"Are you wondering what it will be like to be mine?" asked the Countess, her voice dripping with insincere sweetness. "You should. I'm afraid my loving attention will almost certainly leave scars." She laughed with such cruelty that even the Duchess felt uneasy.
"Don't ruin him," said Lady Emily. "Remember, like all members of the Royal Dominance Assembly, you have an obligation to
share
your slaves with other members."
"You may have him when I am done with him," said the Countess, "and that may take days."
If any of the other slaves felt slighted by the lustful attention the women of the Assembly focused upon Adam, the feeling passed when they saw the depth of the sadism they showed for whom they desired. In recent years, the Assembly's lack of empathy had ensured that man-slaves were always in short supply.
Despite the danger he faced, Adam thought mostly of Eve and how he had failed her. He should be rescuing her, but instead, he was thousands of miles away, hanging helplessly—hogtied and naked—above a dinner table while mistresses and slaves alike took turns humiliating him.
"Lady Emily raises an interesting point," said Lady Tara. "We all know your history when it comes to your man-slaves. And we know it's unlikely that he'll be able to service
anyone
after you've had your way with him."
"Pish posh!" snapped the Countess. "They are
my
slaves. It is my right to have the first pick!"
"Actually, that's not necessarily so," said the Duchess in her capacity as chairwoman. "At least, that right is not
guaranteed.
Our ancestors created the Royal Dominance Assembly so that we, the privileged, may pool our resources to have a greater variety of specimens. But your history of abusing man-slaves presents an unprecedented problem. It's clear which acquisition is the most desirable, yet it will be impossible for you to share something which you clearly intend to break."
"Quite right," said the Baroness. "We
all
want him. It has been ages since any of us has enjoyed a deviant of such quality."
"Doesn't the chair of the Assembly have the ultimate authority to decide?" asked Lady Emily.
"She must not!" said the Countess. "The chair will take him for herself!"
"Agreed," said Tara. "We should each have an
equal
chance to have him."
"I protest!" said the Countess. "He is mine! I claim the right!"
By now, all of the guests were out of their chairs arguing.
"Ladies, ladies, please," said the Duchess, urging calm. "Let us be civilized about this. It's clear what has to happen. Lady Emily is correct. To avoid any more argument, let us agree we should each have a chance. We shall draw cards. Countess, do you have a deck?"
"Cards are banned in the castle," said the Countess testily. "They encourage indolence."
"I have a better idea," said Lady Emily, adjusting her short tube dress in an effort to be more authoritative. She beckoned the other women of the Assembly to join her for a discussion in the back of the room.
After some whispering, they reached a conclusion. "Very well," said the Duchess. "Since we don't have playing cards, the choice will be made by the deviant himself."
Adam wondered what new joke they were playing on him. It was not likely they were going to allow him to choose which of the women he wanted as a tormentor.
"Listen carefully," said the Duchess. She grasped Adam's head and held it against her chest as if calming an infant. "Listen carefully, because your fate will be determined by how well you answer this question."
Somehow, despite the horror of his situation, Adam experienced a moment of calm when he looked at Emily and realized he knew what the question was going to be.
"Deviant," asked the Duchess, "what is your favorite color?"
Each woman of the Assembly eyed him with unhealthy appetites, except Emily, who seemed to be smiling at something no one else could see.
Of all the Assembly members, Emily was the only one who hadn't gone out of her way to be cruel to Adam. Much of her teasing had seemed intended to placate Lady Tara rather than to inflict discomfort. Indeed, it was Emily's comment which had sparked the current argument and spared him, for a time, from the whims of the Countess.
And it was Emily who had earlier whispered to him what his answer to this question should be.
I was right,
Adam realized.
She's not as innocent as she wants us to believe.
"Blue," said Adam.
The other four women of the Assembly glared at Lady Emily with expressions of rage and suspicion. Lady Emily, for her part, did a credible job of acting surprised.
As the others glared, Emily placed her hands behind her legs and glided them upward under the hem of her dress. When she brought her hands back down, her thumbs were towing her designer lace panties down the length of her smooth legs. She stepped out of them and presented them as if they were the winning lottery ticket.
The panties were blue.
"The choice has been made," said the Duchess. "The deviant will spend the first night with Lady Emily."
"She cheated," muttered the Countess. "Somehow she arranged this deception! She knew we were wearing the lingerie samples she'd sent us!"
"The
choice,
" the Duchess reiterated, "has been
made
. We must now proceed with the other initiates."
"If it's all right with you," said Lady Emily, "I'd like to retire with the man-slave right away. As you can see, he's already been primed, and I want him
alone
before he goes off."
"Fine," seethed the Countess, admitting defeat. "Get him out of my sight. I'll have the bootlickers carry the deviant to your room."