The palace was a hive of activity. La Contessa has returned from her country estate outside Padua to her town palace in Venice for the week. Her palace, overlooking Canale Rigolleto with views of the dome of San Marco, is one of the finest in 18th century Venice. She has announced that she is going to hold a party. Not a grand one, like her famous masquerade balls, but a smaller intimate party for a select group of her confidantes. La Contessa's parties were renowned throughout Venice as being some one of the most risque and erotic events in the city and for those in that social circle who favoured the sexual and bizarre it was a great privelege to be invited.
I am relatively new to the Contessa's household and have not yet had the experience of serving at any of her parties. Although only a small gathering the household is busy making preparations. The Contessa is very particular and it is important to her that all of her parties have the right ambience. Everything, the decoration of her salon, the lighting, the food, the music, her dress and that of her servants must be exactly as she desires. The success and reputation of her parties is founded on this attention to detail. She is an exacting mistress and her servants know they will be punished if her every word is not carried out precisely, as I have already found to my cost.
It is approaching the time her guests are due to arrive when I receive an instruction from the head of La Contessa's household. I am to attend La Contessa herself, in her boudoir, where she is dressing and preparing herself for the party. This is the first time I have been summoned to attend my mistress personally and I am both nervous and curious as to know why I have been called and what tasks La Contessa will expect of me.
When I enter her boudoir La Contessa is sat at her dressing table with her back to the door. She is attended by two servant girls who have been assisting with her dressing. After I have entered the room, she turns in her chair.
"Come over here servant and let me take a closer look at you," she pronounces with an icy tone of voice.
I move forward and she appraises me quickly with a contemptuous glance.
"You are new to my employment, aren't you? Are you still innocent of what goes on at my parties?"
"Ma'm, I confess to hearing rumours from other household servants but none of the staff will give any details about your parties," I reply.
"Good, that is because those who participate are sworn to secrecy on pain of very severe punishment, which I will have no hesitation in administering if I hear that any of the secrets of my parties are divulged. You will do," she says dismissively. "I have chosen you to be part of the entertainment for my party. Go away and take a bath so that you are fresh and clean for my guests, then return to me in thirty minutes. After you enter my boudoir you will remove your bath robe so that you are naked and then kneel before me. Do you understand slave?"
"Yes M'am," I reply.
"Good, you are dismissed now."
As I return to the servant's quarters to bathe myself I am nervous about what plans La Contessa has for me. The pay for servants in the mistress's household is very good, but when you are chosen to enter her employment, it is made clear that complete loyalty to La Contessa is required and that you will be expected to serve whatever her will is. I am aware that includes all manner of physical punishment and mental humiliation. Now that I have been asked to serve the Contessa directly I am apprehensive at what she might desire to use me for. I carry out her instructions exactly and bathe myself.
I do not have long to dwell on these thoughts. The half hour goes quickly and it does not seem long before I am tentatively knocking on La Contessa's boudoir door.
"Enter servant," she commands.
I enter her room. Her servant girls have now gone and she is alone, still sat at her dressing table, but with her chair turned to face me. I drop my bath robe onto the floor so that I am completely naked, walk towards her and kneel in front of her.
Her voice is severe and uncompromising, "You will be the entertainment for my guests tonight. This is a great privelege for you. I expect complete obedience from you. You will follow any instructions from me or any of my guests exactly. You will not address me or any of my guests unless you are spoken to. To do otherwise will be considered the height of rudeness and will be punished accordingly. You will assume the role of slave and submit to whatever pleases myself or my guests. I trust this is quite clear."
"Yes, m'am," I reply in a faltering and nervous voice.
"First, I need to collar you, to show that when in my presence you are no more than a pet. In fact, I treat my dogs with more attention and respect than I would ever do one of my servants."
She takes a leather collar from her dressing table, puts it around my neck and buckles the collar tightly. Then she takes a lead and attaches it to the collar.
"First, you must be humiliated in front of all the other household staff, so that you, and they, know what your place is. You will walk to heel and follow behind me on all fours."
La Contessa stands up and walks towards the door, giving the lead a sharp jerk, to make sure that I follow. I immediately get down on my hands and knees and crawl behind her. We go down the corridor to the main staircase of the palace. At the bottom of the stairs all of the household are lined up, ready to serve and attend at the Contessa's party. I am made to crawl on all fours down the stairs and then past the silent stares of all of the Contessa's staff who stand on either side forming a corridor of humiliation for me. La Contessa leads me into her salon.
