Part 9: Blackmail
“Today was the last day under my care for you,” Mistress June told me, “You will go back to Mistress May for the rest of your training. Do you really want to quit? If you do that now everything you endured was for nothing. You will get no money, you might even be forced to pay for the tuition. The rest of your training will be easy going with May.”
I was so glad to get away from Mistress June. Of course I didn’t want to quit under these circumstances. “OK, I don’t quit then. Please let me go back to Mistress May.”
“Good decision. I knew you would change your mind. There are several hidden video cameras in this room. I recorded everything that happened while you were here. I will not show that to anyone. It is for my personal joy, but it has one additional purpose: If anyone asks you about these piercings you will answer that you agreed to them. You will tell no one what happened here. All we did was just standard training. Nothing happened without your consent. Otherwise I will show the recording of your quitting. That will end your training and your job opportunity will be gone. Do you want that?”
“No I don’t. Please let me go to Mistress May. I promise I won’t tell anyone what you did.”
I was fitted with the same outfit as when I arrived at Mistress June, ballet boots, mono glove and corset. Then I was allowed to walk back to Mistress May.
Mistress May immediately recognized that something was wrong when I arrived at her room. I looked exhausted. She also saw my new piercings. She knew that these were quite extreme, nobody else had got this kind of piercing before.
“What happened Nin? You don’t look well. How did you get these piercings?”
I tried to be convincing. “I’m OK, I asked Mistress June to give me these piercings. I think they are cool.”
“I know you, Nin. That is not the truth. You know that you can trust me. You must tell me if something happened against your will. It will have no bad consequences for you.”
“No, I can’t tell you anything. All is well. Please let’s go on with the training. Will I stay with you from now on?”
“Yes, you will stay with me. Please tell me what happened. I think that was something bad and I want to help you.”
“I don’t need help. I’m with you now, I’m good.”
“You experienced something bad, that can’t be undone, but we can prevent it from happening to others in the future. Do you want to be responsible if the next girl has to endure the same because you didn’t tell me what happened?”
“I can’t tell, it would end my training. I don’t want that.”
“I promise that you can go on if you want to. Why should it end? Did you ask for an end? That has no consequences if you did that and you changed your mind.”
“But Mistress June has a video recording of me quitting.” I sobbed.
“Ah, I knew something was wrong. Please tell me everything. As I said before: it will have no bad consequences for you.”
Finally I told her about everything, even my first encounter with Mistress June during storage training. She was shocked. “That is abuse, I never suspected that she might do something like that. You said she has filmed that, right?”
“Yes, she told me that she filmed it and blackmailed me with the quitting to ensure that I didn’t talk about it.”
“I’ll call the police, she will go to prison for that.”
Part 10 A New Bargain
“Mistress June was indicted,” Nin said, “The videos were confiscated. They told me that it is likely that she will go to jail for three years or more. I may be required to give evidence during the trial. So there may be a few days when I will not be available as an ornament girl for you. I’m willing to extend my contract by that amount of time, so that you don’t lose anything, of course.”
“No, I don’t want that,” Ann said, reassuringly, “You suffered enough at the hands of that bad woman. That was not your fault. It will not extend the duration of your contract if you have to go to court. Perhaps we can go there together, so maybe you can even be my ornament girl while you are giving evidence.”
“That is very nice of you, Ann. But Toog pays me for the whole five years. I don’t want anything I don’t earn.”
“I have an idea,” Toog said. “I see that you still have those piercings. If you keep these, perhaps even wear a tongue lock, then this would add value to our contract. It’s something nobody else has. This would easily compensate for the loss of a few days.”
“I like the idea of compensating, but wearing a tongue lock is hard. It’s not just being unable to talk. Not being able to move your tongue is really annoying. You can’t swallow properly. I kept the piercings open because I hoped they would add value to my contract, but I can’t wear a tongue lock for five years.”
“Of course not. You would wear it occasionally at special events and you would get an additional bonus for every hour you wear it. How about ten interdollars per hour?”
“That is okay, but can we limit the maximum duration? Perhaps no more than eight hours a day?”
“Ann might attend events that last longer than eight hours, could we limit it to a total of three days per week? That would enable participation in events that last for one weekend Friday to Sunday.”
“OK, I can agree to that.”
