The Twelve Tables Ch 10

Authors Note: Thank you to everyone left comments or sent me feedback about the resumption of the story. Thank you also to Margaret who gave this a quick proofread for me. I hope you enjoy this chapter. ~ellie

*****

Peri woke up alone and wondered why Josh hadn't woken her when he had risen. She stretched her aching body smiling at the long night she had endured and the exquisite highs of the painful pleasure he showered on her once they had arrived home. She lay there for a long moment feeling the ache of her body and letting herself enjoy the moment, knowing that this was possibly the last morning she would feel it for a long time.

Her mind went to the farm and the man who awaited her return. True to his word Joseph had allowed Josh and Peri to enjoy their holiday together unhindered by any restrictions inherent in the contract she had signed. He had taken them aside on Boxing Day to speak about plans he had for the following weeks that would affect them both. As a concession to Josh, he would allow her to return to this city with him a day early and return at midnight as the new year began.

Boxing day had been celebrated with historical tradition, and all the staff were given gift boxes containing a bonus for their services. Again Peri had been surprised by the women and men who served the family and their gratitude for their place in the household, and she was glad to have been there for the giving of these gifts before leaving.

Eager to have time alone with her before the start of her trial Josh and Peri had left the farm quickly following their discussion with Joseph. Dante had been unimpressed with her choice not to return with him declaring that he could reach Josh's house before they could fly back and then drive from the airport to his home. His plan to race them, however, was curtailed by Joseph, who asked both him and Emilio to stay and meet with him that afternoon. They would return to the city the following day.

The last four days had been a whirlwind of activity as she spent time with Andie and Charles, went into the auction house to pack up the books and download all of the data she would need to continue her research onto the hard drives she had been given. She caught up with her friends and told them she had job researching for a family biography that meant she would be travelling for some time but would try to post on facebook to keep them updated.

Andie would let Josh deal with any of her mail and or bills until she returned and she transferred money into her mother's mortgage account to ensure that she wouldn't struggle unnecessarily in Peri's absence. Her mind continued to wander over all that she had done trying to find something she has missed as she sat up and slipped from the bed to the bathroom.

They had arrived at the vineyards of Andreas and Marisol yesterday afternoon and had spent time with the older couple. Peri enjoyed being able to see the winery and cellars as they took her on a full tour of their home and the surrounding grounds in a small golf cart type vehicle. They had stayed for dinner but not lingered long enough for dessert as Josh eagerly took her back to the chalet they had shared on their first weekend away together.

Peri smiled remembering that weekend here and lifted a hand to her throat where that necklace lay once again. It wasn't necessary now, she admitted, but she understood the symbolism of it far better now than she ever had at the time. She would exchange it for a collar of a different kind tonight. Feeling nervous and oddly vulnerable she sought out Josh, checking the deck and exterior of the small chalet.

Confused and disappointed by his absence, Peri went to find some breakfast and sit on the small deck to wait for him to return.

*****

"You need to know that being an outsider her trial will be much different to that of your sisters. She hasn't grown up with the knowledge and respect for traditions and the old ways," Andreas said gently watching his nephew carefully. "They will seek to break her and build her back up in the image of the perfect dutiful wife.

"She's already perfect for me," Josh said considering what the man was telling him. "Are you sure about this?" he asked trying to sort out the jumble of emotions that assailed him.

"Yes, your father and I have been contacting the international tables, to find precedents because it seems that even if an outsider became a wife here, she had already gone through the ordeals as a slave before being elevated to a status that meant she could marry. Had your father already named a successor it wouldn't matter as much, I don't believe," Andreas explained.

"I have seven older brothers, and, at least, four of them have sons," Josh laughed. "I am a long way from the chair."

"Perhaps, but should that girl survive this ordeal and give you sons, then my bet would be on you to inherit the family. Particularly given her knowledge of, and interest in, the family history," Andreas pushed his view.

