Arriving at the house, Maria heard a muffled argument behind her bedroom door between Cynthia and Joseph. She didn't get a chance to get closer to listen in.
"There you are, are you alright?" Melissa asked, coming down the stairs.
"Yeah, what about you, where were you?"
"I went looking for you, I thought she had left you out in the rain somewhere. I came back on the off chance you had made it back and found Lisa coming in."
"Where is Lisa?" Maria asked, as Robert came in behind her and made for the den.
"Upstairs." Melissa glanced over at the door behind which he argument still raged. "Come on."
The women went upstairs and into the room Melissa shared with Lisa. This used to be Alan's bedroom, something that Maria tried to ignore. It was the largest bedroom in the house, and it was only logical that the two lovers used it.
Speaking of lovers, Lisa lay spread eagle on the bed, naked and bound, a long feather lying next to her. Her face was flushed, and she was breathing heavily.
"Hi Maria, this is the last time I'm coming home early," she puffed. Melissa smiled at her. "Don't lie, you wanted this and you know it." Both women laughed and Maria smiled.
"Having fun are we?" Maria asked.
"It was either this or strangle that woman," Melissa answered. "Which reminds me. I'm going to strangle you if you don't tell me what she meant about taking this place away from you."
"Oh, that. Don't worry about it. It can't happen."
"Why not, what was that about a contract?"
"What contract?" Lisa asked from her reclined position.
"It's nothing. Look, the group Joseph and Cynthia both belong to operates on rules about the way slaves are taken in. One of them is that a slave contract is used so that there are no surprises about what the duties of both slave and Master are. The contract itself is up to the individual, but Cynthia has this very stiff contract that requires the slave to turn over everything they own to their Master or Mistress. The reason this is important is that Cynthia insists that Joseph keep using this contract. That way she can, through the terms of the divorce, claim some or all of whatever Joseph gets from the slave. Well, up to now nothing of real value has ever been contested, but Joseph knew that when Cynthia found out about the valley, she would want it. So, after the signing ceremony, he tore up his copy of the contract and instructed his lawyer to do the same."
"But that can't be legal, a contract like that?" Lisa said.
"The slave part can't be enforced in a court of law, that's true, but the giving over of property is very legal."
Maria sat on the bed, blanket still wrapped around her. She was still a little high from her almost indiscretion with Peter. Her eyes traveled over Lisa's naked body. Lisa had put on some weight, but the extra pounds only served to soften her lines rather than expand them. She was still quite beautiful. The three women sat, or lay, in silence.
"Well, what now?" Maria asked after a moment.
"Right now, you had better go finish unpacking the Pain Slut's stuff," Melissa said. "She was in a bitchy mood when she got back and I expect she will be in a worse one when Joseph is done with her."
"Yeah. I've tempted fate enough today with her," Maria agreed. She left her friends and went downstairs. Robert was sitting in the den, a drink in one hand, the TV on.
"Hi. I thought you would have gone by now?" Maria asked him.
"Joe wanted me to stick around," Robert replied.
Maria slipped out of the blanket. "Could you give this back to Peter when you see him?"
Robert looked over at her. "Tell me something," he said, "do I have to worry about you and Peter doing something you shouldn't?"
Maria blushed. "No...You don't have to worry. We...didn't."
Robert nodded, and reached out to take the blanket.
Maria left the den and was tempted to listen at the door of her bedroom, but the argument had gone silent and she figured she had best get something done today. She went up stairs, and after a long overdue stop in the bathroom to freshen up, she went into Cynthia's room and begun to hang up clothes. She thought about putting something on, it had been a while since she spent this much time nude, but remembered how Cynthia had ordered her to stay naked until she earned the right to get dressed.
She hadn't been at it for long when she heard steps on the landing and the door opening. She turned to see Cynthia dressed in a black leather jump suit and heels. She looked pissed.
"It's about time you showed up, girl," she hissed.
Maria took a step back, which made Cynthia smile.
"You're wanted downstairs," she said eventually, and stood aside. Maria tried to slide by, but as she did so Cynthia stepped close and managed to catch one of Maria's nipple rings. She pulled it, drawing the naked girl closer.
"Don't think that he can protect you for ever," Cynthia whispered, before letting her go.