“Just a moment, let me calculate. Five years times fifty two weeks equals two hundred and sixty weeks. Two hundred and sixty weeks, times three days, times ten interdollars, equals seven thousand eight hundred. I’ll add seven thousand eight hundred interdollars to your bonus.”
“I thought that I would wear the tongue lock only occasionally. This sounds as if I will have to wear it for three days every week. To be honest, although formally that’s what I agreed to, I think that is too much.”
“No, no, remember I’m not your master. Ann will decide if and when you have to wear it. I just want to prevent her from having to think about the money. I’ll pay the maximum amount, that way she can use the tongue lock on you whenever she wants, provided that it is no more than three days in a week. I don’t think she will do it that often.”
“I’m not a show-off,” Ann said, ”Rest assured, you will wear it quite seldom.”
“OK, I believe you. We can do it that way,” Nin confirmed.
The safety monitoring of the house had recorded their conservation. Toog added the video and audio files to his contract with Nin. So the contract was officially modified.
After that Nin was fitted with her ballet boots. They were similar to Ann’s. The only difference was that Ann’s shoes were engraved with a decorative pattern on the outside, whereas Nins were just plain shiny polished steel.
Ann asked Nin if she would talk about another episode of her training while Toog fitted Nin with the boots.
Part 11 The Challenge
I can tell you about another day at Mistress June’s.
“Today I give you a little challenge,” she told me in the morning. “I’ll tie you with just a little bit of twine. You’ll get a reward if you can escape on your own. Let’s say we don’t do a play session today if you escape till 4pm. It is 8am now, so that should be plenty of time. In case of success you may sleep unbound the next night till 8pm. That’s a good reward, don’t you agree. Oh, yes I agreed. How much would I have loved that!
On the other hand you need to be punished if you can’t escape. If you don’t escape you’ll stay bound the same way till tomorrow 4pm, but with some additional punishment. And I’ll make sure that you will not escape later, of course. After that we’ll do a two hour play session to compensate for the missed one today.”
The bondage was simple: She tied my left thumb to my right big toe and vice versa. She used multiple loops of twine and cinched them tight. Then she knotted several tight knots. She repeated that three times at each thumb. When she was finished I was hogtied, but I had been in much more severe hogties than this one.
“That’s it, you are good to go. Just a few feet of twine, you should be out of that in no time, right?”
I really thought I had a chance. It should be possible to scratch through a strand of twine, shouldn’t it? Do that three times and one hand is free. That didn’t sound difficult. I wouldn’t really be free then, my collar was still chained to the wall and I could not leave the room, but I thought that she would accept it as success if I could get out of the hogtie.
I started scratching immediately. Soon I found out that the twine was extremely strong. I couldn’t even scratch through one single strand. I tried to loosen the knots, but with my bound thumbs and without being able to see the knots that task was also impossible.
Eight hours later Mistress June was back. “No success, I’m disappointed. Did you waste your time trying to scratch through the twine? That twine is made of carbon nanotubes, extremely expensive and almost indestructible. You should have worked on the knots instead.” She knew that I had tried to loosen the knots. She had tied them so tight and hidden between my thumbs and my big toes that it wouldn’t have been possible to get out even if I had worked on the knots all of the time. I had been defeated right from the beginning.
“OK, let’s prepare you for the night.” First she put tight steel cuffs on my upper arms just above my elbows. They were connected with a single link of chain, so that my elbows were almost touching. Then she connected a chain to that link with a padlock. The chain ran through the ceiling to a motor winch. She activated the motor and my arms were pulled up until only my thighs were resting on the floor.
“That should prevent escape, now the punishment,” she announced.
She took a 2cm wide leather belt and wound it around the base of my left breast. The belt had a buckle at one end. She pushed the other end through the buckle. Then she pulled really hard. My breast was compressed to half of its original size at the base before she closed the buckle. “Nice, I like how your skin is stretched. It almost feels like a drum. And it’s already starting to get some more color. Let’s do the other one, perhaps I can tighten this one a bit more after that.”
Tighten it more! What did she think? It already felt like my breast was cut off. It had turned purple and it hurt like hell. True to her words my right breast soon felt the same. Then she pulled at the left belt again, but she wasn’t able to pull it tight enough to get the spike through the next hole in the belt. “Damn, that belt doesn’t fit. The spike is close to the last hole, but I can’t get it through. Stay as you are, I’ll get another one.” She left me. I was lying there with throbbing breasts, almost unable to move. All I could do was wiggle a little, but that only increased the pain in my breasts.
