Chapter Seven
Gabrielle had no idea how long she had been walking, or how many times she had completed a circuit of the peat track that unrolled endlessly beneath her spike-heeled boots. She only knew that her feet and legs ached relentlessly, competing with her pinioned arms and the bit-gag wedged between her jaws to give her the greatest discomfort and misery. The only bright spot in her situation was that her performance had improved markedly which reduced the number of times the coach-whip had snaked out to crack across her buttocks and thighs to enforce her Master’s instructions. Reduced, but not eliminated completely, as the mesh of pink and red stripes adorning her pale skin confirmed. On their own, none had been unbearably painful, but added together they smarted and burned at a l
