Chapter 6

Mr. Smith was waiting for her as she finally staggered, barefoot as instructed by her oddly compelling new task mistress, up her graveled drive, the stones cutting into her already sore feet. The faithful pedigree tomcat mewed piteously. His beloved owner was late and he was hungry. Not only that, but he quite missed her company!

She picked him up and kissed his sweet little face, opening the door and dropping him gently into the hallway. He made his way hurriedly to the kitchen and was soon guzzling eagerly away at his dish of cat food.

Penny prepared her own healthy, protein rich and starch reduced meal, and retired to the sofa, switching on the TV and putting on a tape. The phone rang. It was Miranda.

“And stop watching that crap! Put on something mentally stimulating for once in your rotten lazy life! They’re doing “Don Giovanni” tonight - live from Covent Garden. Watch that! I’ll have a few questions about it tomorrow and if I get the idea you weren’t attending, I’ll beat the living shit out of you! Sweet dreams, Penny! Oh ... and another thing.”

What now, thought the weary girl? The harsh voice continued.

“I know tomorrow’s one of your train days. Forget it! No more train days for you - and shoes are just for the office - take them off now if you’re wearing them - and anything else you’ve got on!

“I’ve booked the gym for Saturday and Sunday nights, as well. No heating over the weekend so you’ll need to work harder than ever to stay warm. Seven days a week from now on you’re going to be put through it and it’ll get harder all the time. Remember what I said about sheer bloody hell?”

Penny switched to the appropriate channel and was soon immersed in the glories of Mozart’s masterpiece. What an incredibly and wonderfully odd mixture Miranda was! She’d never have taken her to be a lover of the fine arts - never in a million years!

She gave her full attention to the performance. At the end, as the audience’s applause faded away and the late-night news came on, she was very grateful for her new mentor’s command. And why was the woman going to all this trouble on her behalf? It wouldn’t come cheap if she were paying for such an intensive course as this, and no mention had been made of a fee - she’d need to sort this out next day.

The gymnasium was a little late opening next morning and a scantily clad and barefoot Penny was left hopping from one foot to another, trying to keep warm, until Patrice arrived, apologizing profusely for her inconvenience. He looked down appreciatively at her sore and dirty feet. He smiled. So, Miranda had decided to take the girl in hand, had she? How absolutely splendid!

She hurried into the gym, hoping none of her colleagues had seen her standing around half naked in her bare feet in the middle of the city! Not a good career move!

It was a pleasant surprise for her to find clean underwear and a nice crisp white blouse, waiting for her, placed neatly beside her locker. One reason, apart from the welcome respite from so much exercise, for coming in by more conventional means from time to time was the need to see to things like laundry and clothing changes.

Miranda was obviously an expert! The bra and panties fitted perfectly, although they were not the staid and conservative style that Penny usually favored. She took a look in the mirror and decided that she liked the look of herself in them! Very seductive! Reluctantly she donned her business suit and went off to work and an uneventful day.

In the evening Miranda was waiting for her, unembarrassedly naked in front of Patrice, to whom she was chatting animatedly as the pupil walked in. Pat made his excuses and left, his mind already fixed on the three pints of draught Guinness in the Crown and Anchor, and the chat with his friend, of whom, more later.

Miranda, clenching her fists menacingly, lost no time in interrogating Penny about the opera. Penny eagerly gave her fierce new friend her observations, hoping, fervently that they would be well accepted!

“It’s been ages since I saw it last, Miranda. I sung in it at school, believe it or not! I thought Donna Elvira was sung beautifully and I loved Luparello. Not so impressed with the Don, I’m afraid. All in all, though, it was a solid performance and I’m glad you persuaded me to watch it! The famous duet was done splendidly - it always melts me to hear it!”

Miranda nodded. “I agree. It wasn’t the greatest ever performance, but a joy to hear all the same. And now to business! Off with the clothes, Penny! I like to see you nude, even in your present feeble and flabby state! Let’s get straight ahead with the fisticuffs! Put these gloves on - you don’t want to hurt those sweet little hands on my hard face! And don’t fret, I won’t hurt you!”