“I found the perfect belts for you.” She announced when she came back after a few minutes. The Belts were much wider than those that already tortured me, almost 4 cm. The holes were spaced much closer. There were two parallel rows with holes every cm.
These will fit perfectly and they have another feature. You will certainly not like it, but the more I do.” She dangled one belt before my eyes, so that I could more clearly see what she was referring to. There were little spikes on one side of the belt. These were cones about 5mm diameter and 5mm height. A row of these spikes spanned the whole length of the belt. These would hurt, I knew it. I tried to plead. “Please mistress I already hurt so much, don’t make it worse.” My tongue lock prevented this of course. What I really said was almost not understandable. She pretended to understand something different: “You like these, too? That’s good, you’ll wear them for a while. I’ll make them as tight as possible, it’s a punishment after all.”
Soon my breasts were both compressed to less than half their original size at the base. The width of the belts pushed them away from my body and the spikes poked into my compressed flesh. On the outside of the belts the skin was pulled so taught that it formed my breasts into two almost perfect spheres.
“That’s it, you are set for the day. Enjoy your punishment if you can. I’ll be back at the same time tomorrow. I’m already looking forward to our play session. I think your breasts will be quite sore by then. I’ll think about some actions to emphasize that.”
It was so unfair. She had promised me to limit the extreme pain to the play sessions. That had been bad enough and the normal training was no picnic either. With this challenge she had found a way to extend the extreme pain beyond that time. She had circumvented her part of the agreement that she had forced onto me.
Part 12 Party Preparations
Meanwhile Toog had fixed Nin’s feet in the ballet boots. “Are you OK with the boots? You will wear them for a while.”
“They actually feel quite comfortable compared to those I wore during my training. They fit very well, although they are completely stiff. I can’t flex my ankles at all.”
“Please try standing,” Toog said. Nin had much practice, so she managed to get up even though she could not use her hands for balance. “How does it feel now?”
“Better than I expected. My weight is distributed very well. There is much less pressure on my toes than I’m used to.”
“Very well, I think you should both practice walking for a while. You will not need to walk or stand a lot in the afternoon, but this evening we will have a small party. Nin, you will start your job as a decoration which will not require walking or even standing. Ann on the other hand will be dancing with me, so some practice is recommended. Nin might be able to give some valuable advice.”
Dancing! Ann had just learned to walk in these boots. She didn’t want to disappoint Toog, but she was quite afraid that she would not be able to learn dancing in ballet boots in that short time. Even less she thought that she would be able to endure the ballet boots for such a long time.
Although Ann loved Toog and enjoyed being with him, this time she was relieved when he announced that he had to leave and would be back at tea time. She would not have to wear the ballet boots all day. “One question before you go, please,” she said.
“Sure, what’s the matter?”
“You said the gift will make my life easier. I can’t see that so far. How did you mean that?”
“Oh, that is simple. You might have noticed that fashion has become increasingly restrictive during the last few years.”
“Indeed I have; I have to live with these restrictions every day. I love being fashionable, but it has reached a level of restriction that is hard to endure.”
“That’s what I mean. If fashion keeps going in that direction it will soon reach an unbearable stage. With Nin these restrictions are transferred to her. You can stay as you are, while as your accessory she shifts you to the highest possible fashion. Maybe the required restrictions for you will even be reduced once ornament girls get more common.”
“But you just increased my restrictions significantly with your other gifts. I really like them, they are so beautiful, but they are anything but comfortable.”
“That’s for now. Ornament girls are just starting to get fashionable. I expect that it will soon be required to have an ornament girl to be fashionable. That will change a lot. Perhaps it will not be necessary to be tied up yourself next year, who knows?”
Ann actually practiced dancing in her ballet boots. Nin tried to help her with some hints from her own experience, but it wasn’t easy. She had to stop after half an hour. Her feet were hurting too much.
Ann was happy that her maid had finished her errands in the meantime. She asked her to take off her ballet boots. So, she could relax her feet for a few hours. She paid attention that her maid put her ballet boots back on with ample time before tea time. Toog should not see her without the precious gifts he had given her.
