Chapter 55

"God ... what time is it?" Margo whispered as she awoke in the living room, curled up in between Jackie and Candy.

No one answered her, but bright light was beaming in around the edges of the window blinds and under the door. There were sounds in the kitchen, but no coffee smell. In the minds of most of the family, that meant it was 'too damn early', no matter what the time.

She crawled out of the mass of people sleeping quite close together and into the clear edges of the room, where she grabbed a windowsill and pulled herself to her feet. Staggering slightly, she made her way into the kitchen.

The counter had plates of bread, fruit and cheese laid out, with carafes of apple, cranberry and orange juice in buckets of ice.

Tamara smiled at her from the footstool she was standing on as she looked in the cabinet for cinnamon.

"Good morning, Margo, how are you?"

"Awake ... kinda sorta ... why is there no coffee?"

"Didn't want to turn it on before at least one of you was awake ... the smell of coffee tends to wake people up."

"What time is it?"

"10:00 AM."

Margo walked over and pushed the button on the coffee machine.

"Time for all God's chillun to be waking up, I need coffee, dammit."

"Thank you for the great waffles, Usagi ... they tasted different than Mom's though, what did you do to them?" Jason asked.

"Well, does your mother add vanilla extract to them?"

"I don't think so."

"That's probably it then. I'm glad you enjoyed them. Now, what do you generally do on a Saturday morning?"

"Uh ... hide in my room and play on my computer ... Mom's a little freakier on weekends."

"Hmm ... not too surprising actually. Let's give our food a while to settle and then go outside. I'll show you some simple aikido kata."

"Is that like karate or kung fu?"

"Not exactly, but somewhat, yes. It'll be fun. Then maybe some Frisbee ... you do have a Frisbee, yes?"

"Sure!"

Harry was glad that at home he generally favored smoking dope to drinking ... it meant his mornings didn't start with a hangover nearly as often as they had. The thought of having to disentangle himself from Carol, wake Camille and get her moving so he could get out of bed and to the bathroom while dodging Piglet on the floor when hung-over was something too painful to contemplate.

As it was, it merely felt like performing an Olympic gymnastics routine on a bum leg, with no warm-up, naked and half-blind.

"You know Camille, we could take you off the chain at night, so you wouldn't have to wake up when I do," he said, as they sat side-by-side on the toilets.

"I'm sorry sir, are you particularly in the mood to invite the wrath of your wife, Kelly? I'm not."

"Good point ... I'm just sorry that you're going to be shackled to me for God and the Queen alone know how long."

"Sir," she said, something in her voice making him turn to look at her, 'I'm not sorry at all. I made an error, without thinking, that put this family at risk. I did so in spite of all my best intentions, and as punishment goes, this is easy and dare I say, fun." She smiled in relief as her bladder let loose. "From what I gather from the others, in a lot of Houses, my mistake would have me being treated like Piglet. Her offense would've merited much, much worse punishment." She leaned over and kissed Harry's cheek. "You and your entire House are very kind and very sweet, and don't you ever forget it, sir."

Margo sat on the deck in the back yard and blearily surveyed the back yard, waiting for her coffee.

When Jackie brought it out to her and sat down next to her, she asked, "Madam, is there anything wrong, other than it being too early the morning after a delightful orgy?"

"It's too damn small."

"Excuse me, Madam?"

"The yard ... the house ... all of it. It's too damn small."

"I understood that to be the reason you were buying up the block."

Margo took a heavy slurp of her coffee.

"Let me try this again in English," she said, smiling tightly. "The house and yard are too small for the freak and deviant party in a little less than two weeks."

"Ah, now I understand..." Jackie looked around the yard. "Okay, yeah — from what I've been told, way too small."

"I'd be majorly pissed off, but it really took the neighborhood party to put a sense of scale on the thing," Margo said. "Plus, it doesn't fucking help that every time I turn around, the gawddamn guest list is growing by leaps and bounds."

"There are times you really sound like Harry, Eddie and Karen," Jackie observed. "That was one of them."

