Some days later Francesca returned home for the university's winter vacation. Anne was delighted to see her owner for more than just a weekend but it was exam time, so she had to content herself with occasional glimpses.
Even at dinner, Francesca took her place at the table and Anne knelt on the kitchen floor for her feed and water. She reminded herself it was part of her discipline and waited humbly in silence for Francesca, but her owner seemed to avoid her.
On the afternoon of the third day, Amelie came into the barn. This was unusual; Amelie rarely came here. Anne wondered what it meant.
She soon found out. Francesca and Helene with Lise approached her stall and led her to the center of the barn beneath the large pulley. Helene made her lie down on the wet earth while Francesca fastened her ankle bracelets together and lowered the hook to the ground. Working together, the two sisters hauled Anne up by her heels until her head hung down at the level of their waists. She turned slowly on the rope and Francesca held her hips.
Looking up, she saw Helene extract a carving knife and a sharpening stone from a leather case while her owner dragged a large metal tub under her; the tub they put below a pig.
Francesca retrieved a leather apron from a peg on the barn wall. It was covered with dark stains.
Hector arrived and stood a little farther away along with the two hired men. Some neighbors joined them and the gathering took on a holiday air. The hired men shared a bottle of beer. There would be a potluck supper in the house afterwards.
A young woman, the daughter of a neighbor, played with Anne's fleece. "It's so curly and thick." She twirled it around her fingers. Anne bit her lip and tried not to moan, but a sigh escaped her.
"Don't get your hand wet," said her mother. "You'll have to wash it."
Upside down, Anne's breasts stood away from her body with an uplift she never managed to achieve before. A farmer squeezed and slapped them back and forth. Hector asked in jest if he would like to have one of them afterwards.
He shook his head and looked her over. "A couple nice hams here, though" he laughed as he caressed her buttocks.
Anne began to shake. Lise held the whetstone and Helene sharpened the knife for a minute or two until she was satisfied and passed it to her sister. Francesca approached Anne and held it to her lips; she kissed the instrument and her owner's hands.
With the point Francesca drew a shallow line on the surface of her belly from her mound to her ribs just between her breasts. Someone whistled and there was a smattering of applause.
Francesca pulled Anne's metal collar up and drew with a finger under her jaw, feeling for the arteries. Any moment now.
It was too much for Anne; she lost control of her body and began to writhe. Francesca grasped her head with both hands and planted a kiss on it.
At this point there was a pause. Helene said something to her sister; stepping behind Anne she put a hand between Anne's legs and entered her. A sound came from Anne's mouth she never heard before: a combination of a moan, a scream and a rattle. Her mind gave way.
Francesca had put the knife aside while examining her neck. She retrieved it and held Anne's chin out to expose her throat.
Helene continued to work Anne, who was mad now with fear and hot with desire; she would come just as her life drained away in the tub. A fitting end.
That was her last thought; a red mist came over her eyes and she fainted.
When she awoke she was lying face down on the floor of the barn. Her thighs were wet. She heard her owner and Helene laughing and chatting, but she could make no sense of the words.
They fell silent when she lifted her head. She saw Lise's bare feet at a distance in front of her; Francesca and Helene were off to her right somewhere.