At tea time they had a nice celebration of her birthday with Toog, her family, and some relatives. Nin was standing at the side while they were eating the birthday cake. Ann was a little envious, because Nin seemed to be able to stand in her ballet boots for hours without any sign of distress, while her own feet were slightly aching even when she was sitting at the table.
Later that day some friends of Ann and Toog would visit to celebrate her birthday with a party with a lot of dancing and drinking. Although, no drinking for her Ann swore to herself. She would need all her wits to be able to dance in her new shoes.
When all of the cake had been eaten, the relatives had left and the afternoon celebration had ended she had to do something she didn’t like, but it could not be avoided: She had to ask Toog to put off her ballet boots.
“I’m so sorry, I really like them, but I’m still getting used to them. I need a rest. Otherwise I will not be able to dance with you.”
“You don’t need to apologize. I’m impressed that you wore them so long. Don’t worry you can wear some other shoes at the party. That’s no problem.”
“No, I will wear them. I like them. I just need a little rest, that’s all.”
“Okay, you take a well deserved rest while I finish the decoration of the party room. May I take Nin with me?”
“Yes, of course.”
Nin followed Toog to the party room. Nin was wondering what Toog intended to do, when they entered the room. Everything seemed to be prepared.
“Okay, let's begin with your task for this evening,” Toog said. “You will be part of the decoration. Do you see that big vase in the middle of the dance floor? That’s your place. The vendor called it an ornament girl stand. Please come with me.”
They went to that vase. It had an odd form. Almost like two vases merged into one.
“I’ll lift you up, then you raise your feet to your butt. Then I’ll set you into the vase. Each leg goes into one of the tubes of the vase.”
Nin obeyed and was placed in the vase. It was a tight fit. Her calves were pressed firmly against her thighs. She was trapped by her own body weight. Even with free arms she would probably not have been able to get out. With her arms still fixed in reverse prayer configuration she was completely helpless. Fortunately the foot of the vase was quite wide. It would not be easily tipped over. Nin was trapped, but safe.
“I’ll leave you for a while. I think you are safe now, but we have a safety measure to ensure that you don’t get harmed. Please press this disk between your thumb and index finger.” Toog held a small disk to her thumb, so that she could grab it. “Press until it beeps.” Nin had to press quite hard, but she managed to get that beep out of the disk. “Now it is activated. It has a gluey surface and will stick to your thumb, so that you cannot lose it. If you get in serious trouble, for example if you might get injured or your airways get blocked, then you press the button as hard as you can. It will send an alarm to me and our security people. Someone will come to rescue you in no time. Remember that it is only for emergencies. Do not use it just because you are bored or uncomfortable. I’ll be back before the party starts.”
Nin was used to being restrained and left alone for hours, but it was boring and uncomfortable. Why couldn’t he put her in that vase later? This had no purpose now, nobody would see her. It made no difference if she was suffering here or comfortable somewhere else. She was not angry. This was her job and she was paid well. Nevertheless she was a bit disappointed deep inside. Toog had always been kind and caring before, why had he changed?
She knew she was thinking too much. This was exactly what she had trained for. He had given her the chip for safety. So everything was fine. She didn’t have to worry. She had been put into the vase around five pm. She guessed that the party would start no earlier than eight pm. That left her too much time for thinking. She could only guess the time. Her only indicator was the sun that shone through some big windows behind her, but it was summer and it would be bright till after ten pm. So, in fact she had no clue how long she had been alone and how long she would still have to wait.
She longed for the party to begin, so she was happy when Toog came back. “The guests will arrive within the next half hour. I have to apply the finishing touch. Ornament girls shall be seen, not heard. Please open wide.”
“Oh please, I won’t say a word.”
“Sorry, you should know it’s mandatory for ornament girls in public.”
“We are not in public.”
“We are, once the guests are here. By the way you just proved that it is necessary.” The ball gag wasn’t very big and not too uncomfortable. She was used to much bigger gags. “I’ll soon be back with the first guests.” Toog left her alone again.
Part 13 Party Time
Meanwhile her maid had helped Ann to put her new boots back on. Toog joined her, greeting the guests. Servants guided the guests to the ballroom. Ann got many gifts from her friends.
Toog had tried to keep his gift secret, he had talked about Nin with only one good friend under a vow of secrecy. That friend also talked to one good friend and that one to the next and so on. In the end almost all the guests knew that Toog’s gift to Ann was an ornament girl. Fortunately no one had told Ann, so the surprise had not been ruined.
