Trio For Three Voices

TRIO. PART ONE

Mistress Agnes's Tale.

I knew as soon as I came in from work that something was up. I could almost smell the sense of guilt and shame that wafted from the kitchen along with that of garlic and herbs. I sighed and thought, "what has she done this time?" She had been acting a little strangely for a couple of days and I could feel an impending confession coming at some point.

She must have heard the door closing as I heard a gasp and an urgent, "Mistress?" come from the kitchen. I didn't reply but looked around the room. It was stiflingly hot as there was an unseasonal and totally unnecessary log fire burning in the grate. My armchair had been pulled close to it and my favourite slightly battered and worn moccasin slippers had been placed in front. Sheri burst into the room drying her hands on a towel which she tossed behind her. She was naked except for a short white apron which just about protected her small breasts. She immediately knelt at my feet. Now I knew that something was wrong. We usually dispense with formalities like that except when we are having a session so to see it in front of me and unasked for meant there was some reason for it.

"Mistress, welcome home. I hope you had a good day at work."

I remained silent as I unbuttoned my jacket and she stood and fussed around me helping me to take it off. I began to relax after a hard day's work. I walked over to my chair and pointedly dragged it back away from the fire before sitting down and leaning back. She immediately fell to her knees again and untied my shoes before gently taking them off. She gave each foot a kiss before pulling my slippers on.

"Why have you lit the fire? It's not needed and it's a complete waste of logs."

"I ...err ... thought it made the room more ... homely and welcoming."

"It also makes it unbearably hot," I said with a certain amount of venom in my voice.

"I'm sorry Mistress, I thought it made the room nice for you."

I could take no more of her silliness. "Right, you silly girl what have you done this time. I can read your guilt like a book."

"Mistress, I'm really sorry it was an accident, I promise. I didn't mean anyone to see."

Suddenly I was both puzzled and intrigued. "See what, girl? Who and what and when? And don't lie to me."

Her eyes went to the floor and her voice became a whisper. "It was last Monday, Mistress. At work. I was trying to work but I couldn't sit comfortably. You had flogged me the night before and I was still raw."

I smiled to myself. I remembered it well. She had burnt the main course and then served lumpy custard with an apple pie that was almost too tart to eat. It was one of her little tricks. I knew what she was up to, deliberately doing something naughty just so I would punish her, and I sometimes indulged her. So, I had flogged her, possibly a little more harshly but I felt she deserved it. The fact that she couldn't sit down properly afterwards is neither here nor there.

"You deserved that, and you know it. So, what happened?"

"I'd taken some of your special salve in to work with me. I knew you wouldn't mind. Half way through the morning I went to the Ladies and put some on which helped a little. I was almost finished, just rubbing the last little bit in. I never heard the door open. First thing I knew was a "oh my god what happened to you?" It was Marie who sits at the next desk to me."

"She caught you with your panties down?" I said mockingly.

"I pulled them up and pulled my skirt back down straight away, Mistress."

"You didn't even have the sense to go into a stall and close the door. It sounds to me as though you were deliberately trying to be seen. What did you tell her?"

"Nothing much, I just ran past her out of there. But she kept giving me looks all morning so at lunchtime I had to tell her the truth."

"You stupid girl how many times have I told you to keep quiet. Other people have strange ideas about our activities."

"Honestly, Mistress, she seemed ok with it once I'd explained everything."

"I think you might be going in with another sore bottom this Monday as well. How could you be so thoughtless. Now, serve dinner. We'll speak of this later."

And she stumbled to her feet and went off, shamefacedly, to the kitchen. The meal, when it came, was much better than that which had started this whole sorry episode, but I knew I had to be firm with her. That night she slept on the floor at the foot of the bed and most of the next day she was kept busy about the house while I sat in the sunshine reading a book and dozing. For dinner I ordered pizza from the local takeaway and made her eat it kneeling on the floor instead of sat at the table. After dinner I stood up and told her to follow me and led her into the dungeon.

