by A. R. Rend
“I did purchase the building next door to the one she’s working out of directly in my name. I couldn’t do it under your name as you were… sleeping.”
Waiting, Phillip was curious where this was going. He hadn’t expected to buy the building next door.
“If she’s going to hire as many people as I expect, it might be prudent to have them working nearby. Not to mention easier to control inventory,” explained Alice. “The house they’re in right now simply won’t fit all the work they’re going to be doing, not to mention product and sales.”
Oh, that. Yes.
“I’ve already rewritten the whole thing out to be sold to you at the price I paid,” said Alice with a shake of her head and a smile. “All you have to do is sign it and it’s yours. I just didn’t want to sit on it since it was an available property. I’m sure someone like me might slip in and buy it, then try to charge you triple when you figured out you’d need more space later.”
“Thank you, Alice. You… you’ve done an excellent job of assisting me in my time of need,” Phillip said quite seriously. He was finding that he was in a number of people’s debt right now. “Though… I do have one further question.”
Alice tilted her head to one side, smiling at him, and waiting.
“Yes, husband?” she asked.
“Who’s… been caring for me? I’m not in the same clothes and I smell… clean,” Phillip inquired. “As if I’ve been cleaned and someone has been making sure I don’t… soil… myself. Which I’m sure I did.”
“Oh you did. Several times,” confirmed Alice. “I care for you from the evening till the morning. It’s easier for me to just join you in bed personally.
“Milly was minding you from the morning till about noon. At which point Mim was caring for you.
“We just kept rotating in and out as needed. We all agreed there was no need to have anyone else tend to you.”
Ah… ahhh… I see.
“Mim swears up and down she did nothing untoward you in any way and I actually believe her,” said Alice. Then she gave him a winsome smile and stood up. “I do have to check on one thing, but then I’ll be right back. Then talk to you about all manner of useless and worthless things. Including how stupid my mother has been about my grandmother.”
“That… sounds great. Thank you, Alice. I… am in your debt,” said Phillip, his eyes following her. He was thinking he wanted to lie down and take a nap, just as Alice had suggested. But he also wanted to listen to her talk.
“Oh? Lovely. I hope to collect as soon as you’re feeling better. Until then, husband, I’ll just have to wait. I’ll be right back,” said Alice and then left him there by himself.
Phillip discovered that Mim hadn’t been completely honest with Alice when he went to the bathroom while Alice was gone.
“Mim’s” was written across the top of his manhood in what looked like some type of cosmetic.
He wasn’t sure how he would live this one down.
Twenty-Seven
Several days passed uneventfully.
Phillip spent it all lounging around in his bedroom. Mostly in his bed, but equally as often, sitting on his sofa. Often with Mim, Alice, Mildred, and his guards in some combination.
After his experience the rules had changed for who was allowed in his room and who wasn’t.
This had been formally done by Alice, who had simply declared that she had no concerns with Phillip’s loyalty. That she knew without a doubt he was faithful to her, and that his guards, Mildred, and Mim were all welcome during the day. So long as they left when the sun met the horizon.
After that it wasn’t a question of loyalty, but propriety.
Considering he didn’t want to leave his room, Phillip was quite grateful for the change. Incredibly so.
“-oh drat. I have to go. I have a meeting with a land-agent. I’m thinking of buying into some unused properties in the city,” Mim said, getting to her feet. Coming over to Phillip, she bent over him and kissed him on the brow, her hand coming up to pat him on the cheek.
Mim had become incredibly bold since the incident and frequently stole kisses from him. Though only when it was only her and Mildred.
She apparently wasn’t going to test her luck around Alice. Or push her luck with his guards. They still hadn’t quite forgiven her for kissing him the way she had previously.
Tonie was looming over Mim as she lingered near Phillip’s side.
“Oh stop it, I promised I’d be good,” Mim complained, resting her cheek on Phillip’s temple. She turned her head and looked up at the imposing woman. “Haven’t I?”