So, some of the gifts were accessories for Nin: Franky, not a close friend, but a member of Toog’s clique, gave her a nice pair of nipple clamps with a connecting chain. “I don’t know if your ornament girl has pierced nipples, so these are clamping ones. They are quite gentle. It should be easy to wear them for a long time.”
Toog tested them on his pinkie. “You are right, I think they are okay. And they really look nice. Perhaps she can wear them during the party. What do you think, Ann?”
“I think that is okay, but let’s ask her if she is okay with them.”
Another guest gave Ann a new ball gag for Nin. “I don’t know the perfect size for an ornament girl, but I was told that they are trained to take big ball gags. Therefore I bought one of the bigger ones” she said.
“We can let her try it. She can wear it tonight if it fits,” Ann replied.
When most of the guests had arrived they all gathered around Nin. Toog applied the nipple clamps. “Are they okay?” he asked. Nin nodded, they squeezed her nipples quite gently. She might even be able to shake them off if she tried.
The next item was not that easy. Toog removed her ball gag to replace it with the new one. “You trained wearing big ball gags right? So, you will be able to wear this one if it fits into your mouth, right?” He asked. A bit reluctantly Nin nodded.
The ball gag was huge, probably the biggest she had ever worn, but Nin thought she had no choice. She opened her mouth wide. The ball was not only big, it was also quite dense. Toog had to wiggle it around for a while before it popped behind her teeth. She doubted that she would be able to expel it without help, just because of its size. Nevertheless, Toog tightened the straps that were attached to the ball until her head was firmly encased in a head harness. “Very nice, you look great. If there is any free space in the vase it will soon be filled by your drooling, right.” He was grinning.
“mmmpfmm”
“Sorry, I don’t understand, but hey, that’s the purpose of that gag.”
The party was going on. Happy people were dancing around Nin. Ann danced with Toog. Her feet were hurting, but she was happy. Toog was holding her close. He did everything to make it easier for her. He tried to lift her as much as possible to reduce the pressure on her feet. They took a break after each dance, but despite her hurting feet Ann always asked for the next dance soon. She loved the tight embrace so much. She and Toog were so engrossed with each other that they forgot about Nin. Ann and Toog left the party quite early to continue celebrating in private. Most of the guests were still dancing a long time after the two had left.
Meanwhile, Nin's situation got worse. The clamps that seemed so gentle at the beginning were hurting her now. They seemed to clamp stronger with passing time. She knew it could only be an imagination, but she felt something pressing into both nipples from the top almost like little needles.
Tears were forming in her eyes. “Why did they use clamping ones? They know I have pierced nipples,” she thought, but she couldn’t even ask because of that horrible ball gag.
Many of the guests watched Nin, many hadn’t seen an ornament girl before. She was greatly admired.
“She is so sweet.”
“She must be very expensive.”
“Do you know how long she has signed up for?”
These were only a few of the comments. Most seemed not to notice that she was suffering. Some even liked it.
“Look at these sweet tears.”
“Are these nipple clamps? Look how she reacts to them. I’m sure she would beg us to take them off if she could.”
“I like that gag, never saw such a big one.”
“Nice drooling.”
“So much drool and tears. We must be careful. The floor might get slippery.”
It was late into the morning when the last guests had left. Nin thought someone would take her out of the vase, but nothing happened. No one had told the servants what to do with her and Ann and Toog had already been asleep for quite a while. Her nipples were hurting like hell now. “Why am I so sensible today? I have worn nipple clamps for longer in the past and they felt much stronger when they were applied. I can’t stand it any more. I have to press the button,” she thought. But was this really an emergency? Were her nipples in danger of being injured? It felt like they were, but from experience she knew they were not. She decided to endure the pain. This was her first day as an ornament girl. She would be strong. She would not fail right at the beginning of her servitude.
Part 14: The Morning After The Party
Many hours later Toog came to her rescue. “I’m so sorry Nin. I forgot to tell the maid to get you out of the vase after the party. I’ll get you out now. You must be exhausted. Let me remove the gag.” He unfastened the strap. Then he started to pull the ball gag out of her mouth. Nin tried to open as far as possible, but her jaw was locked after that long time. The ball was stuck. Nevertheless that was not Nins biggest concern right now. She had to get rid of the nipple clamps. “Pweese weemow fe clamf.”
