From the Top Shelf - The New Story of O, part deux

This time we will sample another delicacy from The New Story of O. (If you missed the first one, read it here.) In the foreword, the anonymous author explains that "O, having explored to the limits of her own psyche, has an advantage... She is indifferent to money, and perhaps even power is not her ultimate objective.  The explanation for her activities is to be found...in her relationship with Jane, the young American. It comes as no surprise that she imposes on the girl all the ritual stages of her own initiation... What matters now is the transmission of power and knowledge to women."

Here, then, is a portion of that initiation. Jane is sitting in a limousine with Sir Stephen, being driven to a secret destination. She is blindfolded, and listens to a recorded message from O that recounts her arrival at the chateau.  As the recording ends, the car stops. Jane is led inside, her blindfold is removed, and she is left alone in a totally darkened room.

A light was switched on. Jane averted her eyes from the glare, but saw that she was in a room that was, as she had thought, devoid of furniture. The only decoration was the thick carpet on the floor. Two women were facing her; they were young and pretty. They wore flaring skirts above which their waists were tightly corseted; their outthrust breasts were supported, but not covered, by the corsets they wore... Each wore a collar around her neck and a bracelet around each wrist.

They told Jane to undress... Her clothes were put away and she was led from the room.

The two women took her to another chamber in which every surface was covered with mirrors. Wherever she was Jane could not escape the sight of her own naked body being manipulated and prepared by the women... Jane's preparation started with a bath. As they soaped and rinsed every part of Jane's body the women...spoke in French... "What lovely golden hair" and "The suntan really is all over, see?" and "A very cute arse. They'll love that." and "They'll use the riding crop, you can bet on it. The crop is only good for big girls like you, cherie; they should use the whip on this one."

After the bath and lengthy cosmetic preparations:

Although the two women had not told anyone that they had finished preparing Jane, a man entered the room. He was wearing a long purple robe, with wide sleeves that narrowed at the wrists, which fell open as he walked... He spoke to her in a tone that implied that he expected nothing from her but obedience. "Come with me!" was all he said.

It was only then that Jane noticed the whip, made of several strips of leather, that was hanging from his belt, and the black cowl that covered his head...

One of the women opened the mirrored door of a wall cupboard, produced a basket containing an assortment of bracelets and collars, and selected several items for Jane. All were of the same type: bands of leather, no thicker than a finger, each with a metal fastening that, like a padlock, clicked shut but could be re-opened only with a key. Jane noticed that set at regular intervals into the outer circumference of each band were metal rings with slip-catches; as the bracelets and collar closed around her wrists and neck, just a little too tightly to be completely comfortable, she felt a resurgence of panic as she imagined how the rings could be used to pinion her body into any number of helpless positions...

"She's ready now," said one of the women. The man seized Jane's arms, pulled them together behind her back, and joined the bracelets together with a click. 

That's all for now, but I can tell you that - unlike O in the original - Jane does not get pushed down a flight of stairs.