Chapter 7: The coach trip

David's conference started on the Thursday. We had to register before eleven and I was pleased to learn that there were visits and bus trips organised for the wives, the first was a coach trip along the Great Glen, that afternoon. It seemed to amuse some of the other wives that were registering and chatting in the foyer, that I had to ask David's permission to go. When he agreed, I had to ask for a little money to take with me in case there were other expenses to be paid. In front of everyone he gave me £20, obviously a measly amount in the eyes of my companions on the trip. I knew he'd done that deliberately. "Don't spend it on junk from the gifts shops," he said loudly as he handed over the money.

"Your husband sounded like he is very tight with his money," Doreen Caseby a director's wife from and another insurance company remarked as we sat together on the coach.

I decided not to concoct a story. I'm not his wife. I just agreed to be his slave for a fortnight to raise funds for charity." I spoke the words boldly knowing the ladies in the surrounding seats would hear. Before many minutes had passed the whole coach knew of my status.

Doreen tried to find out more. "What do you do for a living then?" she asked in a seemingly genuine way.

"Customer support at Henderson Insurance Company. We say we're call-girls." Possibly I said that a little louder as I was laughing. Doreen took it as a joke too but the two elderly ladies in front of us turned round and scowled.

"A trollop like you didn't ought to be on a coach with decent respectable people," one of them snorted.

"My master paid just as much as your husband for me to go so I have every right to be here." I tried to sound indignant but the woman just turned and faced the front.

"Don't make an enemy of her, Jane," Doreen whispered, "She exercises a lot of influence. Her husband is James Burke the CEO of Rankine Holdings." For the rest of the journey I chatted quietly with my companion and she tactfully tried to find out what David and I actually did together as master and slave.

"Did you offer your services as a slave last year?"

"No, I just offered to do fifteen hours of housework."

"Why did you offer this year then?"

"It was one of my workmates who suggested I would earn more for charity if I offered fifteen hours as a slave. It was done as a lark."

"You've done many more than that."

"David made me an offer I couldn't refuse. An offer that will benefit the air ambulance service and guide dogs for the blind considerably." I spoke a little louder so the two in front could hear.

"How does he treat you?"

"Like a master should treat his slave."

"Does he punish you?" I hesitated and Doreen looked into my face and she knew the answer without me saying it. "Sorry," she apologised, "I'm always a bit nosy and what you two do together should be private. Let's enjoy the scenery."

We stopped in Fort William had had tea and cream scones so I was glad I had some money although in the end I didn't need it. Doreen picked up the bill. Then it was on to a highland gift shop and there were a number of things I would have liked and would have bought if I'd had my own money, but I heeded David's warning. A couple of the ladies ribbed me a bit over not buying anything but as there was no malice in it, I laughed too and made light of it.

David's day had been far from pleasing. Boring in fact. Some young upstart had put forward some of his bright but impractical ideas; ideas some of the top men in the industry couldn't seem to see through even when David had put forward his arguments against them.

That evening was the President's dinner and dance. A glittering affair with all the ladies bedecked in their finery and showing off their expensive jewellery. However, and I can say this unashamedly, I believe I was the most glamorous one there, and I was probably the youngest. I wore the slinky green dress Miss Walters had chosen for me. Unlike the others, I wore no jewels, only my slave collar adorned my neck, I didn't have an expensive hair do and I put on very little make up. Perhaps it was because of this that I outshone the others and was often asked to dance. It only served to reinforce the low opinion Mrs. Burke and some of the others had of me but I thoroughly enjoyed myself and went to bed tired by happy.

Next day for the ladies an all day trip to John O'Groats, on the north-east corner of Scotland, had been arranged. David willingly paid for me to go and gave me an extra £20 because I would have to buy lunch in an expensive hotel and tea on the way back. It was a long and tortuous route and the sheeting rain for most of the way depressed our spirits. Unfortunately the ladies seemed to have decided that the places they sat for the trip to Fort William were the ones they were to sit in for this trip. I didn't mind sitting next to Doreen again but I'd hoped to move further away from Mrs. Burke. I think she would have liked to have moved too but that would have upset the seating arrangement of others.

We should have stayed for while and stretched our legs at our destination but the rain was too heavy to think about getting out of the coach. I got up and went to the on-board loo and on returning had to pass Mrs. Burke. She glared at me and said in her loud, dominating voice, "I do hope we are not going to see you flaunting your body and trying to seduce all the men again this evening."

Anger flared within me. "Madam, if I had really tried to seduce those men, I would have at least satisfied them which is probably more than you could have done even twenty years ago!" For a few moments there was complete silence in the coach. All, except the very hard of hearing, sat aghast at my reply to such a supposedly important woman. Probably there would have been a further response from her had not Doreen grabbed my arm and pulled me down into my seat.

"Don't start an argument," she whispered, "She can make things bad for you." I saw she had a little smile on her face. "That remark will make the rounds in the gossip circles for a long while yet.

