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 had anything to do with it, would not be
long.
I turned and looked at 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.
(pg. 384) “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.â€
“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.
“Will no one protect a free woman?†she inquired.
The handsome interlocutor, at this point, seemed for a moment undecided. He
might even have been considering the wisdom, all things considered, of hastening
forward. I said to him, rudely, I fear, considering his indubitable fame and
talent, controversial though the latter might be, “Kneel!â€
Immediately he did so.
“Oh!†said the woman in dismay, seeing the handsome fellow put to his knees.
The two fellows with the handsome fellow, both free men, started forward a
little at this point, but I threw them a welcoming, menacing glance, and they,
looking to one another, decided to remain in the background. After all, on what
ground should they object to a legitimate command issued by a free person to one
who, after all, was but a slave?
“Attack him!†said the woman to the free men with her.
“He is armed!†said the fellow I had met earlier.
Actually I was not armed today, as I was not in uniform, not wearing, that is,
the armband of the auxiliary guardsman, and I did not want to be stopped by
guardsmen, line or auxiliary, as being in possible violation of the injunction
against unauthorized weapons in the city, that injunction which placed a
populace at the mercy of anyone armed. When I had reached to my tunic earlier,
of course, I had merely meant to convey the suggestion to the fellow that I had
a concealed weapon there. This suggestion he, a bright fellow, had been quick to
accept. To be sure, had I been really armed, I would not have cared to be he,
calling the bluff.
“Be off!†cried the women. “Or I shall set my bearers on you!â€
“You would set your slaves on a free man in the streets?†I asked.
Her eyes flashed.
“Who are you?†I asked.
“That is none of your business!†she cried.
“It will surely be of interest to guardsmen,†I said.
(pg. 385) “Go away!†she cried.
“They will wish to ascertain what person ordered slaves to attack a free man, an
innocent fellow merely engaged in reporting a misdemeanor.â€
“Begone!†she cried.
“Besides,†I said, “if I disembowel a couple of these fellows, how will you get
home? I do not think that you would care to walk through the streets, perhaps
soiling your slippers.†The slippers were well worked, colorful and intricate
with exquisite embroideries. Slave girls, on the other hand, commonly walk the
streets, barefoot, sometimes with something on an ankle, usually the left, a few
loops of cord, an anklet, bangles, a tiny chain, such things.
“Also,†I said, “what were you doing here, accosting a male slave?â€
“Oh!†she cried, in anger.
“Do you not think guardsmen will be interested in that?†I asked.
“Beast!†she said.
“But then perhaps you are a slave girl,†I said.
“Beast!†she said.
“Are you branded?†I asked.
“No!†she said.
“Why not?†I asked.
“Sleen! Sleen!†she cried.
“Then I gather you are not branded,†I said.
“No,†she said, “I am not branded!â€
“I see,†I said. “Then you are an unbranded slave girl.â€
“Sleen!†she wept.
“There are doubtless many of those,†I said.
“Sleen! Sleen!†she cried.
I reached to her veil, and tore it away, face-stripping her. She seized the veil
in my hands but, as I held it, she could do nothing with it. Indeed, she could
not, as she held the veil, even draw her hood more closely about her features.
She looked at me in disbelief, in astonishment, in fury. Her features, though
distorted by rage, were of interest. They were well formed, and exquisite. “You
are very pretty, slave girl,†I said.
She released the veil, cried out with misery, turned about in the palanquin, and
threw herself down in it, covering her face with her hands, hiding it from me.
Her head was now toward the foot of the palanquin, and her knees were drawn up.
This well displayed her curves to me, even beneath the robes of concealment.
“You apparently have an excellent figure,†I said to her. “It would be
interesting to see how it might look in a bit of slave silk.â€
(pg. 386) “Take me home! Take me home!†she wept.
One of the free men with her, the one with whom I had earlier held converse,
signaled to the bearers, and they lifted the palanquin. Soon it was on its way.
He drew shut its curtains as it moved down the street. But I did not doubt but
what he, too, before he drew shut the curtains, had formed some conjecture of
his own on the lineaments within, and how they might appear if properly clad, in
slave silk.
