His Mistress’s Voice (24 page)

Katrina looked accusingly at Tom, as if to rebuke him for revealing what had passed between them.

Harriet intercepted the look and said, ‘No need for false modesty, Katrina. Tom says you are a real artiste, and that you put a lot of effort into the gentle sport. He meant it as a compliment. And besides, there are no secrets in this house, especially not from me. I don’t allow any, so you’d better get used to that. I ordered Tom to tell me all about it, and he knows better than to disobey me. Something you’ll do well to learn,’ she ended ominously.

Katrina looked alarmed at her tone of voice, but she could only sit helplessly and wait for developments. Tom wanted to reassure her, but he knew that anything along those lines would be added to his account later, and maybe to Katrina’s as well. He gave the Dutch woman a brief, guarded smile, trying to tell her not to worry.

When Harriet resumed, she adopted a more kindly tone. ‘Relax and try to enjoy the time here. No one suffers permanent harm from me so long as they do as I ask. And I don’t ask the impossible. Only the very difficult, sometimes,’ she added with a smile. ‘Tom is doing what he is doing because I want him to. This is his first outing – if that’s the word – as a transvestite. I know he feels awkward. It will all pass.’

This last was probably intended to make Tom feel easier as well. Or at any rate he took it as such. Be grateful for small mercies, he told himself.

Harriet continued, ‘You needn’t worry about me being jealous over what happens between you and Tom. That’s why you are both here. He is my assistant and everything he does is with my approval. I hope you can relax and enjoy your stay with us.’

Katrina asked, ‘Why am I here, then? Ari didn’t say very much about that. And who are you? To Ari, I mean.’

Harriet said, ‘You’re here because Ari said you were avoiding sex after the baby came – using that as an excuse.’ She held up her hand to forestall Katrina’s response. ‘I already know from what Tom has told me that you’re not avoiding sex. The reverse, rather. So I guess you’re avoiding Ari. Why?’

Katrina made no immediate reply. She seemed to be considering what to say.

Harriet continued, ‘You don’t have to answer right now, but you’ll have to think about the answer before he comes back for you. Unless you’re not planning to go back.’ Harriet let the implication dangle.

Katrina seemed upset by the suggestion. ‘Oh, no. I can’t leave the baby,’ she burst out. And then was silent once more.

Tom and Harriet looked at one another. The choice of words was revealing.

In the silence Harriet asked, ‘Then you
are
thinking of leaving Ari?’

Tom could see Katrina’s confusion clearly in her continued silence. He guessed the trouble had only come to a head with the arrival of the baby. It must have started much earlier. Marriages seldom go bad overnight.

Katrina’s shoulders began to shake, and when she looked at them there were tears running down her cheeks. Tom put his arm around her, acutely aware of her warmth and softness through the material of the maid’s outfit he wore. Harriet came from the other side to add what comfort she could.

‘I don’t know what to do,’ she said shakily, when she had regained some measure of control. ‘When we got married I thought Ari was going to exercise more control over things. Over me, too. You know, keep me in line. I never had any real discipline from my parents. No guidance. They were both easy-going people and I married another one just like them. I guess we’re all doomed to repeat our parents’ mistakes. Ari lets me do pretty much what I like. I wish he’d be firmer with me, take more responsibility. Something like that.’

‘Firmer in what way?’ Harriet asked.

‘I don’t know. I found some books in the attic at home, when I was in my teens. They were probably my father’s, but he never said anything about them. They were all about women who liked to be . . . locked up. Or chained or tied up. I’d never thought about that before, but I went all hot and cold as I looked at the pictures and read the stories. It was like discovering something you really want. I don’t know why I’m fascinated by the idea, but I am. That’s what I want Ari to do. But he’s so easy-going and I’m afraid to ask him. He might think I’m crazy.’

Harriet nodded knowingly. Tom thought this was a case of the right person finding the right person.

‘
I’ll
tell him,’ Harriet said. ‘And we’ll show him. You describe what you want to me and I’ll make sure Ari gets the message, just as soon as he gets back. I’ll explain to him how you feel and I don’t think he’ll believe you’re crazy. After all, he knew something about my methods before he sent you here. Maybe he’s afraid to ask you about bondage for the same reason you’re afraid to speak out.’

