The Wanderings of Amy Ch. 21

Burnside stopped again, and sat down on the bed close to her servant's face. Wendy's face was distorted by crying and the agony she was enduring. Her cheeks were wet from tears. Burnside waited for Wendy's sobs to die down. She placed her hand on the girl's upper arm and looked into her eyes.

"OK, Wendy, final set of strokes, on your legs. This time it will just be 10."

Slowly Burnside laid the final set of strokes on Wendy's thighs, five on each thigh. Wendy screamed again, although this time more weakly. Burnside realized that she was right about cutting the final set from 20 to 10. The girl clearly was worn out.

Wendy continued to sob for a long time. The increasing pain in her shoulders and legs began to match the pain from her bottom.

Burnside gently ran her fingers over the welts. Wendy would have these for quite a while, especially the ones on her bottom. Finally Burnside unhooked her servant's cuffs and took them off her wrists and ankles. Wendy buried her face in her hands. Her sobs became irregular and she started to hiccup. Burnside pulled the pillow out from under Wendy and left the room. Unlike the Halloween party punishment, today there was time for her to recuperate.

After she put the switch, pillow, and cuffs away, Burnside re-heated her servant's portion of lunch and poured her some juice. She took the food to Wendy, who still was lying face down on her bed crying quietly. Burnside set the food on her servant's desk.

"Wendy, try to eat as much of this as you can. You can take the next three hours to recover and rest. I have a guest coming over so I will need you to help me with dinner and serving, but that won't be until tonight"

Wendy continued crying and made no sign of moving. Burnside put a hand on her arm.

"Wendy, you have to eat, no matter what. You have to keep your strength up. Then you can sleep."

"Yes, Dr. Burnside." With that Wendy struggled off the bed to force herself to eat.

Wendy managed to eat most of her lunch. Then she lay back down on her stomach and cried until she fell asleep. Four hours later Burnside touched her servant's arm to get her up. She had decided to give Wendy an extra hour of sleep.

Wendy still was in considerable pain. Her welts had risen and darkened. She moved stiffly as Burnside ordered her to vacuum and clean the bathrooms. Burnside concentrated on finishing dinner for her guest while Wendy cleaned up the house.

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Dr. Jim Halsey was Burnside's co-worker, best friend, and lover. He had been Burnside's mentor in graduate school 20 years ago. Although he was 15 years older than Burnside, they shared many things in their lives. Like Burnside, Halsey had gone by his last name for so long that no one even remembered what his first name was. He was the only person who Burnside shared certain things about herself. Although Burnside always had numerous lovers, Halsey had been a stable presence in her life. He was the closest thing to a boyfriend since Burnside had been in high school.

Halsey and Burnside shared their love of fetish. Halsey was a switch. Sometimes he wanted Burnside to punish him, and sometimes he wanted to punish her. Burnside loved submitting to him. In her life Halsey was the only person who Burnside ever allowed to punish her. He was the person who always spanked Burnside at her Mardi Gras parties. It would never occur to anyone else in Burnside's life to try that with her.

Halsey, who in his suit looked so sophisticated in class, loved his leather as much as Burnside loved hers. On the days he topped with Burnside he wore different outfits than when he bottomed. Burnside and Halsey had experimented with almost everything that did not result in permanent scarring or injury. They had endured so much together during their sexual adventures that they trusted each other like neither could trust anyone else.

In spite of the long term nature of their relationship, Burnside and Halsey could never get married. They both were too self-centered and set in their ways to be able to compromise as needed for a marriage. Each had other lovers. The fact that they did not see each other every day kept their relationship fresh.

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Burnside dressed in one of her teaching outfits for dinner. She laid out her formal dinner sets for two people on the dining room table. Wendy was surprised by how elaborate the dinner was when she entered the kitchen. Just before her lover was about to come over Burnside ordered Wendy to shave her pubic hair and clean up. When Wendy was done Burnside replaced Wendy's leather collar with the metal one, with the matching metal cuffs for her wrists and ankles.

