... And that brought her back to a picture of Boris, cautiously out- waiting her. He KNEW, damn him! Did she have ANY defense from him? Not at this point. Maybe if she could survive the weekend for a few days -- but thinking about it was like watching her life slip away. Time would pass, she'd get stubborn, or stupid, or both -- and the whole thing would fade away, leaving... nothing. Nothing at all.
That glimpse at a barren future fed her resolve; she would try to get some guarantees, but would make the attempt, rather than fritter it away. Shutting off the water, she reached for a towel. Things weren't silent; Boris was still around, apparently, singing some gruff song in his gravelly voice -- still in the shower, apparently. No need to get dry, then... Carrying the towel, she headed for the men's showers.
Boris had moved on, mentally -- he was lustily singing an old Georgian drinking song about the vagaries of women. Nothing would happen tonight -- if ever; the little negress -- okay, black -- bitch was displaying the signature temper common to black women. She would come around, or she wouldn't -- what would be, would be...
"Boris?"
Boris turned. She was back. "No soap?"
"No, I'm done."
"You're wet."
"Yes."
Boris quit goofing off and started rinsing. "Shouldn't you dry off?"
"I figured I might just get wet again."
He kept an eye on her, poker-faced, while he rinsed. "You should dry yourself. I am done."
"Okay." She busied herself with the towel; God knew it was easier than what was coming...
Boris shut off the water and reached for his own towel. There was a temptation to open the conversation, but he knew better than to give in to it. He made a production of drying himself while he waited her out.
Finally, it became apparent that she was going to lose again. "We need to talk," Leticia blurted.
"Okay," Boris replied impassively. "Here? Somewhere else?"
"Somewhere else."
"You wore something here?"
"A bathing suit. I'll go get it."
"Okay." Boris tucked his towel around his waist in his usual manner; when Leticia met him in the sunroom, she was wearing hers similarly, leaving her breasts uncovered. Perhaps tonight WAS the night... "Where?"
"Your rooms? Mine?"
"Yours. You will be more comfortable. You do not look comfortable right now, eh?" Boris observed.
"Okay." The pair headed back to the servant wing in silence, Leticia leading. The hallway turned out to be a minefield -- or at least an ambush site -- Phillippe's door was open, and he was sitting in his doorway, leaning on a reversed kitchen chair. Leticia staggered, breaking step, and glanced at Boris as he drew even -- but she didn't cover her breasts; Boris slid a hand down her forearm and she took the cue.
"What are you doing?" Boris challenged Phillippe.
Phillippe shrugged, ogling Leticia's exposed breasts. "This is more entertaining than TV. I WAS waiting to see who's room Ed was sleeping in tonight..."
Boris grunted. "Why do you care where Ed sleeps? Velma interests you?"
"No. Nowhere near the way Leticia does," Phillippe grinned evilly.
"I had not noticed you taking an interest in either one," Boris replied.
"Well, that was before..."
"Before what?"
"Before they started sleeping around, in-house."
"Ah." Boris turned this one over in his head. "Both of them have slept with the Boss..."
"That doesn't count."
"You like negr-- black womans?" Boris queried. "I have never seen you with one..."
"I like women," Phillippe replied, continuing to eye Leticia as if she were a piece of meat.
"Womans have to like YOU!" Boris pointed out.
"Maybe. Is that how you got Leticia?"
Boris passed on several comments that might cause issues with Leticia, and settled on, "The Boss does as he chooses in these things. Leticia's punishment is over. Velma was not being punished, but I think she was not happy. Besides, you are already doing well finding womans, no?"
"Not THAT well. So where are you two going? And where have you been?" Phillippe asked.
"We were in the baths," Boris replied. "We arrived separately."
"Right." Phillippe's disbelief was evident.
"It's true!" Leticia insisted. "I got there first! Besides, I was being punished before! Why would I..." The problem with this line of reasoning became evident before she finished it.
"I'm sure," Phillippe sneered. "So, where are you going?"
"My room," Leticia replied. "We're going to discuss... recent events."
"Can I go along?" Phillippe asked, rising from the chair.
"No!" Both Boris and Leticia replied simultaneously. Boris added, "The Boss does not owe you entertainment. Womans in this house do not, either. If you want to start having sex with womans in this house, maybe you should start by being nice to them."
"Women in this house don't get off on people being nice to them!" Phillippe replied. "Generally, they have sex because the Boss says to -- ain't that right, Leticia?"
"Sometimes," Leticia allowed. "Not always."
Boris shrugged. "So. You be nice -- or you wait for Boss. Better you go out, I think. Come." He tugged Leticia's arm gently.
