Protecting the Mistress (26/31) (FemDom, Romance)

"You'll have to make do with my coffee, Gemma.  Gerald's is
much better, but he isn't going to be moving around the
kitchen or anywhere else for a few days."  Mary said acidly as
she poured coffee at the table in Gerald's little kitchen.

Gemma closed her eyes at that little gibe, and nodded. Mary
had read her the riot act again as soon as the doctor had
taken his leave.  Although she stood nearly eight inches
taller than the more diminutive domina, Gemma had felt very
much the erring schoolgirl, with Mary playing the role of her
old boarding school Head Mistress taking her to task for some
failure or infraction. 

Determined not to give Mary cause to get started again, Gemma
decided calm agreement was the safest path to take.  "Too
right, Mary, God, how could Freda do that?  I mean, I know we
told her to be tough with him.  Hell, the whole point of this
was to press him hard and see if he could handle it.  Assuming
you were correct and it was the humiliation aspect of that . .
. incident  . . .  that set him off, this was a natural, if
very demanding next step from the forced feminization game you
played on him at the first congregation."

"If that damned bitch had played by the rules, Gemma.  She
didn't and Gerry is suffering because of it!"

Gemma saw the martial glint in her friend's eyes becoming more
pronounced.  She spoke quickly to interrupt her tirade a'
borning." "I know, Mary, I know.  I even selected her because
of her style of play.  I don't know what she could have been
thinking of to go that far." Gemma just shook her head. "On
the other hand, Mary, how could he let her do that to him? 
Was he afraid we'd rule against you if he tried to protect
himself or did you order him not to safe word, Mary?"

"He couldn't safe word." Mary replied in a dangerously soft
voice.  

"Of course he could." Gemma responded instinctively until she
caught the deadly look on Mary's face.  She was furious again,
but this time it was a cold rage, and all the more frightening
to Gemma."um mm  . . . Couldn't he?" She tentatively asked
seeking more evidence for Mary's emotion

Mary forced herself to calm down.  Nothing would be gained by
screaming at Gemma any more.  She screamed anyway. "She left
that fucking ring gag in his mouth the whole damned weekend.
She kept the baby straps on him, too.  He couldn't make a
single intelligible word.  Not only that, but in direct
contravention of my instructions to her she did not even
bother telling him about the panic button built into the baby
carriage.  Of course, it is only Gerald's word against hers,
but Gerry has never lied to me and he has nothing to gain by
lying to me now."

"Well, from the looks of his ass, I would say revenge might be
a pretty good motive.  Hard to believe he would break out like
that from wet diapers, though.  Maybe Freda was just careless
or fell asleep."

"They weren't just wet, Gemma."  The other woman's eyebrows
rose into her hairline, her mouth open in shock.  "He soiled
himself, the first time shortly after they left the
auditorium, and she didn't change him or clean him up until
just before she was to return him to me."

"How?" was all Gemma could say to that.

"According to Gerry, Freda gave him a couple of moderately
sized but very soapy enemas - one right after the scene, and
one just before she put him to bed for the night.  He tried,
but eventually the soap's irritation was just too much for him
and he lost control of his bowels.  She left those damned
messy diapers on him until the end of the weekend, Gemma! 
She's damned lucky he doesn't have a really serious infection
because of that nasty little stunt.  I *might* still let her
live."  

Mary's face went very hard and her voice dropped too just
barely above a whisper.  "Initially, I didn't really
understand why she felt she had to deliver him to me in ankle
and hand irons.  Now I do, and I am only sorry I did not turn
him loose on her. No, I take that back.  I am sorry I did not
turn myself loose on her."

"That is what got you into this mess in the first place,
darling.  You are wagering a great deal on his self control. 
Don't fuck it up now."

"Well, as you said yourself, Gemma.  Look at the condition she
returned him in.   Christ, I want to break that damned cane of
hers over her head, and stick the two jagged ends up places
where it does her the least good and that is just for
starters."