Burnside explained to Wendy the order in which the dishes would be served. During dinner, while not actually serving, Wendy would stand outside the kitchen door waiting at parade rest until either Burnside or Halsey needed something. She would bring it, then resume her position at the door. Once dinner was over, she would serve drinks in the living room. After drinks, Wendy would clean up the kitchen and put everything away. There would be food left over and Burnside told Wendy that she was to fix herself dinner and eat before going to bed. Once clean-up was taken care of Wendy could go back to her room. She would be allowed to close her door tonight. Burnside had one more thing to tell Wendy.

"I don't think Dr. Halsey will have anything to talk to you about. However, if he does address you or asks you a question, you will kneel in front of him and answer. You will look him in the eye. The same goes for me tonight. If I ask you something that requires you to speak, you will kneel before you answer."

"Yes, Dr. Burnside."

"You will address him as Dr. Halsey. You will not call him 'sir' or 'master' or any bullshit like that. You probably know that already, but I just wanted to remind you."

"Yes, Dr. Burnside."

When Halsey came over Wendy took his coat and hat and hung them up in the hallway closet. He scanned his eyes over her body with a combination of curiosity and sexual interest. Whenever Wendy turned her back to Halsey her welts drew his attention.

Halsey was dressed the same way he would dress for class, in a dark business suit and tie. Burnside took his hands in hers and kissed him, then they sat down. Wendy served the elaborate dinner. When not serving or preparing the plates, Wendy took her position at the kitchen door. She listened to Burnside and Halsey gossip about mutual friends, their respective lovers, and co-workers. Every time Wendy moved in front of Halsey, she noticed his eyes scanning her body.

Burnside and Halsey moved to the living room for drinks after dinner. As Wendy served him a glass of wine, it suddenly dawned on Halsey that he recognized her.

"Young lady, now I remember you. You were at Ruth's Mardi Gras party, with that girl in the nurse's outfit."

Wendy faced Halsey and went to her knees.

"Yes Dr. Halsey, that was me. I was with my friend Amy." Suddenly the memory of that party pained Wendy. Her life seemed so carefree at the time, prior to her final gambling binges.

Halsey then asked Wendy a few questions about her life, and finally how she ended up in Burnside's house. Wendy was not happy about having to share her personal problems with a stranger. However, Burnside did not stop Halsey's questions and Wendy wondered why. It was obvious that Halsey's role in Burnside's life was very different from that of her other lovers and that she trusted him. Wendy also guessed, correctly, that Burnside wanted her to respond because she wanted Wendy to be able to describe her problems and express herself clearly. Finally, she answered.

"Dr. Halsey, I have a serious problem with gambling. I lost over $ 60,000 dollars last Spring. I felt so bad about it that I wanted to kill myself. The whole thing alienated me from my parents. Finally I asked Dr. Burnside to help me."

"Wendy's a talented artist," interjected Burnside. "She put a book out with her drawings over the summer. Wendy, get your book for Dr. Halsey please."

Wendy got up and pulled the copy of her book she had given to Burnside off the shelf where Burnside kept it. She handed the book to Halsey and returned to her kneeling position on the floor.

Halsey thumbed through the book after Wendy handed it to him. "Yes. I bought this last month. Now I make the connection. I thought I recognized you when I saw the photos."

"Yes, Dr. Halsey."

Halsey paused, then continued. "I want to congratulate you on your work. I never really liked those Japanese-style cartoons until I saw the ones you did. You have a true talent and I hope you're able to develop it. In other words, don't be so down on yourself. You've got something real to contribute to the world."

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After Halsey and Burnside went to the master bedroom, Wendy ate what was left over from the dinner and put the dishes in the dishwasher. Suddenly she heard loud classical music coming from Burnside's bedroom. Then, over the music, she heard a distinct CRACK!...CRACK!...CRACK!... Wendy wondered who was getting it.

She turned on the dishwasher and wiped up the counters. She turned her attention to the floor, which she decided to mop. By the time she was finished with the floor, the dishwasher was done. Wendy put everything away and went to her room.

The classical music was still playing, and now Wendy thought she could hear both Burnside and Halsey groaning. Oh well, she thought, none of my business what they're doing.

However, as Wendy entered her room she saw her art supplies. She laid out what she would need to make some color drawings and sat down. Her body protested in pain, but the pain fired her imagination, along with the classical music coming from Burnside's room. For the next six hours Wendy drew. Now Wendy was drawing from personal experience and memories, not imagination and fantasy.