"Right -- like you two aren't going off to fuck," Phillippe scoffed.
Boris wheeled on him. "This is... not certain. But it is also not your business."
"Well, if you are, why can't I have some?" Phillippe whined.
Boris ticked off the reasons on his fingers, "You are not nice to Leticia. She is not being punished. Boss has not said you can." He eyed Phillippe for a moment. "You should stop now. This is not a good thing. I think you have wrong idea; if you bother womans in this house without permission from woman or from the Boss, you will pay for it."
"Yeah, yeah." Phillippe looked pissed -- but he sat back down and looked away. Boris nodded Leticia on up the hall.
In a moment, they entered Leticia's rooms. Leticia, taking stock, found that she was shaking. "That was bad!"
Boris was scowling fiercely. "Phillippe goes too far -- or he will soon. I will speak to Charles, Mr. Jason, Miz Sharon, and the Boss. He must be watched."
"I think so, too," Leticia shuddered. Phillippe had been talking rape -- or gang-bang, at least. Granted, the rules got bent around here, and the women of the house accepted certain behaviors from certain of the males -- but Phillippe was on no one's short list. Apparently, that was the problem...
"If he bothers you..." The look on Boris's face said it all. "You will tell me."
"Yes..." Time to move on. "Would you like something to drink?"
"Da." Boris eyed her sidelong. "Vodka?"
Leticia shook her head, "Sorry."
"Tea? Hot?"
"Okay." Leticia busied herself in her tiny kitchenette, starting a kettle while silence reigned. Finally, turning to him, she asked, "Why don't you say anything?"
Boris shrugged. "I wait. You want to talk."
"It's... hard." Leticia watched the kettle.
"Yes."
She looked up at him, scowling. "I am a free woman!"
"Yes." Arguably, she was not; the Boss held her leash. But if she wanted to pretend...
"Why do you make this so hard?"
"You must take these steps. You have said it -- you are free woman. Only you can change this." He looked about, "You have milk?"
"Yes." Leticia went to her small refrigerator and extracted a carton, smelled it, and returned with it to the counter. Gathering herself, she turned to him, "I wish to negotiate the terms of my surrender."
"Negotiate?" Boris's eyebrows shot up. "What is to negotiate?"
"One or two small things..." Leticia started fiddling with the box of tea bags. "We should both be clear about what we expect. Why don't you tell me what you expect?"
Boris frowned. "First, Boss must approve -- otherwise, not possible. You will be mine -- daytime, nighttime -- all the same. Sex, iron shirts, cook -- everything. I am Boss; you do as I say or be punished. Punishment is whatever I decide. You grow real tits -- get padding for hips -- have babies, nyet?" He grinned. "Little brown babies not problem, eh?"
"No," Leticia agreed. "This is all?"
"I missed something?" Boris replied. "I want EVERYTHING! Is clear?"
"Yes," Leticia nodded. Turning, she popped tea bags into two cups and poured water over them. "Now, may I present my expectations?"
Boris eyed her warily, but waved a hand. Leticia handed him his cup, laid out spoons and sugar next to the milk. "I want to be protected -- treated at least as well as valuable property. I should not have to worry about Phillippe, for instance."
Boris took a moment, pouring milk and squeezing out the tea bag. "What if I do like Boss? Lend you to Phillippe?"
"That is different than Phillippe molesting me," Leticia replied.
"Da." Boris nodded agreement. "You will be used, like tool -- not misused. But I say what is use and what is misuse -- and punishment is special case." He sipped tea. "Agreed?"
"Yes." Leticia nodded.
"Phillippe can use his OWN tools..." Boris growled. "That is all?"
"Ummm, not quite." Leticia steeled herself, then unleashed the torpedo. "About the little brown babies..."
"Yes?"
"I must have them," she insisted. "If we cannot have children, you must release me."
Boris blinked. Upon reflection, this made sense, however -- if he could not father children by her, she would lose respect for him -- that was a given. "Da. How long?"
"One year?" Leticia offered. "Longer, if we go for fertility work, or until a problem is found?"
"Da. Is fair." If he couldn't father a child by her in a year, they would have issues. "You are on birth control?"
"Yes."
"Ninety days for it to flush out. Before year starts."
"Done." She smiled.
"Is all?"
"Almost." She stood watching him.
Boris smelled the trap. "I am waiting."
"My babies... must be legitimate."
"Legi-- WHAT?! You want to be married? You want to marry Boris?" Boris's eyebrows merged with his hairline.
