"Thank you for your observation," I said.
"It is nothing," he said.
We looked after Lavinia, hurrying down the street.
"She is a pretty one," he said.
"Yes," I said.
I then turned about and went down the same street.
I was not really displeased. The fellow had taken Lavinia unquestioningly for a state slave. That was reassuring, and was in its way a compliment to Phoebe's skill as a seamstress, which skill she had primarily acquired following her collaring. Too, he had reminded me that some folks, in particular, guardsmen, often disapproved of interfering with such a girl in the pursuit of her duties. This policy, incidentally, makes it difficult for such slaves to obtain simple, basic female gratifications, such as being caressed in the chains of a master. It was difficult for them, for example, to enter into, arrange or conduct affairs, even of the brief dark-doorway variety. On the other hand, the policy might prove useful, from my own point of view. In virtue of it, I thought I might be able to defend Lavinia, if necessary, without calling too much attention to myself, in particular, without identifying myself as her likely master. Who knows? I might be merely a civic-minded citizen, or perhaps a fellow spoiling for a fight, or one who might find it in his interest, on a certain occasion, to seem to be such.
In a few Ehn, on Aulus, in the vicinity of Tarn Court, I saw one of the free men accompanying the palanquin hurry forward to stay the fellow with his two companions. Lavinia was about thirty to forty yards behind the palanquin. I was about ten yards or so behind her. Stayed, the small group awaited the arrival of the palanquin, which now approached them in a stately fashion, the bearers impressive in their lack of haste, befitting the undoubted dignity of the palanquin's occupant. In a moment or two the palanquin had been set down on its legs, on the shady side of Aulus, near a wall covered with theater posters, many of them faded, tattered, overlapping and half torn away.* Many Gorean advertisements, incidentally, though not in this area, are written on the walls themselves, sections of the wall occasionally being whitewashed to make room for new entries. Some shopkeepers, householders, landlords, and such rent space on the streetsides of their buildings for this purpose. Needless to say, many advertisements, notifications and such, are not, so to speak, authorized. Some of these notifications, and such, perhaps inscribed by the proprietors of certain taverns or their agents, sing the praises of various slaves. I wondered if the fellows passing these notifications, and such, recounting, say, the charms of a certain Tania or Sylvia, of such-and-such a paga tavern, ever considered the possibility that these might be former free women of Ar, perhaps women thitherto unapproachable, once haughty, vain women, women courted in vain by many, perhaps even by themselves, who had now become slaves, women who must now, in their collars, answerable to the whip, to the best of their ability, serve masters. Perhaps they could even arrange for the purchase of one of them, not to free her, of course, for it is said that only a fool frees a slave girl, but to take her home and keep her for themselves. Graffiti, too, in Gorean public places, as the markets and baths, is not uncommon. Whereas this graffiti is mostly of a predictable sort, as one might expect, names, proclamations of love, denunciations of enemies, obscenities, and such, some of it is, in my opinion, at least, of quite high quality. For example, poets not unoften use the walls to publish their work, so to speak. Indeed, it is said, though I do not know with what truth, that Pentilicus Tallux, for whom the great theater is named, first inscribed his poetry on walls. Needless to say, readers then often feel free to write their own comments on the poems, or even to edit them. More than one critic, I fear, has been found bloodied at the base of such a wall. Indeed, there is a story abroad that Pentilicus Tallux himself, whose work is noted for its restraint and delicacy, figured in more than one fracas of that sort. One story has it that he slew seven men in formal duels alone.
* Twice in the manuscript, later, Cabot refers to a "Flute Street." From the context it seems clear that this is "Aulus." I have accordingly edited the manuscript in the interests of consistency, changing "Flute Street" to "Aulus." My interpretation is supported by information supplied by a colleague in the Classics Department, to the effect that there is a Greek expression for a flute which might be transliterated as aulos. I think we may assume then, apart from contextual considerations, that "Aulus" and "Flute Street" are the same street. My conjecture is that aulos was absorbed into Gorean as 'aulus'. An additional consideration is that "Aulus" is one of the streets bordering the great theater, that of Pentilicus Tallux. Flute music is apparently extremely important in Gorean theater. Indeed, we learn from Cabot’s miscellaneous notes that the name of the flute player usually occurs on theatrical advertisements immediately after that of the major performer or performers. It seems the flute player is often on stage and accompanies performers about, pointing up speeches, supplying background music, and such. This is accepted as Gorean theatrical convention, it seems, much as background music is accepted in our modern films, even in such unlikely locations as city streets, airplanes, life rafts, and deserts. Various "modes" are supposed, as well, to elicit and express various emotions, some being appropriate for love scenes, others for battle scenes, etc. Lastly it might be mentioned that 'Aulus' can also occur as a Gorean masculine name. This sort of thing is familiar, of course, in all languages, as Smith, Chandler, Carpenter, Carter, and such, stand for occupations, and names like Hampshire, Lake, Holm, Rivers, and such, stand for places, and names like Stone, Hammer, Rock, and such, stand for things.
—J. N.