To be fair it is a dungeon in name only as we have no cellar at this house. It is simply one of the downstairs rooms converted. I have various items and pieces of equipment in there. An old vaulting horse I'd bought at an auction when a local private school closed down. A high-backed chair that has a seat that could be split to form a V. Against one wall was a St. Andrew's cross and I decided to use that tonight. I simply pointed at it and she walked over and stood against it, face to the wall, lifting her arms and spreading her legs. No words were needed, it was a time-honoured ritual. I strapped her to it with wide leather cuffs and walked over to my toy cupboard. I selected a couple of floggers from my collection and walked back to her. There were still a few faded marks left over from last weekend but mostly she had healed well. Such is the value of youthful skin.

Finally, I broke the silence, "You know I have to do this and why, don't you."

"Yes, Mistress, I was very stupid." Her voice trembled, and a quiver went up her thigh and across her left buttock.

"Stupid, indiscrete, and a blatant display of exhibitionism. And you endangered the life we have. There are probably more but those four will do for now. I think six for each will be about right. That's twenty-four in total. You know the routine by now, count each stroke and thank me for each."

She mumbled something which I took to be a 'yes', so I laid one of the floggers down and hefted the other in my hand. Then I started the process and I didn't hold back. Last weekend I'd given her twenty and been fairly mild with her but today I was annoyed. She needed to know that. By number eight I could hear the sob in her voice as she struggled to maintain the count. I ignored that and carried on. When I reached fifteen I stopped briefly. I needed a change of scene. I unclipped her ankles and then her wrists. She could barely stand up but managed to turn around and found the strength to lift her arms allowing me to strap her back in. She seemed grateful for the support the cuffs gave her. I pulled each leg to the side and fastened her ankles again. She winced as her bottom came in contact with the wooden cross. Her eyes were closed and her cheeks tear-streaked.

"What number are we on, girl?" I asked her.

I saw her take a deep breath before replying, forcing out the words.

"Number sixteen is next, Mistress."

"Good, you have kept count. Another nine to go then."

I put the flogger I had been using down on the table and swapped it for the slightly lighter one. It had fewer tails than the first one, but each tail could sting more. I lifted my arm and laid the first strike on her left breast. Even though she must have known what was coming she jumped and there was a long pause before she managed "sixteen, thank you Mistress."

I laid another strike on her right breast and then alternated two more on each. They both reddened quite nicely, and the nipples stood hard and proud. I paused before delivering the final three blows. Twirling the flogger in a circle I brought it upwards between her legs and onto her pussy lips with as much force as I could muster. Her eyes had been closed and this took her by surprise and I was satisfied to hear her yelp. The "twenty-two" almost didn't make it. I delivered the same twice more and we were finished. I sat down on a chair and watched her carefully. Tears squeezed out from behind her eye-lids and she was sniffling quietly. Her breathing slowly eased as little tremors coursed back and forth like tiny earthquakes across her skin.

After I'd rested for a while I went to her and released her from her restraints. She almost collapsed, and I held her up until her legs became strong enough to support her weight. I let her lean on me as I led her out of the dungeon and slowly up the stairs. I placed her gently on the bed in the spare room and covered her with the duvet. By the time I reached the door I think she was already asleep. I went back downstairs and sat for a while by the empty fireplace. She'd done well, she has to take credit for that but there was still the problem that she had leaked the nature of our special relationship in her office.

In the end I went to bed and although I had found the flogging quite arousing I chose to ignore that feeling and eventually fell asleep. When I woke the next morning it was to sunshine, bird song and the sound of industry from the kitchen below. I got out of bed reluctantly, showered and dressed. I went downstairs and had barely sat at the dining table before Sheri appeared with a steaming cup of coffee. She was still naked apart from the small apron I insisted she wore when working in the kitchen.

"Good morning, Mistress," she said brightly, "your usual breakfast?"

I smiled and nodded to her and she turned and left. I sat back and savoured what must be the best coffee of any day, the freshly brewed first one. I was still pondering the same problem, what to do about Sheri's work colleague.

