This is the 9th part of a 12 part tale of a Lady and her stable of slaves
9. Bi Ways
After getting back to his room Jared was too keyed up to immediately fall asleep. Despite Thomas' unexpected and inexplicably kind words he knew he had been dismally derelict in his actions the previous evening and that the others, as Michael had already declared, would believe him so as well. More crushing still had been Deanna's damning reaction. This had been the first time since his return that she had specifically given him a task, and not just any task, but one to safeguard the well being of another of her slaves. And he had failed miserably, just as he had failed her in so many ways before. He had been trying so hard since he had chosen to remain to prove himself to her, that he could be what she wanted and needed him to be. And when he had finally been given the simplest of opportunities he had totally dropped the ball. He began to seriously consider whether the time had finally come for him to give them all, most especially Deanna, what they all had made clear they wanted most from him: To leave. Before anyone else was hurt. Thoroughly depressed, but even more thoroughly weary, he finally slipped into a fitful sleep.
He woke up with a start and saw on his clock that it was just before 5 PM. He had been given the morning and the afternoon off, but no one had said anything about his evening duties. Almost by rote he crawled off his mattress and gathered himself together, wondering if this was all moot anyway as it all would likely be coming to an end very soon. He walked down the hall slowly, preparing himself to meet the others and their further condemnations.
Entering the kitchen he found only Abel there, working furiously over the stove. Abel looked up, saw Jared, and smiled.
"Hey Jared. Did you get enough sleep?"
Startled once again by the use of his name, and even more so by the question that had followed, Jared hesitated. "... Ah ... Yes Sir." he finally answered.
Abel lowered his voice as if conspiratorially. "You know Jared, when we're working alone together you can call me Abel." His smile then broadened even more. "And I have it on the very best authority that Belle feels the same way too. What do you say?"
Now completely disconcerted Jared didn't know what to say. He stammered a moment before responding, "Um ... okay ... um ... Abel."
"Good." Abel's smile now turned to a small frown. "I'm working hard on making something very special for the Lady for her dinner tonight. She didn't eat breakfast or lunch and hasn't come downstairs at all since this morning. Edward had to convince her to eat dinner and she finally agreed, but she wants it served up in her room." He paused to put a pot of something onto another burner. "Do you think you can start cutting up the vegetables for our dinner later. They're over there on the table."
"Of course, Sir ... Abel." Jared replied, still totally bewildered. As he made his way over toward the kitchen table he also noticed for the first time that a chair and a small side table had been placed in his usual corner. None of this was making any sense to him. What was going on? And why?
Once Jared had left Thomas' room as ordered that morning, Thomas had made it explicitly clear to Edward, and Edward had related it faithfully to the others, that had Jared cut him down before his ordeal had ended, his spirit, and psyche, would have been far more damaged than his hind quarters had been. He was truly grateful that Jared had allowed him to see his binding to its proper end. That Jared had assured that it continue more safely was the role that the Lady had assigned him, and Thomas had no complaints with that. As far as Thomas was concerned Jared had done his duty perfectly, which had allowed Thomas to perform his without failure as well.
After the Lady had been served her special dinner in her room, and Jared, as requested, had helped Abel prepare the evening meal for the rest, the others including Thomas all arrived in the kitchen. On Edward's instructions Thomas had brought a large pillow to sit on, but he couldn't help wincing a bit as he gingerly sat down. They all acknowledged Jared, everyone but Edward calling him by name, but even Edward seemed more congenial to him than usual. He wasn't invited to the table with them, but Abel made sure, with no objections from anyone, that he had a plateful to eat at the same time as the rest of them. And he was now able to sit in a chair with a small table in his corner as well.
When finished he did proceed on to his usual evening clean up chores, but now without the frequent caustic comments from the others. Through Edward, the Lady had directed that Thomas was not to work until he was fully healed, much to Thomas' displeasure, grumbling that this 'vacation' was unnecessary. Edward indicated to him however that his slave could readily take care of any grounds work that needed to be done. Thomas later took Jared aside and assured him that any of the heavier work outside could certainly wait a week or two for when he got back.
Jared was clearly taken aback by the changed attitude towards him by almost all of the others. He still felt guilty about what he believed had been an overly delayed recognition on his part of Thomas' danger. The rest however all seemed to feel otherwise, for which he was somewhat thankful. He wondered though how long this would all continue, and more importantly what Deanna actually thought. The final very nice touch to the day came when he finally retired to his room for the night and found a pillow on his mattress.
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Deanna spent the next two days secluded in her rooms on the second floor, continually castigating herself for being so careless in her binding of Thomas. And she felt even more ashamed that she had not contributed to his immediate care afterwards, but had instead rushed away in embarrassment and horror. Despite Edward's admonitions that none of them had recognized the potential danger beforehand, and that by her ordered precautions and instructions Jared had been able to limit the damage, she was still finding it difficult to forgive herself. By her own will and desire SHE was the one in charge, and so she had to have the responsibility for the care and well being of those in her thrall. She began to fear that she might be starting to lose them. That Jared proved to be the one to salvage the situation, and was being considered as something of a hero by the others, not only rankled but made her feel even more the villain. When he sensed this, Edward had sought to allay these concerns and reassure her that all of them were still totally devoted to her. But deep inside her, what she wanted, what she always needed, was to continue to be adored by them as well. She had to do something to bring that back.
She realized with a start that since Jared had entered the scene she had not partaken in any truly intimate relations with any of them. She had just not had the desire or inclination. All of her attentions had been focused on convincing Jared that she wanted him gone. While she knew that each of her slaves fully understood that any such interactions with her could only be at her whim and at the time and place of her choosing, it was still undeniably a very important and necessary part of what she had created and needed to continue with them. Not only to rekindle that very delightful spark and need, but also, she smiled inwardly to herself, to begin to enjoy the fervor of that fire once again. She resolved to start summoning them back to her bedroom privately, one at a time. And it wouldn't hurt that Jared would see in another more significant way something dear that he would never again be allowed to experience.
To signal this to them all in the most dramatic way that she could devise, Deanna decided that the first such interaction would be one that she had been contemplating for some time but had withheld. Now she concluded that the time and circumstance was just right. The next day she made a point of approaching Belle as the maid was cleaning her office.
"Good afternoon, Belle."
