After each of his four visits to the other garrisons under his command, he had returned full of hope; but, each time, his hopes had been dashed and his disappointment had begun to turn to a burning resentment until the temptation to ignore her wishes and simply burst into her room, strip her forcibly, and take her against her will, had become almost overwhelming. Only his sense of honour held him back………and how could he be expected to know that Arabella would have welcomed and submitted willingly to such a ruthless assault?
Had submitted in just that way to Captain Adams and Ranee, her body subject to their chains and whips, responding helplessly…shamelessly…to the imposition of total, thrilling subjugation as she served them both as a fiercely hot and obedient sex slave.
He strode through the Market Square of Peshlara, accompanied by Arabella and Sergeant Chaudry, his riding crop tapping against his polished boots as he glared at the crowded stalls and as his eyes swept over the throng, he failed to notice a tall, hawk-faced Indian with a short, black clad woman walking humbly one pace behind him, stop and turn to stare keenly at him and his wife.
As Razak halted, Belinda followed the direction of his gaze and her eyes opened wide in astonishment as she saw what he was looking at.
It was Arabella. Arabella in a long white dress, only a few yards away, holding a parasol to protect her from the hot sun, standing alongside a tall, handsome man dressed in the scarlet uniform of a Colonel of the British Army.
Belinda knew at once that it must be Arabella’s husband and her relief at seeing her friend safe and well was followed at once by a wave of envy and sadness that brought tears to her eyes. Arabella was free and at her husband’s side while Belinda was a branded slave, on her way to be sold.
Razak grinned, “The Colonel’s lady looks well, slave,” he whispered. “Though not as well as she looked in her collar and chains. Come, slave, your new owner awaits you.” With a cruel chuckle, he strode forward. Belinda began to follow automatically, then stopped, her brain whirling with a mad, crazy plan.
Without stopping to think of the consequences should the plan fail, she stumbled to her left and threw herself to her knees directly in front of the British couple, her eyes staring pleadingly up at their surprised faces, wordless grunts emerging past the huge gag in her mouth as she tried to make them understand who she was.
Sergeant Chaudry reacted instantly, his boot thudding into her hip to send her sprawling in the dust as he shouted, “Get out of the way, bitch! Get back to your hovel before I take my whip to you.”
“Leave her, Sergeant,” Mayhew snapped. “There’s no harm done.” Then he turned to Arabella, “Are you all right, my dear?”
“Yes, Randolph,” she replied. “I was just startled…” her mouth dropped open and she turned pale, staring down at the black clad figure at her feet.
“Blue eyes!” she gasped. “That woman has blue eyes, Randolph. Bring her here. Quick, bring her here.”
Unable to rise because of her bondage, Belinda’s terror and despair turned to wild hope as Arabella spoke; and, as Sergeant Chaudry seized her arm and dragged her to her feet, she gazed into Arabella’s shocked brown eyes, hardly daring to believe that her plan had succeeded.
“Belinda? Is that you? Oh, my God, it is! Randolph, it’s Belinda! Belinda Wallace! Oh, thank Heavens!”
“Belinda Wallace? The girl who was sold as a slave? Are you sure?”
“Yes, yes it is, it is!”
Mayhew wasted no more time. “Right. Sergeant, take this woman to the carriage. Quickly, now, before the crowd gets wind of what’s going on. Come, my dear, we must get out of here right now.” He gripped Arabella’s arm and hurried her away as Chaudry followed with Belinda.
Twenty feet away, anonymous in the crowd, Razak’s eyes met Belinda’s; and, as she saw his face darken with anger, the blonde trembled in fear, praying that she would never again fall into his clutches; for, if she did, his revenge would be terrible. She had escaped him and made him look a fool, and she knew he would not forgive or forget…and a slave who did that to a Master could not hope for mercy…
Lifted into the carriage with Mayhew and Arabella, Belinda sobbed in joy and relief as her friend hugged her; but, as the carriage sprang into motion and raced towards the British compound, the Colonel adamantly refused to let his wife undo the bonds and gag that she could feel were under the chador that Belinda wore.