I spent most of the day outside sitting in the shade of my favourite tree, an apple tree, old but still very reliable. Even now at the start of what promised to be a good summer I could already see the baby fruit beginning to show. It promised to be a good harvest. I tried to read but my mind kept returning to the problem at hand, what to do about this Marie? There was a little brightness in that she hadn't gone hysterical and thrown accusations of abuse around although I was still unclear what Sheri had given her as explanation.

After a light lunch of salad, I called Sheri into the garden and made her kneel on the grass facing me. She looked unsure and a little nervous.

"Well my girl, you have produced a problem, have you not?" I said and then gestured to silence her when she tried to speak. "The question was rhetorical. Not only have you put our lifestyle in jeopardy, but you have also put my career at risk. But you have paid for that last night and I guess you are feeling the soreness today. Now, tell me about this Marie."

"She's a colleague I work with, Mistress. She sits at the next desk. We get on really well."

"Has she worked there long?"

"About six weeks, Mistress."

"Describe her."

Until now Sheri's eyes had been fixed on a patch of grass just in front of her, but she now looked up as though the question had taken her off guard.

"Err ... she's tiny, Mistress, certainly shorter than me and is very pretty. Very skinny with blonde hair and lovely green eyes."

"You fancy her?"

Sheri hesitated before shyly answering, "maybe a little, Mistress."

"And does she realise that? Or maybe she has made moves on you?"

"No, Mistress, you know I would never let anything happen."

"I would hope not," I said sternly and paused before continuing, "how did she react when she saw your marks. Was she shocked or angry?"

"Not really, Mistress, I think she was surprised and then caring towards me."

"And how did you explain them?"

"I didn't really, Mistress, not at first anyway. I was so shocked at being caught I simply ran out of the room. Later, at lunchtime, she asked me, and I had to admit they were a punishment."

"And her reaction to that?"

"It wasn't what I expected, Mistress, she just nodded and seemed to accept it."

"Interesting," I said, "now go, I need to think. You have dinner to prepare."

She stood up and walked off back to the house. Looking at her from behind I was thrilled to see the brightness of her red bottom. I had laid into her quite hard last night. I spent the afternoon mulling things over until a plan started to form.

After dinner, which Sheri had done a very decent job of, I retired to my armchair and called her to kneel in front of me.

"I will speak, and you will listen, understood?"

She nodded looking slightly puzzled.

"You still have that jar of salve I gave you?" Again, she nodded. "Good, you will make sure you take it to work tomorrow. And it will be a no panties day and wear a dress or a skirt? Clear so far?" Another nod.

"At some suitable time during the day you will go to the ladies again to apply the salve but this time you will ask Marie to go with you to help. Make sure you use a cubicle. Being found by one person is bad enough. You will ask Marie to help apply the salve. If she is ok with that then you will tell her where else the flogger kissed you. What happens then is up to you and Marie with one proviso. If it goes the way I think and hope it will you are not allowed to come. Understand?"

She looked at me with eyes wide but nodded her assent nonetheless.

"You will give me a detailed report when you return home in the evening. Be careful not to arouse suspicion among your other colleagues. Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes, Mistress, but ..."

I cut her off with a wave of my hand and dismissed her. I intended to keep her in denial until next weekend at least, maybe longer. I knew she both hated and loved when I refused to allow her an orgasm. She was an amazing sight to behold when I finally allowed it. I smiled to myself.

I let her sleep at the foot of the bed that night and I drifted off to sleep nervously hoping that my plan would not backfire. In the morning I check to make sure she had conformed to the 'no panties' rule and that she had the pot of balm in her bag and then sent her off to work. I lingered at home for a while before getting in the car and driving off to my own job. I was excited about this evening and what she would report back to me.

**

Sherri's Tale.

I was terrified when I heard the door of the ladies close and a gasp from whoever it was that had come in. Without turning around, I pulled up my panties and tugged my skirt back down and fled from the scene, briefly catching sight of Marie's shocked look.

When she came back into the office and sat at the next desk she looked at me oddly. One o'clock came, and I stood up ready to go for lunch. As I did so she leaned over and whispered, "come to lunch with me. We need to talk."

