AUCTION
Chapter 4
ABBEY CORNISH
I stopped Mr. York just as we had vacated the stables. “Are you certain you want to do this?” I asked. “I mean, it’s bound to cause you all sorts of trouble, her family for one.”
“Yes. I’m very certain. I’ve been thinking about this for a while now and I know how to alleviate all criticism, especially from her family. She has two sisters and a brother, so it’s not as if their family prospects have been reduced. In fact, I rather think their prospects have now been increased. Don’t worry about Jilly, or about repercussions from anyone. I’ll attend to all that.”
As we turned to the stairs we heard a scream from the speaker, followed by the scream of the shocked, followed by more commotion. It lasted a while until it died down again.
“Are you going to see to that?” he asked.
“No. They’re all safe as houses in there. That was Miss Norfolk and she’s probably still adjusting to her change of status. It will be a mistake to go back in. I don’t pander to the animals. They pander to me. Anyway, the infra-red camera will probably have picked it up. We can check now if you want?”
“Yes please. I’m very curious.”
I accessed the recording and went to the approximate time of the disturbance. A bit of fiddling around got us the picture. It wasn’t as clear as a normal camera, but the heat signatures were sufficient to make out what had happened. Mr. York laughed when we realised it was Gillian who tossed her slops over Miss Norfolk who had reacted in her typical fashion.
“Are you going to do anything about that?” he asked me.
“I’ll have to. It’s essential Gillian knows nothing will thwart her fate. Miss Norfolk will also be punished for making noises after lights out. But I do have a problem now. You see they all clean out their own stalls after they’ve been hosed down first thing in the morning. But Gillian dirtied Miss Norfolk’s stall. I think she’s just forced me to break protocol by having her clean out Miss Norfolk’s stall, but, I can’t see any other way to deal with it, except have Miss Norfolk clean out Gillian’s stall at the same time. Gillian will count that as a victory, and I don’t like that. But, I’ll make my decisions tomorrow. I’m not going back just to clean Miss Norfolk.”
We were about to leave the control room when Gillian’s activities became interesting and we stayed to watch. It took a little while—interpreting infra-red images can be difficult—before I realised what she was doing.
“She’s exercising,” I exclaimed, watching carefully. “She’s doing squats.”
“Of course.”
“And see the red around her head area? I’ll have to check but I think it’s brighter than before. She’s meditating as well. She’s still plotting to escape one way or another. This’ll be the last night she does that,” I said with determination. “Shall we have that refreshment now?”
“By all means.”
JACOB YORK
I was agreeably comfortable in her leather reclining chair holding a rather pleasant single malt. Abbey sat opposite enjoying her own.
“I really must congratulate you on your overall achievement in setting up this place, especially at your age. And also for your exemplary dealing with Jilly back there. It was perfect.”
She smiled at me. It looked to be a genuine one, which pleased me greatly. I meant every word. “Thank you Jacob. You’re very kind.” She paused then added, “Can we talk business for a little while. There are certain things I need to understand before I go on.”
I leaned back in my chair, took a sip and replied, “Yes. Of course. What’s on your mind?”
“Well, let’s take the easy one first. What do you have in mind for Miss Norfolk? Everything I do in my training is bespoke, so I need to know what to aim for in the training. Obviously, a lot of clients opt for surgical enhancement and that takes it out of the animals. They require a lot of recovery afterwards—well, depending on the procedure. So, I have to know as soon as possible what Miss Norfolk’s new role will be. And, is she to be renamed as well as modified? That’s important as well. It’s very important not to chop and change. Once a decision has been finalised, that’s it. A change from there is out of the question.”
I heard her out. These were very good questions. I may have been considering adding Jilly to my stables recently, but she had forced my hand and I hadn’t thought these through properly. I put my head back and stared at the ceiling for a while, while I pondered.
Abbey was most gracious in not speaking during my deliberations. Eventually I said, “Jilly is to be my general housemaid. She will be responsible for the cleaning of the whole house, but not for managing anything. She will be under the head butler,”—I paused at that thought—“and myself. She will also be available sexually to anyone I say. But, probably, it will only be my house guests. I intend to have some of her set around eventually to see her status and to sample her, if they so wish. Everybody knows what she was like and having her permanently on display as one of my staff will get the word around like nothing else will. Despite what you may think, she does have a reasonable IQ now, but she won’t need that for her new duties. So, an IQ of around 90 would be ideal.”