Margo grimaced in her general direction.

Lisa wandered out, running her fingers through her hair in a futile attempt to tame it.
"Four dicks in the house last night, Mistress Rochelle gets three of them and I don't get even one."

"Well, she was our guest," Margo said, chuckling. "Is she awake yet?"

"Yeah — she let Mike go to the bathroom before she pounced on his cock, but it was a close thing. They're going at it like newlyweds in the middle of the living room."

Carol and Dayna came out with their coffee, a small tray of fruit and one of the household's pipes.

"Morning hit, anyone?" she asked after she'd sat down.

Everyone shook their heads, but Jackie said, "Madam needs one — first thing in the morning and she's obsessing about the freaks party in two weeks."

She looked at Margo apologetically.

"Not to say there doesn't need to be thought and discussion and a plan of action worked out, but first thing in the morning, Madam?"

"Yeah, well..."

"What's wrong, Madam?" Dayna asked, sipping from her cup.

"The house and yard aren't big enough," Carol replied. "Yeah, wife, I noticed it too. The place was packed pretty tightly with all the neighbors and the freaks party will have two to three times as many people ... maybe more."

"Another thing," Lisa said, "even with no one trying to be too particularly noisy yesterday, it got real loud back here. More people, more inebriated and stoned people, having sex — and doing other things as well — if I was a neighbor, I'd end up calling the police to quiet us down, even if you sent subs over to fuck me. It's gonna run late and it's gonna run loud."

"Has anyone seen my darling husband?" Margo asked. "He needs to be in on this ... so does Kelly."

"Harry had Piglet sucking his dick — she had to get him off before she could go to the bathroom," Carol replied, "and Kelly was still cuddled up asleep with Karen and Patricia."

"Jackie," Margo said, "go see if he's finished and nudge Kelly in the ribs, get them out here if you would, please?"

"Yes Madam."

Dayna was quietly chuckling to herself.

"Something amusing?" Carol asked, smiling.

"Yes ... but it will wait till your spouses are all here."

A few moments later, Harry limped out, Camille at his side, Piglet trailing behind.

"Camille," he said, unhooking her, "take Piglet and get her fed and watered, then come right back."

"Yes sir."

"Begging Master's pardon, Piglet would like to know when she will be allowed to climax." Gloria asked.

Harry turned and looked at her, nothing happy in his expression.

"When I say you may, and that's now been pushed back to next Sunday. Would you care to irritate me again and see if I can delay it even further? I'm betting I can."

"No sir," she said, tears leaking from her eyes. She turned and followed Camille into the house.

"Pardon my ignorance, but how will I know if she masturbates, gets fucked by every frat boy at the university or remains chaste?" Harry asked, firing up the hot tub.

"She'll tell you," Carol said. "She'll practically beg to tell you if she doesn't obey you, and she'll be too proud to keep it in if she does. I think she will obey — she doesn't seem to be as high-maintenance as Marcie Hurley."

"Yeah," Margo agreed, "from what I got from Laurie, that bitch isn't happy unless she's in the doghouse, or just barely out of it. We ever get someone like that in the House, I don't know what I'm going to do. All of us are too damn busy to give someone that kind of attention."

Harry sat on the edge of the tub as it warmed up and rubbed on his leg above the brace. He winced as he did so, despite his best efforts to hide it.

"Lisa, go call Helen and ask her to come over if she's not otherwise occupied — and for what we'll be paying her, tell her to get here even if she is," Margo snapped, standing up and walking over to her husband. "How bad is it this morning, my love?"

"Bad enough that I'm strongly considering letting you take the girls and go to Danny de Vere's without me. Maybe if I'm very good and don't piss it off too much in the next two days I can manage a full day at work Tuesday and not have to hit the major pain drugs the second I get home. Wouldn't you like having a sentient husband?"

"Very much so, although my smartass side would like you to tell me when you find me one," Margo answered, smiling.

The two of them laughed together.