“Sure. You have. Which is why I, we, don’t trust you. You’re just waitin’,” growled Vinnie on the other side of him before Tonie could say anything.
“Ah… yeah, I am,” admitted Mim with a laugh, turning to look at Vinnie. “I am, I am. Can I just sneak a quick one in? I’ll make him let you kiss him, too.
“He lets me get away with a lot because he knows I love him. Lets me get away with too much, if we’re being honest.”
I do… actually. I really do.
But… she’s not wrong. I know she cares. That she really would toss it all away.
That she came running for me.
Though, it isn’t as if my guards didn’t try either. Milly said they waited outside the jail every single day. Not hiding their presence at all.
That they’d even gone so far as to follow the sheriff home every day and night.
In the end, their intimidation had likely forced the sheriff to be more aware of the situation. That it was very possible she had changed or altered her plans into trying to force him to confess, rather than simply imprison him.
But that doesn’t mean we can’t punish Mim either.
She’s far too comfortable. Far too certain of herself.
And a Mim who is comfortable and too certain, gets too bold.
Forgive me for using you, Vinnie.
But I’m finding the only power I have, is my mind, and my appeal.
Glancing around the room, Phillip found it was only Mim, Vinnie, and Tonie who were watching him or close by.
Reaching up, Phillip grabbed Vinnie by the bottom of her armor and pulled down sharply.
“Uh, I-what are you doin’, Phil?” Vinnie asked and got down on one knee near him. Both Mim and Vinnie were looking at him curiously.
Apparently his attempt to pull her down was little more than a tug that a child might give a parent. He simply didn’t have the strength she did.
Reaching out, he snagged Vinnie behind the head and pulled her in toward himself and kissed her, his fingers sliding through her short hair as he kept his mouth pressed to hers.
Letting it only last a couple of seconds, he gently pushed her back from himself, his hand falling away from the back of her head.
Vinnie was staring at him with a glazed look on her face, her mouth partially open.
“Have a good day at work, Mim,” Phillip said, looking to the woman in question with a wide smile.
“Ooooh. That’s not fair at all,” Mim said in an annoyed tone, her brows drawing down over her eyes. There was a rather wide smile on her face though. “You’re not supposed to take away my power play like that. Now they won’t do what I want.”
“That’s the point. To remove your hold and make sure they serve me, not you,” Phillip said, reaching up with his other hand to set his fingers to the lower part of Tonie’s armor. “Go to work, Mim, and have a good day. Work hard, be the mercantile sorceress I know you can be.”
The threat in his words, that he’d kiss Tonie next, was clear.
Mim had two choices.
To call his threat as a bluff, or to leave.
And this is the power I have. I’ve captured them all with my nature and my looks.
Now that they’re trapped I can use it to my advantage.
But I have to be sparing with it. To use it minimally.
They’re trapped partly because I don’t do things
like this. Letting it occur every now and then is acceptable… but not advisable.
It’s a weapon, not something to be used against those I care for.
With that thought, Phillip could see he was right.
In Mim’s eyes, he could see a small bit of hurt there. Hurt he wanted no part of at all.
“Oh, Mim my silly thing. I’m only teasing you,” Phillip said softly, then leaned forward and kissed her as briefly as he had Vinnie. After breaking the kiss he laid his cheek to hers. “Go to work, my Mim. Be the impressive lady you are.”
Mim had partially leaned into him at this point, her hands holding to his tunic.
“Okay,” she said in a breathy whisper. “Okay… I… I’m going to work. I’ll come back after. Okay? Can we have dinner tonight?”
“Sure. We can do that. I’ll let Alice know in advance, but can we have it in the dining room? I don’t want to leave the house,” Phillip requested.
“Of course, Phil. Of course,” murmured Mim. She kissed his cheek and then stood up.
Pulling down at the hem of her tunic, she looked flustered. Her cheeks were red as well.
