A Christmas Carol
Simply having a wonderful Christmas
time!
Simply having a wonderful Christmas
time!
The Christmas
Eve party for the staff at Renauds was going - well, not exactly full swing,
but everyone seemed to be having a pleasant enough time. The dress code had been black tie, so the
workers and their partners had come suitable dressed - and none more so than
Carol Renaud, the owner of the exclusive jewellers.
She was a
tall woman, at six foot two in her bare feet, so the fact she was wearing a
pair of white satin shoes with three inch stiletto heels only added to her stature. Despite her height. She was slim, with shoulder
length white blonde hair that cascaded around her shoulders. For this particular party, she had chosen to
wear a red evening dress, held up by the thin straps that went over her shoulders
and cut to reveal the top of her large bosom, then falling down to near the
floor with a slit up her left side to her hip.
A pair of red
elbow gloves completed her outfit, with a pair of diamond encrusted bracelets around
her wrists and a large gold necklace with a ruby pendant around her neck. As she walked around the room, stopping and
talking to her guests, she was the perfect hostess. Those in the business knew Carol as that rarity
- a successful businesswoman who was not a complete hard case.
She also
treated her staff with respect, knowing the old maxim of treat others as you
would have them treat you worked well in this case. As she stopped to talk to the girlfriend of
one of her workers, she smiled and said all the right things, but one thing
gnawed away at her. Just a little, but
enough to make her frown a little in quiet moments - she was the only one there
without a partner.
“So how are
you spending Christmas Ms Renaud,” one of the front of shop staff asked.
“Oh, I will
be joining my sister for Christmas lunch,” she said with a smile, “and celebrating
with her family. I’m actually looking
forward to it - I got some lovely presents for her daughters, and I hope they
like them.”
The evening
eventually drew to a close, and as the clock showed eleven Carol slipped a wool
shrug over her shoulders and walked to the staff door.
“Merry
Christmas, Ms Renaud” the security guard said as he opened the door for
her. “You too Gary.” She said with a
smile as she stepped into the waiting car and sat back, watching the revellers
on the street as she was driven back to her apartment block at Queen’s Wharf.
Stepping out
of the car, she walked the short distance to the front door, smiling at the
concierge as she stepped into the lift and watched the door close. “A nightcap and then a good night’s sleep,”
she said to herself as the lift carried her to the penthouse suite, opening to
allow her to go into the thickly carpeted room.
Everything
seemed to be where it should be - the lights were low, and the fairy lights on
the Christmas tree glistened on the far side of the room as she removed her
shrug and laid it on a table. Walking
into the main living area, Carol opened a bottle of whiskey that was sitting on
the coffee table and poured herself a glass.
“Merry
Christmas, Carol” she said to herself as she toasted no-one and out the glass
to her lips, looking out over the city lights as she did so. Taking a sip, she allowed the warm liquid to
slide down her throat and closed her eyes.
Opening them again, she was about to take another sip when she saw someone
reflected in the glass - someone dressed in a red suit, with a wide black belt around
their waist and a long white beard on their chin.
“What the...”
Carol said as she turned round, only to be silenced by the very real revolver
that the stranger was holding in his gloved hand, pointed at her.
“Ho ho ho,” the man said, “Merry Christmas, Carol Renaud. Now, please put down the glass, very slowly,
and put your hands behind your head.”
“I... I’m being robbed by Father Christmas?” Carol could scarcely believe the scene, but
that was what appeared to be happening - someone in a Father Christmas outfit
was pointing a gun at her.
“Well, yes,
that’s right,” Santa said with a smile, “so be a good girl and do as you’re
told.” Carol stared again at him, and
then slowly placed the glass on the table, before putting her hands behind her
head.
“That’s
better,” he said as he walked forward, “Now be a good girl and take that lovely
jewellery off, and place it in my sack.”
“Aren’t you
meant to leave presents for others,” Carol said with a scowl. “You’re thinking of the other guy,” he
replied, “now take the bracelets and necklace off, and put them in my sack.” He pointed the gun directly at Carol, who
felt discretion was required as she pulled the bracelets off her gloved wrist and
placed them in his red sack, followed by the necklace.
“Very good,”
he said as he looked at Carol, “Now where’s your safe?”