"So what's the alternative?" Josh pushed his hand through his hair and sat back to look at his Uncle. "Is there an alternative?"

"Let her go, send her away to find a normal life with a normal man. You couldn't leave the family Josh even if you tried. It would be like losing the part of yourself that makes you the man you are," Andreas gave him the hard truth.

"If I send her to this trial I may lose her anyway, even if I could get passed what she would have to do and endure, how could she ever forgive me?" Josh asked.

"If her love for you is such that she endured it all, how could you not embrace that and love her all the more for it? You disappoint me, Joshua," Andreas' voice was full of disapproval.

"I have shared everything I have ever had with the family. Peri is mine. Why shouldn't I hate the thought of her giving herself to anyone else? I am the one she has promised to love and obey, me, not my entire extended family," Josh said angrily.

"Then choose to let her go, send her away if that is how you feel. Because if you want any future life with her, then your love for each other has to be strong enough to overcome this and use it to strengthen your bond and position within the family. She will be a formidable woman if she can endure it all and only add to your reputation. You have been on the path to greatness since you were born. You have never put a foot out of place despite your sisters constant meddling in your life. This woman may bring you far more than love and happiness; she may bring you power and prestige."

Andreas and Joseph were closer than any of their other siblings, and he had known since Josh had been born that his father had expected far more from the boy than he had from his other sons. When Andreas had been made the child's godfather he was sure that the question of succession had just become a contest between his second son and his youngest.

"Even though she goes voluntarily she will be taken to the same place, Lucia went to, where Nik is now?" Josh still couldn't wrap his head around what Andreas had told him. "Lucia has never been the same; it's like the light inside her died."

"She will, for the most part, be isolated from the ones seeking treatment or being punished but yes she will be in the facility," Andreas nodded. "I understand your concerns, but Lucia's case was different, as is Nik's."

"Wait here," he said suddenly and left the room for a moment leaving Josh to go over his thoughts. The trial was no longer the easy test he had expected for Peri, where she would be at the farm, and he would be able to see her each weekend. Instead, she would spend the first weeks being indoctrinated by her father on traditional family law and then travel to the sitting of the chairs where she would be placed into the care of the Battaglia Table who ran the rehabilitation facility for the twelve families. While it housed the wayward children who dabbled in drugs or other substances, it also dealt with the punishment of anyone who had been seen to commit a crime against the family. Lucy and Nik were examples of that. Because it was not spoken about, the brothers assumed a dependency on alcohol or drugs had been Lucy's crime. She had been a wild child during her adolescence and had rebelled against everything the family stood for until her parents had stepped in. Nik had been more devious hiding her sins behind a mask of family devotion. They each had earned their place at the facility. Peri's only crime had been to love him.

"Marisol is going to keep Peri company, she will be wondering where you are," Andreas announced entering the room. "You must have time to consider whether you will take her to your father now or send her away."

"I love her," Josh said sadly. "Sending her away would be too difficult, for both of us."

"Then you must endure and forgive each other when it is over. It is the only way forward," Andreas said gently. "If she is even half the woman you describe she will not be there long," he reassured Josh.

"She is stronger than she looks, I am not sure they will break her so easily," Josh said thoughtfully.

"She is intelligent though and will understand what is required unlike Nik, who will fight against the lessons she needs to learn," he once again turned around Josh's dark thoughts.

"It's not the dark ages for God's sake, why are we clinging to such archaic laws!" Josh ranted in frustration.

"The traditions and laws that constantly threaten to break the younger generations are exactly the things that hold all of the families together and helps us to prosper when the wedge between the wealthy and the middle class widens further than ever before. Think of the devastation to all of the people who rely on our families for work and shelter, charities who prosper through our largesse, should the tables begin to disintegrate because some laws seem archaic," Andreas challenged.

"Even international law recognises change over time, why can't we?" Josh was sounding petulant even to his ears.