The palanquin now having been set down, its bearers, its accompanying free men, and the two men who had accompanied the fellow from the theater, withdrew. This left the fellow in a position to conduct some form of tête-à-tête with the palanquin's occupant, of the privacy of which she would presumably wish to be assured. I wondered if this fellow commonly ran such a gauntlet on his way back from the theater to the house of his master, Appanius of Ar. When the palanquin stopped, Lavinia did, too, naturally, and, of course, some yards behind her, so, too, did I. While the fellow was engaged in discourse with the palanquin's occupant one of the free men, the fellow who had gone on ahead to call upon the fellow and his companions to wait, took notice of Lavinia and began to approach her. She must have seen him coming, for she reacted in fear, and turned about. She cast a wild glance toward me, but I pretended not to notice. She began to come back, back down Aulus, in my direction, but he called out, "Hold, female slave!" I was afraid for a moment that she might panic and bolt in which case he would presumably have her in custody in a moment and she would have been beaten. If he did not catch her I would have to beat her tonight, for having disobeyed a command of that sort, from a free person. Such are not to be disobeyed. But, to my satisfaction, accosted, although she had apparently been momentarily gripped with fear, she had the good sense to turn about and kneel. Also, as he was a man, she had her knees in proper position. One of the advantages of that position, aside from its general suitability and its effect on the female, is that it commonly has placatory value. The fellow had, I assumed, noted her lingering about, too, in the vicinity of the theater, and had probably noted that she was following them, or, more likely, he whom they were following. Perhaps, while he was waiting, in order to while away the time, it was his intent to draw her aside, into a doorway, and thrust her back against the door or wall, for a bit of brief sport. I did not think I would object to this, if no danger came to the note. Too this might fit in with her guise as a state slave, for such are often not averse to such attentions, and have something of a reputation of provoking them. As I have earlier indicated the state is generally heedless of the sexual needs of its state slaves. At any rate, it seldom seems inclined to make any adequate provision for the satisfaction of these very real, and very profound, needs. To be sure, what does it matter, as the women are only slaves? On the other hand, it might be noted that state slaves being sold into the private sector often bring good prices. They seem eager t
o become private slaves, with a given master, whom they may then try to serve with such perfection and devotion that they may hope to exert some influence, however small, on the quality of their lives, for example, with respect to the nature of the contentments they may receive, those which their master may deign to bestow upon them. On the other hand, his mien seemed hostile, so I moved somewhat closer. He stood now before Lavinia, angrily, who, wide-eyed, kneeling, quaked before him. She spread her knees even more. I saw now that it was apparently his intention to protect his employer's interests, as he saw them, that he wished to warn her away. That would not do. He drew back his hand to cuff the slave. As his hand came forward I intercepted it, and held it, by the wrist, in midair. "Ai!" he cried out, in surprise, in anger, in pain. When he ceased to struggle I released his hand. He pulled his wrist away, angrily, rubbing it.
"What is the meaning of your interference?" he snarled.
"What is the meaning of yours?" I inquired, eagerly.
He backed away a step. "Mine?" he asked.
"Interfering with a state slave," I said.
"She is following us!" he said.
"Why?" I asked.
"Well," said he, "not us, but another."
"Who?" I asked.
"He," he said, indicating the direction of the palanquin.
"What business is it of yours?" I asked.
"My employer would not approve of her pursuit," he said.
"And is your employer a competitive slave girl?" I asked.
"No!" he said. "She is the Lady—"
"Yes?" I said.
"It does not matter," he said, irritatedly.
"Perhaps her master has not yet given her a name?" I said.
"You can see she carries a note!" said the fellow, gesturing to Lavinia.
"Give me the note," I said to Lavinia.
"It is private!" she said.
I put out my hand, and she put the note in my hand.
"It is nothing," I said, glancing at the note, and handing it back to Lavinia.
"Let me see!" he said.
"You dispute my word?" I said, eagerly.
"No!" he said.
"Draw!" I said. My hand went to my tunic.
"I am unarmed!" he said. "It is the law! We of Ar may not carry weapons."
"Let us then adjudicate our differences with our bare hands," I said.
"You are drunk!" he said, stepping back.
"If true, that will give you an advantage," I said.
"It is unseemly for free men to squabble before a female slave," he said.
"I shall send her away then," I said.
"No, no," he said, anxiously. "She is doing no harm."
"You would keep her here, away from her duties?" I asked, eagerly.
"No," he said. "No!"
"Glory to Talena, Ubara of Ar," I said.
"Yes, glory to Talena, certainly!" he said.
"Glory to Seremides, first minister to the Ubara, high captain, commander of the Taurentians, to Myron, polemarkos of Temos, to Lurius of Jad, Ubar of Cos!" I said.
"Yes, yes," he said, "glory to them, glory to them all!"
"Glory to a fat tharlarion!" I said.
"If you wish," he said, "yes, of course!"
"You are very agreeable," I said.
"I try to be congenial," he said.
"I think that I shall make the acquaintance of your lady," I said.
"Do not!" he said.
"To complain of your interference with the duties of a state slave," I said.
"She is in converse!" he said.
"No matter!" I said.
"Do not interrupt her!" he said.