Katrina looked at her in alarm. ‘But you can’t just . . . tell him . . . that.’

‘Why not?’ Harriet asked. ‘Don’t worry. I won’t hang out a banner in the street with “Katrina is a B&D groupie” printed on it. But I’ll make sure he knows what you want. Or rather, we will.’

Tom was grateful for the ‘we’. It seemed to ratify his status as Harriet’s confidant and assistant, as well as giving him another chance at Katrina with Harriet’s approval and collusion.

Harriet broke into these pleasant thoughts with an abrupt order to Tom. ‘Take Katrina into the bathroom and wash her. She’s all sweaty and sticky from the milk. She needs a long bath.’ To Katrina she said, ‘We’ll have a good long talk later on. I want you to tell me what you want Ari to do and I’ll make sure he understands.’

Katrina looked slightly ressured by Harriet’s manner. Tom rose and led her away as directed. Since Harriet had not removed her thumbcuffs, nor given Tom the key, he concluded he was really supposed to wash her. Maid’s work, he told himself as he drew the bath water for Katrina. As he did so he was conscious of her gaze on him. She wanted to say something that was clear. But she was probably too shy, and probably well out of her depth.

Tom decided to speak first. He was feeling uncomfortable at his transformation from sexual partner to lady’s maid. Talking about it would make them both feel easier, or so he hoped. ‘I’ve been taken in hand by Harriet, just like you. I’ve found it easier to go along with her whims, and so far it’s been enjoyable. Even this.’ Tom indicated the maid’s costume. ‘I don’t know what she’s planning – why she wanted me to dress like this – but I don’t mind. This is the first time for me. Call it a voyage of discovery. I’m interested to see how it turns out.’

‘For me as well,’ Katrina said softly. ‘These cuffs, and the gag, and being locked up. And, what you . . . did to me earlier . . . milking me, I mean, and making love to me while you did it. I was close to fainting from the pleasure. Did you guess? It’s what I want Ari to do.’

The exchange of confidences had made Tom feel easier. He hoped she did as well. As he helped Katrina sit down in the tub he could smell the lingering aroma of their earlier lovemaking. A pity to wash it away, he thought. She made a pretty picture as she sat in the waist-high water. Because of the thumbcuffs Katrina couldn’t lean back against the end of the tub. She was forced to sit upright, which made her breasts stand out proudly. Tom admired them as he washed her.

Katrina made small sounds of pleasure as he soaped her breasts and stomach. He could feel her stomach muscles clench as he washed her there. Katrina was becoming pink all over, a dead giveaway to her arousal. When he reached the area between her thighs she went a deeper shade of rose and parted her legs invitingly. Tom slid a finger inside her open sex and probed until he found her clitoris. With his thumb and forefinger he kneaded it gently until Katrina was breathing in gasps and making a steady low moaning sound. He could tell she was trying to keep herself from making too much of a row, but at the same time it was clear that she wanted him to continue. He did, and she came. She bent forward at the waist and drew her knees up, opening herself wider and shuddering as the orgasm took her.

Inside the tight-fitting corselet Tom felt himself growing hard as Katrina became more and more aroused. He was glad Harriet had taken the trouble to arrange him inside the garment. But he knew she wouldn’t like it if he got undressed and joined Katrina in her bath. As in the kitchen, he could only press himself against whatever was in front of him. The side of the tub, in this case. But even so, he knew he didn’t dare come. Harriet hadn’t given him permission. It was going to be an exciting but ultimately frustrating affair for him until Harriet changed the rules. But he could at least enjoy Katrina’s pleasure, and she was having a lot of it, if the noises she made were any indication.

Speaking of the devil, or in this case thinking of her, had the usual effect. Harriet poked her head around the door to discover the source of the noises. Tom didn’t notice her – he was facing the wrong direction and was preoccupied with matters nearer to hand. His first inkling was the way Katrina stiffened under his touch. She jerked her head to indicate the new arrival. The expression of dismay and embarrassment on her face caused Tom to look around. When he saw Harriet he too felt a stab of embarrassment mixed with apprehension: caught playing doctors and nurses by the real thing.