Leticia smiled at the way Boris said 'married'; it came out 'marri- ed'. "Yes. When I am pregnant the first time, I want us to be marri-ed. The children must be legitimate -- otherwise, why bother?"
Boris was examining this from every available angle. "To be wife -- this does not change..."
"No, it doesn't. I will still be what we have talked about to you. There will just be an additional legal dimension." She sipped her tea. "We won't do this until there IS a child -- although I'd like to be married before I show too much."
"If you -- how you say -- miscarry?"
"Well, we would try again..." Leticia gathered herself. "If something happened and I could not bear children, we could divorce." The whole concept left her feeling seriously solemn; divorce would be the least of the blows she would absorb, in that case...
Boris knew this, too -- instinctively. "If is my fault, you are free. If is YOUR fault, you are NOT free -- I think maybe it is better that way, no? You will need things..."
"Okay," she said quietly.
"Okay. Children come, we get married." Boris eyed her. "NOW is all?"
"Yes," Leticia nodded, smiling tremulously, "Is all."
"Do not make fun of Boris," he chided. "English is YOUR first language!"
"Yes, Boris."
"Come here, Little One," He pulled her against him. "Skinny thing." He pushed her back to arms length, having had a thought. "We make agreement? Contract?"
"I trust you."
Boris rubbed his razor stubble. "Married is contract, no?"
"Yes," Leticia agreed. "At that point, maybe we should do a pre- nuptial agreement -- for your protection."
"Da." Boris took a breath. It was too early to get worked up... "Put on clothes -- time to see the Boss."
"All right." Leticia headed for her bedroom. "You, too? I will come to your rooms..."
"Yes. Come to my rooms." Boris slugged back the dregs of his tea, put down the cup, and shuffled out, his mind completely occupied with the turn of events. Married? What would his mother say? His father? His brother? The negress thing was best downplayed -- or maybe not...
"No pussy tonight?" Phillippe chuckled as he passed.
"Eh?" Boris shook his head. "You have no idea." He continued on; worrying about Phillippe was a waste of his resources at this point.
Armand was just settling in for a little recreational surveillance when his intercom lit up. "Boss?"
"Boris?"
"Yes. I -- We -- have urgent matter to discuss."
Armand's eyebrows went up. This place was turning into a three-ring circus... "I'm in my study."
Fifteen minutes later, they were gathered. Leticia had blown by Phillippe as though he wasn't there, fully dressed -- then the pair, both dressed, had ignored him again on the outbound leg -- leaving him extremely curious. He followed, at a distance...
Armand sat back at his desk. "Boris. Leticia. You have an urgent matter?"
"I wish to own Leticia," Boris blurted.
Armand steepled his fingers and swung his attention to Leticia. "And your position in this matter?"
"We... have an agreement."
"Ah. Provisional ownership." Armand sighed. "Boris, you are no doubt aware that you cannot REALLY own her -- well, you could, perhaps, but it would be illegal. That makes Leticia a volunteer."
"Da. The law..." Boris waved dismissal.
"All right," Armand turned to Leticia. "Under what conditions are you volunteering for slavery?"
"I give him what he wants -- but I get children. Legitimate children."
Armand blinked, turning this over. "That's marriage, not slavery. Arguably, it's slavery of a different nature -- and for a different person."
"Da." Boris saw the humor in it. "Not until she is with child."
"And if she is capable of misconception?"
"Excuse?" Boris blinked.
"Sorry, word games. If she doesn't conceive?"
"No marriage. If is my fault, I release her. If is hers, I do not," Boris replied succinctly.
"I suppose that you have agreed upon a time frame?" Armand asked archly.
"Fifteen months," Leticia replied. "One year, plus three months for the Pill to get out of my system."
"Okay, so, why are you here?" Armand asked.
"You must approve," Boris replied, shrugging.
"Ah. Who decided that?"
"It was... agreed," Leticia said carefully, looking somewhat let down.
Armand nodded, realizing that they needed the validation that only he could offer, here. "Good. You're right. She continues to have duties for me."
"Da."
"She also continues to be subject to my... other requirements. But you are responsible for her performance and behavior. Understood?"
"Da." Boris was clear about this -- and it made sense. Besides, how often did the Boss use her before? No big loss...
"Yes." Leticia nodded, looking happier. For a moment, there, it appeared that Armand didn't care AT ALL...
"Da."
"Anything else?"
"No..." Leticia couldn't think of anything.
"I wouldn't bless this thing if it wasn't already working so well -- bad precedent," Armand pointed out. "On the other hand, Jason has pushed me somewhat into a corner. There will be implications... Quarters?"
