I returned to my corner time and was acutely aware of the silence of the house, save the occasional muffled noise of Ben moving about in another room somewhere.
Suddenly the silence was broken by the noise of the front door opening and I heard Jane calling out to Ben that she had arrived. I almost breathed a sigh of relief knowing I was no longer alone in the house with Ben.
But then to my absolute mortification I heard other voices. Jane had clearly not arrived alone. I began to panic, but could not think of an appropriate action. I wanted to flee, and briefly thought of climbing out of a window. But somehow the thought of being naked on the street did not appeal as a suitable option. There was no other way out of the room, and my clothes were gone. I now realised what Ben had been up to. He had anticipated my reaction and knew I would have got dressed when I realised other people were in the house.
With no suitable options to my get out of my predicament I remained huddled in my corner. My mind rationalised that my in-laws would not betray me by allowing someone else to see me naked. If I stay still and quiet the guests, and hopefully Ben and Jane, will leave for their dinner engagement, with the guests none the wiser that a young lady was standing naked in the corner of the adjoining lounge.
From the voices I could ascertain the visitors were a couple, and from the conversation I gathered the male was a business acquaintance of Ben's. I had met many of my Parents in Law's friends and tried to place the voices, but couldn't.
They continued to chat in the kitchen and I could hear wine bottles being open and drinks served. I was suddenly aware of how dry my own throat was, and realised I was hardly breathing in my attempt to be as quiet as a church mouse.
Then to my horror I heard Jane suggest they would be more comfortable in the lounge. 'No! No! No!' my mind screamed but before I had a chance to react I knew they were at the doorway. Whatever I could have done to prevent my shame, it was now too late. I stood as still as a statue, willing myself to be invisible.
The conversation stopped dead, and I heard the female guest cry out in surprise. 'For heaven's sake, there is a naked lady in your lounge'
I could feel the tears of humiliation well up in my eyes.
'Now isn't that a surprise', Ben responded with a hearty laugh, 'Take a seat and I'll do the introductions.'
I felt like I was going to faint and tried to take in some deep breaths.
'Now don't be rude Kym', Ben addressed me, 'Turn around so I can introduce you to our guests'.
Slowly I turned around to face everybody. One arm was across my breasts, while my other hand was in front of my pubic region. If you have ever wondered whether it is more humiliating to be naked in front of acquaintances or strangers, I can assure you they are equally bad.
The guests were a couple not much older than myself, perhaps in their mid-30s. Being so close to my own age just added to my misery. Whilst the male had a wry smile on his face and was obviously enjoying the pleasant surprise of having a naked lady standing in front of him, the female was clearly in shock. Her mouth hung open as if she could not quite believe what she was seeing.
'This is John and Debbie'. Jane did the introductions. 'They are from Ohio' Jane added, as if knowing they were from out of State somehow made the situation more bearable for me.
Jane then turned to her guests, 'And this charming young lady is our daughter in law, Kym'
I did not move or utter a sound. Neither did Debbie. The fact that I was the daughter in law did little to account for the fact that I was stark naked.
'Kym is from New Zealand. Our son, Michael, met her there while on holiday' Heaven knows why Jane added this little snippet of information. Would the fact I was originally from New Zealand in someway explain my naked state?
'Oh' was all Debbie could add, still in shock, 'from the land of the kiwi, the All Blacks rugby team, and the America's Cup'.
Her knowledge was actually only right on two of the three points. New Zealand was no longer the holder of yachting America's Cup, but somehow I did not feel now was the occasion to enter into a discussion on my country of origin.
The brief conversation died and there was an embarrassing silence, broken only when Jane reached out to me with her empty wine glass. 'Be a sweetheart and get me a refill.'
I now had a real dilemma. To take hold of her glass I had to either remove my arm from across my breasts, or remove my hand from my pubic region. Both were alarming options, but I decided there was no way I wanted to expose my shaved pubes so reluctantly lowered my arm from in front of my crushed breasts.
Hastily I took the wine glass and retreated to the relative safety of the kitchen. My eyes scanned the room for any sight of my clothing, but they were nowhere to be seen. I refilled the glass and tried to pluck up the courage to return to lounge.
'Hurry up there, young lady. I am thirsty' Jane sung out good-humouredly.
Reluctantly I re-entered the room and handed over the glass. For the next 30 minutes I became their naked waitress, fetching drinks and nibbles for them. As embarrassing as it was, I was thankful for the opportunities to retreat out of sight into the kitchen. I also stood to the side of them so that my nakedness was perhaps not quite so obvious.
Debbie was clearly bewildered by it all and I sensed she wanted to ask me what an earth I was up to, parading myself around naked. While the other 3 engaged in conversation, I could feel Debbie's eyes following me in and out of the room. She wanted an explanation.
Perhaps sensing this Jane addressed her visitors. 'You are no doubt wondering why Kym is naked.'
Debbie nodded her head enthusiastically, desperate for an explanation
'Kym is being punished. She has not been a good wife, but Ben and I believe that by shaming and punishing her she will reach the potential we know she has. Is this not so Kym?'
'Yes Ma'am,' was all I could say.
'And you actually agree to this?' Debbie enquired incredulously
'Yes Ma'am' I responded, blushing with embarrassment.
'How is she punished?' Debbie enquired of my Mother in Law
'She is about to be punished now. You and John are welcome to stay if you wish, otherwise we will go to the restaurant and leave Ben to join us after he has punished Kym'
I could not believe what I was hearing.
John was clearly enthusiastic about staying to watch, but Debbie was hesitant. I silently prayed she would turn down the offer. Even though I did not want to be in the house alone with Ben, it was preferable to being smacked in front of strangers.
But Debbie's curiosity got the better of her and she nodded her head affirmatively. My heart sank. This was not going to be good for me. The meaning of humiliation was about to be redefined for me, yet again.
'Come and stand in front of us in the manner you have been instructed' Ben commanded of me
'No, not that. Please, not that', I pleaded. I knew the consequences of disobeying but could not help myself.
'You have just earned yourself increased punishment young lady. I suggest you do not push us any further.'
Again I felt faint, but somehow shuffled forward until I was standing directly in front of the four seated persons.
'Come closer'
I obeyed
'Assume your position'
Mechanically my arms lifted and I placed my hands on my head. My breasts jutted out, nipples erect. I did not want to endure the slow humiliation of gradually opening my legs and being further humiliated with requests to open them wider. Therefore in an instance I splayed my legs as wide as I could.
I thought Debbie was going to have a heart attack. She was shocked I could even think of debasing myself in such a manner. Her eyes were as wide as saucers.