Her Master's Voice (16 page)

Tim bounding onto the verandah woke her again, and he made sure by picking up the end of the bed. “Get up, lazy bones. It’s a beautiful day in Paradise and I want my breakfast.”

She rolled onto her stomach. “My bones have stopped working,” she mumbled but he kept on lifting the bed and banging it on the floor. She got up and stumbled to the bathroom, dragging her chain behind her. Tim started clattering and whistling in the kitchen. He waved her through to the verandah when she emerged. She sat looking out over the sea, wearing nothing but the cuff on her ankle. Her nakedness and even her chain had begun to seem natural now.

Tim brought coffee and plates, and then a large omelette with chilli, ginger and onion, along with scraps of last night’s fish. Sherry felt hungry again and it smelt wonderful. She ate and only when she was clearing her plate she noticed Tim watching with a smile on his face.

“Now, did you wash and soap that belt? I’ll take you out on the surfboard.”

“Not the belt again…”

“I think so. It’s safer than tying up an ankle or wrist.”

“Let me go free for a while. There’s nowhere I can run to.”

“That’s not the point. Help me clear up and we’ll get ready to go.”

He brought a tee shirt for her, to protect her from the sun. He pulled it on first and put the belt over it. While he went for the board and snorkelling gear, she followed the wire out onto the beach. It disappeared into the sea. She wondered who had put it there and why. At least it meant she could go at will from the bathroom out onto the beach and even into the water, and she felt grateful for it.

Tim rubbed cream onto her arms, legs and nose and then locked her chain to the board. She put on her mask and snorkel and lay on her stomach with her face in the water over the back of the board. Sitting between her feet, Tim paddled her out to the reef. Once there, he slipped into the water and she hung in space watching the reef world below, and Tim’s dives down to the coral. He was naked again and looked like a Greek statue with the curtains of sun rippling across his back.

As Tim paddled back, the ripples slapped against the board and wet her tee shirt. She lay on her back with her hat over her eyes. “Alistair and the girls are coming this afternoon,” Tim volunteered.

“What!” she pushed herself up onto her elbows, “Coming here?”

“Yes, we’re going to have dinner together.”

“But—but you can’t bring them here. They can’t see me like this!”

“Why not? They know you’re here, and why, and they like you. Of course they want to come for dinner.”

“Let me go, Tim. Please! I’ll do anything you want. You can put the chains back when they leave. Please don’t let them…”

“Don’t worry about it. They’ll understand. I expect Alistair does the same if the twins ever step out of line.”

Tim said she could dress as she pleased—meaning she could choose how to wear her chain. She accepted the ankle cuff and started to clean the cabin. Tim disappeared and came back with a yellow flower for her hair.

“Here you are. I want you to look your best. Go and put some make-up on. You don’t want them to think you’re down-hearted.”

She sat vacantly on the verandah and waited for their guests. Tim brought her book, complete with bookmark. “There’s something here for you. It’s your right, but I don’t want you to use it.” The bookmark was an airline ticket. She opened it and read the back page. A single ticket in her name, Singapore-Heathrow, open-dated. She closed it and returned it to the book.

Chapter 16

Alistair’s long narrow boat burst into view from behind the trees late that afternoon. Ahmed stood in the stern steering at the outboard, and Alistair sat with the girls in the bows. They waved as soon as they saw Sherry.

Tim jumped out of bed and ran to the water’s edge to catch their bow. Sherry wanted to join him but her nakedness held her back. She stood in the shade of the verandah and watched as Alistair handed the girls down to Tim, who made a big show of carrying them one at a time onto the sand, setting them carefully down and patting their bottoms. Then he went back to help Ahmed and Alistair with two large iceboxes.

Faith and Hope rushed up the beach to Sherry. “Sherry, Sherry!” they called as they bounded up the steps and into her arms. Then they stood back. “Ooooh, Sherry! Very sexy English lady!” They examined her closely. Faith reached up to press her fingers against the side of Sherry’s breast. “Big! I like
susu
like this.” Hope said something Sherry did not catch and they both collapsed in laughter.

“Forgive my little children, Sherry,” said Alistair as he plodded up the sand with one end of an icebox. “They are just wondering how they would look with breasts like yours. Now, let’s get this inside.” Ahmed, carrying the other end of the box, smiled and waved with his free hand. He clearly approved of her.

