, but that information was on a 'need to know' basis and, at the moment, quite frankly, Molly didn't need to know.
I put down the bottle and picked up my glass once more, walking slowly back over to stand in front of my first student. 'You need to know this,' I told her, 'that whatever happens here I, we, would never hurt you, not really. A little sting or two, a smack or a slap, but nothing that would damage you, and only that which I hope you will come to enjoy as much as the ultimate pleasure we will give you.'
'But why?' she protested. 'Why any sort of pain?'
'Because you need to learn and to experience for yourself before you can hope to know how to give the same to others,' I explained.
She looked at me, aghast. 'You mean I'm supposed to hurt people?' she squeaked. 'What people?'
'Men, and some women too, probably, the sort of people who will pay us well for the services we'll be providing here.'
'I thought I was just supposed to fuck the customers!'
I laughed at her shocked indignation. 'Oh I dare say there'll be some of that, too.'
'A lot of that, I should imagine,' Indira interjected.
'However,' I added, ignoring the interruption, 'you are about to learn a totally new set of rules and skills. By the time we're finished you three girls will be to normal prostitution like sewing a handkerchief is to hand stitching a wedding gown, if you get my meaning.' I could see she didn't, but I also didn't let her ignorance worry me. She would learn soon enough, I told myself, hopefully as quickly as I had done, and I just hoped I could be half as good a teacher for her as Anne-Marie had been for me.
'Well now, let's have a good look at you again.' I had all but forgotten about Carmen and her contest with Anne-Marie, but now, as suddenly as ever, I was back in my own time and once more securely within her clutches. It seemed we had been led away from the main crypt during what I supposed had been a few moments in this time, for we were now in a smaller room, though I was still convinced we were deep underground. How my body managed to walk while I was off controlling Angelina's body, I had no idea. Some sort of motor response, I presumed, or maybe a vestige of my mind remained behind in the same way it appeared a vestige of Angelina's remained present, if undetected by me, whenever I was being her.
I looked around, searching for my two friends, but besides Carmen, who had dressed once again in her dramatic black with white trimmings rubber, there was just one other occupant of the chamber, a thickset fellow whose identity was hidden behind a leather hangman-style mask, but whose gender was on open display amidst a complex harness of the same material. He stood silently to one side and I wondered if he too was gagged, not that it made much difference to me. More importantly, or at least more relevantly, I wondered if he was there to employ a manhood that looked as if it ought to be quite something once aroused. I felt that familiar little tingle deep in my stomach, but for once I didn't hate myself for it.
Strange how quickly some people can change or adapt. Here I was, completely at the mercy of a woman I hardly knew, and likely as not about to find myself riding an anonymous cock, and I didn't find the idea repugnant. Rather, I was actually anticipating it, and I knew why, for now I had learned to accept that when someone else has removed all control from you, then you are free to indulge without guilt. If this prime specimen of manhood was to be my fate, then I was bloody well going to enjoy it.
Carmen's plans, however, were nothing as straightforward as that, which I should have guessed. She began by stroking my rubber face, smiling all the while.
'Yes,' she said at length, 'as
I said earlier, these are very nice. I must ask Anne-Marie where she got them. If the manufacturer hasn't got an exclusive patent in this country, then I think they would make a very popular extra line. Oh, didn't she tell you?' Carmen smiled behind her mask, for I saw her teeth revealed and her upper lip disappear momentarily from view, and I looked at her passively as she continued. 'I thought dear Annie would have mentioned it,' she said, 'only I own a large share of a company that specialises in manufacturing and distributing all sorts of interesting items. Hector's harness here is one example, though not one of our more imaginative or interesting lines. We make lots of rubber and leather suits, hoods, cuffs and special boots. We have nearly two thousand separate lines now, believe it or not.'
'In fact,' she chuckled, stepping forward to examine my hood beneath the wig, 'I have one very new line I intend to try out tonight, and the three of you are going to be my guinea pigs. It's going to be very popular, I'm sure, and there's even a version that will suit dear Andrea. I'm assuming you're actually Teenie underneath all this lot and that the cock thing on the other one was just a double bluff?'
I nodded dumbly.
'Well, I'll see to you first, and then you can come along with me and watch as we sort out your dolly friend. Yes, you're both going to remain as dollies and it's quite a coincidence that Annie was thinking along such similar lines already.' Her laughter echoed around the cold stone walls. 'Of course, my idea of a useful dolly is a mite different, as you'll shortly find out.' She reached beneath my false hair and began unfastening the neck of my mask.
'Now, I know you're going to be very good for me,' she said quietly. 'I know you're a bit of a novice, but I'm also sure you've got a good idea of the sort of rules we work by. You two are Annie's slaves, and Annie lost a fair contest to me, so now you become my slaves until you leave, and you'll obey my orders as you would hers. The three of you are now equal, with each other that is, not me. No, I am now your mistress, and I have decided that all three of you are going to be my dolly slaves. This is going to be very entertaining and also very good for business. If you three dollies perform properly, I anticipate taking quite a few orders over this weekend.'
Teena: A House of Ill Repute Page 11