“No, my dear. Not here. Wait until we are at home. I know you want to free her, but you must be patient. No, I will hear no more arguments.” With that, both women had to be content until they reached his quarters and the doors were closed and locked.
Belinda flushed redly, and Arabella gasped in sympathy as Sergeant Chaudry removed the black robe to reveal the blonde’s nude body and the stringency of her bondage; but, as Arabella made to rush forward to untie her, Colonel Mayhew stopped her.
“Go to your room, my dear,” he said firmly. “I must ask Miss Wallace some questions and it would be easier if you were not here.”
“But…But, Randolph, she is my friend, and I..I don’t want to leave.”
“I know, Arabella, but my duty is clear. Miss Wallace may have information about Razak, so go to your room, please. You can rejoin us later.”
Clearly unwilling, the brunette did as her husband asked; and, as the Sergeant locked the door behind her, Colonel Mayhew turned to stare at Belinda. For almost a full minute, he did not speak; and, as his hard eyes inspected every inch of her sweetly curved nudity, lingering on the iron collar about her slim throat, the gold ring at her nose, and the sharp brand etched deep into the flesh of her left hip, Belinda lowered her eyes and blushed a bright crimson.
“That is the mark of Gadoor,” he said at last; and, as she gulped and nodded her head, he added, “and that is a slave collar, is it not?”
Belinda nodded a second time then groaned in misery as he asked, “Then you were forced to serve Razak and his men as a full slave, I take it?”
She raised her eyes to his and nodded a third time, frighteningly conscious that neither he nor his Sergeant had made any effort to free her from her bonds or cover her nakedness.
“It is my understanding of such things that a collared slave should kneel before free men,” he said calmly. As Belinda gasped and her eyes grew round with shock, he pointed to the ground at his feet and clicked his fingers.
To a trained slave, the signal could not be misinterpreted, and the blonde fell to her knees in conditioned response, her ingrained obedience arching her body into the shamefully lovely curve of a slave’s submission display before her stunned brain could prevent it. Horrified by her instinctive reaction, she stared numbly up at the two soldiers; and, as both men grinned back at her but did not give her permission to move or speak, Belinda felt a cold chill of awful dread ripple up her hollowed spine.
“This woman would appear to be a slave, Sergeant,” Mayhew chuckled.
Chaudrey snapped, “Yes, sir. A fully trained slave, sir.”
Colonel nodded slowly. “This presents us with something of a problem, Sergeant,” he said. “We cannot have an English woman running around acting like a slave, now can we? It would undermine the authority of the British Empire.”
“No, sir. Very bad for discipline in the ranks, sir.”
“I agree, Sergeant. Perhaps it would be best if no-one learned that this young woman had been rescued or that she has been a slave to Razak and his band of renegades.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Very well, Sergeant. I shall rely on your silence about this matter and your assistance in keeping the facts from the officers and men. At least for a while. Until her..ah..training has had time to wear off and she can be trusted to behave in a more..ah..appropriate manner.”
“You can trust me, sir. But what about your wife, sir? This woman is..was..her friend, sir.”
“I shall deal with my wife, Sergeant,” Mayhew retorted firmly. “You just make sure this slave doesn’t wander off to spread her story
. Which reminds me…”
He bent down to grip Belinda’s jaw in his strong fingers. “My wife has already told me the story of her captivity by Razak. I am going to take your gag off so that you can do the same. And I want the truth, girl, right from the moment of your arrival in India until today in the Marketplace. Do you understand me, I want the truth, or it will be the worse for you.”
Belinda’s worst fears had been confirmed by what she had heard; and, as she had learned that Colonel Mayhew did not intend to release her for some unspecified time, her worries intensified. She knew only too well how desirable men found her and was equally well aware of her own uncontrollable desires and needs. Desires and needs that she knew would not simply wear off.
If Mayhew and his Sergeant were to hold her prisoner…supposedly for the good of the Empire…she feared that it would not be long before the temptation of having a naked slave at their mercy would become irresistible.