The salon is a large room but much smaller and more intimate than the palace's ballroom where La Contessa holds her grand masked balls. The salon is decorated ornately in a baroque style with rich colours and gold leaf. Most striking though is La Contessa's collection of erotic art work from all over the world that adorns the walls. There are tapestries and wall hangings that depict naked Greek Gods and Goddesses in scenes of sexual intimacy. On another wall are sketches from India showing extreme sexual acts of sodomy and fellatio. In alcoves there are sculptures of naked men and women entwined in sexual acts. The whole salon exudes an air of richness and decadence. In the centre of the room is a dais and by its side a large wooden chest with sliver clasps and in front of La Contessa's throne a bench covered in red leather and suspended by chains. A four piece chamber orchestra is sat in a bay window patiently waiting for La Contessa's orders to play.
La Contessa mounts the dais and sits imperiously on top of it. She is dressed in a stunning gown of scarlet taffeta and silks. Her corset is pulled tight to expose her ample cleavage. Her dark hair is swept back and decorated with pearls. She wears a golden mask adorned with feathers dyed in green and red. She is beautiful woman with a commanding presence and a tone of voice that implores you to obey her.
I am made to crouch at the foot of the dais, still collared, with my mistress holding the lead.
"My guests may enter now and pay homage to me," she calls to one of her servants by the door.
La Contessa's guests enter the salon. It is a small party – there are only eight guests. They are a stunning sight. They are all dressed in cloaks and hoods of crushed velvet in rich dark hues, dark blues, rich reds, purples, indigos and maroons. They are all wearing pure white silk gloves. Lastly, the faces of all the guests are hidden by plain white masks each with a different expression. La Contessa must have given precise instructions as to the dress code for her party and the effect is stunning. The strangest thing is that, dressed as they are in similar loose fitting cloaks and masks, it is impossible to tell which guests are male and which female.
One by one each guest comes forward to La Contessa on her dais. She holds her hand out and the guest is permitted to gently touch her hand with their masked lips.
"Thank you for coming to my party. I hope you will enjoy the entertainment and pleasures that I have laid on for you. Join together in pairs and dance. Let the party begin," she exclaims.
On that prompt the four musicians start to play. The guests form couples and start to dance around the dais where La Contessa sits and around myself still crouched obediantly at her feet. It is a magical and intoxicating sight as the cloaked figures twirl around me.
Then La Contessa claps her hands. The orchestra stops playing, the couples halt their dance and the pair immediately in front of La Contessa come towards her.
"This servant has just entered my employ and needs to learn the arts of subservience. For this evening he is our entertainment, a toy that we can play with for our own amusement and pleasure. I think this guest needs his or her boots cleaning," La Contessa says gesturing to one of the figures before her.
"Make yourself useful and kneel before her and use your toungue to lick them clean".
I nervously crawl forward. The guest hitches up the cloak to reveal a pair of brown ankle boots of soft Italian leather. I stroke my tounge gently up to top edge of the boot, then move back down to work my tounge back up the boot again. Meanwhile the other guests have all gathered round to watch me undertake this demeaning and humiliating task.
The masked guest turns to La Contessa. It is a woman's voice that rings out.
"Contessa, this is hopeless. I think that if you wish to maintain the hard earned reputation of your parties you must find slaves who can enter into their tasks more thoroughly. I expect my boots to be licked clean more enthusiastically than this."
La Contessa replies, "You are absolutely right. I cannot have my guests offended by such dilatory service. Servant, get on all fours and spread your legs whilst you perform this task." She turns to her other guest and says, "I think he needs some punishment to encourage him. Kick him in the balls whilst he performs this task."
I feel a crushing blow of leather boot on my balls and gasp in pain.
"Servant, did anyone tell you to stop your task while you were being punished. No, they didn't did they? Keep cleaning my guest's boots and don't stop until you are commanded to."
This time I work my tounge up the leather harder and faster. I receive another kick in the balls from the other guest. This time, even though the pain is excruciating, I try not to let it distract me from the task at hand. I keep working my tounge up and down the leather boots and every so often receive another kick in the balls from the other guest. This carries on for some time until eventually La Contessa orders me to stop. She turns to her guest.
"Are you satisfied with this service yet?" she asks.
The guest answers, "Yes, I think this will do. After a poor start I think your servant has cleaned my boots quite thoroughly."
La Contessa leans down from her dais to examine the boots.