Carol said, "Margo, either you or Kelly should stay home with Harry while the rest of us go shopping-"

"Pardon me, Carol, but it should be Kelly — Margo and I have a date this afternoon, although she doesn't know it yet," Dayna said. "I have no need to go shopping; I will wear whatever collar you choose."

"What about a ring?" Margo asked.

"Again, any design that Carol chooses. I will give her my ring size before we leave."

"Speaking of, I'd better go call Danny, tell him we're going to need a chunk of time this afternoon," Carol said, hopping up.
"Stay for a moment, please," Dayna interjected. "Kelly should be here soon."

As if her words were prophetic, the back door opened and Kelly shuffled out, nose deep in a cup of coffee. She ambled over and leaned against the tub next to her spouses.

"What the fuck's so important you got me out of a warm lesbian cuddle?"

"The party this weekend demonstrated that the house and yard are not nearly big enough for our party two weeks from now," Margo said. "I want to talk about it, and Dayna sounds like she has something cogent to add to the discussion — hopefully she knows of some place we can rent, or else I don't see any way around canceling it."

"Oh Madam," Dayna chuckled, "don't worry about canceling and don't worry about renting. Don't worry about anything at all other than travel arrangements. I know of a place up in the hill country, overlooking Lake Travis from a beautiful, high bluff, about six acres of manicured lawns, gardens, fountains — pool about three times the size of this one, hot tub isn't as big but there are four of them, a home built to resemble a very large, rambling French farm house, one story, eight bedrooms, five-and-a-half baths, all of this maintained by a staff of four."

She smiled, "And all you have to do to rent it for the weekend is ask."

"Ask who?" Margo said, intrigued.

"One of the Kaiser family — they're the ones who own it ... but they're not in residence there except for two or three weeks out of the year, generally in February or March."

"Dayna, I don't know any of the Kaiser family," Margo replied.

"Oh my dear Madam, you do ... you know the current generation's black sheep — Dana Kaiser," Dayna replied, looking smug. "What, did you think my last name was really 'Spyderchylde'? I figure you and I can run out there and give it a look this afternoon, see if you find it suitable."

Margo got up and gently hugged the young woman. "You may well be a life saver, Dayna," she said, kissing her. "Get this one a very nice collar and a very pretty ring, Carol."

Rochelle and Mike Lowry drove home like a young couple in love — holding hands, smiling uncontrollably, giggling — so sugary sweet that people in a twenty foot radius of them developed diabetes.

The conversation, however, would've surprised probably all of those same people.

"So, you want us to get two slaves for sure, a man and a woman, and you want at least one of them to be experienced enough to advise you about your new life style?"

"That's it, honey," Rochelle answered. "I still plan on getting lots of advice and guidance from the Grimes and their submissives, but I think they'd look at us like we were crazy if we asked to move in."

"Good point ... although God knows they have a lovely group of submissives."

"Down, Penis-Man, once they've helped us find suitable subs, the three of us will be more than you can handle."

"Yes ma'am, given that you alone are more than I can handle, I think you might be right."

The high bluff-top estate Dayna drove Margo to was indeed perfect. All the way there, about a forty-five minute drive, Dayna had burbled on about the site, so Margo was expecting something that couldn't live up to the expectations Dayna had given her.

It exceeded them. It was everything Dayna had promised and more.

"What about the staff? I'm pretty sure they won't want to be around that afternoon and evening," Margo said as they walked to the deck that overlooked the lake far below.

"They'll take several rooms at a motel, show up when we tell them to the next day ... or the day after that — however long you want it to go on. The last party I held out here lasted a week and by the time the place was restored to normal, repair, restoration and replacement costs had hit about one hundred and thirty thousand ... I was a very bad girl, and my friends were ... uncultured, you might say. Of course that was almost ten years ago ... and I'm sure the staff haven't forgiven me yet."

