Caroline's Realm

Title: Caroline’s Realm

Author: Euryleia Rider

Synopsis: Wealthy, dominating woman takes in penniless relation.

Contact: euryleia_at_hotmail.com

 

 

Part VIII – Caroline’s Realm

 

While Caroline felt stirred after witnessing her cousin and the maid coupling, she had too many things scheduled that afternoon. Instead of indulging herself, she turned her attention back to the reports from her bankers about the status of her investments.

 

She had financed several expeditions into Africa for gold and diamonds and was anxious to find out the results. Her head was deep in numbers when a racket at the door disturbed her.

 

Maximilian’s voice could be heard getting nearer arguing as a sizeable force overwhelmed him. He apologized as the mob broke into the study.

 

“I tried to stop them, My Lady.”

 

Caroline did not even bother to rise to greet her uninvited guests. “What is the meaning of this invasion?”

 

A skeletally thin man with a shock of white hair stalked across the room toward her. “We have come to save your soul and the souls of those you are leading into wickedness.”

 

“Who are you?”

 

“I am the Right Reverend Scruggins of the Plymouth Brethren.”

 

“God himself is not welcome to barge into my home without an invitation.” Caroline turned her attention to a portly man in a dark blue uniform. “Constable Harper. By what right do you bring these men into my house?

 

“This warrant gives me the right.” The Reverend Scruggins rubbed his hands together as he gloated. “I’ve wanted to close this den of iniquity since your father’s days.”

 

“Den of what?  Speak plain, Sir, what are you talking about?”

 

“You made a costly mistake when you enslaved a free woman.”

 

“I beg your pardon?”

 

Reverend Scruggins turned to one of his men. “Bring her.”

 

“You’re bringing in yet another person to my house without my permission?”

 

“Yes. See, we had heard about your fornication ball and, so, we sent in a young woman to seek the truth.” He turned and waved forward a teenager. “She reported to us what you’ve done.”

 

“I don’t recall ever seeing that woman before in my life.”

 

“Erm, ma’am?” Maximilian interrupted. “She is a temporary maid we hired for three days. We needed extra help before, during and after the ball.”

 

Caroline glared at her faithful servant. “And you did a truly wonderful job of vetting her,” she snapped. She turned back to the minister. “So? What does the word of this girl carry over that of a peer of the realm?”

 

“Don’t try that tone with me. Not even your high powered friends can protect your from the repercussions of your perversions.”

 

“Perversions?” Caroline spat. “It is your abuse of Scripture that is the real perversion.”

 

“Blasphemy! How dare you speak of scripture? You’re a harlot.”

 

“If I recall, Jesus had a special place in his heart for whores.” Caroline shook her head. “Not that I am a whore.  I am a simple woman who has no idea why my evening is being disrupted in this manner.”

 

“You’ve enslaved and abused a free woman.”

 

“What are you talking about? Everyone in my service is here of their own free will.”

 

“Really? Then how do you explain this?” he asked, pointed at two of the men who entered the study with a dazed Harriet in tow.

 

She had been sound asleep when they had burst into her room and proceeded to drag her downstairs. They had not even bothered to cover her in their haste to return with their prize to the study.

 

“Oh, you poor, poor child.” The Reverend moved forward and put his own jacket on her to cover her nakedness.

 

“What? Ma’am?” Harriet asked. She tried to remove the coat and move over to her cousin but was held fast by the men.

 

“We’ve come to release you from bondage.”

 

Harriet looked to Caroline. “What’s going on? Are you sending me away?”

 

“No, I…”

 

“Silence,” he roared as he interrupted Caroline. “We are here to rescue the perishing. You are coming with us, child.”

 

“But I don’t want to leave.”

 

“You know not of what you say.” Shaking his head in pity, he smiled at Harriet. “Don’t worry, child. We’ll soon have you back on the path to righteousness.”

 

“I belong here!”

 

“You are a lost lamb who belongs with God. Don’t worry, we’ll protect you.”

 

“I don’t need protection.”

 

“Oh, really? Then how do you account for those marks on your backside?”

 

“I needed correction.”

 

“The only correction you need is found by accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.” He waved at his henchmen to take Harriet out of the house.

 

“Noooo,” Harriet wailed as the men dragged her out. Her last view of Caroline was her standing regally on the far side of the room. Her bright green gown was in stark contrast to the somber black of the Reverend and his men.

 

The Reverend turned to follow them out of the house. “I’m not going to rest until I save the others in the household.”

 

“My staff is here of their free will. As is my cousin.”

 

“We’ll see if she says the same after we’ve saved her from your perfidious influence.” The Reverend snarled,  “I only wish I had a warrant for your arrest.” He waved his congregants out of the room.

