Chapter 11

The woman next to Amud did not offer her hand. I did not extend mine. She stood two feet behind and to the side of her husband throughout the introduction, her eyes to the floor.

He said something I didn't understand, and I was rewarded with a blinding smile from the eyes of the woman as she looked up for the first time. Her eyes were all that was visible of her face, just above her 'Arabian Nights" veil. Most interesting.

Amud spoke to her and she replied in a firm clear voice. I didn't understand a word.

"Shall we do the fresh one or the happy one first?" her husband interpreted for her.

"Are those her words or are you interpreting her meanings?"

"I am sorry if I have offended you, Mr. Sampson, sir. Please forgive me. I will attempt to make her words better in English."

I laughed. She was a most perceptive person, from her descriptions of two women she had never before met. Her apt descriptions confirmed the intelligence I had seen in those flashing eyes. Yes, she understood 'these things' very well, as I wager the young man did as well. I would have to talk with him a bit more. I was also curious about what she thought.

"No, Amud. I am very pleased with the words she uses and the way you said them. They are very perceptive. You have reason to be very proud of your wife."

He beamed at her as I said this, interpreting my words to her. She blushed scarlet under the veil at receiving a compliment from another man. I continued when he had finished.

"Amud, I would like to ask you to do something. I am not very familiar with your culture or of 'these things'. If it is allowed, please ask your wife to speak freely, commenting as she goes through the measuring process. I would like you to translate what she says literally. If you do not know a word, use a word picture, or describe what it does. I would like to ask questions of her as we go along, as well. Would that be allowed?"

He thought about it, chewing it over. He then asked his wife. The discussion was somewhat heated. I wasn't sure who won.

"It is unusual request from strange man. At home, at old home, it would not be allowed for strange man to talk to wife or for him to have to hear worthless prattle from her ugly mouth, even through interpreter. But this is America. Our new home. We must learn new ways of new home. Such things are not forbidden by Holy Book. We..., excuse please, I will allow it." Ah Ha! His wife had won!

"Wonderful! Then do the fresh one first. I want the happy one to enjoy herself as long as she can."

He relayed the information to his wife. She bowed deeply to him, and waited for his signal to rise. She turned to me and started to bow, but stopped. She looked over at him for direction in this new situation. He said something to her that was apparently permission for her to speak, as she spoke and gestured at me.

"My wife wishes to thank you for this opportunity, but says it is dangerous to bow to untrained stallion, most likely get head kicked in. Please forgive her ugly mouth, Mr. Sampson, sir!"

He was clearly embarrassed by her description of me, though, in a way, I was pleased. But then I thought that the term 'stallion' might mean something different to her than the picture of raw male power it brought to my mind. Either way, I had asked for it and I would take it. I told him as much, and begged him to continue without apologizing for her. I would take no offense, as I was sure none was intended. He nodded.

We followed along as she led Janey into a side room. I stood at the door where I could keep an eye on Sally, who stayed behind in the showroom. There was a table off to one side. I ran my hand over the assortment of leather objects, all made with exquisite craftsmanship. I picked up a supple whip to admire the handiwork.

I looked up as a sharp command from the woman that was addressed to Janey, who had been standing off to one side, looking bored. The woman's change of personality was surprising, as suddenly, when speaking to Janey, she was in command.

"Please to remove clothing, young lady."

I raised my eyebrow questioningly at him. He lowered his eyes in apology.

"Strip!"

Janey looked over at me questioningly, bringing a tirade from the woman, pointing her finger at her own chest.

"You look me. I say what is, now! Yes?"

She moved to place herself between Janey and I, and stood very close to her face, fixing her with her eyes. I saw the fear in Janey's expression suddenly vanish as she watched the woman. Later she said she did not see any bad things in them, just excitement and laughter.

Janey shed her clothing without another protest, even going so far as to fold them neatly in a pile to one side.

Pulling out a tape measure, the foreign woman began measuring Janey in minute detail. Each finger was measured for length and diameter, exact distances between her wrist and elbows, elbows and underarm, and so on. The woman would measure and write down a measurement on a clipboard. She worked in silence for a while, moving Janey's limbs as necessary.

When she was through with her torso and limbs, she began measuring Janey's head. She took every possible measure around, across, mouth opened, mouth closed, turning left and right, and tipped forward and back. She picked up a series of several metal bars and rings. She put one bar after the other into Janey's mouth until she was satisfied she had the largest size that would fit. With Janey's mouth still open, she used her index finger to touch the soft palate in the back of her mouth. Janey gagged at the touch.

"Must be tougher to swallow long, fat hoses, fresh one. Not good to bite off hose of Master.

She put the metal pieces back on the table, and addressed Janey.

"Make points!"

Janey, to her credit, addressed her, and not me. Amud translated for his wife.