Gemma's stomach fluttered at the memory of what Gerry's
buttocks had looked like.  She was still having a hard time
believing that a Cabal-vetted Domme could do something like
that to a submissive in her keeping. 

"That would gain nothing, either."  Gemma said, trying to keep
the lid on her friend's mounting anger.

"True enough, but I can dream, can't I?  As he pointed out,
bringing charges against another member of the Cabal is
serious business, and if he couldn't prove it, he might do
more harm than good."

"No witnesses to the scene?"

"None that stayed for any length of time according to Gerry. 
One actually mentioned the stench, but Freda said it was time
for his changing and that she'd take care of it after the
visitor left.  And Gerry did not recognize her, anyway."

Gemma shook her head.  "Then there is nothing I can do, at
least officially.  As you said, it is only his word that she
did not give him the opportunity to safe word out of it. She
won't tell on herself as you did. Unofficially, however, I am
going to keep a *very* close eye on our Nanny-Dearest.  We
don't need that kind of incident messing things up for
everyone else.  If she is really that vicious, she will slip
up again, and I will be there to catch her next time."

"Thanks." Mary replied wearily.  Her anger was starting to
wind down again, at least for the moment, and the post-
adrenalin-rush fatigue was on her.

"What are you going to do?" Gemma asked gently.

"Stay home and take care of him.  For as long as he'll let me,
anyway," she said with a defeated shrug.  "As I should have
done over the weekend."

"I will say this just one last time, dammit." Gemma's own
temper was fraying under the morning's revelations.  "There
was nothing you could have done once you agreed to the scene,
Mary, and to Freda's assumption of responsibility for him in
the scene.  Under the current rules, you could not have left
your room, even if you'd been absolutely positive she was
abusing him.  That is the way the contract is written. The
fault lies with me for selecting Freda and then not monitoring
her, and with Freda for abusing him, as you said, in total
contravention of your direction."

"Screw that god-damned contract." Mary snapped.  "It is not
going to matter much longer anyway."  At Gemma's quizzical
look, Mary laughed bitterly.  "Do you honestly think I would
ask him to go back up there?  After what our oh-so-precious
Cabal with all our high-minded rhetoric about safety and
sanity and all that consensuality bullshit just did to him? 
Christ, Gemma, he has every right in the world to tell me to
go to hell if I even suggested such a thing.  I'm somewhat
amazed he hasn't already."

"He tried to hide it from you, Mary.  Seems to me he did that
because he knew this is how you would react and he did not
want that.  And also because he knows that you are in no way
responsible for his current condition.  In a way, your sub is
still trying to look out for your safety - just like we said
back when I asked you to do that scene with him.  Since he
could have already called the whole thing off over this, I
would say he has already decided to stay the course to the
end," Gemma encouraged.

"He has a lot of discomfort to live through yet, Gemma.  He
might just change his mind.  The bruises from that damned cane
of hers are deep.  The doctor figures he will be almost back
to normal in a week or so.  In some ways, the worst is yet to
come.  He'd have to be a masochist to be willing to continue. 
He's not a masochist and I am not a sadist.  Don't expect us
back, Gemma."

"No, he isn't a masochist.  He's a man in love - one who wants
to slay dragons for his lady.  He's just worried that he might
also be one of those dragons that threaten her." Gemma stood
and offered her hand to her friend.  They shook hands where
once they would have hugged, which saddened them both.  "I
expect I will see you up on the mountain with Gerald at least
one more time.  Good luck, dear.  I can find my own way out. 
Go see how your patient is doing."

Mary watched Gemma leave the house, and then watched as her
car disappeared from view before heading up the stairs to
Gerald.

~------------~

"Why?"

Mary looked up from the book she was reading.  She had moved
Gerald back into the Mistress Bedroom for the duration of his
recovery.  The bathroom was closer for Gerald and the bed was
better.  Besides, there was also a comfortable chair in which
Mary could rest in as she kept her vigil.

"Why, what, Gerald?"