Scared, Maria went down to see Joseph. He looked worn and tired, as if all his energy had been drained away. He looked worse than when they first came to the valley.
Robert stood next to him, a concerned look on his face, and only then did Maria realize how much Robert had been around lately.
"Maria, are you alright?" Joseph asked, his voice a little weak.
"I'm fine, but you look ill," she said, moving toward him. She knelt in front of him and took one of his hands.
"I'll be fine. But there's trouble."
"What?"
"Your contract. I didn't know it, but Cynthia has a copy, and she is threatening to use it to take this place away from you."
"But...you said, there were no other copies," said Maria, a cold chill flowing through her.
"My lawyer's copy. He didn't destroy it, instead he gave it to her. I always suspected he was on her side anyway."
"SHIT! YOU CAN'T LET HER..." Maria yelled before Joseph settled her down.
"There is a way. I can get another contract drawn up transferring everything back to you. But I have to get it done and filed in New York before Cynthia gets it into her head to file hers."
"I...what?" Maria was very upset, on the verge of another crying fit.
"I have to go to New York, right now. Robert is going to drive me in to the city to catch a plane. You have to stay here and keep Cynthia occupied."
"What? I can't. You need me with you."
"I need you here. Only you can engage her interest enough to distract her."
"I can't, you can't leave me with that woman."
"Maria," Joseph said tenderly, he took her hands in his own. "if you value this place at all, you have to do this."
Maria looked around. For a brief moment she was willing to leave it all behind if she didn't have to see Cynthia again, but then she thought about all she had been through since she first came to the valley. It would all be for nothing if she left now.
"Alright," she said, standing.
"Good, I'll call when..." He looked up past her. Cynthia was coming down the stairs.
"Cynthia," said Joseph, "Rob and I are heading out again for a while."
Cynthia ignored him, her eyes on Robert, who lifted himself a little taller. "Robert, darling. Perhaps if you can tear yourself away from my ex-husband for a while, you could escort me to dinner tonight. This town must have some place where a girl can get a decent meal."
Robert smiled his most friendly smile. Maria wondered how he did it, knowing what he did about her. But then, Robert never really had a problem getting people to like him.
"I'm afraid my plans are already made," he said, making it sound like he carried the responsibility of the world on his broad shoulders.
"Nonsense. My husband (ex-husband, Joseph muttered) has monopolized far to much of your time today. I'm sure he can get by without you for one evening."
Robert appeared to waffle until Joseph spoke up. "Go ahead, I can get Melissa to take me on my errand."
Robert looked at Joseph for a second, then turned to Cynthia. "I would be honored. I will need to get changed first, how about I pick you up in an hour."
Cynthia smiled, another victory scored. "That will be fine."
To everyone's surprise, including Cynthia, Robert took her hand and kissed it, before exiting through the front door.
"Maria, go get Melissa for me," Joseph said.
"And when you are done report to my room," Cynthia ordered.
Maria left the ex-married couple at a dead run.
She found Melissa still teasing a bound and naked Lisa, and directed her downstairs to Joseph, then she attempted to untie her friend.
"What's going on now?" Lisa asked.
"MARIA!" yelled Cynthia.
"Shit! Look, I'll come back later to free you, Melissa will be a while."
"What?" asked the trapped woman as Maria left the room.
Cynthia was at the top of the stairs when Maria came out onto the landing.
"I thought I told you to go to my room," Cynthia said.
"Yes, Maam," replied Maria, and moved quickly to where she had been ordered.
Cynthia's curiosity had been peaked, what was Maria doing in that room? Then it occurred to Cynthia that she hadn't seen the other girl since she got home. She walked to Lisa's bedroom and glanced through the door. What she saw made her smile. She decided to change her plans a little.
"Girl," Cynthia said as she entered her own room, "go down to the basement."
"The basement, Maam?" Maria said nervously.
"Don't question me! I know about your little dungeon down there, now go!"
With a terrible sinking feeling, Maria left the room. She glanced at the almost closed door to Lisa's Bedroom, wondering if she would get a chance to free the bound girl inside.
With Cynthia on her heels, Maria padded down the stairs to the basement.
