Chapter 14

I prayed the Confederacy wouldn’t be too late. Or too early. One minute later and with no sign of Mr Evans that I could see, the lights went up, the music stopped, and a loud voice came over the microphone.

“Ladies and Gentlemen. My name is Paul Morris and I’m from the Confederacy. As I understand it most of you know that this collection is specifically for you, and again, as I understand it, there is no one here who isn’t part of a pre-arranged group. Is that correct?” I found the speaker. He seemed big. But he was also dressed in a suit rather than a uniform, which I would have expected. I suddenly realised I’d seen him around for the last half hour or so and had just assumed he was hotel staff.

The room was silent for just a moment, but then a small number of people began to talk. Probably about a quarter of the room hadn’t realised this was to be a collection.

Then a male voice spoke up above the start of the clamour. “I won’t be going, I’m just here to congratulate my students and to wish them well for the future.”

We all turned to see Mr Lewison stroll forwards, smiling broadly. He stopped in front of me.

“Hello Mr Simpson. And Mrs Simpson.”

It was the first time anyone had addressed Sandra as Mrs Simpson and she loved it.

“Hello sir,” I gasped.

“You may not realise this,” he said softly, “but Mrs Clarke has kept me almost fully informed of what has happened, and I am very grateful to you both for helping Miss Evans in the way that you have.” He smiled slightly. “Andrea didn’t tell me she would be going with you until ten minutes ago. You are a very lucky young man.” He winked at me cheekily before turning to Sandra. “And you Mrs Simpson have a wonderful young man for a husband. I believe you will make him an equally wonderful wife.” He grinned at me. “Possibly a better wife than he deserves?” Sandra laughed. He shook my hand and then gave Sandra a hug and a kiss. “Congratulations and good luck to you both.”

He went around all his pupils to wish them well; actually most of them had begun to approach him. He shook the guys hands and gave the girls a kiss and wished everyone all the very best of luck. When he approached Talulah, he slowed for a moment and took her arm, walking her a few paces to one side. What he said to her I never found out, but when he had finished she reached up and gave him a big hug. She had a hint of tears and a smile on her face when she returned.

Paul Morris strode forwards. “Now. According to the AI we have twelve sponsors in the room. I’m hoping you all know who you are, so can those twelve people come to the front please. Everyone else please remain where you are.”

“I’m very proud of all my students’” called Mr Lewison as I made my way to the front of the room. “And my staff.” He gave a slightly mocking smile. “Though I might have hoped I wasn’t going to lose three teachers on the same day.”

Earlier in the week another of the teachers had been forced to back out, though quite why we didn’t know. The two girls who had agreed to be his concubines, who were also students at the school, were still present, so technically we were now a couple of potential concubines over.

There was gentle laughter around the room and soon afterwards there were eleven people alongside me. Including, not that far away, Bondy’s mother. So his father wasn’t trying to push her to one side as we, I, had assumed from the conversations at the start of the year.

Paul Morris went from one end of the line to the other, checking his list, and asking each person if they had all their concubines. Tee was standing next to me, looking slightly alarmed. “Where’s my father,” she whispered.

“Last I saw he was in the loo, too drunk to even pee properly. That was only five minutes ago. He’s probably still there.”

She looked at me in surprise. “Really?”

I nodded and smiled at her. “It was planned that way right from the start.”

The look of relief on her face was almost too embarrassing to see. I realised that in the past, even at her most relaxed, she had still been very highly stressed. She gave me a hug. “Thank you. You really don’t know what that means to me.”

No,” I said softly. “But we all care about you. This whole day was planned very explicitly for you and for Amber.”

“So you getting married...” she started in shock.

“Oh no. That was very real.”

“Oh. Oh. Wow.” She smiled at me in a way that might have knocked my socks off once upon a time. She truly was a beautiful girl.

“You are very, very welcome,” I said softly.

“Bondy?” she asked slowly.