"Points? Make what points? I don't understand."

She stepped back as if stunned. Turning to her husband, she made a wild gesture and said something. He pointed at me, and shrugged.

His wife turned to me and started talking slowly, as if to an idiot. Her husband's eyes grew wide with fear. I looked at him expectantly, silently ordering him to translate.

"You lazy worm! You bring me stupid cow who make trouble. Waste of time to train this late. Better to sell to house for sailors. Eeii! May your hose drop off before you make more worthless babies. This one's training not even started. How can you expect her to sing for Gods, if she can not do things babies learn. Eeii. Tell her, 'make points!' Tell her, 'make dew!' Maybe she do for you!"

"I apologize for my ignorance. We..." I gestured to myself and the two girls, "...are new to 'these things' and have a lot to learn. Please explain to us what you mean. What are points? What is dew? Don't be afraid of insulting us, and please do not despise us. This is not a part of our culture, but we wish to learn. Please, help us."

She stood there with a look of disbelief on her face.

"Your words say one thing, and when I see your stupid face and this worthless cow, I believe you. But then I hear the happy one sing, and I think you lying. You do know some things."

"Singing?

"Are you deaf as well as stupid? Listen to her. With your ears, your heart and your worthless hose."

I turned to watch Sally. Her hands were now extended far over her head, and she had knotted the hanging leather straps in loops through which she slipped her wrists. The short T-shirt was clear above her breasts, which were as firm and taut as I had ever seen them. Her shorts were on the ground beneath her as her feet hung above the ground by several inches. The smooth side of the saddle against which she leaned caught her right at the juncture of her thighs. She was slowly rocking her hips in a forward and back motion, rubbing her mound against the saddle. There was a large wet stain on the leather.

As it got quiet in the room and I concentrated, I could hear the faint sounds of her moaning, but nothing else. I turned questioningly to the impatient woman.

"You not hear her? She not good, but she singing." She made a sound, making fun of the moans coming from Sally. "Need much practice, but nice voice."

"You will need to teach us as children. She, uh, likes to sing. She needs to sing better."

The woman gave an exasperated sigh.

"Eeii. Children in my father's house know more. OK. Listen close."

She stepped around behind Janey who had been standing quietly. The woman reached around the girl and lightly touched her fingers to the tips of her breasts. Janey flinched as if shocked.

"Hey! Stop that! Ouch! Larry, make her stop. I don't want this anymore."

The small woman immediately released the girl. She went over to the table and picked up a leather item. She turned and addressed me.

"Noisy cow. We use old horse hose stuffed with dung at home. Now just use this for quietness. OK?"

She held up a penis gag and gestured at Janey. The girl's eyes widened at the size of the gag. I nodded to the woman to continue.

"Laaarryy! NO! Please, I'll be qui...mmmff."

Her protests were silenced as the gag slid home and was fastened behind her neck.

"There. Keeps silence in tent. If young cow not good, can use in bottom hole before make quiet. Once, twice, maybe, she learn quietness."

Janey's eyes bulged as she realized the woman might have used this as a butt plug in someone else before putting it in her mouth. From her position behind Janey, I could see the twinkle in the woman's eye. I could have sworn she winked at me, as well, but I didn't know if her culture allowed that.

I also noted, that with all her protests, Janey had not made one step to flee, or to move towards me for protection. If she had, I would have stopped everything immediately.

"Relax, Janey. I told you it would be very intimate and personal. Don't fight her, OK? Just enjoy."

She tensed slightly as the woman again cupped her breasts from behind and massaged her nipples to erection, but then relaxed as the woman's expert touch aroused her passions quickly. Janey's breath quickened and became irregular. The woman stepped away from the panting girl.

"Points. Points are here."

Her hand wandered down to the soft downy hair covering Janey's pussy. Her hand moved slightly, then a single slim finger disappeared between the tight folds.

"Dew is here. EEEE! Here is also point!"

She went swiftly over to Sally and gently felt between her legs, without disturbing her trance-like state. Returning, she spoke directly to her husband, speaking excitedly. She then turned and bowed deeply to me while he spoke.

"My worthless wife apologizes for bad names she said about you. You are brave man, to have two women with all points in house. Your hose must be truly strong. Brave, and foolish. But I help learn you to make sing without hose. Save hose for making babies. Not too late if cows have third point."

I had heard of the practice of clitorectomy - female circumcision - still occurring in some countries, but thought it was outlawed. Apparently not. I asked Amud about it.

"Old men burn off lower point of young brides. Take life out of bride, but old men can then have many brides. They no fight, they no care."

He turned defiant, as if remembering an old argument.

"I not old man. I leave home. One bride, all points."

