Victoria hustled a shell-shocked Captain Wyndham out the room.
Lady Sally did nothing to hide the fact she was a strict dominatrix, indeed positively flaunted it, but seeing her in action was an eye-opener for the captain. She was oblivious to their presence, unaware of how long the pair of them stood watching the spectacle. And what an awesome sight it was. There was Lady Sally, her breasts bulging out of the corset, her black hair fanned around her as she swirled the bamboo sword like a vamped-up version of a Samurai warrior. It was the savagery of the beating that shocked the captain though.
"Victoria, I hope you don't mind me asking, but is that normal behaviour?" he enquired.
"Oh yes, that's fairly typical. And that was only a beating to be fair, I've known her be more sadistically wicked."
Captain Wyndham stroked his goatee beard, "More sadistic? Oh really."
The captain was concerned about his commission. Strangely drawn to Lady Sally's powerful, exotic presence, as he gathered most men appeared to be, he didn't consider himself submissive, let alone a masochist.
Victoria, picking up on his hesitance, clarified, "She has plenty of submissive gentlemen who come to her. I'm sure what she wants from you is your skills as an aviator, to be captain of her airship."
"Oh," Wyndham laughed nervously, "that's a relief."
"Though once you get captivated by her, there's no telling where she might take you," she added ominously. "I mean look at me... I used to be an engineer. I installed the steam-powered hydraulic water pumping station at Rudston Hall. I wore overalls all the time and wouldn't have been seen dead in women's clothes. But look at me now." She shrugged, with a bemused but kindly look in her eyes.
"Indeed." The captain was somewhat disturbed by this, but decided not to question Victoria further on the matter.
It had to be said that Lady Sally's maid was immaculately turned out. The threat of punishment was ever-present if her appearance did not meet her mistress's exacting standards, as a poorly presented maid reflected poorly on Lady Sally, which, quite simply, would not do. The captain noted how neatly her blonde wig was brushed and tied back with her maid's cap perched on top of it. Her closely shaven skin was applied with blusher, her eyes with eye-liner and shadow. The transvestite transformation was impressive, but left enough doubt in the viewer's mind to raise the suspicion she was not quite what she seemed.
Victoria led Captain Wyndham through the grand entrance hall with its marbled columns, cast-iron balustrade and teak fittings, past Lady Sally's collection of jade figurines, and onto a paved terrace. This looked across a wide lawn through an avenue of lime trees towards the ornamental lake. It was a spectacular vista.
Victoria invited the captain to take a seat at a cast-iron table with a view overlooking the park.
"I'll arrange for tea to be brought out for you. It's three-thirty. Lady Sally will join you soon. She won't miss afternoon tea... she never misses afternoon tea."
"Thank you, that's most kind of you," Captain Wyndham replied.
Wyndham sat back and waited patiently in the afternoon sun. He was relieved he'd changed out of his working clothes for his visit, anticipating, correctly, that his oil-stained, canvas coat would not be appropriate for the grandeur of Rudston Hall. He wore the light beige, woollen suit with a light blue check pattern and burgundy velvet waistcoat he reserved for special occasions.
He sat there reflecting on the magnificence of the stately home, the broad sweep of formal gardens before him and the park in the distance. His thoughts turned to his unusual employer, the remarkable Lady Sally Rudston-Chichester.
He was pulled from his reflections by Lady Sally's distinctive, crisp tone of voice.
"It's magnificent, isn't it? The fifth Earl of Rudston commissioned Capability Brown to landscape the park."
Captain Wyndham stood up to greet her and gave a little bow. Lady Sally offered her hand to him, and the captain leaned forward to place a delicate kiss on her silk gloves, which she had put back on. She had not changed, appearing still dressed in her scarlet corsetry.
She ceremoniously laid a riding crop on the table and took up a seat opposite him.
At that moment, Victoria arrived, teetering on high-heeled ankle-boots, carrying a silver tray laden with a huge tea pot, scones and patisseries.
Lady Sally waved her hand, "Victoria, would you do the honours please?"
Her maid laid out crockery and poured the tea out into the delicate china cups.
"Lapsang Souchong, from my very own plantation on the foothills of the Wiyi mountains in China," she explained.
"Tea or lemon?" enquired Victoria.
"Lemon, please."
"Sugar?" asked Victoria holding silver sugar tongs with a lump clasped between their claws.
"No thank you," said the captain.
The tea was deliciously refreshing on a warm spring day.
"Victoria. Don't be such a dilatory dolly. Captain Wyndham is my guest. You should offer him a scone. Really!" She explained in an aside to the captain, "she can be so inattentive. She needs a good reprimand to keep her on her toes."
A plain scone with a spoonful of homemade strawberry jam and another of clotted cream was placed on a plate for the captain.
Lady Sally got down to business.
"So, captain, how is work progressing on my airship?"
"Very well madam, the fit-out is nearly complete. She should be ready to launch for the summer season as scheduled."
"And the experiments with the dimethyl aether propulsion, are they successful?"
"Yes, they've been incorporated into the engine's design. There's no doubt your airship will be the fastest in the sky."
"Excellent, and my airship designer, Mr Barnes-Wallis, I trust he's well?"
"Yes your ladyship. He's so young though, but a brilliant technician and designer. He bamboozles me with his technical knowledge of airship construction. He's quite a genius."
"Yes I know, Wyndham. I have an intuition about people. He has a first class honours degree in engineering and did his PhD on geodetic design. He was an exceptional student who came highly recommended. That young man will do exceedingly well. He will go on to great things, I'm sure-dam busting things, I dare say," she laughed.
Captain Wyndham proceeded to explain in more detail how work on the airship was progressing.
"We shall be ready for a test flight in May and, provided that goes without any hitches, your ladyship will be able to set off on her adventures in late June."
"That's excellent, captain. I'm so excited, I can hardly wait. I shall attend her official launch of course. And there's such a lot of packing to do. Well, that is to say, Victoria has a lot of packing to do for me. You will love it won't you my maid?"
"Oh yes," she concurred. "Will madam be taking all her corsets with her?"
"Well, of course, Victoria. One can never have too many corsets. If I don't take them all, then the very one I have a fancy for might not be there."
There was one matter that intrigued Captain Wyndham, and he plucked up the courage to raise a somewhat delicate matter.
"Excuse my asking Lady Sally, but the expense of your airship must be enormous, yet you are a young woman. How can you finance such an extravagant project?"
"No, I don't mind you asking in the slightest, captain. I came into my inheritance when I was only eighteen and I've accumulated many business interests over the last decade. As to the costs of my airship project, it's very simple. I own a brass mine in Zanzibar and I dedicate the profits from this venture, which are considerable, to the building of my airship. As I'm sure you'll know the demand for brass has gone through the roof in recent years."