I nodded. “And Sandra and Mrs Clarke. Adam and John weren’t in on it until quite late, the same with Sandra’s parents.”

“Oh heavens,” she whispered.

I watched as Mrs Clarke walked over to Paul. He listened and nodded as she spoke to him.

“All right,” I heard him say. “You have ten minutes, then I have to start the ball rolling.”

Mrs Clarke approached me and Talulah. She looked at me. “Have you told Tee what we were discussing?” she asked me.

“No Miss.”

She smiled at me. “I think, from now on, you had better call me Andi. Or Andrea if you prefer, but I prefer Andi.”

She tuned to Talulah and her face went grave. “Do you have two concubines love?”

“No M ... er,”

Andi smiled. “Andi, to you too.”

Talulah nodded gratefully.

“Any?”

“Um. Anahita, but I can’t ... oh, yes I can.”

Andi nodded and took a deep breath. “We know some of what you have experienced with your father these last years, so we are not pressuring you to take a man. There are two men here,” she beckoned the two male teachers to her, “who will go with you as a concubine, forgoing their own sponsor status to support you. If you don’t want either of them they’ll be going as sponsors in their own right. Alternatively you can take two women, but that may not be totally acceptable for very long. A third option is to renounce your sponsor status but we all think it’s a very bad idea indeed and we all oppose it. The fourth option, and the one I would recommend, is that you take two females, or maybe even only one, but then share a pod with another sponsor. So two sponsors in one household.”

“Is that even allowed?”

“Yes. John and Adam will be doing it.”

“Oh. Erm. Oh. I don’t know. If I joined with a bloke, would I have to sleep with him?”

“No, but at some point in the future you would almost certainly be expected to get pregnant. Even female sponsors are required to reproduce.”

“Can I choose who I share with?”

“Of course you can, but can I make a recommendation?”

Talulah nodded slowly.

“Sandra has been your closest friend and confidant for a very long time. You’ve told her a lot and she’s stood by you. I believe she knows more than she’s ever let on, and she’s told us a lot. She wanted to go with you, to support and help you, and is now in a real quandary. She is in love with Toby here and wants to go with him, but she is also your best friend and really wants to help you more than you know. She really doesn’t want to leave Toby, but for your sake she would. Why don’t you go with her?”

“That means sharing with Toby.”

“Yes.”

“And his other concubines.”

“Yes.”

“I don’t even know who they all are?”

“Do you know any of them?”

“Um. Sandra, obviously. Neeka. Um. Oh. No. I don’t know the others. Yet I’m sure I did.”

“Carla is a neighbour of mine. She’s a nice girl but you probably won’t know her.”

“Oh. Who’s the fourth? Is that also someone from outside school?”

Andi glanced at me and I nodded.

“Me.”

Tee’s jaw hit the ground. “What?” she finally managed to get out.

“I have agreed to go with Toby. What that means is that if you come and share with Sandra and Toby, you’ll also be sharing with me.”

“Oh. Oh.” Talulah still looked totally shell-shocked.

“Please come with me?” I said softly. “You will still be a sponsor in your own right, so you don’t have to do anything with me that you don’t want to. But you will have Sandra’s support, and mine, and Mrs ... and Andrea’s. We don’t truly know what you went through, we can’t really know, but we know we can help you. You just have to tell us how.”

After a long few seconds Talulah nodded, “Okay,” she whispered. She looked at me. “That doesn’t mean I want to have sex with you.”

I smiled. “You’re not coming with me to have sex, but to be near friends. Friends plural.”

Tee finally smiled. “Agreed.” After a moment she added, “but I only have one concubine. Can I get another?”

“If there’s one available,” Andi said softly. “Male or female?”

“Female. But if there isn’t one available, don’t worry.”

Andi smiled and gave Tee a hug, then walked over to the Confederacy representative. Sandra had had her arm around Tee for the last five minutes. Now it turned into a full hug, Tee holding on to her best friend like she was a life-raft.