After a decent interval, Abbey asked, “And her name? What clothes will she be wearing?”
Smiling, I said, “Good point. I think, as she’ll basically be my pet, I’ll call her ‘Frisky’. She’ll be wearing the basic maid’s uniform. But I don’t understand what you’re getting at about the clothes.”
“I mean, as a maid, it may be necessary to wear high heels, for instance. I can adjust her so she can only wear such shoes. Flat heels will be impossible for her to wear. Also, some require the wearing of a corset, cinched down to whatever waist size the customer wants. Sometimes that requires surgery, which needs planning and extensive healing time. Also, there’s the question of breeding.”
“I see. Good points. I dislike the thought of corsets on a permanent basis, so, no action there for you. But I do like the thought of her permanently wearing such heels. So, let’s do that. Her new position has no room for babies at all, so she will have to be sterilised.”
“I assume you want her protected against STDs?”
“Yes, of course.”
“And her body? I do recommend altering it in some way. That always has a great effect on the animal. It forces its mind to accept its new position. Most animals know deep in their guts that this is their future once they wake up with something changed permanently. Most people with maids prefer them to have larger busts, but that’s an individual preference.”
“I hadn’t thought of that. To my mind, Frisky is just about perfect as she is. But I do understand your problems. So, let’s increase her bust and bum to the largest that is normally possible. I don’t want a freak maid in the house. Can you work based on that general outline?”
“Yes, of course. I have some software I’ll show you later that will show you exactly what you’ll be getting.”
“Now I have a question,” I said.
She tilted her head and said, “Yes?”
“Earlier on you said the animals should never know what happens next, yet, before we left you had your breeding bench set up. Isn’t that a contradiction?”
She smiled. “Yes, it is a contradiction. However I reserve the right to break my own rules where necessary. The breeding bench is for one of my other animals but no-one there has seen it in action. Consequently they’ll all wonder if it’s for them personally, or all of them. I find it’s best to keep them worried and confused at all times. Avril, the animal being bred, doesn’t know her role yet. She’s broken in now, so it’s time to introduce her to her full time work. Physically she is ideally suited to being a brood mare, and her brains don’t matter at this point, so I’ve removed thirty IQ points she’ll never need again and that makes her as compliant as I wish.”
“Her owners are a very nice young couple who desire a large family. But they are both successful people and love their professions, consequently, they’ve decided to use their cash to accomplish their family and to progress in their chosen professions. Avril’s eggs have already been removed and her owner’s inserted so she is ready to receive her male owner’s sperm, of which I have a large supply in the freezer. You know, life, in general, would be much more pleasant if all young couples would plan their families properly, like these two do.”
We sat for a small while, until she said, “And the same basically applies to Gillian. She’s very different from Frisky. Gillian will need to be carefully managed over a couple of years, or maybe longer. Do you know what you want her to do?”
“Ah, Gillian. Yes. I know exactly what I want with her. She is to be my estate manager. That is an exacting job which requires great skill and energy. I’m certain she has those qualities already. But, to be an effective manager, she will need to be more womanly, if you know what I mean. I don’t mean sex appeal. It’s just that she doesn’t look the part as she is. As my estate manager, she will be required to accompany me on business meetings and she will be judged, whether we like it or not. She has a thick waist, which looks like muscle to me. That has to go. Her arms and legs have similar problems which will have to be treated. A trim, more stereotypical look is what I require. And it goes without saying she’ll have to have breasts. Slightly larger than normal is what I envisage. And natural looking. That’s a must. Then, there’s her face. It’s a good strong face and I like it as it is. But we must all pay the price for what we want. So, her face should conform more to a typical evaluation of beauty. I think all of these criteria are reasonable. What do you say?”
