Chapter 25: Lost and found
The western mansion
Gabriel was on his hands and knees in front of the sofa. Mistress Pomona was using his back as a table. A crash came from behind him, and the sound of breaking glass, and a stifled gasp. Mistress Pomona stood up and surveyed the damage. "Clean it up," she ordered Kevra.
Gabriel couldn't see Kevra but he could hear her sweeping up the broken glass and placing the shards in the rubbish can. Then she came before her mistress and prostrated herself, shaking.
Mistress Pomona cocked her head. "I'm tired to death of punishing you for your clumsiness," she said. "I should just send you to the exchange and be done with it."
Kevra sobbed.
Mistress Pomona took her plate off Gabriel's back and put it on the floor. Placing a finger under his chin she raised him to his knees. She unlatched the whip from her belt and put it in Gabriel's hand. "You do it," she said. "And do a good job, or you'll be next."
Gabriel blinked dumbly as the whip dangled from his hand. Mistress Pomona slapped his face, hard. "Now," she said.
He stood and turned to Kevra. Her flesh was already mottled from a beating earlier that day. Gabriel lifted the whip and feebly brought it down. He missed. "That's three whipstrokes for you," Mistress Pomona said. Gabriel tried again, this time connecting the whip to Kevra's backside.
"Not hard enough," Mistress Pomona said. "Three more strokes for you." Gabriel brought the whip crashing down on Kevra's back. She shrieked before she could stop herself.
"Good boy," Mistress said. "Do it ten more times."
The central mansion
Mariah trailed after Rose to the exercise yard and then to the revel room. They both automatically looked for Master Animal on the scaffolding in front of the family scene he had been working on for the last several days, but he stood at an easel far to the right of that panel. He was sketching a tableau. Mariah recognized the Bearer, standing in front of an ornate chair on a raised dais. He looked past Master Animal and Rose, both roughly drawn, to Master Gabriel, the focus of the sketch, thinner than he was now, wearing exhaustion on his sleeve, and yet a font of strength and dignity.
Master Animal rapidly added details as Mariah and Rose watched. He stopped only when a group of apprentices came in, laughing boisterously. As they approached, he looked at Mariah, squinting. "Did he ever say anything more specific than that he'd be back in a few days?"
Mariah shook her head. She had not realized until that moment that her feelings were not just loneliness but concern. She had been expecting Master Gabriel to have returned by now. She said, with studied indifference, "He could be another week, or more. He has no need to hurry home." She cleared her throat and turned away.
About an hour later Rose said she thought she might have left the courtyard door open, and it looked like rain. Master Animal peered at the cloudless sky and told her to go check. She shook her head when she returned. About half an hour later Master Animal declared that he needed to get a particular paintbrush from his studio. He too shook his head when he came back. An hour after that Mariah simply slipped out. Master Gabriel's apartment was clearly empty, but she peered into his bedroom to make sure. Her shake of her head was accompanied by a scowl.
Rose's excuse turned out to be true. In the evening black clouds rolled in and lightning followed quickly after low, rumbling thunder. Master Animal said aloud what Mariah was thinking: "He won't travel in this weather. Even if he's on his way home, he'll find shelter."
Together they checked Gabriel's apartment one last time to make sure that he had not already come home. It was as silent and empty as before.
Mariah stood in the middle of the living area and turned around slowly, not sure what to do with herself. She didn't think she could bear another evening alone with Rose and Master Animal. She saw them exchange a look. "Let's go to the drama the apprentices were talking about," Master Animal said with a cheerfulness so forced that Mariah actually smiled a little.
Inside the theater they went to a side aisle where humans and slaves could watch together without the requirement that the slave sit on the human's lap or kneel on the ground. Unlike the plush chairs in the center, the seats were hard metal benches.
The play was a romance set in the early days of slavery. Its main plot concerned an ugly man who helped his handsome friend woo the woman they both loved by giving him words to say. In the end, when the deception was revealed, the woman could not choose between them and so joined with them both.
The slaves of the three main players filled out the cast. The actors were humans wearing full length bodysuits that matched their skin tones, with huge plush breasts and gigantic genitals sewn on. Because the characters were of the first generation born into slavery, they struggled to accept their lot in life. They imitated their owners to prove they could manage as well as humans, with hilarious results. They tried to have an intelligent conversation with each other but ended up rutting the furniture. When their humans were out for the evening, they hosted a "party" for each other, but were unable to make basic decisions such as whether to serve water with ice or without. Their own happy ending came when they realized that they were better off as slaves and should be grateful for their lack of responsibility.
Mariah enjoyed the romance of the main plot well enough. She squirmed at the antics of the slaves but couldn't help laughing; the players were raucously funny. After a while, though, she was distracted by a houseboy in the seat next to hers. The boy sat with his heels together and his knees spread, the left one at times touching Mariah's leg. His mistress intermittently fondled him. If he moved or made a sound she whispered something in his ear, no doubt how she would punish him later.
As the lights came up after the show the boy's mistress swatted his ass to indicate that he should rise. He happened to glance at Mariah as he stood. Mariah had expected to see despair, or fear, but she saw only pleasure. The boy subtly shifted so that his shoulder touched his mistress's side. She patted his arm affectionately.
Where once Mariah would have felt scorn for the houseboy, and hatred for his mistress, now she silently wished them well. She hoped that they took genuine pleasure in each other's company and found some respite together.
Master Animal snapped his sketchbook closed and shoved his pencil into his pocket. As he stepped into the aisle a man called his name. Master Townsend. Mariah noticed that his eyes were not bloodshot, and he didn't sway on his feet.
"That was ridiculous," he said to Master Animal. "The timing was all wrong. Slaves wore clothes for a century, at least, after the Turmoil. And they never would have been allowed to . . ." He stopped abruptly when he saw Mariah and stared at her. "Mariah, right?" She nodded. "Animal pointed you out to me before," he said. "I still can't place you. But you do look a little familiar."
Mariah stood stiffly, not sure what her former owner expected of her but certain that Master Animal would prevent him from harming her.
"Animal says I'm a bad master." He did not seem to expect any response from her. But when Mariah glanced at him, he seemed uncertain. "If I did you any harm, I apologize."
Mariah had hated him, once. But now she felt nothing for him, except maybe pity. "You taught me history, Master," she said. "And for that I thank you."
"Animal says I'm supposed to talk less and listen more to slavegirls," he said. "And to take care of them. Showers, and exercise, and sex, and everything." Mariah shuddered, remembering what it had been like when he had not allowed her any of those. Master Townsend sighed. "It seems wrong. But I promised him I'd try. I'm between girls right now. Enjoying my privacy. Thought I might get two, so they can be friends to each other. But they might not get along." He scratched his head. "It might be nice to have some company. I thought about getting a cat, but then I'd have to find a girl who knew how to take care of it. Or two girls . . ." He trailed off.
Mariah suppressed an urge to roll her eyes. She had forgotten how Master Townsend had always been either talking or asleep. But at least he seemed aware of his surroundings now.
Master Animal stepped between them. He spoke to Master Townsend while giving Mariah the space to turn away and head towards the exit with Rose. She thought she saw Master Gabriel in the crowd up ahead. Her heart leapt. But the man turned, and she saw it wasn't him. Where was he?
The western mansion
Gabriel touched Kevra's shoulder. She muttered something and rolled over. He tried again. "Please," he said. "Please. Please."
Kevra sat up and rubbed her eyes. "What is it, Sniffly?" she asked crossly. She looked to make sure his wrist was shackled.