He appeared to be challenging me to contradict his decision. He had left his family, his home and his country for the love he had for his wife. I bowed as deeply as I could to him.

"No! No, Mr. Sampson. I worthless son of sheepherder. No bow."

I stood back up. "Amud, that may have been what you were before. What I see now is a brave man with a pure heart and a true gift. Not just your craft. You have the rare gift of true love for your wife. And a rare wife. A treasure. It is for that I bow to you."

He was thoughtful for a moment, considering what I said. He nodded once, as if agreeing with what I had said, then spoke to his wife. I don't know what was said, but from that point on, she was much less critical, more instructive.

Chapter 12

"We finish now with fresh one, OK? Come, stand here."

The woman led Janey over to a spot in the middle of the floor. She moved behind her and cupped Janey's breasts, massaging them for sometime, murmuring soothingly in her ear. Janey responded to the gentle touch and the hypnotic sounds and was soon gasping for air through her nose, her mouth still gagged.

The woman brought her swiftly to the edge and with an instinctive skill, never let her go over. Janey's eyes soon lost their focus and her facial features slackened. I didn't know if she was lost in erotic sensations or if the woman had hypnotized her. It was incredible to watch. I wanted to learn how do it, too.

The woman let go of Janey and took up her tape measure. She took a circumferential measure of each of the dazed girl's swollen tits, at the base, the mid-point and at the nipple. Amud's wife made a small mark with a pen on Janey's breastbone and measured how far below this mark on the sternum the center of the erect nipple was. It was a measure of the sag of her breasts.

The woman took one of Janey's arms and raised it over her head. A thick leather strap at the end of a hanging tether was quickly wrapped around the docile girl's wrist. The other arm followed. With both arms raised over head, the woman again measured the distance from the sternum mark to the nipples. This was a measure of the lift in the breasts caused by raising the arms.

The last measure the small woman made with the tape was the length of the erect nipples. She turned to me.

"She bring good price, if want to sell. I buy for Amud. You name price, I pay, no haggle."

When I looked shocked, she laughed. It was a low chuckle, sensuous and musical.

"Good man." She smiled, almost sadly, and added, "But not knowing will hurt them one day. You must learn, too, and soon." I was baffled by her statements. Amud made no attempt to clarify them.

That said, she moved back to Janey's side. "See here, touchy milk sacs. Firm, like good cheese. Size of prized oranges. Will take whip well, make sing like angel. Very nice match with rest of carcass. Fresh one has three-ring points, most cows only one ring. Points are good firmness, stay hard long time. See? Still hard! I no touch since start. You want, I show you make holes for first rings. I use fresh needle. No charge extra."

She was talking about piercing Janey's nipples with not one, but three pairs of rings. As much as that intrigued me - hell, I got rock hard thinking about it - I had promised her she would not be harmed. Piercing would have to be her informed choice, not this way. I thanked the woman, but told her we would do that later, not this visit. She almost looked disappointed, like I had wussed out.

She then took one of Janey's ankles and lifted it straight forward and up. The higher she lifted without resistance, the more excited she got. They didn't have cheerleaders in the old country, apparently. Janey's foot pointed straight up in a vertical splits.

"EEE. You sure no training? Impossible!"

The first leg was lowered and the other leg's flexibility was tested with the same results. Then she fastened a long strap hanging from the ceiling around Janey's ankle and lifted her leg out and up so that it was parallel to the ground. The other leg followed. Janey was hanging suspended from her wrists and ankles. Her head tipped slowly back as her breathing quickened slightly.

Amud's wife then spread the outstretched legs as far apart as they would go without forcing. With Janey's private areas fully exposed in this position she took her hand and used it to measure the length of the slit, how far it spread, and, with her slender finger, poked up inside her pussy the entire length. This activity had an effect on the hanging girl and she began moaning through the gag.

"Fresh one almost sing. Like mother, need practice. Lucky man." She paused. "Sorry bad man take flower of Fresh one. But no hurt left, here or in head. Still tight for long nights use with hose. Good as goat path, uh, back hole for long time." Amud had apparently told her the story of Janey's attack. Her evaluation of Janey's prognosis comforted me in a way the doctor's evaluations hadn't. Her assessment of Janey seemed more holistic, more practical. It was definitely less clinical.

She looked longingly at Janey's hanging form. Then turned to me.

"Fresh one done. Now Happy one?"

"Wait. Before you let her down..."

I hesitated, thinking hard. This wasn't planned, but Janey was still in a euphoric state. I needed to know what had done it.

"...why is she so aroused? What did you do to make her like that?"

Amud grinned at me and answered for his wife.

"We soak gag in special sauce. Make new bride sing easy. Bride want sing more. Fresh one not need much. Almost ready to sing now."