Before long they had all crowded around the table on the verandah, and watched Ahmed and the boat disappear behind the jungle curtain. “So, Sherry,” started Alistair, “what do you think of ParadiseIsland?”

“It’s lovely. Is that really its name?”

“No, we’re not so romantic. Actually, its real name, Pulau Ikan, means FishIsland and that’s only attractive if you’re hungry. It’s my little home away from home. I come here whenever I want peace and no traffic or telephones. Have you taken her around it yet, Tim?”

“No, I was saving that up. She’s just walked on the beach and we paddled over to the reef on the surfboard. The coral’s fantastic here.”

“Protected. I got it included in the MarinePark area so there’s no fishing at all. Not even by tourists. No one ever comes here because it’s out of the way and there’s no beach, apart from this one. So you won’t have any admirers, Sherry, unfortunately for you.”

She shuddered. “Thank God! It’s bad enough have you and the girls see me like this. Tell Tim to let me go. Or at least give me some clothes.”

“Ah-ha, Tim! Did you hear that? I hope you’re not going to let her cover up that beautiful body? I like her like that; I can’t remember when I enjoyed myself quite so much.”

“But the chains…” she tried.

“Necessary, my dear. And besides, being tied up makes you look—I don’t know—cute, I suppose. Helpless. Sweet. You look delightful. I wish I’d remembered the camera.”

“No!” Sherry was horrified, “Not that! It’s bad enough…”

Alistair sent the girls in for drinks and moments later they reappeared with three glasses of Kelapa Sling and iced tea for themselves. Sherry looked at her drink suspiciously. “Don’t worry, my dear, there’s nothing in it this time. Cheers!”

He raised his glass to her. “Here’s to the pretty prisoner!” Carefully, she drank with the men. The taste brought back memories of a time so long ago. Only two days? Two days and a lifetime ago.

“Tim, Alistair. Tell me why I’m here, and why the chains.”

He smiled impishly at her and then looked at Tim. “Why is she here, Tim?” but Tim ignored the question. “Perhaps he’s just trying to teach you something. Now then, drink up and let’s go for a swim. Before these things do too much harm.” He sent the twins inside again and, through the thin walls, she could hear them chattering and moving around. They were nude when they returned carrying her dog collar.

They looked fascinating in their naturalness, their liveliness, their beauty. They were woman as God had designed her, slim, graceful, black hair over their shoulders, no trace of tan lines marring their smooth brown skins. They were petite, almost childlike, and without artifice. They rushed Sherry as she put down her drink and clipped the dog collar around her neck. Tim passed them a small key and Hope knelt to unclasp her ankle.

Faith pulled on her lead. “Come, Sherry, we go to swim!”

‘No,” ordered Tim, “not until you’ve put some cream on her. She’s not the same colour as you and she’ll burn. It’s next to the bed.”

Faith passed her lead to Alistair and the two girls rubbed cream into her skin, hurrying but missing nowhere. Their small hands were everywhere, rubbing and burrowing until she was slippery all over.

“Now her nose,” said Tim, “or it will get as red as Rudolph. Then you can take her.”

They pulled at her lead and she ran down the beach with them, leaving the men to watch as they splashed in the shallows.

“Make a lovely picture, don’t they?” mused Alistair.

“Yes. It’s the contrast, I suppose, and Sherry seems to be enjoying herself.”

“Of course. Why not? Is she showing any sign of changing yet?”

“I’m not sure,” Tim thought for a while. “She’s eating again. She wouldn’t even do that to start with. I’m surprised she’s not fighting with her chain. I thought I’d have to watch her all the time, but she seems to have accepted she can’t get away. That doesn’t mean she’s given up yet. I hope you’re right. I’m still afraid she’ll take off as soon as she’s free.”

“She won’t, trust me my friend. You’ll see. Come on, let’s go and join them.”

Tim followed Alistair’s lead and kept his shorts on. As they walked down to the water, Alistair instructed him. “You’ve got to keep on being friendly but firm with her. She’s got to be able to rely on you and know exactly where she stands. Don’t ever trade with her. Never let her say ‘I’ll do this if you let me do that’. That’s not her place. If you want her to do whatever she’s offering, then she should do it without payment. So if she ever tries to trade, take what she’s offering anyway. She’ll soon learn.

