Free Named and Shamed by C. P. Mandara

you like?'
    'No, thank you. I think I'd rather go and buy myself a new tube. I can only imagine where you've been putting that stuff.' She sighed. 'Let's get on with this first and then you can make it up to me.'
    Agnes returned her attention to the jumble of tack that they'd both managed to heap upon the metal trolley. Untangling the leather corset first she handed it to Hetty, who immediately brought it up to her nose and inhaled deeply. 'Mmm, leather,' she said, with an almost religious undertone. There was a snort in the background. Hetty ignored it.
    Turning her attention back to Jenny she said, 'Well, dearie, it's time to get you laced into this beauty. I'm not going to lie to you, it'll take a bit of getting used to, but oh my, you're going to have a waist to die for!' Hetty held the corset up for the trainee's perusal.
    Jenny's silence had not been accidental. Locked securely in place and about to be rendered virtually helpless with all the additional accoutrements the ladies were now sorting through, she was trying to stay calm. If she started screaming or squawking the chances were that they would do exactly as they had the last time and gag her. So she figured she had one chance, and one chance only, to make the use of her voice count. Threats were of little use to her; she'd already tried them to no avail. That left bribery and by their earlier conversation, she hoped she'd have half a chance. She thought about how much she should offer in order to buy their cooperation, and in the end she figured it was best to go high. She would offer them two million pounds each. Her father would have that kind of money at his disposal and while daddy dearest would be livid at the thought of having to part with that kind of cash, he might be persuaded to eventually, if only to keep up appearances. He liked to drag her along to charitable events and political functions, to prove he was a family man, of course. There was little love lost between them. He had put paid to that over a decade ago.
    The white leather corset danced before her eyes. It was finely boned, in intervals of approximately one inch, and the white metal eyelets at the rear of the garment suggested that either rope or ribbon would be required to lace it, depending on how tightly it would need to be fastened. In contrast, it was outlined with black piping and featured a swirling, looping design of what appeared to be a Celtic pattern in origin. Whilst Jenny could admire the beauty of the garment, it looked about three sizes too small. There was no way the thing was going to fit.
    Jenny's approval wasn't required because a few seconds later Hetty began to wrap the cold material over her stomach, letting it unfurl slowly around her back. There was a good four inches of bare skin left between the corset's edges and Jenny had to resist the urge to smile smugly.
    'I'm going to need another set of hands to fasten this beast,' called Hetty, but Agnes was already there with two coiled lengths of thin white rope in her hands. She began threading it through the eyelets, crossing them over each other with rapid dexterity for a woman of her age, until all the eyelets had been filled. She left the rope tails trailing down Jenny's buttocks.
    'Hetty, you're going to have to pull today. My back won't take any more punishment.' Agnes moved back to allow her stocky colleague to get a firm grip on both ends of the rope.
    'Brace yourself,' Agnes said to Jenny, but her charge had obviously not paid her any heed because when Hetty used all her strength to tug ferociously on the cords, it felt like someone had bounced her stomach across the room, and she made a gurgling sound of shocked protest. Alas, the Victorian torture had only just begun. Hetty began tightening the ropes at each pair of eyelets until Jenny could feel the individual bones of the corset pressing into her flesh.
    Agnes had positioned herself in front of the pony, admiring the shape her waist was beginning to take.