“Oh, I’m full of surprises, Mr. Appleton.” Chris pulled Jeff’s head back. “But not as many surprises as this one has in store for us. Tell your master the first story you told me, Jeff.”
“Please—” Jeff’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down nervously, and he gave a choking sound. “I didn’t know anything! Sir!”
“Good, now story number two.” He let the slave go, and walked around to his front, where Jimmy was standing.
“I—I heard—sir! I heard that sh-she took the earrings, sir!”
“Very good. Now the third story, the most recent.”
Jeff licked his lips and turned his head so he wasn’t looking at his tormentor. He gazed beseechingly into his master’s eyes. “I saw her take them. Sir! I saw it! It was her.”
Jimmy looked at Chris, frowned and started to say something. And then he drew in a deep breath. “I think Eric needs to hear this,” he said. Chris shrugged, and stayed there, flexing the hand until the two men came back together. He heard them out in the hallway, Jimmy saying something soft and urgent to his lover. A brief argument. And then they came in.
“Why didn’t you say anything when we questioned you the first time?” Eric demanded immediately. He stopped and stared at Jeff’s physical condition, and almost started to say something else, but Jimmy laid a hand on his shoulder and he turned his attention back to Jeff. “Well? We asked you the first day, when they were just missing, and you didn’t say anything then! Why not?”
Jeff licked his lips again, and shot a glance at Chris. He looked back at his handsome owner and said, “I—I was afraid. I didn’t know what to do. You seemed to like her so much—and she could get me in trouble—”
“Get you in trouble! Jesus Christ, what the hell did you think we were in? I asked you, Jimmy asked you—and again, when Eve called back, we asked you again! Why on Earth did you lie to us?”
“I thought—I was scared! I didn’t know what to do—I didn’t want to get her in trouble—I thought she’d just return them! I don’t know!” Jeff looked like he was about to cry again. He kept looking at Chris, who was ignoring him, and then back at his masters. “But I didn’t do it! No matter what she says, I didn’t do it!”
“Did Robin accuse him?” Jimmy asked.
“No, actually,” Chris answered. “I had to prod her for a few minutes, and then she still had trouble imagining it. I will tell you one thing—I certainly didn’t tell him that she accused him.”
“Supposition,” Jimmy said.
“Fine talk from a man who didn’t recognize circumstantial evidence.”
“I think I need to think,” Eric said suddenly, turning away from Jeff. “I think we’ve waited on dinner long enough. I don’t like this—it doesn’t sound right. Let’s eat, and figure this out afterwards, okay?”
“Fine. You’ll stay, Parker?” Jimmy saw Chris’s nod and turned to Jeff. “And you’ll stay right here, boy. I don’t want to hear the creak of a floor board from downstairs. Understand?”
“Yes, sir,” he whispered.
It was always awkward having dinner with strangers, being an unwanted guest. Everyone was nervous. Discussion topics were slim, and friendly comments forced. But Chris felt much better.
The boy would break because he was guilty. There had been a moment at the beginning, when there was that shred of doubt—just the off chance that instincts can lead you wrong. And it was also tricky interviewing under duress. Hurt them too much, and they’ll tell you anything. It was a fact of life—hell, spies and soldiers knew it. And they had far greater motives to hide what they knew.
The desire to hurt lingered, as it always did when this mood was upon him. But it wouldn’t take much to finish the job. Chris looked up, focused on Jimmy, and realized that Jimmy had asked him something.
“Please forgive me, my mind was wandering,” he said. “Jet lag, I suppose.”
“No problem. I was asking if you’d like a different wine. I noticed you haven’t tried the one we poured.”
“Actually, this is a fine vintage—an excellent choice,” Chris said. “But I’ve had to cut down on drinking, and I think my fatigue wouldn’t go well with a glass. Please don’t take offense.”
Very civil. Actually, he wanted a drink almost as much as he wanted a cigarette. A single malt scotch, straight up, would be lovely. He drank some mineral water and waited for the return upstairs. It had been a long day.