But Harriet seemed more interested and amused than angry. ‘I thought I heard some peculiar noises from the bathroom. I’m glad to see you’re entertaining our guest, Tom. So carry on. There’s nothing worse than coitus interruptus, even if only one of you is getting the benefit of the activity.’

Tom was relieved by her words. He resumed his interrupted labour with Katrina. She was not so accustomed to having a witness to her intimate experiments, and took somewhat longer to return to the boil. While Tom was working on her, Harriet came into the room to observe more closely. She knelt beside Tom and he could smell her perfume, and something else that definitely didn’t come in perfume bottles. It appeared that Harriet was aroused too, though she had managed to control every sign except the aroma. She must have been watching for some time before her presence was noticed.

As she slipped to the floor beside Tom she rubbed her hand over the front of his skirt. ‘I thought I saw a bump there when I came in. Be careful not to lose it or you’ll have some washing to do, and I wouldn’t like that.’ Though her tone was light, there was an undertone of warning which those in the know couldn’t miss. As she spoke she continued to rub his erection, making it harder for him to heed her warning.

Luckily for his self-control and for his new outfit, Harriet left off rubbing just short of the critical point. She had almost infallible judgement in these matters. She turned her attention to Katrina, who reddened with embarrassment and lost her concentration once more beneath this close scrutiny. Tom could feel her tenseness under his hands.

Harriet concentrated on Katrina’s breasts, leaving the other areas to Tom. This evidence of her approval finally convinced the Dutch girl that there was no strong resentment. She relaxed and began to respond to their joint manipulation of her body. Her breasts leaked a few drops as Harriet fondled them, but she had not yet replenished her supply of milk after the earlier encounter with Tom. Nevertheless, she seemed to appreciate the attention her breasts were receiving under Harriet’s skilled hands, and Tom felt Katrina’s vaginal muscles tightening around his fingers as she prepared to come again. When she did, she squealed with pleasure and release, no longer trying to hold herself in check.

In the midst of Katrina’s throes Harriet observed clinically, ‘You were right, Tom. She’s definitely still interested in sex – at least with perfect strangers. We’ll have to see if we can’t get her and Ari onto the right track.’

Tom thought she could have waited until Katrina was finished before rendering her opinion, but the Dutch girl either didn’t hear the remark (being to busy with internal matters) or she didn’t mind being discussed and observed. When Katrina seemed to have finished Harriet withdrew and left Tom to get her onto her feet and out of the bath. This wasn’t an easy matter. Her legs didn’t want to support her, and her eyes were slightly glazed. Clearly she had had a busy day. Tom pulled the plug and set about drying Katrina. He powdered her unresisting body, having a dim memory of seeing his mother doing that after her own bath, in those days before he was too big to be allowed to watch her. Katrina seemed grateful for the service. Harriet was waiting for them in the living room. She handed Katrina’s gag to Tom and directed him to return her to the cell. Tom led the unprotesting woman away. Before he locked the door he gagged Katrina. She submitted tamely. Tom left her lying on her bed as he went upstairs to rejoin Harriet. He presumed that he would now find out what she had in mind for him. Harriet wasn’t in the room, but the handcuffs were. There was a note as well. It said tersely:
Put these to good use.

Remembering the previous evenings chez Harriet, Tom thought he knew what she meant. He brought his hands behind his back and locked the cuffs on his wrists. A glance in the mirror showed someone who looked like a woman in handcuffs and leg-irons. He sat down on the settee to wait for Harriet. As he did so, the skirt of the maid’s uniform rode up his thighs, but he couldn’t do anything about that. There were noises from upstairs that suggested Harriet was making her toilette before dealing with him.

Tom felt the tight, smooth material against his cock and marvelled that women wore such clothing constantly without the slightest tremor. He was aroused by them when they wore it, and was now aroused by it when he was the one on the inside. Of course, from a woman’s viewpoint, this was water to a fish, but in his case, to continue the piscatorial metaphor, he was a fish newly introduced to the ocean. He had never thought of himself as a transvestite until Harriet suggested it. After she had sown the seeds, he had thought of this moment off and on with a shiver of anticipation. She had added another new experience to the list of novelties that had begun on the day he spoke to Beth in the open-air market. It was too soon to know if the excitement from this newest game would last but he was still surprised at his readiness to try it.