While we had been waiting, people had been nibbling the food. The bar was outside the quarantine zone though, so the only drinks available had been the ones already inside.

“All set,” I heard her tell him.

“Good.”

“But,” I heard her start to say, then her voice got just too quiet to hear.

I saw him nod.

There was a pounding noise outside the door to the room, and now we could hear shouting, but we couldn’t make out the words.

“Daddy!” Exclaimed Amber. “He’s locked out. Someone let him in.”

“Sorry miss,” said Paul. “If he’s outside then that’s his problem. He’ll have to go another time.” He turned and looked at the rest of us and his voice somehow became amplified again.

“Can all concubines go and stand with their sponsor please.”

I saw Mr Lewison approach a slightly panicky Amber and say something to her. Again I didn’t hear what he said, but I later found out that he’d told her he would look after her father and try to make sure he got what he deserved. Amber relaxed after that and thanked him, obviously not actually understanding what she had been told. Mr Lewison went to the back of the room and stood watching.

Soon there were twelve sponsors, all with people standing behind them. Tee was not the only one with just one concubine, both of the male teachers who had made it had just one, but there were also eight girls, all students from our school, standing to one side. A number of people had looked at me with envy when Andi had come and stood with me. To make it absolutely clear that she really was with me, she had linked arms with me and Sandra, standing between us. After a few moments I had moved her around so that I was between them.

Paul looked a bit surprised at the number of girls who were standing away from a sponsor. He looked at Andi and nodded, a resigned look on his face. Then turned to his notes. “Talulah Evans. I’m told you need another female concubine. These are the ones available right now. If you don’t want any of these, then we’ll have another look when we get on board ship. There may be a few spare from other collections.” He beckoned her over, smiling warmly at her. I don’t know how much he knew, but it was very obvious he knew something.

Talulah spent a number of minutes talking to the girls. Every now and again one would break off from the group and make her way to stand behind one of the male teachers. I suddenly realised what was happening.

By agreement, the men had voluntarily offered some of their concubines for Talulah to choose from, so when she rejected them they went to their original sponsor. The teachers obviously knew at least something of Tee’s plight, but I suspected the girls didn’t. Only that she needed help.

Tee eventually shook her head and thanked the last few girls, before heading back to her spot beside me. In front of Anahita.

There were now four girls left including Amber and a girl I knew, Leah Walters. I’d have been happy to have taken Leah at one point, but like all of that particular cadre of girls, she was an incredible gossip. In her case though she was at least a funny one. I recognised the other two, but I didn’t know them. I had an idea both were year twelve students.

Adam walked over to them and invited Amber and Leah to join him. Adam was quite a good looking lad, so Amber, who didn’t know he was gay, nodded immediately. Leah was less certain, but after some quiet words from Adam, nodded.

“Is anyone else short a concubine?” Called Paul.

No one answered.

Paul went over to the last two girls and spoke to them briefly. One nodded her head while the other shook it. Paul directed her to go and stand with Mr Lewison, before talking briefly with the first girl again. He beckoned one of the two male teachers over, they spoke, and then the teacher went back to his concubines, taking the girl with him.

“Why didn’t you want to take your sister?” I asked Tee softly.

“We don’t get on all that well, and I really don’t think she’d do very well in this group. She’d be better off with Adam and John.”

I nodded. It was basically what Mrs Clarke had said weeks ago.

“Right,” began Paul. “First rule of collection. All concubines must go aboard ship naked. Once there, their sponsor, their owner, can permit them to dress in whatever he or she wants. So concubines, strip. Now.”

“When you’ve stripped,” I told my concubines before they moved, “pick up all your clothes and carry them with you. As soon as we are on board get dressed again. I’m not going to look at you until you are dressed. Okay?”

Paul heard me and came over to me. “Er. Why have you just done that?”