Danni's strange life continued at Wright's mansion. The events of the decadent party seemed like a dream, but she knew it had all been real enough.
The days blurred into each other as she continued her role as Judith, dressing in outrageously brief clothes and never refusing her favours to any man who approached her. She saw little of Wright during that time, but the knowledge that the rooms in the house had hidden cameras was enough to assure her that he was taking a keen interest in her activities, a notion that she found oddly pleasing. Few days passed without her receiving messages from her host, telling her what to wear and where to be, though she was occasionally allowed to choose her own outfit, as long as it consisted of one of the sets in her wardrobe.
Tonia became a frequent visitor to the house. She seldom spoke to Danni, preferring to laze beside the pool or to amuse herself chatting to the other guests, but Danni knew that she took a close interest in her, and would often sense her eyes upon her as she moved about the house and grounds.
After a while Danni found herself actually settling into the life at the mansion. Strange though her role was, she was somehow becoming accustomed to Judith's sluttish ways and, just as Wright had predicted, the fact that the men who used her were all strangers made it easier for her to give herself in the ways she did. From time to time she wondered why and how Wright had a constant stream of guests, but decided it must be due to his business methods.
It was on a hot afternoon about ten days after her visit to Tonia's house that things suddenly changed for the young beauty.
Danni had received no instructions from Wright that afternoon. On the occasions she found she had some time to herself, she generally took a stroll around the vast estate. She had discovered a route that led her far from the house through beautiful woodland, and she was in the habit of ambling along it when the weather allowed. So she put on a tiny miniskirt, a waistcoat, and a pair of sandals, and set off.
The outfit was, as always, far from modest. The skirt was very short indeed, sitting low down on her hips and leaving her midriff bare. The waistcoat was skimpy too, with no means of fastening it at the front so that it hung slightly open, revealing the pale swell of her breasts and barely hiding her nipples. But it was probably the most conservative outfit in the wardrobe.
She strolled along the gently winding paths, enjoying the plants and trees and the songs of the birds. Occasionally she would stop to smell the beautiful scent of a flower. She stretched her arms and savoured the brief respite from captivity. The grounds were peaceful and deserted, save for the occasional gardener, who would all take the opportunity for a rest from their labours and admire the luscious female as she wandered past. For Danni, the respite from Judith's antics was a welcome one, and she was glad of the relative solitude.
It was with some dismay, therefore, that she spotted a figure coming down the path towards her. It was a man. He was dressed in a black suit, a somewhat incongruous outfit, given the situation and the heat of the day. For a moment Danni considered turning off the path and trying to avoid the intrusion into her privacy, but decided against it. The man had almost certainly spotted her by now and, for all she knew, he might have been sent out by Wright to find her. So she kept walking towards him.
As he came closer, she realised that she'd seen him before somewhere, though she couldn't for the moment think where. Then the sunlight caught his glasses, and she remembered. It was the quiet man who had sat beside her at the dinner party, and who had appeared to be so disgusted by her behaviour. She wondered again if there was any way of avoiding him, but it was too late.
He stopped, blocking her path. Danni stopped too. He eyed her up and down with that same expression of disdain that she recognised from before, and she wished she was dressed more decently, instinctively pulling the waistcoat snugly around her breasts.
'Good afternoon,' she said, with more cheer than she really felt.
He nodded curtly.
She tried desperately to remember how Tonia had responded to her previous enquiry as to the name of the pious creep who'd sat next to her during that meal. 'It... it's Jeremiah isn't it?' she asked, trying to keep a pleasant note in her voice.
'That's right,' he responded, without any warmth.
'Jeremiah...?' she prompted.
'That's my surname.' He gazed off into the distance, as though remembering years gone by. His mood darkened visibly. 'I don't use my first name.'
'Oh...' The smile faltered on her lips as she offered him a handshake. 'I - I'm Judith. We met at Tonia's party... remember?'
He ignored her hand. 'Oh, how could I forget?'
His monotone voice made her shudder, and she hoped he hadn't noticed. His stare was intense, and she felt greatly unnerved as it conquered her and she felt compelled to look down at the mossy ground. She silently cursed herself for being so weak.
'Where are you going?' he asked suddenly, conversationally.
Danni brightened a little; perhaps he could be quite pleasant after all. 'I - I was just taking a little walk. I love it out here.'
'Perhaps I could walk with you?' he asked, and she thought she detected the slightest flicker of a smile from his magnified eyes behind his glinting spectacles. The suggestion surprised her; her previous experience of the man had suggested that he would shun her company. If she was honest she would rather have been left alone, but perhaps she was being given the opportunity to repair some of the damage that had been done to her character - in his eyes, at least.