“Yes, you’re correct. All these amendments are perfectly possible and will be done. I was going to suggest surgical enhancement for her as it will affect her mind and her determination once she knows and understands deep in her guts that I will do whatever I want with her. I have already contacted my surgeon and he has sent me software pre-loaded with her images so we can alter any of her features at will. It will take a couple of hours and we can go through that at your convenience. Once your decisions are finalised, I will get the medical amendments set in motion. I’ll also set up the same procedure for Frisky and we can decide her body later at your convenience.”
“The muscle loss doesn’t require any surgery, just an appropriate diet and exercise regime. A diet deficient in essential amino acids will force her body to utilise its own muscle tissue to obtain them. That plus an exercise routine suitable for a marathon runner will force her body to mould itself into a new lean shape, well, except for the enhancements, that is. Once there, I will build her up again to the figure we require.”
She thought for a while. “I’ll get, or have made, a suitable harness for her to wear that will keep her arms inactive during this process. Her body will naturally raid those unused muscles in her arms first for its nutrients. That will also drastically reduce her physical threat to us. She doesn’t know it yet, but she’s absolutely no threat at all because of my routines. The benefit will be when Gillian herself realises her physical effectiveness has been nullified.”
“But now I know more about Gillian, I can see her using that harness as an aid to practice a form of isometric exercise. I’ll have to include sensors in the harness to alleviate that. Linked to her collar, naturally. And something to prevent her knees bending during lights out.”
“Now, what about her name? Do you have it yet?”
“I don’t want her name changed. She will remain Gillian Ferguson. That will please me and negate any of her relatives searching her out. Don’t worry about them. They’re about to get a text saying she’s taking a couple of years out, on a sabbatical in the Amazon where she’ll be out of touch. Eventually, Gillian herself will keep them at a distance or cut herself off from them. That depends on circumstances.
And I don’t want her fertility altered. I want it checked thoroughly to ensure she’s compatible with me. If she is, as I suspect, she will be a perfect receptacle for my children—good healthy stock and a high IQ. I haven’t decided how many yet—certainly four or five though, at a minimum. I don’t know yet if I will arrange a marriage between us, or if she will just bear my children. Social pressure can be fickle but must be observed, so, marriage or her as a concubine must be available to me.”
Abbey thought about that before speaking. “I have to inform you that my examination of her physique indicates she may have trouble birthing. More pain than is normally acceptable and an increased possibility of death if the birth goes on too long as well. There’s also an increased risk of miscarriage. Her hips are simply smaller than what is considered adequate. There’s no surgery I know of that can compensate for that lack. I think the best thing to do is get her assessed by a doctor when she’s undergoing her other surgery. We can decide then how to approach this problem.”
“I agree and there is always a Caesarean. But, I do prefer a natural solution where possible. Don’t worry about her pain, she’s strong enough to deal with it. Perhaps you can have the doctors assess whether or not this lack could be inherited by my offspring.”
“Yes, of course. I’m certain they can do that and correct for any such defects if they become problematical.”
ABBEY CORNISH
Now that was a surprise. No wonder Jacob acted as he did. Everything falls into place. I was wondering why Gillian was taken in the first place, as she’s obviously not ideal material. And Jacob does seem to know a lot about her based on the couple of days he supposedly became aware of her existence.
But there was another problem.
“I’ll have to extend the tests she’s having done while at the hospital. All these may be exceptional requirements, but I envisage no problems with achieving your aims, except for her IQ. You see, as your estate manager, it’s necessary for her to be completely loyal to you at all times. Effectively, she has to love you totally. Normally, that is easily achievable, but you’ve seen her tonight on the infra-red. She’s actively training her brain to resist. It may be the case that my normal methods will not be sufficient. I was thinking of using suitable drugs to dull her mind while we imprint her, assuming you would want her IQ diminished. But now, you want her to love you totally while retaining her full IQ. That will be a more difficult task to achieve. The results of those tests will aid me in making my decisions.”
Jacob thought that through for a while then said, “I’ve a file on her now and I’ll add you onto the distribution list. I’m interested in how you approach alterations of these sort with the animals. You appear to keep them uninformed at all times, well most times. Is that a fair assessment?”