I glanced to the fellow kneeling there on the stones. “You may rise,†I informed
him.
He stood up.
“Kneel,†I said to him, sharply, angrily.
Immediately, startled, he went again to his knees.
The two fellows with him started forward, but I warned then back with a look.
“Do you not know who that is?†asked one of them.
“A slave,†I said. Then I turned to the slave. “Let us now try this again,†I
said. “You may rise.â€
“Yes, Master,†he said. �
�€œThank you, Master.â€
He then rose properly to his feet, humbly, permitted.
More than one person about gasped.
I think, as well, that this was not a familiar experience for the fellow.
The slave, of course, need not verbally respond to all such permission, and
such, but it is expected that his behavior will be in accord with the decorums
of obedience.
“You may continue on your way,†I said to the three of them, releasing them from
the custody of my will.
“Come along,†said one of the two fellows to the slave. The three of them then,
together, lost little time in making their way down Aulus street. I noted that
the fellow had not responded deferentially to the summons to come along, but
then, I did not think that was my business. If the two fellows were disposed to
treat the slave as though he might not be a slave. I did not think that that
need be considered my concern. The interaction had not taken place, with me, for
example. Also, of course, I had upon occasion, though quire infrequently, to be
sure, on this world, remarked an instance in which a slave had seemed to me at
least minimally deficient in deferentially to a master. In such instances, of
course, one does not desire to usurp the prerogatives of the master, even if he
is a weakling. One may always hope that he will eventually understand what must
be done, and reach for the whip. Needless to say, all Gorean slave girls find
themselves sooner or later, perhaps after a renaissance of manhood in the
master, or a new sale, or (pg. 387) some change of hands, kept under perfect
discipline. It is the Gorean way. Only one can be master. The fellow did turn
once, and look back at me, as though puzzled, and then, with the others, he
continued on his way. I suspect he had not been reminded that he was a slave for
a very long time. Perhaps Appanius had let that slip his mind. In my opinion,
that would have been a mistake. At any rate I had seen no reason for doing so,
particularly in the light of my plans. I did not think it would take them long
to reach Tarn Court. Also, as I had cut short the fellow’s conversation with the
free woman in the palanquin, I had surely saved them a little time. I neither
expected, nor wished, thanks for this, however. Briefly I recollected the free
woman in the palanquin. Surely I had given her something to think about. Perhaps
she was now curious as to what she might look like on a sales block, or what the
nature of the bids might be.
As Lavinia was cognizant of the usual itinerary of the fellow from the theater
to the house of Appanius and she had gone about to Tarn Court, on the way, and
was presumably stationed there, to the east, under the bowers, I took a similar
route, rapidly striding. In this fashion I would appear to be moving in the
direction opposite the fellow and his two companions. I could then renew my
contact with them from a distance, discreetly observing the encounter between
that party and a girl seemingly in the garments of the state slave. In a few Ehn
I was on Tarn Court, following the fellow and his companions. Once off Aulus,
and perhaps being confident that they were not followed, they had slowed their
pace. Tarn Court is a wide street, or, at least, wide for a city street of Gor.
Several blocks east of Aulus, before noon, it is the location of a vegetable and
fruit market. In the areas of the market, stretching almost from the north to
the south side of the street, the street is shaded by a large number of
vine-covered trellises, cresting bowers, which provide protection for the
produce and, later in the day, shade for pedestrians. Many Gorean streets,
incidentally, are almost always in shade because of their narrowness and the
encompassing buildings. A result of this is that one is not always clear as to
the position of the sun and, accordingly, it is easy to lose one’s orientation,
even as to the time of day. The fact that not all Gorean streets have generally
accepted or marked names can add to the confusion. To one who knows the area
this presents little difficulty but to a stranger, or one unfamiliar with the
area, it can be extremely confusing. Interestingly enough many Gorean
municipalities intentionally resist the attempt to impose some form of rational
order on this seeming chaos. This (pg. 388) is not simply because of the
Gorean’s typical reverence for tradition but because it is thought to have some
military advantage, as well. For example, portions of invading forces have upon
several occasions, in one city or another, literally become lost in the city,
with the result that they have been unable to rally, rendezvous, group and
attain objectives. Cases have been reported where an enemy force has literally
withdrawn from a city and some of its components have remained in the city,
wandering about for a day or two, out of communication with the main forces.