"Perhaps you wish to stop me?" I said.
"No!" he said. He then turned and hurried away, toward the palanquin.
"It is my recommendation," I said to Lavinia, "that you route yourself about and rendezvous with our quarry on Tarn Court, underneath the bowers. As I understand it that is his accustomed path. Also, in this way it will seem as though I sent you away, hurrying you back to your proper business."
"Yes, Master," she said.
"Tuck the note in your tunic," I said. "Deliver it when the opportune moment arises."
"Yes, Master," she said. She kissed the note, and then thrust it into her tunic.
"It is a well-written note," I said.
"Thank you, Master," she said. She herself, as it had turned out, had written the note, it compliant, of course, with my directives and objectives. Marcus and I had struggled with the note for a time and then, for all practical purposes, had given it up. Lavinia had then composed it. It was sensitive, lyrical, tender, poignant and touching, the desperate, pleading letter of a highly intelligent, profoundly feminine, extremely vulnerable, extremely needful woman hopelessly in love, one eager to abandon herself and to surrender all to the lover. Both Marcus and myself were astonished that Lavinia did such an excellent job with it. It was almost as though she were writing the letter in her own behalf, and not as part of a plot. Only Phoebe had not seemed surprised, but had merely smiled. She did make a couple of suggestions about the formation of certain letters, but, as it turned out, such things were common in the cursive script of Ar, a point in which Marcus concurred with Lavinia. The script of Ar's Station is, apparently, for most practical purposes at any rate, the same as that of Ar. There are some differences in speech, that is, in accent, but even they tend to be negligible. For example, whereas Marcus' speech would have attracted immediate attention in Tyros or Cos, or even in the western Vosk basin, it attracted little, if any, attention in Ar.
"You understand why I did not permit the fellow to cuff you, do you not?" I asked.
"To protect me, Master," she said.
"Not really," I said. "There are other sorts of points more involved. First, there is a consideration of fittingness. For example, whereas others, particularly on certain occasions, and in certain circumstances, may, and should discipline you, this did not seem to me to be such an occasion, or such a set of circumstances. For most practical purposes, you see, you are primarily mine to cuff, or beat, as I might please, and not others."
"Yes, Master," she said, swallowing hard.
"Secondly," I said, "I do not want you to present yourself before our quarry with, say, a scarlet cheek, or a swollen, bloodied lip, such things. Such might provoke distractive speculation."
"I understand, Master," she said.
I glanced down Aulus, to the palanquin, still in its place. "You speed about," I said to Lavinia. "Our quarry will be along shortly. His conversation with the lady in the palanquin, although she is perhaps unaware of it, is about to conclude."
"What if I cannot do it, Master," suddenly wept Lavinia.
"I do not understand," I said.
"What if I should die of fear, not even daring to approach him?"
"I am prepared to take that risk," I told her.
"Master!" she said. "I am serious."
"I doubt that you can manage to die of fear in this business," I said, "but if you should manage it, I shall just have to find another girl."
"I see," she said.
"So, rest easy," I said. "As you see, there is nothing to worry about."
"I am much set at my ease," she said.
I crouched down before her.
"What are you?" I asked.
"A slave," she said.
"And what else?" I asked.
"Only that," she said. "A slave, and only that."
"That is what you must remember," I said to her, softly. "When he approaches remember that, and its truth, in your mind, your heart and belly, that you are a slave, and only that."
"I see, Master," she smiled, through tears.
"I do not think you will fail," I said, "and if you do, do not fear, you will be severely beaten."
"I do not think I will now fail, Master," she smiled.
"Good," I said, standing up.
"You are kind," she said.
"It seems you do wish to be beaten," I said.
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"No, Master!" she said.
Then I waved my arm, back down Aulus street. "Do not dally here, slave girl," I said, loudly. "Be off. Be about your duties!"
"Yes, Master," she said, springing up, and hurrying back down Aulus.
I had decided that it would be better for her to carry the note in her tunic, in order that it not attract attention. The free man, for example, had noticed it. It had been all right for her to carry it in her hand, I had thought, when we had hoped that she would be able to deliver it almost immediately, say, behind the theater, but it seemed now she would have to wait a little, say, until our quarry reached Tarn Court, which, if I had anything to do with it, would not be long.
I turned and looked to the palanquin. In a moment I was beside it.
"One side," I said to the handsome interlocutor standing beside the palanquin.
"Oh!" said the woman within it, drawing back.
"I feared this," said the free fellow I had talked to earlier, up the street.
The handsome interlocutor, our quarry, of course, did not interfere, but stood back. Had I insisted on it, he must kneel. He was slave.
"What is the meaning of this!" exclaimed the woman, hastily raising her veil, holding it about her face.
"This fellow," I said, indicating the free fellow with whom I had held brief converse but a moment or so ago, "interfered with the progress of a state slave."
"Be off!" said the woman.
"I thought you would like to know that," I said.
"Pummel him!" she said to the free fellow.
"That might not be wise," he said. He glanced to the other free fellow with the palanquin. Their exchange of glances suggested that his fellow fully corroborated his speculation.
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