“Yes, it’s fair, although there are exceptions, as you’ve just seen. Gillian, for instance, will be scheduled for surgery as soon as possible, probably in a few days. That will give her time to recover fully while, at the same time, weaken her resolve to rebel.”
“I’ll use a standard drug in her feed to knock her out. Then she will be placed on a gurney and kept unconscious during her journey to the hospital. Once there, my doctors have general instructions to keep the patient totally unaware until she is fit to be returned here. From Gillian’s point of view, she will wake up here with new boobs, a new bum and a new face plus all the other standard additions we use without experiencing anything about the intervening days or weeks.”
“Remember, her stall, like all the others, is mirrored. She’ll be seeing her new face and body continuously, whether she wants to or not. She will realise what happened, of course, but the effect will still be strong. I’ll have to assess her properly, but I’m thinking that will be a good time to subtly dull her drive. That way she will not know how to counter my actions and she’ll attribute that to her own acquiescence because she understands, deep in her gut, that there’s no escape. This will lead to her acceptance of her new situation sooner rather than later.”
“I’ll use that effect to weaken her resolve further. In fact, every time she obeys an order, weakens her resolve, no matter that she knows what is happening. I’ve been toying with the notion of instigating the requirement for the animals to curtsey whenever a superior enters or gives it an order. I haven’t up ’till now because that gives the girls more duties as they have to enforce the rules. Now, because of Gillian, I will instigate that regime tomorrow. It will help in processing her brain. Every little win for me will help with processing Gillian.”
I thought for a while. “Probably the way to deal with that is for the girls to immediately check the fillies’ curtsy recordings as soon as the stable is opened for the day. Then administer punishment if the curtsey isn’t deferential enough. That should be workable.”
“Once I get her drug dosage correct, I’ll keep her on it until it’s time to further her training by using my drugs to ensure she falls in love with you. Later, at the right time, I’ll ‘fix’ her brain in that state so she’ll love you for the rest of her life. I can’t be more specific than that at this stage. I have a plethora of drugs available for both stages but the exact one depends on a host of factors applicable at the time. The results of your tests will be most helpful in deciding exactly which drug will be most effective for her system.”
“Now, do you want to go over the software to determine Gillian’s new outlines and features? We could do it tomorrow if you wish. Frisky will have to wait until the surgeon has seen her and prepared the software.”
JACOB YORK
“Thank you for your time Abbey.” I said while standing up. “You are most courteous. But I feel I’ve imposed on you too much already. If I may, I will return tomorrow about three to finalise Gillian’s features and body.”
She nodded as she rose from her chair. “Two more things,” she asked. “What do you want to do with Frisky’s eggs?”
I looked at her and she continued, “I mean, if she’s to be sterilised, she doesn’t need her eggs any more, so we remove them. Most people sell them to a more deserving couple and I do have contacts who can usually get a good price for them. The return can be substantial.”
I hadn’t thought of this. “What happens if I’m not interested?”
“Well, I’ll destroy them, or, with your permission, I’ll sell them on. Normally when that happens the girls get half and I’ll donate the rest to the NSPCC.”
“You are a good person, Abbey. Please do that. I’ll be happy to know the NSPCC will benefit as well as your girls. But that raises a question about Gillian. Gillian’s to keep her eggs, so what do you do about her periods? Will she wear pads during that time?”
“No. That’s part of her treatment. She needs to understand instinctively she has no secrets or privacy from us, so she simply has additional cleaning during that time. And I’m careful that all cleanliness standards are strictly kept during all times. Now, my second question is, do you want a keepsake of Frisky?
I looked puzzled.
“Normally, in situations like that, owners sometimes want to keep some of their new animal’s old belongings, usually for sentimental reasons if they’ve known them before. After all, Frisky no longer owns the clothes she shed, or the jewellery.”
“Good God no,” I replied. “That would be morbid. They’re yours. What do you do with them, may I ask?”
“I’ll give them to the girls to share out. It’s a perk of the job. Anything they don’t want will be donated to Oxfam.”
I smiled. “That is an admirable system. I do like to know the unfortunates are being helped. Now, I’m sorry but I have a meeting to attend, so I must leave. However,” he pulled out a file from his case, “I want you to study this.” He handed it to me. “It’s a report of an incident a long time ago. I do understand conditions and techniques have improved, but I still think it’s instructive, and I urge you to study it.”