Needless to say, the military situation of such isolated contingents is an often
unenviable one. More than one such group has been set upon and destroyed. To be
sure, invaders usually supply themselves with fellows who are familiar with the
city. It is illegal in many cities, incidentally, to take maps of the city out
of the city. More than one fellow, too, has put himself in the quarries or on
the bench of a galley for having been caught with such a map in his possession.
I was about fifty yards behind the group of three fellows, who were sauntering
east of tarn Court. For a long time I did not detect the presence of Lavinia.
Then, some seventy yards or so ahead, and to the right, near a wall, before the
eastern termination of the trellised area where the morning market is held, from
a patchwork of lights and shadows, I picked her out. She, after entering from
the south, from a side street, had apparently hurried on ahead. In this fashion
she could make certain that she would not miss the group when it passed. She
would also have time to prepare herself, and regain her composure. She had
positioned herself on her knees, at a wall, near a slave ring. This was fully
appropriate. Too, it added to the effect which her appearance must have on all
males who saw her, her beauty, her collar and a slave ring. The ring was about
level with her neck. To such rings, of course, a master may fasten or chain a
girl while he busies himself elsewhere. I was pleased that she had had the
intelligence not to act as though she had been put at the ring “bound by the
master’s will†because her leaving the ring might then have elicited
astonishment or comment. There are many ways of putting a girl at the ring,
“bound by the master’s will.†One typical way is to stand her at the ring and
have her place her right hand behind her back through the ring and grasp her
left wrist. Another typical way is to kneel her at the ring and have her put her
right hand through the ring, grasping her left wrist. One of the simplest and
perhaps the most typical way of “binding by the master’s will†is simply to have
the girl grasp her left wrist with her right hand behind her back. Needless to
say whatever amusement, pleasure or (pg. 389) c
onvenience this may afford a
master it can be exquisitely frustrating to a slave to strive desperately and in
terror to maintain this position while, say, being subjected to various
attentions typical of the mastery. Most masters, in such a situation, would
simply bind the girl, tying or braceleting her hands behind her back. In this
fashion she knows her struggles will be unavailing, that she is helpless and
cannot escape. She may then without fear or hesitation open herself completely
to the joy of the subjugation, to the rapture of her conquest, to the bliss of
her surrender.
When the party of three, the handsome fellow, and his two companions, were
within a few yards of her, she rose lightly, gracefully, to her feet. They noted
this movement, of course, and doubtless had observed her earlier. Certainly it
is difficult for a kneeling slave, and one of such beauty, as they could now
detect, even given the mixtures of light and shadow beneath the trellises, to be
ignored. Their eyes met, and then she lowered her head, humbly. This contact,
however, brief as it was, gave them to halt. In it she had conveyed to them that
she had been waiting for them, and would approach. The two fellows with the
handsome slave looked to one another. This girl who had been waiting was a state
slave. Could she bear a message from someone in the Central Cylinder, say, from
one of the many free women in the entourage of even the Ubara? Too, they may
have remembered her from the theater, and from Aulus. Certainly the slave had
bided her time discreetly. Could something sensitive be afoot? There were few
about. The street was muchly deserted. The market was closed. The day was hot,
even under the trellises. I lounged against a wall, several yards away, near a
doorway. I did not think it would be easy to pick me out, even if one were
interested in doing so, given the variegated patterns of light and shade, and
the dangling vines. Too, between us, here and there, were some of the posts
supporting the overhead trelliswork. The fellow said something to them. The two
men immediately drew back. That interested me. It seemed that no official note
was to be taken of this encounter, or, at least, that its content was to be
accorded the delicacy of privity, at least in theory.
I watched the girl approach the slave.
She approached with rapid, small steps, her head down, her hands to the side,
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