Sold, Packaged, and Shipped

Chapter 28: After the Strappado

They were taken out of the Blue Room just before the torment became more than they could take and the screaming would begin. Angus was a good judge of such things.

For the afternoon, they were taken into the Red Room. There they found three small, steel-barred cages, two of a very small size and one a little larger. The large one was about six feet long and just wide enough to fit a woman’s body. It was hanging from the ceiling, and the two women whose shoulders were still aching could easily imagine having to stand in that cage for a long time.

It was not the long cage that they were introduced to, however. It was the two small ones. Each was about three feet long, less in width, and not quite that tall. The lid swung up on stout hinges to allow entrance, then could be locked solidly in place with two hasps and padlocks. There was no question that a woman locked into one of those would be totally unable to escape – not to mention hardly able to move.

Each of them still had their arms bound behind their backs, elbows tightly together, so there was little that Angus had to do to prepare them for the afternoon’s torment. He swung open the door of one cage and bid Melinda to step into the cage. She glared at him and was about to inform him that she could not possibly fit into such a small space, when she saw the riding crop in his hand. Gently he reached it out and tapped the side of one of her breasts as a hint of what would follow should she really wish to refuse the command. Still glaring angrily, she lifted one foot and placed it inside the cage. She used her bound hands on the edge to steady herself as she swung the other foot over.

“Now down on your knees,” he commanded.

Melinda looked down at the bottom of the cage and saw that it was a solid steel plate. She tried to lower herself, but found the maneuver awkward with no hands to help. Angus took hold her one bare arm and helped her. The space was so small that her feet were up against one end and her knees within a few inches of the other.

“Bend down.”

It was the order she feared would come next. It was logical. Unless she were bent over, there was no way that the lid could be closed. She bent, not liking the position she was being forced into. She felt Angus’ hand on her back as he pushed her down until her breasts were flattened against her thighs. Her head bumped into the bars at the end. She was about to protest when she felt the steel bars pressing against her bound arms. She was forced into a more squashed position. Then she heard the clicking of the padlocks.

The steel bars pressed against her on all sides and the top. It seemed as if the cage been custom designed to her measurements, so snug was the fit. The unfortunate young woman found that this position was uncomfortable for the moment, but she feared what was to come. The protocols of this strange and horrible place dictated that she not be left there only a few minutes to sample the torture. No, she would be left like that until she was screaming to be let out.

With a sinking heart, she watched as Darlene was fitted into the second cage. The fit was not quite as tight, but it was still enough to prevent the older woman moving. The cages were positioned so that the two could see each other quite well.

was about to leave when Melinda could no longer hold her tongue. “How long?” she asked. For the first time her voice was not tinted with the anger inside her. It was

for dinner. On the other hand, he might forget about you and

have been teasing them, but the prospect of spending the rest of the day and all of the night

but I do. Many times a girl has spent the night in a cage.

which made both of

they were alone in the small room, in the

“It is just too cruel.” She sounded as if she

Darlene said. Then she sighed.

her questing fingers. With a grunt of anger, she pushed upward, but the lid only moved a fraction of an inch before the hasps and

“These cages are just

Melinda. “Crappy.

“Secure,” Darlene said.

“Shit!

time after that, neither said a word. It was not very warm in the Red Room, so the cold added to their misery.

herself. It was just too horrible being treated like this: caged and left alone for hours on end. He probably treated his dogs better than this, Melinda thought. Then she

of her, Susan visited them after

we here,” she cheerfully said. “Two caged women!

round them, poked her finger into bare flesh were it was pressed against the bars and smiled. “Too bad I can’t whip you,” she finally told them as she sat on Darlene’s cage and crossed her leather-clad

not want to know what