Boris looked at his new woman; 'slave' wasn't quite his term for her. Leticia could see the 'two can live as cheaply as one' thought process running through his head -- and realized that it was flawed. "Well, Boris is down in the bachelor's quarters... And we won't need one right away, but later we'll need another bedroom..."
"Exactly." Armand nodded. "Talk to Sharon; the servant wing is going to need an extensive remodel. I'm not unaware that Ed and Velma are... dating. We may need to shuffle things around quite a bit." He shook his head, "Who turned the love bug loose in here? Nora?"
Leticia opened her mouth, but her eyes widened and she shut it with a clop. "What?" Armand asked.
""I was about to say that our situation isn't related..." Leticia murmured.
Armand chuckled. "But it is, more or less directly, isn't it?"
"Da," Boris chuckled, then frowned. "Boss? There is another problem."
"Oh?" Armand asked, surprised.
"Phillippe. He... misunderstands."
Armand frowned. "What do you mean?"
Leticia flicked a glance at Boris, getting verbal permission, then took up the explanation, "We had a run-in in the hall. Phillippe seems to think it is open season on the female staff. He doesn't seem to see relationships -- only that some of the males are having sex with some of the females..."
"Ah." Armand nodded. "There is quite the list, isn't there? The two of you -- and your changing situation must be confusing -- Ed and Velma, Pete and Bianca, Jason and Inez... That is aside from more normal activity. What is his thought process?"
"I don't think he understands that rape is relevant," Leticia remarked. "Too many of us have... special relationships. But if he tries to have sex with me -- or Inez -- without permission, it is an issue. And if he bothers Velma, or Bianca, or someone else not in a special relationship, it's even worse..."
"So he's feeling left out?" Armand queried.
"Da." Boris nodded. "He wants to know why he is not invited to fuck one of our womans."
Armand nodded. "I thought that he was perfectly capable of finding his own?"
Boris shrugged. "Da. But they are -- how you say -- skanks."
Armand nodded. There weren't a whole lot of 'skanks' in the household; Leticia, the Wench, and Consuelo had been models; Inez wasn't prime stuff, and Velma CERTAINLY wasn't, but they were both special cases... "I will speak to him. Simple remedies offer themselves, but might make things worse; I could send the Wench, for instance -- but they do not have a relationship, and I don't think they ever would. Frankly, I don't want to foster any more relationships among the staff right now, anyway -- they give me headaches. And aside from for training purposes I don't want to get in the habit of providing female staff for the entertainment of male staff." The Wench and Charles came to mind, but Armand dismissed it -- the Wench was fixated on him, primarily, and Sharon both by proxy and in her own right; Charles was her Training Master and he derived benefit from it, but they did not have a relationship, per se. Still, the rules had too many highly visible exceptions... 'Dammit, Jason!' Armand thought, 'why couldn't you keep your dick in your pants? You owe me... ' He shook his head. "I'll come up with something -- but nothing comes immediately to mind. If someone offers him a piece in the meantime that might help, but it is going to be an ongoing problem, I think."
Boris frowned, "Should I?" He glanced at Leticia, who visibly held her breath, awaiting her fate. The two men she answered to above all others were discussing her use...
Boris and Armand passed a significant glance. This was a test; how would she react? Boris turned to her, "You will do this, if I demand it, nyet?"
Perhaps a second elapsed before Leticia's face became serene. "Yes, Boris."
Boris looked back at Armand, who replied, "I will not either ask or encourage you to do that, Boris. It's not a solution in my book -- it might only muddy the waters further. You may or may not, as you like -- but don't do it because you think I want you to, because I don't." Boris nodded, and Armand added, "Are we done, then? I want to retire for the evening, I think."
"Da." Boris waved Leticia out; she curtsied to Armand and turned for the door, Boris following.
Outside, Leticia turned to Boris. "Your rooms or mine?" she asked, adding archly, "Master."
"Boris will do -- as long as you understand that the other is implied," Boris growled. He thought a moment, then, "Yours, I think. We will avoid Phillippe -- he will not understand." Besides, it would bring home to her that she was his wherever she was...
Phillippe did NOT understand. From his hiding place around the corner, he observed this exchange, and it irritated him. "What the fuck?" He waited until the pair were a ways down the hall and eased out of hiding...
... Almost into Armand's arms. "Phillippe!"
"Sir?"
"What are you doing?" Armand looked down the hall; Leticia was disappearing around the corner.
"Nothing."
Armand let his disbelief show. "Let's go into my office."
"What's wrong?" Phillippe pretended innocence.
