Fetching Rob for a second time, Casey was convinced she had the setting perfect, and she practically crumpled on the floor to see him shake his head. He picked up a placemat.
“What are these?” he scowled. “These are not for the guests I have coming tonight.”
“Who is coming?” she asked.
“Gentlemen,” he said simply. “They want to be entertained, Casey. Find something to entertain them.”
Casey was bemused by his request; placemats entertaining?
“Oh, these glasses, no, no—they need to be exactly the same distance apart. Use a ruler.”
Casey was going to answer back with a ‘do it yourself, you pedantic sod’ remark, and thought better of it, especially when he pulled out a dining room chair and pointed at it.
She could not understand how six swats could hurt so much. Was it because she was pissed off with him or because he was disappointed in her attempts to please him? Every day she tried hard to keep a smile on his face, and most days she succeeded. Come the nightfall when they snuggled down, she never had any difficulties keeping him happy. It was in the day, when he told her she had to do as she was told, that she struggled. Being his personal assistant was not entirely what she had expected. It was very personal and not exactly assisting—more servicing him.
She rubbed her bottom hard as she stood up. If he carried on she would not be able to sit down. He left her alone again without a word.
The ruler was in her bureau drawer, and it did help. She found she was very inconsistent between settings, and now each one had an identical layout. Surely that would cheer him up.
The placemats stumped her. She gathered up the ghastly floral pictures and put them away. There in the back of the sideboard was a box, and she eased it out and put it on the table. Opening the lid, she gasped at the contents: placemats whose design made her giggle with embarrassment. Did Rob mean these? There was only one way to find out. She chose three and placed them between the cutlery.
It was with trepidation that Casey summoned Rob from his study to inspect her third attempt. There was a moment’s silence when he saw the placemats. However, far from commenting on them, he merely nodded and indicated she had found the correct ones. Casey desperately wanted to ask who was coming to dinner that evening, but she was not going to have an answer.
“Very good. Now, you will do it again,” he told her.
“Seriously?” she said, and the tone of her voice in conjunction with a scowl and a hand on hip resulted in six more over the dining chair. She hopped about, and it was hard not to kick back at him. Her bottom smarted terribly, and she thought he had poured concrete into his hands.
From out of his pocket he produced a blindfold, and he grinned at her. “You have all afternoon to practise. You’re going to learn to set this table blindfolded. I won’t check you again, as I expect you to be perfect by this evening. You know how I like it laid out. I suggest you put everything on the sideboard, use the chairs to locate the places and notches on the ruler for distance.”
Casey had forgotten about her throbbing bottom. The temptation to gawp, to query, and to question was almost too much to bear, but she had learnt her lesson, and she kept her face still.
Rob continued. “Then, at eight o’clock this evening, you will present yourself here in this room. You will wear that lovely black lacy lingerie set. You know the one I like?”
“Yes, sir,” murmured Casey. She pictured it in her head; it barely covered anything of her.
“The red high heels too,” said Rob. “Then when my guests arrive, you will set the table for them. You will be here, standing right by the sideboard at precisely eight o’clock, blindfolded and waiting for us.”
Casey guessed she would be watched by their mysterious visitors. “Please may I use the bathroom?” She was going to have to practise a great deal to overcome her nerves.
“Certainly, Casey,” said Rob.
By the time Casey returned to the dining room, Rob had gone. All afternoon she practised. It was tiring and required a great deal of concentration. She did not notice how repetitious the task had become as she was determined to do it perfectly. She took up Rob’s advice, and with the blindfold in place, used the furniture to find her bearings. She scraped notches onto the wooden ruler to help.
The first few times she was horrified at how badly she was doing. She almost broke a glass, she dropped the cutlery, and she put the placemats upside down. Then she began to pull it together. Poise was critical, to move gracefully and slowly and not to rush. She realised she needed to pace carefully around the table like a dancer counting her steps. Keeping her arms loose and her deportment refined, she was able to use her posture to ensure everything was consistent. Breathing deeply, she would reach for a glass using the tips of her fingers, crawling across the sideboard until she grasped the stem.
Each time she lifted the blindfold it got better and better. At last, she managed to do three perfect settings on the trot. The clock chimed six, and she sighed with relief. It was time for a break. Then she would have to change into her nearly non-existent lingerie.
* * *
The clock struck eight, and Casey was in place as instructed. She could hear the door open and footsteps. More than one pair of shoes were walking across the wooden floorboards. Three, she guessed, but it was difficult to tell as she was breathing so heavily and rapidly. It made sense as there were three places set.
“Here she is gentlemen, my girl,” said a familiar voice next to the table. “Casey is going to set the table for us.”
She thought nerves would overwhelm her at first. Her hands shook, and as she bent slightly to collect the first placemat, she was conscious that she was showing her rather exposed bottom to the room. Remembering that breathing was critical and that if she kept her body disciplined it would be easier, she steadied herself and concentrated hard.
Naturally, there were comments about the placemats.
“I picked them up in Japan,” explained Rob to his guests. “The paintings are done with live models, all beautifully bound, don’t you think?”