***
Out on the road in Melissa's car, Melissa asked Joseph what errand was important that she had to leave Lisa behind tied to their bed.
"You have to take me to the city. I have to catch a flight to New York," Joseph said.
"What! I don't have time to do that!" Melissa yelled at him.
"You have too. I don't know how much you know about this, but..." Joseph told her about the contract, and about how Cynthia planned to beat it. Then he told her his plan to see she didn't succeed.
"Damn," Melissa said, and told him about Lisa's position.
"If it's any consolation, Maria may already have her freed. She knows where we are going."
"Yeah, you're right. Okay, here we go."
***
Maria hadn't been down in the basement in a year, and she saw that part of the room had reverted back to it's former life as a storage area. One corner was piled in junk that had to be Melissa's and hers from the city. But most of the bondage equipment was here, including the cage in the corner.
Maria treaded carefully, the bare earth floor was slightly muddy from all the rain.
Cynthia beamed. She had found the place earlier that afternoon and hadn't expected to find equipment like this here, and she loved each piece. For the first time she wondered about Maria's first Master. He must have been a strong one to have constructed such a place.
"I heard you spent a lot of time down here," Cynthia said.
"Yes, fifty two days, in a row. I never left the room."
Yes, Cynthia was impressed, as much with Maria's stamina as well as with her Master's. The girl might be worth keeping on after all. But she had a job to do and not much time to do it in.
"Come here, girl!" barked Cynthia.
Maria jumped, lost for a moment in memories past. She turned to see Cynthia standing next to the hanging body cage.
"Let's see if this still fits," Cynthia said.
Maria found it hard to move, but did so, slowly walking toward Cynthia. When she got there, the Woman turned the cage so that it's open back faced Maria. The invitation was obvious, step in.
She did so, shuddering a little as the cold metal straps pressed against her skin, then came a screech as the back was closed and Maria suddenly found herself pressed into a vice.
She didn't remember it feeling this tight. Perhaps Lisa wasn't the only one to have put on some weight.
"Perfect!" Cynthia said. "Now we just need to lock it."
Unable to turn her head, Maria heard the lock snap shut and then felt herself swinging free. The body cage had been made just for her, so the metal straps that bound her fit very close indeed. The only things she could move were her hands, and those she could only flap. Even if the cage had been unlocked, she could not have reached the handle to open it. As she swung around, Cynthia came into view. She had the key to the lock in her hand. She stepped up to the cage and took a hold of both Maria's nipples, not hard to do for her breasts were the only things that projected from the cage.
"Now be a good girl, and I'll free you after dinner, that is to say, Whenever Robert and I get done."
She pinched hard, making Maria wince, then let go and left the room. Maria feared she would shut off the light, but it stayed on. She thought about poor Lisa still tied to her bed.
***
Cynthia was thinking about Lisa too, only her thoughts weren't so nice. Here was a quick opportunity for a little pay back, Cynthia thought. She stopped in her own room, before moving to Lisa's. Lisa lay struggling on the bed, but had made no headway in freeing herself of her bondage. She stopped, startled at being interrupted by Cynthia.
"I knew you were a submissive, the moment I laid eyes on you," Cynthia said from the doorway.
"Er...I don't think you should be in here," Lisa said, aware of how vulnerable she was.
"I think I do. You belong to Melissa don't you. Not to Joseph."
"I don't belong to anyone," Lisa said defensively.
"Yet here you are, tied to your bed, while your owner, sorry, your lover? goes off somewhere."
"Well, she'll back soon, so you'd better go.
"Oh, I will, soon," Cynthia purred, and revealed what she had been holding out of sight. It was her favorite riding crop, not that she did any riding.
She moved forward until she stood over the frightened girl.
"Now let me see," Cynthia said sweetly, "let's see how high you can count."
***
True to his word, Robert showed up on time to pick Cynthia up. He had traded vehicles with Peter, so Cynthia wouldn't have to ride in his dirty truck.
She smiled as she climbed into the car, knowing that she was going to have a good time with her big and handsome date. It had already started out so well.
As he drove away from the house, Robert was completely unaware of the caged, naked woman in the basement, or of the sobbing, bleeding woman bound to her bed.
End of Part 10
Copyright (c) by Leviticus 1999