My look of alarm at the news of their drugging Janey without my knowledge or permission must have frightened him. He hurried on. "Sauce used in my country for centuries. Here, too, by many people. Is all natural, medicine, not bad drug like brown shit my people grow in poppy fields. It not last long, not make you want more. I make myself, in kitchen." He lowered his voice. "Use on my own precious beloved for special, uh, things. On self, too, for learning.

"So sorry, not know you not use sauce. Please forgive. Only use to help sing."

On, well, spilt milk. And it didn't appear to be addictive. Something that effective would never get past FDA anyway...

I gestured at Janey with the whip I had picked up earlier.

"Could you make her sing now?"

"EEEEEEE!"

I dropped the whip. The screaming woman came over and picked it up. She handed it back, fire in her eyes.

"Cruel master use cannon to smash fly. This big stick for Happy One. Make her sing for Gods all night, maybe two if master know good tricks. Fresh One not ready yet for big stick. Later. Year, maybe more, maybe less. Then use big stick." She paused, thinking. "Please wait..."

She turned to Amud and spoke more sharply to him than I had heard her address him until now. His eyes grew wide, but he kept silent. Only once did he begin to object, but his wife gently, but firmly, overrode his objection. She turned and left the room.

"Mr. Sampson, sir. My wife wishes me to explain of a special tradition in my country. It is only used on certain occasions. And only in, uh, intimate times. It bring women very close. Normally only done by family." He paused, swallowing a large chunk of pride. "My wife never address me such in front of no one. Not family. Not strangers. Strong feelings for Fresh one, Happy one, too. She say she can help her hurt in head go away. In heart, too.

"My wife act like new woman today. I wanted her change long time for new home. But now not know if I like. Feel strange."

His eyes were still wide, as he watched his wife re-enter the room. She held a long strip of thin cloth in her hand. As he saw what it was, he choked on a dying protest. Her defiant glare stopped it before he could say it.

"She will make the Fresh one sing in the tradition of the Princess. A Princess only touched by finest material. The strip of leather she have in hand called a 'Princess thong.'

"This thong have a special place in our culture. When daughter betrothed, she take long leather strips and soak in brine many months. She then place one in her private place to soak for one month before ceremony. It painful for women..."

He blushed in embarrassment

"...but effective way to stop making of the baby." He grinned involuntarily, as he added, "Bride also stay tight as first time, even after many babies."

His wife was making knots in the long strip along its entire length, about an inch apart. She pulled them tight with her teeth. Amud continued.

"Thong take 6 months to prepare. Must stay moist with dew and warm, so bride keep in her at all times. Except when husband wishes to use her parts.

"When thong completely supple like linen but very strong, bride present to husband. For such a gift of herself to him, her husband must give gift of her choosing. Of course, gift settled when betrothed. Normal gift chosen is she-goat."

His wife was about half way through knotting the thong. He looked at her lovingly.

"My wife chose gift of baby, which I would give her without thong." He explained, "You must understand, Mr. Sampson, I, we wish to have big family, but do not wish to be forced to return home as paupers. Many babies expensive. My wife fertile many more years. Her choice of gift was her way of letting me decide when we start family."

I looked puzzled. I had followed most of this strange custom, but this logic escaped me.

"A bride must present thong before special gift chosen can be given. Ever. No thong. No gift. No baby for my wife. My wife has started 6 thongs. Each time one near finish, I, uh, take and hide it. She start again. Brine hurts bride, but less than poverty.

"As long as I alert and can capture the thong, I control when we make babies. It is game, as is all life. She is very good player, very tricky, very smart. I see now she much better than I at this game."

This was a momentous admission. And a compliment of a woman to a stranger on top of that. He explained.

"Thongs have value. Much value. Because of pain, many brides do not wish to make for selves. So they buy from other women. The closer to completion, the more value. That thong she has is best of all thongs I have stolen. Is only two, maybe three day from finish. I almost lose.

"It was thong I had hidden best. If she knows this one, she knows all."

He looked at me in shame and bewilderment.

"She ordered me - ordered! - to tell you what she doing. She never talk to me like that before. And how am I to control this woman, when she let me win? If she win from low position, what will become of us here in America as more equal? How I win then, if she so smart now?"

I sympathized with this befuddled young husband. He had just learned he was only along for the ride in his relationship. And he was the horse, not the rider. Fortunately, his rider was a loving intelligent woman who loved him very much. I moved over and clapped my arm around his shoulder, sort of fatherly, sort of like a comrade in arms. He flinched, but did not pull away from the familiarity of my touch.

"Welcome to the club, Amud. I learned long ago that men are never in control, when it comes to women. They only let us think we are. Sometimes. Be thankful for her love for you. Be sure to respect her and love her. It's the only way to survive with them."

He grinned ruefully and nodded his agreement.

His wife was almost ready to begin.