Chapter 16: Errands

The Countess was at her desk in the morning room opening the mail. She paused occasionally to look out of the window across the long lawns to the woodlands beyond. It was early autumn and the trees were just beginning to hint at the full tapestry of colour which they would soon put on.

Distracted, she cut open the next envelope and took out the letter. As soon as she recognised the hand she looked at the envelope and saw that it bore only her initial. The note read:

"Take off your pants immediately. Go without delay and buy a bag of apples and a newspaper, then meet me at the King's Head."

The Countess smiled to herself. Last night she had lost a bet about how soon the clumsy new maid would drop something as she served dinner. By the third time she had retrieved something from the floor whilst still serving the soup, the Earl had been grinning very smugly. For her forfeit the Countess was to comply unquestioningly with his instructions during the whole of the next day. This was not so much an exercise in domination, as an erotic game of dare.

With a resigned shrug, the Countess stood up and pulled down her pants. The door opened as she stepped out of them, making her jump. The new maid had come in to retrieve the Countess's coffee tray. She knocked a pile of papers flying as she brushed past the desk. As she bent down to pick them up, the Countess quickly picked up her pants and stuffed them into the desk drawer.

As the girl left, the Countess said, "Will you ask Morris to bring the car round, please? Then could you fetch my bag from my room."

She tidies her letters and turned off her computer. Within a short time the girl returned to the say the car was ready. The Countess got up, put on the jacket of her suit and took her bag from the maid. She walked out of the morning room and across the hall, hesitated for a moment at the door, then walked down the steps and into the car. She climbed very awkwardly into the back seat and told Morris to take her to the village.

"I have a couple of errands to do, then I'm going to meet His Lordship."

Throughout the short journey she kept her knees clamped together, acutely aware that she was naked under her skirt. At the village green she climbed extremely carefully out of the car.

Morris said, "I also have some errands to do in the village, my Lady. Will you be returning with His Lordship?"

"I imagine so, Morris. I'll ring if I need you to come back."

Taking a deep breath, the Countess walked across the road to the greengrocer. There was no-one else in the shop. The assistant asked if Her Ladyship was well and the Countess asked after his wife who had recently had twins. As soon as she could, she made her escape.

Next she had to buy a newspaper from the newsagent's shop at the other end of the village. As she began to walk she felt the autumn wind blow around her. She was wearing a full skirt, which came below her knees, but it was of a lightweight fabric which folded between her legs or billowed out as the wind caught it. The Countess held her bag of apples down in front of her to prevent the skirt from blowing up to reveal her nakedness.

The newsagents, which was also the Post Office, was busy because it was pension day. The uncomfortable Countess had to greet a dozen elderly villagers before she and her apples and her newspaper could begin the return journey. With her hands full now, she found it harder to hold down her soft skirt. As she walked she thought about her husband waiting for her in the Pub. She wondered if he could see her from there. What else would he have planned for her that day?

As she came towards the village green the rector went past on his bicycle.

"Jolly windy day, Lady S!" he called cheerily.

As her skirt wrapped about her legs, she called back, "Isn't it?!"

At last she reached the King's Head. As she entered it was around lunchtime so there were around twenty people in the bar. The Earl got up to greet her, kissing her gently on the very flushed cheek.

"Hello, my darling. What can I get you?"

The Countess asked for a brandy and ginger to warm and calm her. Her husband went to the bar to order and she sat down on a bench seat, crossing her legs and pulling her skirt firmly down. As he stood at the bar he pressed the button on his phone to send a pre-prepared message. The Countess's phone rang in her bag. The message read, "Part your knees. I want to know you are open to me."

The Countess looked across at her husband, who was wearing his most innocent smile. She uncrossed her legs and moved her knees apart a little. She saw him raise his eyebrows and frown a little. She moved them a little further apart until he nodded that he was satisfied.

The Earl brought over the drinks and sat down beside his wife. He calmly picked up the newspaper and held it up to read the front page. He spoke quietly to her.

"Have you complied with my instructions?" She told him she had.

"Is your pussy naked under that skirt?" She told him it was.

"That is very satisfactory. And if I wanted to I could put my hand up your skirt and get my finger wet along your naked folds?"

She looked round at her husband and told him, "You could do that." The Earl nodded, satisfied with that.

He refolded the newspaper and took out his pen. "Shall we do the crossword?"

"If you would like to?"

The clues which the Earl gave his wife were unlikely to have come from a Daily Telegraph compiler. Each one required her to give a very graphic answer.

"The button at the head of the vulva which, when stimulated, can lead to orgasm," was the first clue.

"Clitoris," replied the Countess.

The Earl continued with this unusual erotic crossword for some time before handing the paper to the Countess.

"I am going to leave you now. You are to stay here until I instruct you to leave. You are to keep your knees apart at all times." With that he kissed her cheek and whispered, "I want to fuck you." Without waiting for a reply, he got up and left.

The Countess was aware of many eyes on her. Her skirt came down well over her knees - they were looking at her because she was the Earl's young wife and they were both liked and respected by the people in the village. But she knew that only a thin layer of fabric was preventing all these people from looking between her legs, directly at her pussy. That hint of risk, the surrender to her husband's control, and the anticipation of what he would do to her later, had her very wet.

She looked at the newspaper. Down the margin beside the crossword, he had written all the answers she had whispered to his sexual clues. Alone, and not keen to catch anyone's eyes, the Countess began to solve the real crossword. The barman came over to collect the empty glasses and asked if she wanted anything more. She ordered another drink, not knowing how long he would make her wait here.

Quite soon after her second drink arrived, her phone rang again. He told her that Morris was waiting for her in the car park. He said she was to shop for a picnic and Morris had instructions where to take her next. The phone disconnected before she had time to ask any questions. She finished her drink and began to gather her things together. The phone rang again. The text message read, "Leave the newspaper on the table".

The Countess looked for a second at the list of explicit sexual terms and hesitated, then dropped it onto the table, called a quick goodbye to the landlord and left.

Morris opened the car door for her. She handed him her entirely irrelevant bag of apples, intended only to make her walk the length of the village without her pants. He drove her to a large supermarket in the town nearby. He helped the Countess out of the car and offered to carry her basket; she thanked him but declined, hoping this had not been part of the Earl's instructions.