 

“Constable,” Caroline said in a deceptively mild tone. “There will be a reckoning for this.”

 

The uniformed man blushed. “He got a judge to sign the warrant. That’s who you need your concerns to. I just carry them out.”

 

“I’ll remember that.” Caroline crushed the heavy paper in her fist and listened until the sound of the carriages had faded into the night.

 

The three carriages hurtled down the drive as if the driver’s wished to flee the grounds before anyone else was led into temptation.  Above the hoof beats, rose the sound of singing.

 

Harriet was in the middle carriage and she was sandwiched between two large women. They had thrown a blanket over her naked legs when she was thrust aboard but had refused to talk to her. They just sang hymns for the duration of the trip.

 

Finally, the carriages slowed and then stopped. Harriet was led out of the carriage and taken into a church. The women who had shared her carriage were joined by several others who took Harriet into a basement room.

 

Unceremoniously, they stripped away the blanket and jacket covering her. Harriet tried to pull away but the women kept a tight hold on her arms.

 

“What are you doing to me?” Harriet asked.

 

“You must be cleansed before you can be welcomed back into the fold.”

 

“I’m clean. I took a bath this morning.”

 

“We must wash the filth from that place from you.” The largest of the women pushed her into a pool and began to scrub her thoroughly with lye soap. The other women joined her and Harriet felt like the first layer of skin was gone before they allowed her to rinse off.

 

Once she passed inspection, they forced her into a white robe and dragged her back upstairs. Harriet looked around at the dimly lit knave. The dark stone and shadows were scary but it was the silent gaze of those filling the pews that truly frightened her.

 

Reverend Scruggins stood up and began to preach. He gripped the edge of the lectern and leaned toward the congregation. “We are here today to witness what happens when there is a glorifying the homosexual lifestyle. We should be worried and we should be concerned about where this will lead.”

 

Harriet felt the blood leave her face in a rush. She peeked out of the corner of her eyes at the others in her pew to see if anyone is staring at her.  Quite a few of the congregants were.

 

“Our nation is facing a disaster of great proportions! Of that we can be sure. God said the land would vomit out its inhabitants for lesser violations than what we saw today.” He struck his palm down sharply. “Sexual abnormality is like a cancerous tumor on the society. If you let a cancer spread, it will kill the host. We cannot allow that to happen.”

 

Her fists clenched in her lap, Harriet realized that she was hyperventilating. She tried to slow her breathing but his next words almost made her retch.

 

“You cannot believe the depravation we witnessed,” he declared. “To know that a Lady is involved is another sign of how far we’ve fallen as a nation. Is this the future we want? Or the hell that we can avoid?”

 

It seemed like the preacher was asking the question directly of her.

 

He said, "What these people need, who live under the slavery of sexual immorality, is an abundant grace. It exists. Therefore, we will encourage those who live in this manner to look at the grace of Jesus Christ.” He pointed directly at Harriet. “We have rescued one such unfortunate. Join me now in songs of praise for her release.”

 

Harriet could not believe that the things he was saying could in any way apply to her. The heights of passion that she had experienced with her cousin must be too glorious to lead down to the depths of hell. It could not be wrong to feel so good.

 

The service continued on for hours and Harriet was bored to tears long before the women dragged her to her feet and to the baptismal pool. Before she could say a word, she was dunked under the water several times.

 

Gasping for breath, she was then made to stand in front of the congregation with the dripping gown plastered to her body. She could feel the stares of the congregation on her barely concealed skin. She felt even more naked in the thin and soaking shift than when she had been completely unclothed in her cousin’s home.

 

The Reverend continued to rant about the desecration of the body that she had endured. Harriet was cold and tired and she had developed a terrible headache. She wanted to speak about what she was enduring now but the dour faces staring at her kept her silent.

 

The sun was rising on a new day when the service finally ended. Harriet was put into the care of a severe looking matron. Entering the woman’s home, she was directed to put on a dark and heavy skirt. She was also handed a heavy wool sweater to pull onto her cold body.

 

“I’m hungry,” Harriet said.

 

“You’ll eat when I say.” The woman glared at her. “You’re more trouble than you’re worth.”

 

“Then let me go.”

 

“Oh, you’d like that, wouldn’t you?” She dished up a thin gruel and slammed the bowl on the table. “Don’t worry you’ll be going soon enough.”

 

“Good. I don’t want Caroline worrying about me.”

 

“You won’t be returning there, dearie. You’re off to China to repay the gift of life the Reverend gave you with service.”

 

Harriet made a face. “I don’t want to go to China.”

