The following morning Abby chose to milk the cow, thereby giving the girls time to chat with Alec. He was finished with breakfast and was sitting in an arm chair in front of the fireplace, wearing his shirt and trousers and smoking his pipe. June and Rose approached him from behind, and each one slid an arm around his neck and kissed his roughly whiskered cheeks. He suspected what they were up to, thanks to an early warning from his beautiful Abby.
"Yes, ladies. What can I do for you?" He asked in a low voice. They giggled softly in his ears, then each took a seat on a muscular thigh and fluffed their skirts while he gathered them in his arms.
"How's our handsome man this morning?" Rose asked with a happy smile, and ruffled his long, wavy hair.
"I'm well. How can I not be with such a pair of beauties on my knee?" he teased.
"We have a question for you, kind sir. Would you mind terribly?"
"Of course not. I'm here to serve, milady," he answered with a careful expression.
"Your women are asking if you'll be with us a final time before we head north. We know not what the future brings and we'd love to have you again, please," Rose asked while looking deep in his eyes with all the sincerity she could muster.
She'd caught him a bit off guard. "My women? Do you consider yourselves my women?"
"Yes we do, dear Alec. A part of us will always belong to you. We've both grown to love you more than you know."
He looked at June and she nodded in agreement while hot tears gathered in her eyes.
"It's true, sweetheart. We both have strong feelings for you. You're an amazing man and we love you deeply," June managed through a tight throat.
"What about George and William? Aren't you afraid of hurting them? I want you both to realize that if we're fortunate enough to find them I'm going to tell them of our relationship. It's something I must do if they're ever going to trust me, and I need their trust because I intend to make Abby mine forever."
"Oh, Alec!" Rose let out a little sob. "Abby is so lucky to have you, and you're such a lovely couple. I hope we don't ask too much of you."
June hugged him close and wept on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, dear. We've asked you to take the place of our men and it's not fair to you. We've endured so much and we just need to be close to you as long as possible. You're the rock we cling to in these hard times, I hope you understand."
By now he felt warm tears soaking through his shirt from both women and he felt his heart melt with love for them, a different love than he felt for Abby, but love nonetheless. He kissed them both in turn and ran his fingers through their long hair while they sniffled in the hollows of his shoulders. He drew a deep breath and sighed to himself. It was no chore to service the ladies, that was for sure, but the possible upcoming confrontation with their lovers worried him to no end, however the private words Abby had spoken to him gave him some solace and he made his decision.
"I'm yours, my sweethearts. I'll love, protect, and take care of you both until we meet your men. Then the future of our relationships will be determined by George and William, fair enough?"
"Oh yes, thank you, Alec! You truly are a wonderful and understanding man," Rose said tenderly and kissed him softly on the lips.
"June?"
"Yes, Master. Fair enough."
He stiffened a bit at her words. "I'm not and never will be master to you, June, regardless of your race," he said sternly.
The beautiful quadroon maid looked up him with a subservient but determined expression. "You may not like it, but you'll always be a master to me. You enslaved me when you first took me like a beast. I'll never forget that for all my days. I feel the same way about George as well. You're both my masters and Abby is my mistress."
He shook his head in wonder as he'd never imagined her saying such a thing. "Well, please don't call me that in public. I'll not have it. You may call me master when we're intimate or with Rose and Abby around if it pleases you."
"Thank you, Master," she giggled and kissed him soundly.
He noticed both ladies had perked up and were sporting little smiles of joy. He heard a little devil whisper in his ear and decided to listen.
"If you ladies wish to ravish me, it'll cost you something," he stated solemnly.