It took exactly two hours after they finished lingering over dinner. One hour was wasted as the two owners argued over who, if anyone, should be hitting their boy.
“Gentlemen—please. Let’s try to solve this without any more direct compulsion,” Chris said.
“Now’s a fine time to come up with that suggestion,” complained Jimmy.
“There is something to be said for using a two-by-four to get a mule’s attention. Now that we have it, there’s only one thing left.” He turned to Jeff, whose condition had not exactly improved in their absence. “Jeff, we all now know that you’re lying. We know that if you had seen Robin—or anyone else—take those earrings, you would have answered your masters truthfully on the day they asked you about it, isn’t that true?“
“Yes! I mean, I would have.” He looked at his masters with a desperate plea. “I told you, sirs, I didn’t know what to do!“
“Why not?” Chris asked. He raised his voice. “What took priority over telling your masters the truth?”
“I didn’t wanna get her in trouble!”
“What?” Jimmy asked incredulously. “You hated her guts!”
“Oh,” Chris said, rubbing his wounded knuckles. “That was another lie, wasn’t it?”
“No!” Jeff scrambled up, kicking the chair back, his hands covering his genitals. “You keep away from me! Master, don’t let him—he’s fucking crazy!”
“All right, Jeff, I won’t let him,” Eric said, his voice tight. He strode over to Jeff and raised one hand high and hit the side of his face with a resounding slap that sent the slave reeling. “You did it, didn’t you, you little fuck? After everything we’ve done for you—you coulda had a great life—but you had to take care of the girl, didn’t you?”
“He’s very excitable,” Chris said, sotto voce to Jimmy. The man with the pony tail had the decency to look deeply ashamed. He blushed and coughed.
“I didn’t do it! I didn’t mean it! Master, please!” Jeff was crying now. Jimmy pulled Eric off of him before Eric’s hands had settled around Jeff’s throat, and Eric calmed himself enough to face Chris.
“I guess we owe you an apology,” he said, his beautiful lips pressed together tightly. He hated every word.
“Oh, I guess so,” Chris agreed. “Not to mention suitable reparations toward the property you almost ruined, plus some suitable fate for your ‘good kid’ here.”
Jeff was blubbering, pressed against the wall, insisting on his innocence.
“You might also work on getting a full confession for the record,” Chris added.
“I don’t care,” Jimmy said. “I think we’ve got some bigger decisions to make. We have to call Mr. Lu, first of all—and what about Robin?”
“I care,” Eric snapped. “If Robin doesn’t want to come back, that’s only natural. We’ll give her a good recommendation, and won’t file any complaints. We’ll say it was an amicable mutual separation. And yes, I think I’d like to hear the whole story from this prick. Parker, you seem to enjoy this—why don’t you stick around and help?”
“I’d like to, Mr. Parese, but I have a client who is waiting for me. But if I may, I do have one parting gesture I’d like to make to little Jeffy here.”
“I don’t think I want to watch,” Jimmy muttered as he excused himself.
It was enormously unsportsmanlike to take advantage of an opponent when he was down for the count. But he was never my opponent, Chris thought, lifting a squirming and fighting Jeff up to a standing position. Only my target. Unfair. Cruel. Definitely not the mark of a gentleman.
&
nbsp; “I told you Robin was my client, didn’t I, Jeff?” he asked softly.
“Yes,” he sniffled, his right arm roaming between his lower chest and his genitals. “Please don’t—”
“I left one thing out. I also love her deeply.” Chris feinted with a right, and Jeff dodged directly into the knee that slammed up between his legs, sending him crashing against the wall. He instantly rebounded with a cry of agony, and on the way down, Chris clipped him sharply on the back of the head. He hit the floor, limp.
“Jesus, what was that?” Eric asked, coming forward to bend down next to the boy.
“Knock-out,” Chris answered. “I didn’t want him to suffer for too long.”
