Chapter 4: The Cage

My other business concluded, I took the time to visit Nicola's cage. I hadn't really noticed before what an excellent job had been done welding the bars to the frame of the cage, how neatly the hinges on the door had been finished, how solidly the steel rods were set in the concrete floor. The grey steel burnished to a dull grey smoothness impressed on those within it, or without, the strength of the construction. The lock on the cage's door, its key plate in polished brass, confirmed that whoever was inside would be unable to escape.

In my admiration for the impressive example of the engineer's art I had almost forgotten about the cage's occupant.

She realised that I was there, of course, in spite of the hood that covered her head, blinding her and dulling her hearing. She had heard my steps and in some way sensed my looking at the cage and, in her mind, her within it. She made a short, questioning noise, distorted by her gag and muffled by the hood. She rubbed her head slowly against the bars of the cage as a cat might. Even the short period of isolation that she had endured until then seemed to have brought out a dependency for affection and attention.

I crouched down beside the door of the cage and reached through with my hand. I brushed my fingers against her rubber covered cheek. Startled at first she backed away but then leant forward again pushing her face forward against my hand. I cupped my hand against her cheek and she pressed her cheek against me. I let it rest there for a moment or two, no more, and then withdrew it. My action drew a further questioning sound as she moved her head searching for the touch of my hand.

I have found that the use of a rubber hood has a very marked effect in the early stages of training. The sense of isolation that it provides is useful of course and, when used in conjunction with a suitable mouth filling gag, the wearer feels completely deprived of their usual means of communication. I have found an excellent source of rubber – the benefits of our colonial reach include access to the products of the Malayan peninsula – which provides sufficient stretch for a good fit while at the same time being rigid enough to prevent any aspect of the wearer's expression beneath being transmitted to the observer. Deprived of their ability to express a scowl or a coquettish fluttering of the eyelids, the hooded trainee has simply to accept whatever is said to them without concerning themselves about their response; it is part of the process by which they learn dependency.

For many of my trainees, seduced by dreams of the benefits supposedly offered by an independent style of life, it requires considerable effort in order to learn to depend on others. Being deprived of the ability to express themselves helps them to come to terms rapidly with their dependence on another. I make this clear to them, of course, but it usually takes some while before they truly understand it. In Nicola's case, though, she appeared to grasp the situation quickly.

When I finally came to remove Nicola's hood and gag she appeared quite docile, not saying anything at all at first, simply looking up at me from where she knelt, awaiting whatever it was that would next befall her. I said nothing at first and just waited myself. She seemed confused by the way I stood, observing her on her knees, obviously expecting me to say or do something. Instead I spent my time observing her.

Mr James had made a sound choice when selecting his wife, at least in respect of her physical attributes. Her skin was quite flawless – except of course for its slight dusky tint. There are those that still find it difficult to accept the mixing of races but for myself it was hard to see how anyone could deny the beauty of Nicola's coloration. Her waist was trim, her belly flat, her breasts pleasantly rounded and full but not excessively large. The only flaw in her proportions perhaps were buttocks that were larger than those deemed fashionable by those obsessed with women that could pass as boys and thighs that carried more flesh than would be deemed ideal. Her hair was dark and lustrous. Normally it would have been shining like well polished ebony but now it was heavy with sweat from being compressed beneath the hood. The hair that covered her sex, however, curled around her crotch, veiling her sex in a way that I found both enticing and frustrating. It was not clear to me whether or not she would be allowed to retain it during her training. In the longer term, of course, it would be her husband's decision.