The instant Mayhew released her gag, Belinda took a deep breath and launched into the story of her capture, hoping that Mayhew would be moved by her ordeal and take pity on her…..for, if he did not, she was no better off than she had been as Razak’s captive.
Listening intently to her low-voiced explanation, Colonel Mayhew’s brow furrowed and his face grew dark with suppressed anger as he heard, for the first time, the truth about Belinda and Arabella’s ruthlessly enforced submission to the slaver and his men.
He interrupted only twice, once to clarify that Arabella had volunteered to serve Razak as a slave in an attempt to avoid being chained, then to verify that both she and Belinda had been trained by Ranee and forced to pleasure men in every conceivable manner, including with their lips and mouths.
Shamed by her own words, the kneeling blonde squirmed and stammered as the humiliating story unfolded, but she knew that she had no choice and could only pray that her frankness and despair would touch the soldier’s heart and lead him to set her free and allow her to try to build a new life for herself, far away from Peshlara and anyone who knew or suspected what had happened to her.
Mayhew’s eyes glittered with a cold fire, and he flexed his riding crop between his strong hands as she related Arabella’s punishment on the night of the feast, but all he said was, “Continue, my dear. Your story is quite fascinating and has the ring of truth about it.”
“And then…then…Ph..Philip arrived with the ransom and s..saw me with Ranee and one of the M..Masters, and I thought he was going to r..rescue me, but he d..didn’t.”
“Stop!” Mayhew snapped. “You’re lying, girl. You weren’t even there. You’d already been sold.”
Belinda shuddered to the awful memory of Philip’s betrayal. “No,” she whispered sadly. “I was never s..sold. Philip saw me pl..pleasuring one of Razak’s men, and he..and he..t..told me he didn’t l..l..love me and then he b..bought Ranee instead of ransoming me.”
Mayhew frowned. “I don’t believe you, girl. Captain Adams is a fine officer, and my wife has confirmed his version of events.”
Big, hot tears rolled down Belinda’s cheeks as she stared miserably up at him, then she straightened her shoulders defiantly. “I don’t care what they told you,” she replied. “I am telling you what happened and nothing can change that. Philip left me there to be enslaved and sold, and he blackmailed Arabella into lying to you.”
“I hardly think so,” Mayhew sneered. “What possible reason could my wife have for lying to me about that?”
Belinda cast caution to the winds, stung by the disbelieving tone of his voice. “Because she had served Masters as a full slave!” she shouted angrily. “If you found out, she was frightened you would disown her. Razak told me one of his men overheard Philip telling her that if she didn’t do exactly what he wanted, he would tell you what she had done.”
The tall Colonel gaped down at the angry blonde; and, as he heard the complete conviction in her words, the scales fell from his eyes, and he suddenly understood that Arabella had lied to him ever since her rescue. For the best of motives, perhaps, but still lied. Why hadn’t she told him, trusted him, been able to love him as he loved her? He needed to talk to her, immediately.
“Stay with her, Sergeant,” he ordered. “I shall be with my wife.” He unlocked the door and hurried from the room.
Belinda stared after him with wide, appalled eyes. What had she done? She had not meant to betray Arabella, but the bitter words had just popped out before she could stop them. Now, Mayhew was going to confront Arabella with the evidence of her enslavement and deceit, and it was impossible to tell what the outcome might be.
Distraught, she whirled around as Sergeant Chaudry chuckled. “An interesting tale, slave, and it confirms what I have long suspected. The Colonel’s wife is a slave, too. I thought as much when I saw the mark of a collar on her neck. She has much explaining to do, I think. It may be some time before he comes back to join us, so perhaps you and I should get better acquainted while we are waiting.”
Belinda stared at him and her body began to tremble as his hot eyes roamed over her posed nudity.
“No,” she moaned, seeing the lust in his face. “No, please. You m..mustn’t. I’m a fr..free woman now.”