"Feminism has never been entertained by any of the Twelve tables throughout the world. Are we chauvinists? Yes. Misogynistic? Perhaps, but it is our way, and the women we trust to rule the tables alongside us need to be beautiful, intelligent, loyal and respectful of our laws and traditions. If a woman wants to become part of our family, then she must prove herself worthy of us. Peri is an outsider, Josh. If you don't want to have to share her, then let her go and pick a woman from one of the southern tables which have grown up respecting our laws and traditions."

In a moment of clarity, he heard her voice in his head saying, "You won't ever have to share my heart, that is yours alone." He smiled then knowing that she had been right; she may obey and serve in a variety of ways but he possessed her heart, and that is why she had agreed to a trial in the first place. He suspected that was why his father had said he would oversee the trial himself because he had known that family law would demand more of an outsider.

"Okay I will accept what must happen, tell me all that you know, about the plans for Peri," Josh sat up and poured himself another cup of coffee happy that Marisol had gone to Peri.

*****

"Hello Marisol," Peri said warmly as she opened the door to the chalet.

"Hello dear, those men have been locked up in the study for ages, and I thought you might like to walk with me for a little while." Marisol indicated the sunshine outside the chalet.

"I would like that, let me just put on some walking shoes," she agreed and opened the door widely allowing Marisol to enter as she found her bag and pulled out a pair of jogging shoes.

"So how are you feeling about returning to the farm?" Marisol asked lightly despite the gravity of the subject.

"Nervous," she admitted. "I mean I have an idea about what will happen, but it's all just so strange, bizarre even."

"Bizarre is a good word for it," she laughed. "I can see how you would think that, though. I have always lived this life, so for me, the way young people live today seems a little bizarre."

"I can see that," Peri laughed as they walked out into the morning light. They began walking further up the hill that sat above the vineyards and house and chatting about her Christmas at the farm and how she had been tricked into singing at the festival. Marisol and Andreas had hosted a similar party for their neighbours and friends without the concert, instead bringing in a small choir to serenade the party goers.

To Peri's surprise, the track ended in a Balinese style hut with a daybed and cushioned bamboo chairs. They sat and looked out over the view content to be silent for the moment.

"You must love him with all of your heart to accept the trial you are about to undertake," Marisol broke the silence.

"I do. I have never met anyone like him. He makes me feel like I am more than I am like I could be anything. He makes me feel like nothing could ever hurt me as long as I have him in my life," she tries to express how she felt adequately and gave up. "I love him more than I ever thought I could love another person, and if this is what he needs me to do so that we can have a life together, then I will agree to whatever the trial brings."

"I am glad, he deserves a love like that, he has grown into a wonderful man," she said wistfully. "Andreas and I love him as our own, and we want you to succeed so no matter what happens over the next few months, cocoon yourself in that love you feel and know he would not be separated from you if he didn't have to be."

"That sounds ominous," Peri turned to look at the woman.

"Not at all," Marisol laughed. "Bizarre as you called it, but not ominous. You are an outsider so our ways will test you more than most."

"It's a patriarchal society where the men dominate and the women, even the wives, serve the needs of the twelve patriarchs," she said confidently. She had done enough research to know what the trial and her time in servitude would mean in general terms. She was prepared to put her feelings on equality away for the time being. When she wore the necklace Josh gave her she gave him total control over body and well-being, she would just be extending that to his father, and though she was nervous, she had come to terms with the strangeness of the situation.

"I see you have done some research," Marisol said appreciatively. "Throughout history Patriarchs have been more prevalent than matriarchs, I quite enjoy the comparisons between the two."

"I would imagine them to be quite opposite," Peri seemed to consider the idea.

"Not at all, in the end, those that wield power rule in similar fashion. The difference is in what drives the two societies that differ. Patriarchal societies revere history and linear timelines. They are rational and slaves to reality. They have a dogma that that is based purely on reality and science. You've seen that at work recently no doubt," she laughed again. "Matriarchal societies tend to revolve around cycles of time and the eternity of the universe. They are more driven by ritual and magic, beauty and art."