The hurt he’d seen in her was gone, however. And that’s what mattered to him at this moment. She looked like the Mim he’d come to expect when he got aggressive with her.
Smiling at him suddenly, she let out a short breath.
“You know, it’s still amazing that you can do that to me,” said Mim with a chuckle. “You’re a dangerous man, my Phil. I’m very grateful you care for us. That you’re not looking to manipulate us all.”
Phillip smiled back at her.
“When you come for dinner, maybe… wear something in blue? Blue and white maybe?” he asked. He really did love the look of her when she wore blue dresses.
Blinking twice, Mim nodded her head, then left.
Frankie, Bobbie, and Mildred looked up from their conversation as Mim left, then went back to their own affairs. Whatever those three were discussing had them completely engaged.
Glancing to his right, he found Vinnie watching him with a dazed look.
“Don’t tell the others,” Phillip said with a grin. “That was for you alone. And your constant wish and desire to… use… your mouth on me.
“I appreciate it, your desire to help me and make me feel… good… even if I keep giving you rain checks. It isn’t unnoticed.”
“What about me? Huh?” Tonie asked. “I’d do all that she would. I’d let you have whatever you wanted of me, all you have to do is ask. I just don’t like offering it as much as she does. I started the Dark Horse Girls. I’m second only to Dread. Don’t I-”
Phillip smirked and pulled down on Tonie’s armor.
To which she immediately dropped down to her knees and leaned forward eagerly, her eyes already closed.
Meeting her lips with his own, Phillip kissed her in the same way he had Vinnie.
Breaking the kiss, Phillip sat back in his chair, watching Tonie’s face.
The hard and fierce soldier-turned-guard had a look on her face that matched Vinnie’s.
“You might want to stand up before the others notice,” Phillip commented dryly. “And remember. Our secret.”
Vinnie popped into an upright position, though Tonie sat there still in a bit of a daze, gazing at Phillip with a searching look.
“Of course, Philly. Our secret,” Vinnie said quickly. “And… uh… I want to suck you off right now. While you sit there. Looking all sexy and very much like you. Can I get another rain check? That’ll make nine you owe me.”
“Fine, another,” Phillip said with a laugh.
Tonie came back to herself as he finished talking. She nodded her head then stood up.
“Okay,” she murmured, sounding somewhat off. “Our… our secret, Philly.”
Letting out a slow breath, Phillip nodded his head once.
Now… Milly. She keeps avoiding me. Running away when I get her alone.
And I’m tired of that. I need to thank her for what she did for me privately.
This is that chance. While Alice and Mim are away, I can dismiss the others.
Clearing his throat, Phillip waited for a second as Bobbie, Frankie, and Mildred all turned toward him.
“I’d like some time alone with Mildred,” Phillip said formally. “Please go secure the hallway and let no one in. I’ll summon you when I’m finished.”
He didn’t mention Alice’s apartment as that wasn’t his place to block that door with his guards.
The surprised look on all four guards vanished in a flash. They grouped up and then exited the room swiftly without a word, closing the door behind themselves.
Leaving him alone with Mildred.
“Go lock the door, Milly,” Phillip said, getting out of his chair and walking over to the door that led to Alice’s room.
“Phillip, we really-”
“Milly, go lock the door,” Phillip demanded as he reached Alice’s door.
Pulling the bar down into place, he effectively locked Alice out if she showed up.
The clack of a similar bar coming into place behind him told him Mildred had listened.
“Go sit down,” Phillip said, gesturing at the sofa. He had plans for Mildred and he wasn’t going to let her escape this time. He was tired of her running like a frightened deer at the very idea of him being alone with her.
“Phil-”
“Sit,” declared Phillip. He wasn’t going to let her wriggle out of this.
Having prepared for this moment, Phillip walked over to his wardrobe and pulled out the padlocked chest there. Inside it, was seventy gold nobles.
Mildred’s entire investment paid back to her as well as the start of what she was owed from Madeline paying them their percentage of each sale.