'That would be nice,' she said, trying to be bright and breezy.
They strolled along in silence. Despite an immense effort on her part, Danni still felt uncomfortable in his presence. He said nothing, but his eyes were constantly darting in her direction, surreptitiously eyeing her up, and she couldn't help but remember the state she had been in when he had last set eyes on her.
They walked on for some time, then came to a divide in the track. They were a long way from the house, she knew, and the left fork led back to it.
'I need to go left here,' she said. 'It's time I was getting back.'
'Why the hurry?' he asked.
'Charles will be looking for me. He always does at about this time of day.'
That was the truth. By late afternoon Wright was in the habit of giving her her instructions for that evening. While Danni knew he would probably just leave a written note in her room, it gave her the perfect excuse to get away from her taciturn walking companion.
'Can't we go a little further?'
'If I do I'll be late.'
He smiled thinly. 'My car is parked a short distance from here. If you come with me I'll drive you back.'
Danni eyed him warily. She hadn't been expecting that answer. In all honesty she would have preferred to walk, but she could scarcely justify refusing his offer. Besides, he might tell Wright that she was impolite.
'All right,' she said, though something told her she shouldn't have.
His smile widened, but it was clear that smiling didn't come naturally to him. 'Good. Come along then.'
They took the right fork. He was walking faster now, his steps more purposeful, and Danni wondered if he had planned the encounter. After all, it wouldn't have been difficult for him to discover the route that she took on her walks, and they were well beyond the range of Wright's ubiquitous cameras. Serious doubts festered as she followed him.
They came to the high fence that surrounded Wright's estate. There was a gate, and just beyond that was a car. The gates were normally kept bolted, but she saw that the padlock was missing. That surprised her, as Wright was very keen on security, and she had sometimes wondered if the locks were as much to keep her in as to keep intruders out. Such a precaution would have been pointless, though, since she had no intention of leaving the relative safety of the estate without Wright's say-so.
'Come on,' the man insisted, holding the gate open for her.
'I... I'm not sure,' she said, looking back over her shoulder in the direction of where the house lay out of sight beyond the wooded copse. 'I promised Charles I'd stay on the estate.'
'Don't be so silly,' he chided like a stern uncle. 'We're not going anywhere. I'll just give you a lift back... come on,' he urged again.
Somewhat reluctantly she stepped through the gate. As she did so she stared about guiltily, suddenly reminded of how scantily dressed she was. On Wright's land she was able to wear the extraordinary outfits he gave her in the knowledge that the only people to see her would be Wright's guests, who relished her appearance, and his staff, who could offer no opinion anyway. Once she was off his property, though, none of that applied, and she found herself acutely aware of how the lower slopes of her buttocks nearly showed beneath the hem of the tiny skirt and the waistcoat did nothing to hide her cleavage.
Jeremiah closed the squeaky gate and led her across to his car. When they reached it he opened the door and she clambered in, then he walked round to the driver's side and got in beside her. It was a large car, with leather seats and a walnut dash, and Danni sat back, trying to enjoy the comfort.
He put the key in the ignition, but didn't start the engine. Instead, he turned to her.
'You're a very beautiful girl, Judith,' he said. 'May I call you Judith?'
'I...' Danni was taken aback by this sudden display of friendliness, but tried her best not to show it. 'Of course you can,' she replied.
There was an uncomfortable pause, and once more she was aware of his judgemental eyes upon her. It was warm in the car, and that combined with his simmering intensity made Danni shift awkwardly and blow her light fringe to cool herself.
'You like having men and women lust after you, don't you, Judith?' he said suddenly.
She twisted her hands in her lap. What was this bloke's problem? 'I don't mind,' she said.
'And men and women find you very attractive, don't they?'
Danni didn't know where his line of questioning was leading, and she began to wish she had never accepted his offer of a lift. 'I suppose so,' she said, to appease him. 'Do you think we could go no, please?'
'Oh, but they do,' he continued, ignoring her request. 'They find you very attractive.'
'If you say so.' He was making her feel increasingly uneasy.
'Would you mind if I photographed you?'
She stared at him in surprise. 'Photographed me? You want to photograph me?'
'Yes, I do.' The thin smile was still fixed on his face. 'I would love to capture your image on film.'
'I... I don't know about that.'
'Why, what's the problem?'
'It - it's just that... well, the other night you didn't seem to approve of me at all.'
'That was because of all those other vultures. The way they drooled after you disgusted me. Now there's just the two of us.'