Eric looked at him with a mixture of disgust and admiration. Chris sighed. It was a familiar look. “Most people use whips and things in this life, you know,” the owner said. “You play with knocking people’s heads around, you’re asking for trouble.”
Jeff started to stir already, coming to with an awful groan.
“Yes,” Chris said, nodding. “That’s true. Especially if you pull the punches so much they’re not very effective. Oh well. Now he’ll have to dig his balls out of his liver and he’ll have a splitting headache. Tender my sincerest apologies.”
He was almost out the door when Eric spoke again. “You’re a sick bastard, Parker.”
“Yes,” Chris said, agreeing with him one more time. “I’ve come to see that.”
Chapter Nineteen
“Mike, you’ll run Joan today and tomorrow, and then until Chris gets back,” Anderson had instructed. And Michael leapt at the chance. At last he was alone with his intended slave. He felt as giddy as a bridegroom, and studied her schedule late into the night in order to be able to supervise her perfectly.
I think I’ve been watching long enough to know how, he thought before he went to sleep. Now, all I need is a few days for Anderson to notice how well I do, and boom, Joan will be mine, and the training will have begun in earnest.
But it really wasn’t very different once he got down to the actual work. Joan attended him in the morning, as she was doing already; he followed her work with Vic, and checked off tasks completed. Her exercises that day were not very intensive—she was working on multiple task management, the same thing that Tara had been doing toward the end of her training.
He did get to interview her alone, though.
“So, tell me how exactly how you’re going to be used when you get home,” he asked to start off.
“Sir, I will be an upstairs maid. My duties will be to service the rooms assigned to me, see that they are clean and dusted, serviced with fresh linens and flowers, aired and stocked with suitable supplies. I will answer to the housekeeper directly, but will also be below the lady’s maids. During times when Japanese or American guests are present, my services will be required to make their stay more comfortable.”
“Is that it?”
“That was all I was told, sir.” She smiled enthusiastically. “I’m quite looking forward to it.”
“So, you really don’t expect to be used sexually?” Michael still had a hard time believing that.
“Sir—please forgive me—but my owner can have any number of beautiful women at his service. He may purchase one, or he may... make other arrangements. Why would he want plain old me?”
Michael raised his eyebrows. “But you’re not plain! I mean, you’re kind of chubby, but on you, it’s cute. And you are attractive, especially when you smile.”
She blushed and made herself attractive. “Thank you, sir. But in truth, I will be a maid, probably for several years, if not all of my contract.”
“Well—what about guests? Sometimes in America, a host will make their slaves available to the guests.”
“I suppose that is possible, sir. But I’m sure His Lordship will have proper arrangements for honored guests as well. It might seem rather insulting to guests to be offered a maid, after all.”
“I never thought of it that way,” Michael mused. “And you want to do this for ten years. Why?”
“For the experience, sir. It’s rare to find these large manors anymore, and few families can afford to keep them staffed like this one is. It’s like living in a novel sometimes.” Her eyes glowed with excitement and Michael found himself smiling. “And so many in my family have done it—it will be a grand tradition I’m carrying on. His Lordship is a good man, and a good employer. I know I’ll be well cared for, and when my service is done, I’ll be free to marry, or leave, or do whatever I want.”
“What if you want to marry while you’re in service?”
“Well, sir—it’s against the policy of the house for maids to be married,” she said. She gave a little shrug. “So if I did find someone wonderful, I would probably have to wait until I had become a housekeeper’s assistant or perhaps moved into another area of service—or he would have to simply wait for me.”
“And... you won’t miss not having sex?” he asked gingerly.
She lowered her eyes with a slight smile, and when she raised them again, Michael felt a strange thrill he didn’t at once identify. It actually took a moment for him to realize that she had instantly aroused him—and it didn’t come through his cock for a change. It was the way she moved, and the way she drew her breath—and the sure knowledge that what she had to say to him was something entirely new.
