Mistress Agnes Ch. 04

She immediately fished her key out of a pocket, released the collar, and kissed Dennis on his bare throat, bruised and swollen out of proportion.

Dennis took a deep breath, and another one, but he did sound wheezy, and Patrick feared his throat was damaged badly.

Lighting the candle quickly to check his colour, Dennis didn't seem blue or about to fade away, and indeed, he swallowed audibly, once, twice, and then the wheeze was mostly gone.

Seeing that the mistress wanted his spot, Patrick immediately got up and made way for her, and she sat down and took Dennis in her arms, stroking his hair, and his smooth cheeks, and looking altogether guilty and rather smitten.

She was talking sweet nonsense to him, almost enough to make Patrick jealous, though he had a partner he loved this much, and remembering that, he merely hoped she wouldn't make Dennis pay for her moment of weakness later.

Being held by the mistress didn't actually help Dennis, it made him anxious rather than calm, Patrick had done a better job calming him down, but he seemed out of danger mostly, and Patrick couldn't tell his mistress she was frightening him. Or could he? This seemed to be a moment of some revelation for her, maybe he would get away with a few words of advice.

Quickly, before the young man settled and relaxed in her arms, and she would feel the need to tug the rope once more, Patrick bashfully whispered, 'Please mistress, build him up. He'll give you everything you want if you build him up. He's worn down by life already, but you can bring back his spirit.'

This was indeed the moment, for the mistress now looked at Patrick with sincere affection.

'Like you built me up, Patrick, when life had me under its heels. I will heed your advice, but I will not let go of my fantasy yet. As soon as the swelling is down, the collar is back.'

But for now, she apparently indulged in some feeling that Patrick had never seen in her, true dedication, tender love, this was the woman Frederick Beauchamp had married and loved all his short life, the woman his mistress hid from the world, even from Patrick and Guy, her most faithful attendants.

And she lavished it on some deserter from the moor who was too far out of it to even notice, Patrick did feel a little stab of jealousy now, but not too much, for Guy and himself had a good life with the mistress, and Dennis had probably had very few experiences that could be called good in his entire life so far. Let her build him up, and then maybe he would find it in him to rage at her from time to time.

But Dennis was not as far gone as both his attendants thought. As soon as the collar was removed, he stopped fighting for breath, and his reason returned. He did feel his mistress' arms around him, and he did hear her sweet nonsense, but he knew that if she found out she'd hate him for witnessing her moment of weakness, he must let her think he was not conscious of what happened around him, and he succeeded above expectation.

It was incredibly difficult not to look at her in adulation as she held his face in her bosom and stroked it tenderly, her scent and the memory of what she did to him that very afternoon were driving him mad with lust, but the certainty of losing every chance at being loved like this every day helped him to keep his eyes shut tightly, and his hands to himself.

Patrick proved himself to be a true advocate for his cause as well, and finally, with so much goodwill surrounding him and the promise of a better future ahead, Dennis let go of his fears and promised himself to do everything in his power to please the mistress, even if he had to be a totally different person from who he actually was.

His new friend was right, she'd relent in time, and let him be himself, but first he would be the man she ached for, the domineering, violent creature of her dreams. It would mean walking a tight line between obedience and aggravation, and he feared he would be made to suffer for behaviour he didn't even want to show, but this was a good place to live and he would do his all to earn the right to stay here. Even if that meant being whipped and humiliated at times, for the love he would get when her moods were like this was something he craved more than anything.

He'd rather worship her for it, but if he had to rave and suffer first, so be it. He had always suffered for nothing at all, this time there was a reward to be had and he was going to do his damnedest to get it.