 

“You should be grateful that you’ll be given this chance at redemption. You could have been left to suffer and then die and then suffer some more.” The woman seemed upset that Harriet would no longer get that fate. “Come with me,” she suddenly demanded.

 

Harriet slurped the last of her soup and followed the woman to a small cell like room. The flimsy mattress was a far cry from the one she’d enjoyed in her cousins house and even less that what she slept on when her father was still alive.

 

“You’ll stay here until they come for you.”

 

Harriet got into bed and rolled onto her side and pulled her knees up to her chest. She felt a prickle of tears behind her eyes. Slowly, she wiggled one hand between her legs to cup her mound. She didn’t stroke herself because even in this place that was far from Hastings Manor, her orgasm still belonged to Caroline.

 

Except for meals and thrice daily trips to the loo, Harriet stayed in the room for four days. On that day, she was given heavy woolen stockings and clunky shoes and told to dress in the outfit she had been given when she arrived.

 

Harriet was led to the door where a carriage waited for her. Once she was inside, the door was locked from the outside. Forlornly, Harriet was able to peer through a chink in the wood as the carriage took her farther and farther from Hastings Manor.

 

She was finally let out into a scene of pure chaos. A group wearing stiff, dark clothes was waiting for her. She could see a number of ships before her and the sights and smells of the port were nearly overwhelming.

 

“Finally, you’re here. Our ship leaves within the hour. It was not very considerate of Reverend Scruggins to send you with so little time to spare.”

 

“Are we really going to China?”

 

One of the men nodded. “Yes, sister.  Are you ready to spread the Gospel to the natives?”

 

“Uh, sure. I mean amen.” Harriet looked at the group. None of them were looking at her with the disdain of the Reverends flock. They seemed eager to get on their way and expected her to feel the same.

 

This was the perfect opportunity. None of them seemed to suspect that her heart was committed elsewhere. Harriet waited until the first members of the group began to board, she then told one of the women that she simply must be allowed to relieve herself before she could possibly get onto the ship.

 

“I really have to go now.”

 

“Oh, all right. There is a lavatory in that guesthouse. Go quickly and join us on board.”

 

“Yes, ma’am,” Harriet answered.

 

“The Captain is already upset that we’ve delayed this long. You must hurry since you don’t want to be left behind.”

 

Being left was exactly what Harriet intended. She walked slowly to the indicated building and turned to wave at those on the gangplank before opening the door. Quickly, she walked down the dark hallway. Opening another door, she passed through the common courtyard to the next building. It was a public house and she scurried quickly through and out the door.

 

She was on the next block away from the ship. Hoping that the carriage had not taken too many turns, she turned to go left down the street. She walked as quickly as she could eastward. As Harriet hurried, she had to duck the busy sailors and dodge the many horses that clogged the streets. Several times she nearly lost her footing on the slick cobblestones but she was so desperate to get away that she quickly regained her balance and moved onwards.

 

After walking all day, she reached the city limits as the sun was going down. She hid under a bridge the first night and stole some apples from a bin to break her fast the next day. She stayed to the side of the roadway and walked only at night. She hunkered down in the tall grass whenever people or carriages came down the road.

 

After three days of walking, her feet were in terrible shape from the uncomfortable shoes. Angrily, she tore them off her feet and hurled them into a creek. She would do the rest of the miles barefoot.

 

She slept fitfully during the day under trees and bridges and limped ever onwards when darkness fell. She was cold, tired, and hungry when the manor house finally came into view. She stumbled to the back door and entered through the kitchen. The scents of the food nearly make her swoon but she ignored them and the excited cries of the servants.

 

“What on earth happened to you, Miss Harriet?” Martha asked as she stood before the pale figure.

 

Harriet did not know what to say. There was just so much that had happened to her but, right now, she had something more important to do than rehash her past.

 

“Where is she?” she demanded.

 

“In the study but she doesn’t want to be disturbed.” Martha shook her head, sadly. “She hasn’t wanted anything since you were taken from us,” she confessed.

 

Her mind clear, Harriet began to strip in the hallway. She ripped the hated clothes from her body and flung them to the floor. Once she was naked, she asked, “You can dispose of these, right?”

 

“Of course I can.” Martha smiled. “Good luck.”

 

Harriet walked proudly to the study and let herself in without knocking.

 

“I told you not to bother me,” Caroline spat out, hardly looking up from her position by the French doors. 

 

Standing for a moment in the doorway, Harriet swayed and swallowed. She had almost forgotten how powerfully her cousin’s presence affected her. Even now, when Caroline was wan and pale, Harriet felt her heart pounding from the beauty before her.

