The next day, finds the three of them in the
Bagatelle Gardens where they have gone to see the roses. Claire encourages Anne
to feel a large voluptuous blossom, and to steal it when nobody's looking. The
girl's hesitation is enough to bring Claire's warning that she will be
punished. Hastily, she snatches up the rose, and the three stroll off. But the
purloined rose must be hidden, Claire announces. Finding a secluded grove,
Claire tells Anne she must hide the rose on her person. She makes the girl
stand before them and lift up her white pleated dress, high enough to reveal
her lightly-furred vulva, framed appealingly between the elastic suspenders of
a garter belt and the embroidered topbands of a pair of sheer white stockings
that band her delectable thighs. The rose can easily be hidden, Claire decides,
by being tucked under the garter belt; the blossom allowed to fall between her
thighs, so the girl will be constantly aware of its presence as she walks. Once
the rose is secured in place, Anne is allowed to lower her skirt, and the three
continue their walk in the garden.
As their tour continues, Anne quietly
expresses the need to find a bathroom. Claire ignores her, till she finds a
deserted place off the beaten path. This will do, Claire announces. Anne is
forced to gather up her skirts, drop down and squat before her mistress. The attractive
girl assumes the embarrassing position, looking up at Claire from under fallen
blond tresses, her wide eyes hold a silent appeal that she be allowed to forgo
this further humiliation. But her pleading eyes are met with a steely gaze, and
she is sternly ordered to piss. Obediently, the submissive blonde leans
forward, takes a breath, and does as she is told, releasing a stream of water
onto the dry leaves, under their watchful eyes.
A few days later Jean comes across Anne at the
bookstalls along the Seine. Anne is abrupt with him, and decidedly cool. He
shrugs it off, but later he finds he's becoming obsessed with the two women.
After a few days of brooding, he arranges to run into Claire, who offers to let
him see some very private photographs that she's taken of Anne.
The scene shifts to Claire's apartment where
Claire meets Jean at the door. She is dressed in all in leather, her straight,
lithe body clad in a pair of leather shorts, worn with a long fitted vest that
leaves her supple arms bare. Sleek thigh-high boots, with wicked high heels
complete her exotic outfit.
She brings out the erotic photographs she had
taken of Anne. Some show the girl facing the camera wearing nothing but
stockings and a disheveled black slip. Other are nudes, carefully posed, each
new one more exciting and evocative than the last. There are shots of the
submissive blonde on her knees, blindfolded, and of Anne in chains, bound hand
and foot. In others her naked buttocks show the criss-crossed traces left by
the kiss of the thin supple whip that has been methodically used on her
vulnerable behind. Putting away the photos, Claire asks about his encounter
with Anne at the bookstalls. She understands that Anne showed a lack of
respect, and declares that the girl must be punished.
As they wait, seated in two armchairs, Anne
is summoned to appear. The blond girl, neatly dressed in her full white skirt
and soft blue blouse, comes in to stand before them, presenting herself as
required, hands at her sides, eyes lowered demurely. Claire scolds her for
being rude to Jean, and brusquely orders her to get undressed. Without a word,
Anne falls to her knees. Obviously following a familiar ritual, she begins to
remove her blouse and skirt, and since she wears nothing underneath, she's soon
kneeling before them naked, but for garter belt and stockings. The statuesque
blonde kneels erect, with thighs widely parted and hands stretched high over
her head; and she holds this pose, silently inviting them to contemplate her
beautiful exposed body. Now Claire teases the girl, playing with Anne's taut
voluptuous nipples, fingering her splayed crotch mercilessly as Anne gasps and
struggles to maintain the mandated position even as she's becoming aroused.
Forcing her to keep her eyes on Jean, Claire whips the kneeling girl till she
collapses to the floor.
Jean suggests that it might be best if she
were tied up, and Anne is promptly sent off to fetch the chains. She is made to
crawl to Jean and offer her wrists to be tied to the arms of his chair. She
unzips, and presents his penis to the kneeling girl. Clamping her head he
brings it down over him, forcing her to accept his swollen cock into her warm,
receptive mouth. As she's going down on him, Claire takes up the whip and begins
whapping the girl's jutting rearcheeks till the inevitable climax is achieved.
After this, Anne is "given" to
Jean, to be used as he sees fit. A series of erotic encounters follow, such as
one memorable scene in a posh restaurant. Sandwiched between Claire and Jean,
the elegantly made up blond girl sits erect and serenely composed, while Jean's
hand is active under the table, fondling her pantiless sex. He whispers his
instructions in her ear, and she obediently opens her thighs as his hand slips
up between her legs. Anne stiffens under his touch as Jean's fingers explore
between her parted stocking-clad legs, and find her blond-furred vulva, heating
her up while she is forced to maintain her composure under the eyes of the
unsuspecting waiter. On another occasion, he takes Anne to buy lingerie, and
amuses himself by using the nearly naked Anne to seduce the salesgirl in the
fitting room while he watches.
Eventually, Jean is invited to witness a
scene in the "Gothic Chamber", the photo studio Claire has had constructed
in her apartment. Anne is meticulously prepared, bathed, and brushed and
carefully groomed by her loving mistress. Then, blindfolded, she is placed on
her knees and ordered to play with herself. This time, as she nears climax, it
is Jean who wields the whip, repeating slapping her till they are both so
aroused that he falls on her and fucks her on the floor. Jean's actions seem to
have shaken the relationship between Claire and Anne, and afterwards, Anne
announces she in leaving.
Several days later, there's a knock on Jean's
door, and he opens it to find Claire. She is dressed in the outfit Anne wore,
the same white pleated skirt and simple blouse. Jean senses that she wants
something from him, and he orders her to get undressed. Claire falls to her
knees and begins to strip, following the familiar ritual used with Anne,. Naked
she rises her hands and offers herself to him, to do with has he will; and he
savagely takes her on the carpeted stairs of his apartment.
Comments
: Radley Metzger's
magnificently filmed version of Jean de Berg's erotic masterpiece-- L'Image,
is in a class by itself. Unlike so many filmed versions of novels, this one
remains true to the original in both in its story, characters, tone, and
perhaps most important, the strongly erotic feel of the original. The B&D
scene has never been portrayed with more feeling than in Metzger's loving
tribute to this classic of modern erotica.