“Are you?” he grinned cruelly. “Oh, I don’t think so. You have a collar on your neck, and you kneel as a slave. A free woman would not do that, and she would not call me Master.” His hard eyes bored into hers as he plucked his riding crop from his belt and sent it whistling through the air above her head. “But you will, won’t you, slave?”
Belinda shuddered in fear, her eyes wide; and, as the crop flicked lightly across her softly rounded belly, she whispered, “Yes, M..Master.” Her voice filled with the anguish and horror of knowing that she was still a slave.
Chaudry thrust his crop between her jaws; and, as she gripped the slender leather covered shaft in her teeth, he chuckled again. “I see that is not the first time you have done that, slave,” he said mockingly. As she flushed in embarrassment, his fingers raced to her tautly offered breasts.
Instantly aroused by his touch, Belinda’s slave trained body responded helplessly, her nipples hardening like acorns as his fingers toyed with her and a breathy gasp bursting from her as her belly swirled with blistering slave heat to the arrogant caress of a Master.
Unable to hide the flaring need his hands awoke in her body, she gazed up with pleading eyes, begging mutely and shamelessly for more; and, as Chaudry recognised the depth of her passion, his groin bulged in anticipation of the pleasure he would force her to bring to him.
Fondling her swollen breasts, he smiled to himself, remembering how, when had noticed the mark of a collar on the neck of his Colonel’s wife, he had fantasised about having her serve him as a slave. That still remained a cherished dream, perhaps never to be fulfilled, but what did that matter?
Right here and right now, a naked English slave knelt before him, a slave who called him Master, and he was content to limit his demands upon her to caresses of her delightfully responsive breasts. For the moment. Until he had the time and the privacy to use her fully, she would have to wait; and, as she hollowed her spine to press her breasts more deeply into his hands as he aroused her, he knew that her final submission, when he permitted her to give it, would be well worth the delay.
Chapter Fourteen
Colonel Mayhew’s quarters
Randolph Mayhew strode towards his wife’s room determined to find out exactly what had been going on, both up to the day her ransom was paid and since her return to Peshlara, and he was in no mood to be trifled with.
Belinda Wallace’s story had been totally convincing, and he no longer doubted that Arabella had been deceiving him from the very first, and he meant to find out exactly what she had been up to.
Anger lent strength to his arm; and, as he threw open her bedroom door to crash back against the wall, Arabella whirled around from the dressing table where she had been brushing her long, dark hair and stared at him in surprise and fright.
&nbs
p; “Randolph? What’s the matter? You frightened me, barging in like that.”
“I’ll ask the questions, Arabella,” he snapped harshly. “And the first one is why have you been lying to me?”
The hairbrush dropped from her hand and her throat worked convulsively until she was able to gasp, “I..I..didn’t. I..I..haven’t…”
“Don’t lie to me, woman!” he roared. “I know that you submitted to Razak and served him and his men. And that you lied about your friend being sold before she could be ransomed. You have been lying to me ever since you got here, and I want to know the truth. All of it.”
“But…But…How? Who t..t..told you those things?” Arabella stammered; but, as she asked the question, she knew what the answer must be.
“Your friend, of course. Belinda Wallace. The woman that you betrayed and left to be enslaved.”
Arabella hung her head in shame, unable to deny the accusation, and her husband pounced on her hesitation.
“So it is true, then. You deliberately left her in the hands of those…those barbarians.”
“No!” Arabella’s protest was a shrill wail. “No, I didn’t. Not deliberately, Randolph. You have to believe me. It wasn’t like that, really it wasn’t. I had no choice.”
“Then what was it like? And why did you have no choice?” he demanded; and, as Arabella met his angry glare, she shuddered and knew that she had no option but to tell him everything.
In a voice that shook with emotion, she whispered, “It was Captain Adams. He..He threatened to tell you that I had been tr..trained as a full sex sl..slave and..and used by Razak and his m..men.” Arabella wept in misery as she admitted her terrible secret then sobbed, “He forced me to l..lie to you, Randolph, and wh..when you were away..away on your inspections, he m..made me b..beg to be chained and submit to him as a slave.”
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