ABBEY CORNISH
I took the file and opened it. It’s title was ‘Josceline Coleman 1937’. I skimmed through it. It was a report of an event in 1937 involving this Ms. Coleman and someone called Flora Pick. “Thank you. I will. Is there any particular reason you want me to read this?”
“Yes. I am of the opinion you need to be aware of this event. As a trainer, it should be required reading, but, unfortunately, the report has been proscribed as it is a little harrowing. Please read it and absorb it tonight. I’ll pick it up tomorrow when we decide on Gillian’s new body.
It was late that night before I found the time to read it properly, and it was harrowing. It was about this trainer, Josceline Coleman who trained a new filly called Flora Pick. Once I read it, I understood why Mr. York wanted me to read it. In fact, I thought it should be compulsive reading for all trainers, but, apparently, it was made secret instead. It looks like they thought it would frighten off any new trainers and perhaps it should. Training is not an easy profession. It involves particular skills and extensive experience. I was lucky, My mother started me when I was eight. I was a precocious child.
It looked like this Flora Pick was close to Gillian in temperament and attitude. Josceline Coleman was a trainer of the day and a good one at that. But she was too confident. The report detailed all the training methods utilised to train Flora, and, on paper, they looked sound. In the end, Flora was trained and imprinted with love for her owner. She hadn’t yet had her love ‘fixed’ in on a permanent basis. Still, she was considered a low risk filly then. It took over a year, which was considered a long time back then. Their drugs were more like the original herbal concoctions that are the basis of our drugs today. Obviously, our drugs are more efficacious, but, even so, their drugs were highly effective. After all, this industry has been operational for hundreds of years.
The event happened during final training. Nobody knows exactly what happened as Ms. Coleman and Flora were alone. Flora was manacled, arms and legs in the traditional manner, so she would have been considered safe. The conjecture was Flora head butted Ms. Coleman in her stomach and knocked her down to the ground. Or, perhaps, Ms. Coleman tripped and fell, knocking her head in the process. Once on the ground, Flora jumped on top of her and proceeded to bite her face off. By the time someone found them, her left cheek, her left ear and her lower lip was missing. Flora essentially only had her teeth to work with, but she used them to good effect.
Ms. Coleman lived on as a recluse for the rest of her life. Flora was immediately put down.
It was obvious to me why Jacob wanted me to read this. It wasn’t for the procedures they used but it was for my mindset. He thought Gillian would do something like this to me if she could. Obviously it wouldn’t be the same thing, conditions were totally different. But, she would try to hurt me badly if she could. Jacob wanted me to be constantly aware of this possibility and of Gillian’s attitude. I had already accepted in my mind that Gillian was an incredibly dangerous undertaking for me, but I was ready. This report confirmed me in my thinking that I could do this. I have the experience and the expertise. I knew it would be perhaps the most difficult training I would ever undertake, but I was ready for the task. Gillian would be broken and tamed into the perfect estate manager and wife or concubine. She would accept her role as an inferior for the rest of her life and behave accordingly.
GILLIAN FERGUSON
I was exhausted and mentally finished. As per my reasoning, I had been a good girl and done all the exercises they required. I knew I should be exercising for myself now the lights have gone out, but I just couldn’t work up the enthusiasm. I reached for my bucket and did my business. By the noises I heard, a lot of the others were doing the same. I should have been interested in how the automatic circuitry didn’t register these noises as a shocking offense, but I couldn’t be bothered. I now understood why the stalls were mirrored. I couldn’t stop seeing my new tits and bum and face since I woke up with them, but it still creeped me out and I didn’t know how to go on resisting. Nothing seemed to work. I thought these despondent thoughts as I rested my head against the wall and started to doze (I still hadn’t earned the right of lying down at night).
I was suddenly snapped back to full wakefulness by someone calling my name. My eyes snapped open and I looked around, but it was pitch black and I couldn’t see anything. I nearly said, ‘What?’ but stopped myself in time. And why wasn’t I shocked? Whoever said my name was inside my stall.