Nor did she know how long this condition was going to last. As far as she was aware it might last forever, she might always be like this for the rest of her life! It would really be better for her to die.
Her present situation almost obliterated her past. She did not dare think about how she had felt before. She remembered only her beatings, the chains, and the various humiliations that had befallen her. If her mind rested occasionally on her father, it was only with the utmost contempt that she thought about him. How could he have ever been friendly with a brute like Willingham? How could he have permitted such a terrible man into his life? He was obviously a liar and a hypocrite to behave like that. She hated him almost as much as she hated Willingham.
She wondered about Hyde-Lee, for nothing that he had described in his diary was as gruesome as what she was now suffering. She could not believe that a man who had written so humanely could tolerate such abuse in his house. She could not make up her mind whether he was just as evil as his brother or whether he was a coward.
Her life might have been made more tolerable if she had been allowed to see Sonia, but the only people she was permitted to see were Willingham or Everton.
It was Everton's responsibility to bathe her. That was horrible for Lillian. Still handcuffed and in ankle chains Everton would make her do the most degrading things.
Even before she was allowed to shower Everton would make her stand on the tiled floor with her legs apart. Sometimes he would run his fingers over her labial lips to get her excited and as soon as he felt her becoming moist, he would nip her hard so that the pain was excruciating. Sometimes his brutal hands would stroke her breasts until her nipples erected and then he would pinch them hard. As with Willingham, if she screamed then Everton would beat her, usually with a hairbrush, and if she screamed out when he beat her with the brush he would beat her more. Lillian learned that whatever her punishment, it was best to remain silent, even if that meant biting her lip so hard she nearly drew blood.
Once inside the shower, Everton would make her kneel on the tiled floor with her bottom in the air. He would start by washing her feet, his hands gradually moving up her flanks, soaping them, then letting the water spray her clean. But Lillian knew what was coming, as his callused hands moved up her inner thigh. This she found most degrading of all. His hands would soap her bottom and then he would jab his soapy fingers deep inside her, poking and squirming his fingers inside until it hurt. This humiliation for her was the worst: the idea that a horrible ignorant man like Everton could abuse her in such a way in such an intimate place.
When he was finished with her bottom he would do the same with her sex, sliding sometimes three or four fingers deep inside her. On one occasion he had even taken a dildo inside the shower. He had slid it so deep she gasped at the terrible pressure of the dildo as it stretched her cunny muscles, but the moment Lillian grew excited it would be removed and she would hear Everton's callous little laugh.
When her session in the shower was over, she would be made to crawl out on her hands and knees, still in chains, and towards the single chair in the room where finally her hood was removed. And then the sight that always greeted her eyes was Everton's thick cock, which she would have to take into her mouth.
While she sucked him to erection Everton would wash her hair, the shampoo sometimes slipping down onto his cock and into Lillian's mouth. No matter how her eyes stung, when he had finished washing her hair he would grab her by the neck and push her onto his cock until he jismed inside her mouth, again making her swallow every drop of his seed.
The hood would then be replaced before Everton brushed her teeth. She was allowed to stand up while Everton manipulated the toothbrush inside her mouth. With practised skill, he would slip his fingers deep inside her bottom. Or just for fun, after he had finished, he would go down and lick her labial lips until her body could not resist the pressure of an orgasm building inside her with his skilful manipulation. However just as she was about to orgasm he would cruelly force her back onto the tiled floor and lead her back to chain her to the bed. There Lillian would lie in the torment of her arousal, but with her hands chained to the bed, she knew there was nothing at all that she could do about it.
Sometimes Everton would stay with her for a moment, occasionally touching her to excite her, but as soon as she felt she was coming his hand would be removed and she would hear again that horrible sinister laugh.
Willingham was sitting in the drawing room, breakfasting with Hyde-Lee. An uncomfortable silence had descended over the dining table as the men had barely spoken to each other for days.
'I know you don't approve, but we had to do something. If you hadn't made such a mess with that damn diary of yours, or if you hadn't invited her here in the first place, we wouldn't be in this situation.'
Willingham looked over at his brother. Hyde-Lee's face looked paler than usual. Maybe the stress of worrying about Lillian, or rather worrying about being found out, was having a detrimental effect on his health.
'It might have been my fault but you are keeping that girl here against her will. She's not one of your usual masochists. This isn't Penny or Magda. This time you have gone too far. You are putting everything at risk. You know this could mean prison for both of us. Have you thought of that?' Hyde-Lee was agitated, and his voice contained none of the usual calm for which he was famed.
'But how is anybody going to find out?'
'Do you think that inspector is not going to be back? What happens if he comes with a warrant?'
'He didn't suspect anything.'
'How do you know that?'
'What is there to suspect? Nobody would suspect us. So the girl came here, then she left for Rome. She hasn't returned. She took all her things. She was due back, but she didn't return. Why would he think for a moment that we are involved? In a couple of weeks she will be willing to go to the police, apologise for the inconvenience she's caused, say something about temporarily losing her memory and that will be that.'
Willingham felt confident about what he was doing. He felt that Hyde-Lee didn't have sufficient confidence in his abilities to control women, but Hyde-Lee was always the type that worried too much. Willingham was, in fact, enjoying training Lillian much more than the other girls he had recently had as 'guests' in his house. Lillian was by far the greater challenge. He was very much looking forward to the time when her whole spirit would be broken and he could control her without the use of chains and hoods, and only with the occasional threat of them.
'But how can you be so sure?' Hyde-Lee whined.
'Because I've trained her, because I know these girls and I know their psychology. She will be so dependent on us, so fearful of our power that she will do anything I say. You watch.'
'But it is so risky.' Hyde-Lee was still not convinced.
'You put us in this situation. What option do we have? What do you want me to do, kill her?'