"Why don't you tell me?" Armand replied. "Perhaps recent events have left you feeling slighted in some manner?" He seated himself at his desk.
"I, uh, well..." Phillippe stammered.
"Phillippe, there has been a sudden increase in below-stairs relationships here," Armand began. "Some of them are of a special nature, in that one of the participants has released her civil rights to the other -- and some of them are of the more 'normal' variety. However, you should make no mistake -- just because a woman in this household makes herself subservient to a male, that does NOT mean that she is subservient to ALL males, in or out of this household! If you use a woman in this household without either her permission, her master's permission, or both, I WILL take appropriate action!"
"But..."
"Let's go down the list, shall we? And the least shall be first... Bianca is a minor, and technically a child. Given that she is in an equals relationship with Pete and is Inez's daughter, there will be about four of us you'll have to survive if you harm her. Inez will run you afoul of Jason. The Wench will run you afoul of Charles, Sharon, and myself, probably in reverse order. Leticia belongs to Boris -- rather permanently, as of a few minutes ago. Consuelo is under Sharon's and my protection. Velma is in an equals relationship with Ed that may or may not flourish. Who have I left out? You do NOT want to touch Sharon without my specific permission -- and you do NOT want to touch Nora at all! Do you understand?"
"Yes, but..."
"Those under the sway of someone else -- that being the Wench, Leticia, Inez, and Sharon, at this point, although technically Sharon outranks you -- may be made available to you at some point by their masters. If that occurs, it is their master's will, and therefore not rape, and you may do anything to them their master authorizes you to do. The other women in the household -- Consuelo, Velma, Nora, and especially Bianca -- theoretically may be approached as you would approach any normal woman outside this household -- and if she declines, the same rules apply -- meaning it IS rape, and you WILL be prosecuted, at least! I should point out, however, that only Consuelo is not currently in a relationship of some type -- and she is more slave to me than she sometimes appears to be."
"Well, shit!" Phillippe grunted.
Armand smiled grimly. "I am not without sympathy for your plight, but I was under the impression that you were selecting and collecting your own female companions. Is this not the case?"
"Well, yeah, but it's not like I'm knocking off a piece every night!" Phillippe complained.
Armand steepled his fingers. "I'm not prepared to support that kind of thing as a fringe-benefit to your job, Phillippe; in every case in recent memory, the principals got together under their own power. Those with slaves have a personality capable of dealing with them as such -- something that you lack, through no fault of your own. I have, in the past, provided professional sexual entertainment to male staff who wished to enjoy it on a periodic basis -- and I may soon be in a position to do a much better job of it, at lower rates -- but it isn't going to happen on a nightly basis."
"Hookers?"
"Hookers." Armand gazed at the younger man. "I think you are confusing the benefits of a relationship with the whole package, as it were. Relationships are give-and-take things; I haven't seen anything in you that indicates to me that you really WANT a relationship, as opposed to a place to drain your balls. Am I right?"
"Ain't that what you get with a slave?" Phillippe argued.
"No, it isn't, frankly," Armand disagreed. "Let's take a look around. I was married to Sharon, despite her predilections and mine. I'm obliged to support both her and my daughter. The Wench might seem like the pure case, but she is a Chinese obligation -- I ruined her for her past life, so now I must keep her. In case you have not heard, Inez is pregnant -- and unless things go awry, Leticia will be, soon -- it's what she wants, and Boris has agreed to it."
"No way!"
"Oh, yes! In fact, Boris has agreed to legitimize children from the union! Do you know what that means? It means that if and when Leticia has children, Boris will marry her!" Armand smiled grimly. "Frankly, Jason is staring that particular issue in the face, too!"
"Shit!" Phillippe was taken aback!
Armand smiled grimly. "Velma is of child-bearing age, you know..." He tapped his fingers together. "So you see, life isn't THAT simple..."
"Shit, I guess not!"
Armand sat forward. "The hooker thing is still an option. I might even get you some service in trade, now that I think about it. I can look at allocating the Wench to you on an infrequent basis, also -- but as a training situation for her, not as a sex partner for you, per se -- you understand the distinction?"
"Uh, I think so."
"Let me clarify. I might have Charles deliver her to you for a bout of anal sex -- or to be double-teamed with Charles -- that kind of thing. To keep her tools honed. Like the recent blowjob session."
"Oh. Okay, I get it." Phillippe sighed.
"The service I want trained might not be the one you want to enjoy, if you know what I mean."
"Okay."
"So, are we clear? If you sex a woman under this roof, the rules will be obeyed -- or else!"
"Yessir."
"We're done then. Good night."