Groaning, Phillip walked the chest over to the table set in front of the sofa. Which Mildred was thankfully sitting at now.
Putting it down in front of her on the table, he was glad to be rid of it. It was far heavier than he’d expected. Phillip produced the key from his pocket and set it down next to the chest. Then he sat himself down next to her on the sofa.
“Milly, my Dread Maiden, my beautiful stalwart defender, this is yours,” said Phillip, gesturing at the lock-box. “Seventy golden nobles. Your investment returned to you at double, plus your percentage of what we’re owed by Madeline.”
Mildred let out a slow and quivering breath, her eyes fastened to the box.
“Open it, stick your fingers in your money, feel it,” Phillip encouraged her. “That’s your life savings. From five, to seventy.”
Having done such a thing to her, for her, Phillip was feeling quite smug. Smug and very satisfied.
He’d rewarded her faith in him just as she had rewarded his faith in her.
Picking up the key, Mildred set it into the padlock, turned it, and then opened her chest.
Glittering golden coins awaited her. More than she would have ever seen in likely her entire life. More than she could have saved if she kept every single scrap of coin she ever made.
The difference between a commoner, the mercantile class, and the peerage.
Where Phillip often had spent seventy coins on a few sets of clothing, and Alice might have bought a few pieces of furniture over a few months, Mildred simply wouldn’t see such a thing.
A shuddering whimper escaped Mildred’s lips and she paused, her hands hovering over the coins.
He had imagined many things that she might do.
He’d even fantasized about a few truthfully. But none of them had included her letting out a pained whimper.
“I’m a failure, Phil,” Mildred moaned, her hands slowly moving down to the coins. “I don’t deserve any of this. You were… you were so harmed. And I let them take you.”
“Not like you could have done anything else, you big silly,” Phillip said with a laugh. “They’d have just arrested or killed you.”
Contemplating it, Phillip tried to approach it from something she might
understand better.
“I’d say you didn’t fail, but succeeded,” tried Phillip. “You put yourself in a position where you could gather reinforcements, rather than die on the field and accomplish little. You didn’t retreat, you strategically withdrew and brought up the reserves. Led them to the appropriate part of the battle and flanked the enemy army. You acted the part of a commander, rather than a soldier.”
Reaching out, Phillip shoved Mildred’s right hand into her coins.
“And this is your life savings. This has nothing to do with your performance,” said Phillip. “This is what you earned through your investments.
“You’re a wealthy woman now. What’ll you do, Milly? You don’t have to be a guard anymore. You could be whatever you wished. You’re young enough you could retire, marry, and never lift a finger again.”
Mildred closed her hand slowly and then turned it over. Thick gold coins spilled from her fingers and landed in the chest.
Staring into her hand, she seemed completely at a loss.
“How many?” she asked in a soft voice.
“Seventy. You started with five,” Phillip said, then leaned in close to Mildred and put a hand on her knee. “A hero earned five gold over her service in the army. The Dread Maiden just made seventy gold for being a smart investor.”
Mildred snorted at that and put all the coins back. Staring into the contents, for a few more seconds she then closed it and locked the chest.
“I’m not a smart investor. Nor am I particularly bright. I just… I just keep betting on you, Phil,” whispered Mildred, pulling the key from the lock and setting it to the side.
“Well, a savvy gambler then? You’ll remember there were those who didn’t bet on me,” admonished Phillip. “And I’m now tired of you insulting yourself. Or putting yourself down. No more today. Or I’ll be cross with you.”
“Cross with me,” repeated Mildred, turning her head to look at him.
“You’re my Dread Maiden, aren’t you? So listen to me. No more negativity,” Phillip said, squeezing her knee.
“I’m your Dread Maiden,” Mildred said with a soft smile. “No more negativity. I’m… I’m a savvy gambler. And I’ll continue to bet on you. Please… invest my gold in whatever you do next.”