She glanced
over to the bookcase, as her robber in red said “Good - open it up, and let’s
see what’s inside.” They walked over,
and he watched as Carol pulled a false front of book spines back, and opened
the metal door underneath.
“Money,
jewels, in the sack,” Santa said as he held his red bag open, watching as Carol
placed a number of envelopes and other items of jewellery inside.
“You’re not
going to hurt me, are you,” she said quietly as she looked at him, and the
gun. “Not if you’re a good girl,” he
said as he looked inside. “Right - where
else do you keep your valuables?”
“In the bank
- please, just go and leave me alone.”
“I’m afraid I
can’t do that yet, Carol,” he said with a smile. Carol looked at him -= the only thing she could
see of him were his piercing blue eyes, but with the hood up and the beard
nothing else was visible. “Into your
bedroom,” he said as he waved the gun, “I need to do something there.”
“You need...”
Carol said as her face went pale. “No,
not that,” he said with a smile, “I need to make sure you cannot raise the
alarm for a while, but I want you to be comfortable, so you are going to change
and then I have to tie you up.”
“Oh,” Carol
said quietly, “Very well then.” They
walked into her bedroom, where Carol sat on her large bed and unfastened her
shoes.
“I bet you’re
glad to get them off,” Santa said as she rubbed her feet. “You have no idea,” Carol said, actually smiling
as she removed her gloves. “So what do
you want me to wear?”
“Here,” Santa
said as he passed Carol a white baby doll nightie, “Put this one, and then
stand up with your hands behind your back.”
“Nice,” Carol
said as she held it up, “You got something about legs?”
“Could be -
now put it on and I’ll make you comfortable.”
Carol nodded as she turned her back to the Santa imposter, slipping the
gown off her body and stepping out before she pulled the nightdress over her
head. It just covered her bottom, and
the short sleeves covered her shoulders.
“Now what,”
she said as she put her hands together behind her back, and her question was
answered, not with words but by a tugging on her skin as she felt something been
stuck to her wrists, and heard a half ripping, half squelching sound as her
wrists and hands were forced together.
As they were pinned to her back, she looked down to see a roll of red
tape been passed around her waist, holding her wrists firmly in place.
“That’s
tight,” she said as she watched the tape been wound around her arms and body, forcing
them together as it wound around her chest and shoulders. “It’s meant to be,” Santa said with a smile, “I
don’t want you to hurt yourself.”
“You mean you
don’t want me getting in your way,” Carol said quietly as she tried to wriggle
her arms round, with little effect. “That
too,” the intruder said as he tore the tape free and smoothed it down behind her
back. “Now, lie down and stay still.”
Sitting
herself on the edge of the bed, Carol swung her legs round and then lay on her back;
resting her head on a pillow as she watched Santa put her ankles together and
start to tape them tightly to each other, winding the tape up her legs until it
came to her knees. She though he was going
to stop there, but instead he covered her knees and took it almost up to the
hem of her night garment, so that her legs looked like they were covered in a
red sheath,
“Now,” Santa
said as he stroked Carol’s hair out of her eyes, “I’m going to have a look round
your room. You lie there and don’t move.”
“Very funny,”
Carol said as she tried to move her legs around, watching as he searched
through her drawers and wardrobe. She groaned
when he found the box of jewellery she kept at the foot of the wardrobe, but
was in no position to stop him from emptying the contents into his sack. As he turned back to her, she could see two
things - he was smiling, ad he had a small scarf she used to tie her hair back
in his hand.
“You’re not
going to tie that in my mouth, are you,” she said quietly as she squirmed
round.
“No,” Santa
said quietly, “but I want you to open wide.
I’ll let the concierge know your predicament when I have had enough time
to get away.” Carol looked into his
eyes, and decided to trust him as she opened her mouth and allowed him to push the
small chiffon square in. It tasted of
lavender as she closed her mouth over it and watched him tear several strips of
the red tape off and smooth them over her mouth.
“Well, I need
to be on my way,” he said as he picked up his sack, which jangled with the sound
of his finds, “Have a nice rest Carol - oh and Carol?”
“Yssss,” she
mumbled as she stopped struggling and looked at him.
“Merry
Christmas.”
Carol rolled
her eyes as he walked out, and tried to get as comfortable as she could,
waiting for someone to rescue her...