 

Caroline was wearing riding breeches and knee-high boots. The trousers accentuated her feminine figure by hugging all her curves and the boots made Harriet’s pulse race. She wondered, fleetingly, if her cousin’s crop was near to hand.

 

Steeling her nerve, Harriet took a step into the room. “Please, ma’am,” she begged. “Please let me come home.”

 

Startled, Caroline whirled from the window and stared across the room. “Harriet,” she breathed.

 

Dropping to her knees, Harriet crawled across the room until she was at her cousin’s feet. She pressed a kiss to the leather and knelt there with her head down, praying that she would not be sent away.

 

Caroline reached out a trembling hand and lightly touched the golden hair. “I thought you were gone forever.”

 

“No, ma’am. I could never leave you. I belong to you.”

 

“Are you sure?”

 

“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.” Harriet sat back on her heels and looked up into Caroline’s eyes. “Nothing was right until now and I am back here, before you, on my knees.”

 

“But you could have had a normal life with the Reverend and his flock.” Caroline looked concerned. “Speaking of that, where is the Right Reverend Scruggins?”

 

“I ran from them.”

 

“So, they’ll be here at any moment to take you again.” Caroline crossed her arms across her chest. It hurt to know that she was going to lose Harriet as soon as the Reverend mounted another attack.

 

“No, I waited until they had turned me over to a party of missionaries heading abroad. They were going to take me to China.”

 

“China?” Carolina repeated in disbelief. “That bastard.” She looked down at Harriet with tears running down her cheeks and thought that the girl had never looked more beautiful. She could see Harriet’s need in the tension of her body.

 

“Come closer,” Caroline ordered. She extended one of her boots between Harriet’s legs and exerted gentle pressure. In seconds, Harriet was writhing against the leather.

 

“Oh, thank you, ma’am.” Harriet tried to maintain eye contact but the pleasure from being fucked by her Mistresses boot made it difficult to focus.

 

“You may hold on.”

 

Gratefully, Harriet clutched behind Caroline’s knee. She rested her cheek against the soft fabric of her cousin’s slacks and lost herself in ecstasy. She had missed this so very much.

 

As she neared climax, she looked up into the stern but loving eyes. “Please, ma’am. May I come?”

 

“Yes, my darling slut. Come for your owner.”

 

Harriet obeyed and shuddered repeatedly as she spent herself. She kissed the fabric-covered knee and tried to catch her breath. Caroline pumped her leg and Harriet came again.

 

“Clean yourself off my boots.”

 

Immediately, the young woman had backed up enough to get busy following the order. She was beginning to love the taste of herself mixed with the leather. She also loved that these boots were thin enough for Caroline to feel every swipe of her tongue.

 

Placing a final kiss on the toe of the boot, she sat up on her heels. Harriet’s eyes were clearer as she gazed up at Caroline. “Thank you, ma’am.”

 

“You’re welcome.”

 

“May I serve you? Please,” Harriet begged.

 

“Later. You look very tired. How far have you come?”

 

“I had to wait until we reached Portsmouth and they were boarding the ship before I could make my escape.”

 

“Portsmouth? That’s over a hundred miles. How did you get back here?”

 

Harriet shrugged. “I walked,” she admitted.

 

Staring down at awe, Caroline asked, “But why?”

 

“Please, ma’am.  It wasn’t my choice to leave but it was certainly was my choice to return. If it pleases you, I’d like to have no more choices but what you permit.”

 

Caroline extended a shaky hand to pull the bell. Before she could, the door opened and Martha entered with a strap of leather in her hands. Her eyes were shining with tears as she held the collar out. “You’ll be wanting this, My Lady.”

 

“How did…oh, never mind.” Caroline waved off the impertinence. With the slim leather warming in her hand, she felt muscles that had been tense for days finally relax. She straightened to her full height and felt the joy of control running through her veins.

 

“I think you’ve earned this, now.”

 

Harriet’s eyes swam with tears. “Oh, thank you, ma’am.”

 

“By accepting this collar from my hands to your throat you acknowledge that you willfully give up your personal rights and freedoms and grant to me the full usage of your body and mind to do with as I see fit. You offer to me your devotion, loyalty and complete obedience. I expect you to trust, respect and honor me in all your actions. Do you understand and accept my terms?”

 

“Yes, ma’am.”

 

“Once I have placed this collar on my property, it may not be removed except by me.  It is not for the you to decide when and where the collar shall be worn.”

 

“I understand. I won’t ever take it off.”

 

“Welcome home, pet.”

 

Harriet bent her head to receive the collar and then grabbed Caroline’s hands after they had secured it around her neck. She placed kisses on both palms and then dropped to kiss her feet. “Thank you, ma’am. Thank you so very much.”

 

 

The End