The alarm beeped, cutting through the fog of sleep that Kate was buried in. She rolled onto her belly, the white sheet wrapping around her more tightly, clinging to her nude form as her muscles protested the movement, her arm stretching to quiet the alarm. After two fumbles, she ended its call and lay there for a moment in the dark contemplating her surroundings.
There was a wet spot on the pillow, as she had drooled a puddle onto the fabric. Her muscles told her that, after the end of her frenzy she'd collapsed and simply hadn't moved. There were other spots of wetness on the bedding and, between them, the fact that she felt the layer of dried sweat still on her skin, and the lingering scent of arousal still hanging in the air, they were triggers enough for her to remember how she'd spent her evening...vividly.
Oddly, enough, even with so little sleep, she didn't feel overly fatigued. She'd slept deeply, as though her mind had shut down and rebooted. One thought hit her with force:
There's work to be done.
Shit. I can't lay here all morning. Along with that thought came the memory that Rose Khyber would be here today if Vanessa spoke the truth and there were things to be done before that. She scrambled from bed, throwing her dress in the wash before and taking a shower for as long as she dare and still have time to get ready.
She didn't want a repeat of yesterday. Vanessa wouldn't be happy and, for all Kate knew, she might say that the disrespect was enough to call the whole thing off. Finishing up in time for her dress to complete the wash, she tossed it in the dryer before heading to her closet for another perfectly clean and pressed dress.
Slipping it on and pinning her hair back she had to admit that the dress was comfortable in a way it hadn't even the day before. Yesterday it felt heavy, hot and constricting, but there was little of that today.
It's just what I have to wear to fit in here.
Looking around for it, she found her cotton and lace headgear on the floor facing upward, straps wide apart as if welcoming her to it. Kate had a sudden feeling of...shame?
My outfit has to be perfect like everyone else's or they won't trust me
. She picked it up, studying it to make sure it wasn't wrinkled or dirty.
It seemed all right so she carefully placed it to her head before the mirror just so before beginning to tie the bow. Her hands moved in that subtle and intricate dance as she took time with it, from feeling the fabric against her fingertips to seeing how her actions tightened it around her head, cradling it. And when she pulled the loops of the bow she stopped when it felt the most right.
Checking the clock, she went to the laundry room window at the other end of the house to see Vanessa already walking towards the house. "God, I can't afford to piss her off now," she muttered.
Correctness.
She went quickly to the door to meet her before Vanessa came knocking and maybe saw the bit of a mess in the house had become. She gave a small wave and a smile. "Hi."
Vanessa smiled back and called out, "Hello, Kate."
She waited on the porch for Vanessa to approach the house before planning to just start walking alongside. That had been the plan. Instead, she just found herself standing there under Vanessa's critical gaze, waiting for judgment. "Not wearing the slip on the outside at least."
The comment made her squirm on the inside even if she didn't show it.
She gave a curt nod. "You look proper today. Good morning and good job."
Correctness.
She wasn't quite able to hide her happiness at the praise. A quick smile bloomed as she stepped from the porch to make pace as they headed to the cows. Kate carefully composed her thoughts before speaking. "I...just wanted to say that I'm sorry for getting as upset last night like I did. It just..felt like you were turning everything around on me when all of this isn't about me."
It was clear she was measuring her own words as well."Well, this is my home and everyone in the community is someone I love. That may have made me a bit," she groped for the word, "testy. But, if this is going to happen, I want my life and the people I love to get a fair shake. It upset me because what you see as a little thing that no one should care about, I see as a sign of your bias."
"You avoid your own name because, in your own words here and in your internet world it's 'quaint,' 'old-fashioned,' and 'ridiculous in this day and age and makes you sound like a dress-weaving spinster.' So things you deem quaint and old-fashioned are also ridiculous."
"The former can absolutely describe my life and those of everyone else here. In the face of that, I don't think I can be faulted for pointing that out."
Correctness.
Kate shook her head."You sure do sound like you were a lawyer."
She laughed a hearty laugh. "Told you so."
"But...can you talk to your husband like that?"
"Of course, I can. He doesn't want an empty little thing. He wants my skills and gifts as much as he does my body, my love, and my obedience."
Correctness.
"That last bit," she began as a tingle rushed though her body, sounds almost sexual."
There was a huskiness to her voice as she spoke of it. "It's a complete surrender, Kate. You give yourself to your man. You give yourself to the community. I shed everything else for it, and I'll never regret it. It's more than sexual, but it makes the sex..." Her mind slipped into a warm memory before she cleared her throat and proceeded with her routine."Lord, how it makes the sex."
Kate stayed silent as they entered the barn thinking about all she'd said and how that made her feel. Some of it was probably true. Why not take advantage of conveniences as you found them? Why bother to milk cows when someone else can do it and you can just buy the milk? Why give up everything just so you can wake up before dawn and go to sleep after you've finished dinner? What kind of life is that?
Bad thoughts.
Kate almost just stopped in her tracks at the barn door when she realized that Vanessa was right, at least a little. She was coming in with her own biases and, if she wasn't careful, she was actually going to write the article that Vanessa feared...that they all feared.
She's right and I have to be fair.
Correctness.
They both found their place and set up their stools. Vanessa lubricated her hands as she spoke. "You were right to stop when you did. It doesn't really matter why. None of us were in the best mood for it just then and no one said things they might have regretted today. Thank you, Kate, I'm proud of you for your maturity."
Correctness.
The warm feeling that ran through her at the praise felt like the hug from the night before that she was too angry to really feel. It was warm and sweet and simply made her purely happy. She let it ebb before speaking again. "I'd like to think I have my moments."
She fell into the routine of milking; the rhythm of her fingers drawing down the teats and the high pitch of the milk tinkling against the metal as it slowly filled the bucket. She flushed at the thought of the question, but asked it anyway. "So the sex is good, huh?"
"Now we're getting to the crux of your article?"