“But don’t take anything by force. Just let her know that you could force her, if you wanted to, and then wait for her to bring it to you freely. You can reward her afterwards, but not by taking her chains off. Give her things, do things for her, but don’t set her free.” He stopped Tim at the water’s edge so he could finish. “Tell her she’s pretty and sexy, but don’t try anything with her yourself. When she’s ready, she’ll come to you and it will be much, much better that way. Make her jealous. Play with my girls as much as you want, they like you. In fact, I think I’ll tell them to put on a show for you tonight, and we’ll see how Sherry reacts.”

Tim dived into the sea and swam around the girls to deeper water. Looking back, they made a beautiful picture with the beach and coconut palms behind them. He dived and swam underwater towards them, skimming the rippled sand. Two brown legs emerged out of the fog. He grabbed the ankles and pulled his head between them. Ignoring her struggling, he surfaced under Faith and lifted her out of the water on his shoulders. Her hands clutched in his hair and her legs gripped him tightly as she shrieked.

He wiped salt water from his face and looked at Hope holding Sherry’s lead. They both looked surprised. “Come on, Sherry, lift her up and we’ll see who’s strongest.”

Sherry hesitated and then pulled Hope in front of her. She dipped her face into the water and pushed under Hope, lifting her out of the water. She was heavy. Sherry looked at the brown legs over her shoulders, reaching down to frame her breasts. Why not, she thought, and started towards Tim and Faith. She felt Hope slip the dog lead over her wrist and reach for her sister.

They played until they were tired. Tim decided to take Alistair snorkelling and left the girls lying in the shallow water.

Sherry lay between the twins, thinking of nothing, enjoying the sun and water alternately bathing her.

“You like the little house, Sherry?” asked Faith.

“What? Oh yes, it’s perfect. Like a dream, but I wish Tim wouldn’t tie me up like this. Does he think I’m going to run away? I don’t understand what’s got into him.”

The girls giggled. “I think you are very bad girl, that’s why,” said Faith. “Ali say you are bad girl with many men. Suck cock too much.”

Jesus, thought Sherry, does everyone know? She felt embarrassed and suddenly sad for Tim.

“I come here one time,” volunteered Hope. “Ali send me here for one week. Just me. No clothes. He chain me to the long wire and leave. Finish. I cry too much,” she added happily. “Then he come back and now everything OK. I good girl now.”

“What! A week? By yourself? That’s terrible. Why did he do that?”

“I wear panties.”

“Panties?” Sherry asked in disbelief.

“Yes. Ali say today, no panties, but I bad girl. I cry, I fight because old men coming for dinner and I no like see old hajji when no panties. Ali he say, I find you have panties, I put you on Pulau Ikan for one week with no clothes. I think he no do it. He not know if I have panties or no panties, but when we bring the food for the dinner, he touch me and—oh, oh—I have panties. I am very frightened, but Ali, he not shout, no smack my bottom. No. First he put me on his knee and pull up my sarong and show my bottom for all the old hajjis. I think he smack my bottom then for sure but no, he just take off my panties and show me to all the hajjis. Then tomorrow, he say nothing. He happy, normal, until we come here after three days. And then he leave me. He say, I tell you wear panties and I bring you Pulau Ikan, so now you wait here. I am very sorry. One week. No Faith, no peoples, only me. But now no problem. I good girl. Ali say no panties, Hope have no panties. Ali say no sarong, Hope no problems, and now he love me too much. Give me everything. And Faith. He love us too much.”

Sherry closed her eyes and thought about what she had just heard. At least Tim had stayed with her. She would have gone mad if she had been left alone like Hope. Alistair seemed to cherish the girls, perhaps even love them, and they clearly doted on him. Marooning Hope did not seem to have done her any harm, but if Tim thought that chaining her up would turn her into some kind of docile slave, well, he had disappointment waiting. As soon as she got free again, she would… use her ticket home? She supposed she would have to. Unless Tim begged her to stay. Then she might relent, but not if he intended to behave like this to her. She would not stay if she was not respected.

Then the girls led her back to the cabin. It was time to start cooking.