His monotone made her shudder again, despite the mounting warmth in the car. 'W-what sort of pictures do you want of me?'
'Shots of your body.' He spoke as though requesting nothing out of the ordinary.
'With no clothes on?'
'With no clothes on,' he confirmed confidently.
'And what would the photos be for?'
'Just a little keepsake for me.' His spectacles flashed again and hid his eyes from her.
'Would...' Danni tried to be careful what she said, sensing that it would be unwise to upset the volatile man, '...would you show them to anyone else?' She felt as though she was handling unstable explosives.
'Only to those who'd truly appreciate your beauty for the right reasons.'
'But I thought you disapproved of other people looking at my body?'
His face darkened, and for a moment she saw a flash of anger behind the spectacle lenses. 'Will you do it?' he asked bluntly, his mood shifting dangerously.
Danni eyed him cautiously. She knew she had little choice. She could make a dash from the car, but in her sandals and on the uneven ground it would be no distance before he brought her down like a hunted animal. And besides, perhaps she was being too sensitive and reading him all wrong; perhaps he was okay. After all that had happened to her in the past few weeks she could hardly bulk about posing for a few photos. She made up her mind. 'We'll have to be quick, because I must be getting back... but where do you want me?'
'Get out of the car and take your clothes off.'
For a moment Danni did not move. Then she reached for the door handle and climbed out of the oppressively warm vehicle. An unexpected frisson of excitement churned her insides at the prospect of baring all, there in the open, and somehow the danger of being discovered by someone passing by only added to that excitement.
The man took a camera from the glove compartment and joined her. As he made adjustments to its settings she took one more look around, and then shrugged off her waistcoat and let it fall to the ground. She ran her fingers over her breasts, feeling the warmth of the sun on her perfect orbs. Then she loosened her skirt, held it in place for a moment, still a little reluctant to discard the final concession to modesty, and looked at the man. He was standing with his eyes fixed on her shapely young body, the camera held almost at the ready. Then she let the tiny garment flutter down her legs and stepped out of it. Taking a deep breath, she stood proudly before him and his impressive lens.
'What about the sandals?' she asked demurely.
'You can leave them on,' he said, a slight tremor in his voice. He raised the camera to his eye. Danni heard the click and whirr of the shutter.
'Stand by the car,' he directed. 'Lean back against it and face me.'
Danni did as she was told. The metal of the car's body felt pretty hot against her bare flesh and she squealed lightly.
'Open your legs a little further... that's better...' the camera clicked and whirred as he moved and ducked to get shots from different angles. 'That's good... very good,' he said over and over, his drab tone at last hinting towards a little enthusiasm. Danni watched him repeatedly bobbing down onto one knee and then straightening up again, gradually moving in closer, and she suddenly felt like a timid animal being stalked by a voracious predator. She immediately tried to banish the feeling from her mind, but as the lens came within touching distance her eyes were drawn to the gradually increasing lump in the front of his trousers. She had thought he was some kind of prudish bigot, but he was no different to all the rest of them, and the evidence of that was growing brazenly before her eyes. He was a strange man and no mistake; he professed to disapprove of her behaviour at the very same time as he demanded and savoured it. She groaned inwardly, anticipating the next loathsome move in this extravagant seduction ritual.
The camera was eventually lowered, and hung from the strap around his neck. He stood close, his heavy breathing ruffling her wispy blonde fringe and the tip of his lens almost resting between her gently heaving breasts like a huge metal penis. Danni closed her eyes and awaited the first touch.
'Do you want me to fuck you?' he asked, his words so at odds with his Draconian image.
'I...' she opened her eyes and looked into his stern face. She shook her head.
'Slut!'
The venom in his voice took her aback. 'What...?'
'Cheap, shameless whore!' he hissed. 'Look at you, flaunting your body. And then you have the audacity to refuse me!'
'But I...'
'Cover yourself up, slattern!' His eyes were bulging from behind the glass. 'Stop your shameful and filthy behaviour.'
Danni was utterly shocked and confused by his unjust outburst. Tears threatened to burst and her chin quivered. She pushed past the brute and picked up her skirt.
The soft grass muted the sound of his strike. The first the unsuspecting girl knew was when he grabbed her from behind and pressed the large cotton pad across her face. She struggled, but there was a harsh smell about the pad, and she felt her strength draining from her body. She was vaguely aware of a lump grinding against her hip as her struggles became more and more feeble. The trees span and seemed strangely out of focus. Then the darkness descended, and she collapsed limply in the arms that wrapped around her like a smothering boa constrictor.