“Sorry, I don’t understand. We have to get the gag out of your mouth first. I didn’t realize that it is that big. It went in quite well, didn’t it?”
“Fe clamf, pweese.”
“The clamps are bothering you? But they are very gentle. I tested them on my pinkie. The can’t be such a Problem. Hey, what’s that? There is a little drop of blood under your left nipple. How could that happen?”
He opened the clamps and put them aside. Nin experienced the typical increase of pain that you get when a clamp is removed, but there was something else. It felt like something was pulled out of her nipple. It hurt, but it was a relief at the same time. She knew the pain would subside soon, now that the clamps were gone.
“There are wounds on top of both of your nipples, how could that happen? Fortunately there is not much blood. It seems that the clamps prevented most of the bleeding with their pressure.” Toog reached for the clamps and inspected them. “They look quite smooth. Nothing that should have caused injuries. I don’t understand. There is a label engraved at the side. The manufacturer is Bestmetalbounds. I will check with them later. Let’s get that gag out of your mouth first.”
Toog had to twist and pull at the gag for a while before he could finally expel it. “Ah, thank you. Those clamps were awful.”
“They injured you! Why didn’t you use the emergency button?”
“I didn’t know what was happening. The clamps felt so gentle when you applied them. The gag was much worse at that time. When the pain came I thought that I was overreacting. I didn’t want to make a fuss out of nothing right on my first day.”
“Let’s get you to sleep. I think you earned some rest in a comfortable bed. You will be bound in light bondage, but don’t expect to sleep comfortably in a bed too often. That’s not what you have been trained for.”
Toog checked the clamps while Nin was sleeping. There was a part number on the label, so it was easy to find the description on the homepage of Bestmetalbounds:
Item No. 9245781: Unique nipple clamps with stealthy piercing function.
We call these clamps The Wasps, because they really sting!
Beware:
Our new and exclusive nipple clamps The Wasps are only for really masochistic people. They may never be used without consent!
On first glance they appear like two very gentle clamps connected by a light chain. That does not change on the second and third glance, by the way.
Their real potential shows only after they have been applied for a while. For the first three hours they increase the pressure of their grip. This is done so gently that the wearer almost does not notice it. He or she will wonder why these gentle clamps have such a painful grip after a while, but they will not be able to comprehend the reason. During the next four hours a small pin (0.5mm diameter) is driven through each nipple. This pin is hidden inside the clamp when the clamp is not applied. The pin moves so slowly that the wearer still can’t understand what’s happening. There will be pain of course, but it is not possible to spot the root cause due to the slow action. After four hours, when the pin has been driven completely through to the other side, the real “fun” begins. There are several sleeves around the pin, each 0.5mm bigger than the last. These are driven through the hole one after the other, each taking two hours. So the initial 0.5mm hole is increased to 1 mm, then 1.5 mm and so on. The last sleeve has a diameter of 3mm. So, after 17 hours the wearer has 3mm holes pierced through the nipples or wherever the clamps are applied.
Due to the ingenious design of The Wasps they are automatically reloaded when they are removed. The pin and the sleeves are retracted before the clamps release their grip. This ensures that you don’t pull at the hole with the pins.
The Wasps are ready to go immediately after removal, but they should be opened and closed a few times to ensure that the internal spring is fully loaded. Otherwise the above described process might stop sometime before it has finished.
The pressure of the clamps normally stops any blood flow and the process is slow enough to ensure that scab has formed before the clamp is removed. Nevertheless, it can’t be guaranteed that no blood escapes. So, keep away from delicate clothing while wearing or removing the clamps to avoid blood stains.
Don’t forget our warning:
Never use The Wasps without consent! Always supervise the person that’s wearing The Wasps, especially if that person is in bondage! The Wasps are for very masochistic people only.
Toog was shocked. What had they done to Nin? He would have to check her nipples as soon as she awoke. These wounds would need to be tended. Probably they would need a doctor. He calculated: The clamps were applied around 8:30 pm, he had removed them around 10am. So Nin had worn them for 13 to 14 hours. The holes should not be their maximum, but still at least 2 mm. Not huge, but bad enough, especially when applied unwillingly and so slowly.
Then he tried to remember who gave Ann the clamps. There had been so many guests. He would have to ask Ann.