“I beg your pardon, sir,” she said, with just the slightest of blushes. “But I shall almost certainly not be celibate. As a member of a large household staff, I may be fortunate enough to find a special friend or two with whom I may be permitted to become intimate.”
“Other slaves?” Michael asked.
“Perhaps, sir. Or, free household members who are not too above me in station.”
Michael blinked as he thought of that. Slaves permitted to form relationships—sexual relationships!—under their owner’s noses? Unheard of!
“Er—who would do the permitting?” he asked.
“At first, the housekeeper,” Joan replied. “If I advance in station to become a lady’s maid, I might become directly answerable to the Lady of the house. Otherwise, I shall be unworthy of her notice, especially over some minor matter.”
“It’s so different here,” Michael said. “Who a slave has sex with is no minor matter in any house I’ve ever seen.”
“I understand, sir. And indeed, in a smaller household, it might be a different matter all together. But I have the great fortune of being given the rare opportunity to perform service of a pure nature. If my owners wish me to remain chaste, I shall do as they request. But if it does not interfere in my duties and I have not been remiss in any way which might cause me to be punished, then it should not trouble them if I seek pleasure among the other staff members. And of course, senior staff might wish to use their status to order me into sexual service. But frankly, sir, I think it’s unlikely I shall form a regular relationship in that fashion.”
Michael shook his head. “It’s another world,” he said. “And you really want this?”
“With all my heart, sir! Ever since I was a girl, I was drawn to service, even before my parents told me about just how powerful it could be. I have dreamed of this for many years, and I look forward to my term. I can’t imagine anything better!” Her face was bright, open, and eager, and he could hear the breathless quality to her voice that exceeded even her warm pleasure at imagining her sensual options among her future workmates.
“Amazing. You know, I can’t imagine making a plan that would cover the next ten years.”
“And I can’t imagine a life without this security, sir.”
He nodded. “I guess that’s what makes you a slave and me a trainer, sweetie. Interview ended, let’s get back to work.”
Even if the day didn’t seem different than any other, it was great to feel like he was in charge. It got even better when Anderson invited him to sit in on one of her catch-up interviews with Lorens. Although he didn’t get any deep insights on how the Tra
iner did her own interviews, he did feel like he was truly her apprentice. He hung on her every word, took copious notes, and learned more about a bodybuilding regimen than he ever really needed to know.
“You’ve lost inches, Lorens,” Anderson commented. “Chest, arms, legs—everywhere. How are you cutting down?”
“Very slowly, Trainer,” the big Dane said. “Now, I am down to a one hour workout every day, plus a little running and a little bicycle for stamina and good health. Not so much protein any more. My lady does not like too many muscles!” He laughed, and it was difficult not to laugh with him.
“One hour a day sounds like a lot,” Michael commented.
“When I met him, he was working out four hours a day,” Anderson said. “It’s not an exercise, it’s a religion. When do you work out, Lorens?”
“In the morning, very early. I come back home before she is awake to make breakfast. I run in the afternoon, while she is working. Sometimes, I take the dogs. And we have a great cycle, for two riders, which my lady enjoys riding—but she never pushes the pedals!” He smiled and breathed in deeply. “I am very happy, Trainer. It is all I wanted.”
“It’s good when it works out that way,” Anderson said. “I’m glad it did for you, Lorens. And your mistress. Now, let’s get back to the program—I see she likes some pretty fancy manners around the house. You never turn your back on her, you never sleep when she’s awake—nice touches. How does she punish you?”
He never lost his smile. “Oh, she is very clever, Trainer. When I fail her in any way, she sends me away. I am forbidden to serve. Sometimes, for her pleasure, she has a gentleman friend who is also very strong, and there is a whip which I have felt many times. It is an honor then, to take pain for her.” He rounded his shoulders and demonstrated how he braced for it. “But when she is not pleased, I am alone. She invites another slave to come and serve her.”
“And the last time that happened?”
Proudly, he answered, “Fourteen months ago, Trainer.”
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