Feeling trapped I followed her meekly out of the building. We had both brought lunch with us and, as the sun was warm, she headed for the local park and found a bench. I tried to keep a space between us, but she shuffled along until our arms were touching.

"I want the truth," she immediately demanded, "what were all those marks about? And don't tell me you fell over because I won't believe you."

All of a sudden, the strain of keeping the secret became too much and I burst into tears and confessed it all. Yes, I had been beaten and yes, by my girlfriend and yes, I had deserved it and finally yes, I had loved it. To my surprise she didn't seem shocked. She didn't ask much more, letting it slowly sink in.

For the rest of the week whenever I returned from a visit to the toilet she would smile at me and give me a conspiratorial wink. She also asked more questions over lunch and slowly, bit by bit, more details of my life emerged. What had I done to deserve it? Was it a regular thing? Was it a free choice for me to stay there? That sort of thing. I tried to give out as little information as I could get away with, but she had the knack of asking just the right questions.

When Friday evening finally came around and I could head home for the weekend I knew I was in trouble. I tried to make things nice for Mistress, but I went over the top and simply got into more trouble and made it obvious something was wrong. When she questioned me, I knew I had to tell the truth. I knew that many people not only didn't understand our lifestyle but also regarded it alongside domestic abuse and I had endangered all that so quite rightly Mistress was angry.

Sleeping on the hard-wooden floor was only the beginning of my inevitable punishment. I did have a blanket and at least the night was warm, so I didn't suffer too much. The next day was one of stony silences and I tried to busy myself around the house and stay relatively invisible while she sat reading in the garden. I knew my time would come after dinner.

And it came with a vengeance! I was marched to our 'dungeon' and strapped to the cross. I knew my bottom would suffer again. And, wow, did it suffer! Her blows seemed to be harder than usual and really, really stung. By half way through I was sobbing, I couldn't help myself. She stopped at fifteen and turned me round. I nearly collapsed, and I was thankful for the wrist restraints as they took some of my weight. My eyes were tight shut when the first of several blows bit into my breasts. A brief pause and then the first cut into my pussy to me completely by surprise. Mistress so very rarely hit me there and it made me realise quite how much in the wrong I was. When it was over I had no strength left and simply hung by my wrists. Eventually I was released, and it was only Mistress that kept me from collapsing to the floor. Somehow, with her help, I stumbled upstairs and was put to bed in the spare room.

I made sure to get up as soon as I woke and start preparing breakfast. It seemed as though every inch of me hurt as I moved. Mistress came down and seemed in a much better mood which was a relief. She then spent the day in the garden only allowing me to be by her during lunch and dinner apart from a short spell when she interrogated me about Marie and exactly what had happened.

After dinner she called me to her and outlined her plan. I was both shocked and terrified. What if Marie reported me? Or someone else caught the pair of us? But I dared not argue, Mistress's mind was made up. The next morning, I was checked for no knickers and sent off to work.

I was really nervous when I walked into the office. Marie was already sat at her desk and smiled her usual friendly smile at me. She said nothing at first and we both got on with our work. Towards the middle of the morning as she was nursing a cup of coffee she leant over and asked me quietly how was my weekend. I told her it was fine hoping she'd accept that, but I was wrong.

"Did you get punished again?" she asked with a hint of conspiracy in her voice.

I gulped and replied, "yes." I knew it was now or never and it was an instruction I had to follow. "I need to apply some salve." I looked around the office slyly. No one seemed to be taking any notice of us. Taking a deep breath, I asked her, "can you come and help?"

"Sure, I'd be delighted. I'll go first then give me a couple of minutes before you follow me." She winked at me and walked off.

I was amazed at how easy it had been. I shuffled a few papers and then picked up my bag and walked out of the room. In the ladies she was standing waiting for me by an open cubicle. I smiled at her shyly.

"Don't want to risk getting caught again do you. Now get in here and let me tend to your needs."

I squeezed past her into the cubicle and she followed me before closing and locking the door. She leant back against the wall and looked at me. Although I was taller than her I felt intimidated.

"So, what was the problem this weekend? Not another burnt offering?"

"Um ... you were," I managed to mutter.