"That damned scene.  I know Freda disobeyed you, but I don't
understand what you hoped to accomplish with it."

Mary considered her answer, trying to decide how much of the
truth she should give him.  All of it, she mused.  It was time
for him to know all of it, and if he ordered her out of his
life for it?  Well, maybe that was fair.  

"Part of it you already know.  The Cabal wanted to be sure you
could be trusted with someone other than me - especially if
that person pressed you and your buttons hard."

"And they still don't fucking know, do they?  It is not like I
was free to do anything the entire time."

"True, but that is not the point.  You should have been, or at
least somewhat free, anyway."  At Gerald's derisive snort of
disbelief, Mary bristled.  "Do you want to know this or not?" 
Gerald gave a sharp nod.  "Then listen.  The public part was
intended as another humiliation treatment.  In case you
haven't realized it, you react very badly to that type of
play.  I think that may be a large piece of what made you snap
and attack me.  I was so proud of you, Gerald.  You almost
won.  You should have won."

"Freda couldn't have that.  She told me later that she has
been dreaming about having a sub who couldn't say no to her
for a very long time.  What was supposed to happen?"

"First and foremost, you were supposed to be teased into
playing with her.  Baby games mostly like crawling around,
sucking on a pacifier or perhaps on your thumb and playing
with a rattle.  All the games were with a hint of humiliation,
but more playful than anything else.  Freda is supposed to be
particularly good at that type of scene.  We thought that, in
the privacy of the nursery, you'd be able to let go and enjoy
yourself, much as you had when I put you in little girl
rompers.  We hoped that you'd realize you could "suffer" some
gentle humiliation in privacy and still have fun, and with
someone other than me pushing your buttons."

Gerald considered this and nodded.  "Like the Cabaret before
that guy interfered."

Mary nodded.  "Just so.  The other part of the planned
program, however, was not quite that benign."

Her defensive tone brought Gerald's head up with a snap.  "Not
quite so benign?" The question was actually a demand and both
realized that.

"You were going to be a baby for the entire weekend, Gerald,"
Mary said with soft emphasis, "Just as I said you would be at
the beginning of the afternoon demonstration on Saturday. 
That meant no access to adult facilities.  You were to spend
the whole time in diapers and yes, *using* diapers."

"For god's sake, Mary," he breathed, "Why?!?!"

"To show you that being dependent on someone else is all right
when you are submitting to that someone.  She was supposed to
change you regularly, even if you did not need it.  In case
you are wondering, yes, you would have needed it.  She was
going to keep feeding you fluids, keeping you super hydrated. 
You could not possibly have held it for more than twenty four
hours."

"What about bowel movements?"

"Why do you think we had soup for dinner Friday night and why
I gave you an enema before you went to bed that night?  So you
wouldn't have to move your bowels, but if you had, she was
supposed to handle that, too."

"I can't believe you mean that."  He growled.

"Why do you think I ordered you to safe word if it got to be
too much for you, love?  Why do you think I drove you to safe
word with those vibrating clamps and cock ring?  I figured it
would be necessary for you, especially if you did need to move
your bowels.  I wanted you to know without the slightest
shadow of doubt that using your safe word was exactly what I
wanted you to do if the situation got too rough for you."

She watched as Gerald went very still and all emotion left his
face.  Here it comes, she thought bleakly - he was going to
order her to leave him the hell alone.  It won't be enough for
him.  Well, she really could not blame him.

Gerald took a deep breath.  "Thank you, Mistress."

"What did you say?" Mary goggled in disbelief.

"Thank you," he repeated.  "I can see that you did everything
you could to make this easier for me.  It is not your fault
that any of this happened.  And while I can't say I would have
liked having control of my most basic bodily functions
stripped from me, I know beyond any doubt that you intended
that I safe word out of that."

"You believe me?" Mary asked, her heart singing.

"You've never lied to me, Mistress.  Of course I believe you."

"Oh," Mary said, still dazed.