For the final banquet of the seminar I wore a very attractive blue dress that Miss Walters had picked out for me. It uplifted my breasts and dipped down to reveal more of my cleavage that I would have wished but I hadn't chosen the dress. I guessed the Burke contingent would undoubtedly say I was flaunting my body but I had no choice in the matter. I still wore the slave collar and several men seemed to think I was a slave to them too and on a number of occasions my buttocks were felt and pinched. While dancing with an elderly director, I noticed Mrs. Burke talking earnestly to David. I rightly guessed she was complaining about my behaviour and wondered what, if anything, he would do about it. After all, I argued, I wasn't indentured to her as a slave.

When I sat down again, I decided to ask, "Did Mrs. Burke complain about me?"

"Yes, and in no uncertain terms and her friends also added their two cents worth. Have you anything to tell me about it?"

"Well sir, I didn't believe I was a slave to them and they tried to make out I was a whore trying to seduce their men folk. Ask Doreen Caseby if you wish a more unbiased view of what happened."

"Jane, although you are not a slave to them, you are my slave and as such I have the right to expect that you behave as such in front of my friends and acquaintances. Yes, I will have a word with Doreen because I expect the true version of the events has already been well and truly exaggerated." Doreen came over without being asked. She heard from the others what Mrs. Burke had told David and put my case fairly and ended up by saying, "If she had said that to me, I would have punched the woman and made her nose bleed!"

David didn't say any more about it that evening and I hoped it had all blown over but next morning James Burke and his cronies had a word with David. Somehow I think they were able to put some pressure on him to deal with what they saw as my insolence. There were informal meetings until lunchtime on Saturday which David said on the way back to the cottage, were the most productive of the whole conference so he seemed in a better mood but I had an uneasy feeling he was keeping something hidden from me. He never mentioned the incident again which I also thought was a little odd but shut it out of my mind too. Right up until bedtime I thought I was getting away with it, but when I was undressed and ready to get into bed David ordered me to lie across it and ready myself for a spanking.

When he said 'spanking' and started tying my cuffs to the bed leg, I thought that I would be getting another tanning like the one I had when Sandra and John were there. "Perhaps it won't be too bad," I thought but when he forced the penis gag into my mouth I began to be more afraid and as it turned out, with good reason.

David went to the wardrobe and took out the strap and the cane. "We nearly lost a good contract because of you," he said ominously quietly, "And in fact whether we get it or not depends on if I deal with your behaviour properly, or properly as the Burke's see it. They wanted two-dozen with the cane but I argued and we've agreed on a dozen with the strap and a dozen with the cane. I'm really sorry I've got to do this but you should have heeded Doreen's warning on that first afternoon."

Hearing this I struggled and writhed on the bed as much as I could. At least he would know of my objections. Spanking was one thing, the cane was a whole different ball game. Eventually he had to tie my ankles to the bed legs so I was widely spread and totally helpless. I sobbed dejectedly. "What right had this man to punish me for standing up to that bitch? Bastard! Bastard! Bastard!" I yelled to myself. I saw him pick up the leather strap and swish it in the air and the heard and felt the slap as it landed hard across my arse. I would have screamed at the top of my voice had I been able. All I could do was jerk and writhe as far as my bonds allowed. Tears flowed down my face and soaked the bedclothes. I pleaded with my eyes but it made no difference, the second stroke fell and the pain and fire coursed through my body. I didn't believe I could ever stand a dozen like that, but somehow I did. The whole of my arse and the back of my thighs was just one sore and swollen blister, or so I thought.

I saw David's face when he picked up the cane. It looked wild, his eyes were wide open and his lips were parted in an evil looking grin. "The sod's getting off on this," I fumed, "I don't think he is even in control of himself." I was really scared now. Perhaps he wouldn't stop until he'd permanently scarred me.

If the pain from the strap was bad, the cane was far, far worse. I was certain he'd cut me and I was bleeding. Relentlessly he applied stroke after stroke. I lost count and just prayed to pass out but I didn't. Eventually he threw the cane down and sadistically rammed his prick inside and fucked me for only a few minutes until he came. Almost immediately a change came over him and he seemed to return to being a normal person. "Oh my God Jane, what have I done to you? What was I thinking of? I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

He didn't release me but went and wet some towels with cold water and laid them across my welted flesh. All the time he kept apologising for his actions. First he released my feet, then my gag and finally he undid my cuffs from the bed leg although he didn't take them off. I was sobbing hysterically as he led me to the shower and made me kneel in the pan. He unhooked the showerhead and played the water directly over my arse. I was quite surprised not to see any blood. The shower eased the pain slightly and after a while he helped me to stand while he gently dried me and then assisted me to lie face down on the bed. I was still crying with the pain and took the Cuprophen tablets that I was offered. A little later I heard the click of a camera shutter and looking over my shoulder saw he was taking photos of my welted bum. My first reaction was to scream at him for being a perverted bastard but I was too weary from the pain and trauma. All I said was, "Please don't sir."

Sleep for me that night was almost non-existent and I know it was for him too. My crying kept him awake and although he tried to comfort me with his arms I tried not to acknowledge his existence. For long hours I lay awake and planned what I should do. I would have to stay here at least until the end of the week because I would never have been able to sit long enough for the car journey and plane flight. "I'm pretty sure he won't dare touch me again," I reasoned, "Perhaps the best thing for me to do now is to do the things he orders and nothing more. No making meals or speaking unless specifically told to do so. If he decides to fuck me, I'll let him but just lie they like a sack of wet potatoes. A silent protest of sorts."