"So you go with the left brain is masculine and the right brain is feminine theory," Peri said enjoying the turn in the conversation. "The ancient Egyptians believed that a pharaoh could not rule without a balance of both the feminine and the masculine within one ruler. There is also the belief in the balance of yin and yang which perhaps is the ultimate goal for some Asian societies."

"One could but hope, but I am not so optimistic," Marisol rebutted her point, and the two women continued to debate the ideas of spirituality versus science within the bounds of patriarchs and matriarchs.

Time went by quick for them, and Marisol looked at her buzzing phone announcing that they had been summoned back to the house.

*****

Josh and Peri shared a late brunch with his Uncle and Aunt on the veranda at the rear of their house. It was a beautiful day with a steady breeze taking the edge off the summer heat.

"Let's go for a walk down to the creek," he suggested as they finished eating.

"I'd like that," she said softly taking his hand as she stood from the table.

"We'll be back for dinner," Josh said, and then they walked from the table and down through the vineyards to the rainforest landscape that surrounded the property.

Peri loved walking through the sun dappled shade feeling immediately cooler in darker moist surroundings. She could hear the small creek bubbling over rocks well before they got there and Josh led her to some large logs that had been fashioned into a sitting area. She felt his hand tighten on her smaller one and met his gaze. She knew the look that met hers well. She had seen it often over the past few days. It was as if he was trying to imprint his possession of her onto her body, heart and mind.

"Undress for me," he commanded.

She looked around even though she knew they were alone, seeking for signs of other people who may have inadvertently followed them. Slowly she unbuttoned her blouse revealing a nude lace bra. She slid the top down soft tanned arms before she loosened the skirt and stepped out of it. Feeling shy in the open like this she stood in her bra and panties and glanced up to see him watching her intently. He smiled raising an eyebrow she unfastened the bra, removing it along with the thong she wore. She trembled as she stood naked in the shady clearing, and he moved toward her.

His thumb slid down the side of her face, from cheekbone to jawline, to chin. He rubbed the pad of his thumb over her lower lip and she instinctively opened her mouth as he slid his thumb inside. She ran her tongue around it softly keeping her eyes on his face. He kissed her forehead before taking her hand and leading her to one of the logs in the clearing indicating she should sit down.

"Won't there be splinters?" she inspected the log.

"Sit," he commanded dismissing her concerns. She turned planning to sit, but he stopped her and seemed to think better of it. He picked up her skirt and laid it over the log, "There now sit straddling the log."

Peri straddled the large log feeling Josh still fully clothed settle behind her and wrap his arms around her. His hands fondled her breasts, and his breath was hot as he kissed her shoulder and neck moving up to growl into her ear.

"You are mine now and forever, nothing that happens over the next few months will change that or how I feel about you," his growl was low and soft but full of emotion. His hands tightened on her breasts squeezing them and bringing his fingers down to her nipples. His teeth grazed over her earlobe nipping at it as he pinched and twisted the hard pink buds of her nipples making her whimper loudly into the rustling rainforest.

Josh loved the sound of her whimpers and soft cries as he continued to play with her breasts roughly feeling her leaning back into his body and arching up as if pleading for more. She was the most incredible woman, and he loved her. He hated that he would have to deliver her to the trial tonight. His thoughts darkened, and he bit her neck wanting to leave a lasting mark on her for all to see.

"Stay exactly as you are," he growled into her ear and stood to move from the log to stand directly in front of her. He watched her big beautiful breasts heaving with her ragged breath and the glistening lips of her open cunt telling of her enjoyment of his treatment of her. Looking around he walked to a nearby low tree and broke off a flexible branch swishing through the air several times before looking at her. His lip curled into a satisfied smile.

"Put your hands on the log behind you," he commanded and watched as she leaned back arching her back and effectively pushing her breasts out toward him. He approached her and landed a well-aimed stroke on the soft skin under her breasts.