'My god no!' Hyde-Lee nervously stroked his silver-grey hair. 'It's just such a terrible worry that's all.'
'Look, if it will make you feel any easier you can take a look at her to see how she's coming along. I promise you she's almost ready.'
Hyde-Lee looked over to his half brother suspiciously.
'And there is one other thing.'
'What?'
'James, you are in this as much as I am...'
'Of course, I know that.'
'But...'
'But what?'
'So far, as regards the young lady, you haven't actually done anything to her. You could, if you were canny James, say that you couldn't really stop me and that really you had nothing to do with this, you know if push came to shove.'
'But I wouldn't do that. I'm your brother.' Hyde-Lee looked across at Willingham with a shocked expression on his face. This was a mite disingenuous, because he had already thought that if the police came and discovered the girl there, this would be precisely what he would do.
'Your half-brother.'
'Lance!' Hyde-Lee protested.
'Call it an act of good faith.'
'What Lance?' Hyde-Lee lowered his eyes. His hands were shaking.
'Well, if you were to take her up to your room and give her a good thrashing, and I mean a good thrashing, then she would know that you are as much a part of this as I am.'
'My god, you think that is entirely necessary? I mean...'
'Yes, James, it is entirely necessary, and don't tell me you wouldn't enjoy it.'
'But I'm not in the best of health, Lance, really, I don't know that I really am up to it.'
'Oh,' Willingham turned and smiled at his brother, 'I would have thought it would be precisely what the doctor ordered.'
The dreaded Everton came into the room. She knew it was him. Being imprisoned like this, she had begun to recognise the distinct touch of his hands on her.
However, this time things were different. The hood was removed from her straight away. She looked into his eyes. They threatened her. She knew she was not allowed to speak. Already that morning he had showered and shaved her, but this time he had not caused her any pain, nor had he taken his pleasure from her as he usually did.
He unchained her hands from the bed and fastened them in front of her. The chain was wide enough to let her use her hands to crawl. He unfastened her legs from the bed but then replaced the chains around her ankles so that they were fastened loosely together. The metal-studded collar was placed around her neck and then the dog lead attached.
Lillian watched everything passively, her big eyes staring at Everton all the time. She knew that something different was going to happen. There was a terrible ambivalence inside her. The ability to hear and see things was a great relief, the light at first blinding her and the noises her chains made were momentarily deafening, but she was also frightened about what they might do to her. What was all this about exactly?
Lillian had never got over the humiliation of being made to crawl on all fours with Everton or Willingham tugging at her metal-studded collar. In some strange way it was even worse now because she could see everything, whereas before she had been cast into darkness and could almost imagine that what was happening to her wasn't happening at all; or, at least try to shunt the shameful exhibition they were making of her to the back of her mind. Now though, she could see everything, how totally abject she was, how much she was in their control, to hear the jangle of her ankle chains, to see the metal bracelets attached to her wrists as she crawled along.
But something was strange today. Everton was not leading her to Willingham's private room as he often did or down to the bathroom. He was leading her upstairs to where Hyde-Lee's suite of rooms was located.
Something like hope stirred in her. If she was allowed to speak to Hyde-Lee then maybe he could help to get her out of this mess. He might also have sadistic tastes but she could not quite believe he was as brutal as his brother. If she were just allowed to talk to him, then she might be able to persuade him to bring this whole ridiculous situation to a halt. Her heart began to beat rapidly at the prospect.
Everton was indeed leading her along the passage that led to his main room. The door opened and much to Lillian's relief, she could see that Willingham wasn't present. Hyde-Lee was alone sitting on a leather sofa. Maybe her whole wretched imprisonment might be coming to an end, she hoped.
'Where do you want her, sir?'
'On my lap please, Everton.'
Lillian's heart sank. She was only to be punished again. She mumbled something through her gag, so outraged was she by this final betrayal. She just couldn't help it. She tried to imagine some time in the future when Hyde-Lee, Everton and Willingham would pay for all the tortures that they had inflicted on her, and the sense of joy she would have watching it.
'Quiet miss,' Everton said menacingly, 'or it will be the whip!'
Immediately and automatically, Lillian shrank into silence.
'And what would you prefer to use, sir? May I recommend the belt? She responds well to the belt.'
'Very well, Everton.'
Everton positioned Lillian so that she lay across Hyde-Lee's lap, her pert bottom right in front of his gaze.
And to think that she had come all the way to Italy to write this man's biography, that she had slaved for a year already eulogising the man's sophisticated prose. Never would she have imagined that she would have ended up in this position!
She could tell that Hyde-Lee was excited by the prospect; he already had an erection, his ancient cock was pushing against her through his trousers, as his wizened hands examined her bottom. Lillian lay over him in her abject misery. His fingers were now spreading the cheeks of her bottom as he gazed at her little bottom hole.
Everton handed him the short leather belt that he kept for such occasions. Hyde-Lee took it in his frail hands, lifted it in the air, and brought it down on her.
It stung Lillian a little, but next to the thrashings that she had received at the hands of Willingham and Everton, it was mild. Hyde-Lee belted her again and again, her body jolted against the force even still, but it was obvious that Hyde-Lee in his ailing body did not have the strength to hurt her as she had already been hurt.
Everton seemed to notice as well, and seemed displeased at the weakness of Hyde-Lee's blows. 'May I suggest, sir, a different tactic? The girl has been trained in the art of oral sex. May I suggest that she pleasures you and at the same time, for it always enhances her performance, that I administer her punishment?'
Hyde-Lee nodded and Everton pulled Lillian from his lap and made her kneel before Hyde-Lee with her bottom in the air. Only when Hyde-Lee had removed his erection from his trousers did Everton remove her gag and before she even had a chance to speak, he pushed her pouty mouth onto the old man.