"If we have everyone cab to a central location, we can limousine from there to here, have the cars take people back to town when they feel like leaving, those who want to can stay over for breakfast the next morning before going home ... we'll have to pay the caterers a lot more, and the limo service, but other than that ... it should prove to be the party of the year ... I wonder if anyone knows of a live band or DJ that could work the party..."

"Madam, I'd recommend a DJ, with a wide spectrum of musical styles and tastes."

"But not someone who talks over the music or feels they need to actually mix any tracks ... just someone with the equipment and collection to play almost anything our wide and diverse crowd might require. Is there anywhere a dance floor could be set up?"

"Yes Madam, my family does throw parties out here, under the stars. There's a large concrete pad on the south side of the house, we have a portable dance floor that can be put down there and I know of a group of DJs that fits your requirement."

"Let's go look at the pad," Margo said. "Tell me about these DJs."

"I used to work for a local comic book company for the fuck of it — I was their whole marketing department - and they did a lot of science fiction conventions. Generally, if these cons even had a dance, it was lousy, but there was a group that did exactly what you're looking for, and had the library to support a crowd of any age and taste. They called themselves Radio Free Mordor — yeah, they're geeks — and they're probably still around. Let me see if I can track them down."

They reached the pad and Margo was stunned. "Dayna, you said 'large', you didn't say 'ginormous' ... this thing must be-"

"One hundred by one-twenty ... the parties my family throws tend to be big. We've entertained Presidents out here, although I'm thinking we won't need anywhere near the whole pad, so we can put tables and chairs around the edges."

"All right ... we've got two weeks to set up travel arrangements, get everyone notified of the change, and arrange the extras ... we can do that," Margo said with determination.

"Yes we can, Madam ... I'll get started on my part tomorrow."

Kelly smiled — it was that particular smile that all submissives under her care learned very quickly to fear, a cold, evil smile that left no doubt in anyone's mind that their day was about to get worse than it had been previously.

Piglet didn't know it yet, but even so it unnerved her as she hung on the whipping post awaiting her punishment.

Ten lashes on the back of her thighs later, she had held her piss in by sheer force of will and with tears flowing down her cheeks, gratefully crawled to the bathroom where she squatted above the toilet seat to avoid sitting on her fresh stripes and peed. It would have felt euphoric except for Mistress Kelly standing in front of her while she did so.

"See, I knew you could be trained, you filthy little cunt! The next time you make a mess like that it will be twenty across the backs of your thighs, then twenty-five, and so on. Now, dry your fucking eyes, get dressed and go home to your son."

As she was doing so, Harry had a few words for her.

"From now on, if you're here with your son, by invitation, then we're going to show you every measure of respect we'd show any guest. When you're here by yourself, you're Piglet. Be sure to warn your son that he does not want to show up here without warning when you're here, or he will see things he probably won't like. I'm sorry, but that's the way we're going to play it. And no matter what, if you're over here working off your debt, then it damn well better be an emergency for him to want to come over here. That's part of why we gave him the list of numbers. If he's simply bored or lonely, there are plenty of people willing to help him with that, and he can go to either Karen and Patricia's or Eddie and Tamara's if he just needs to get out of the house for awhile. You really don't want him interrupting our time together for less than a real emergency. Now go home and send Usagi back here, immediately."

Helen worked on Harry's leg as he sat in the hot tub. Kelly was molesting Camille because Helen was busy and didn't swing that way.

"Helen, do you know how much sex you'd get if you decided to walk both sides of the street?" Harry asked, wincing as she manipulated his knee.

"Well, more than I do now, that's a certainty," she said, letting her fingers map what was going on beneath his skin, "but on the other hand, I'm quite happy with the amount of sex I'm getting right now. Between Billy and you, I feel more than taken care of."

"Silly bitch, doesn't know what she's missing," Kelly murmured as she humped Camille's leg.

"Perhaps not, Mistress Kelly," Helen replied, "but I'm happy with the way things are."

"Mom, are you okay?" Jason asked as his mother limped into their home.

"Physically, not exactly, but taking it easy the rest of today and a good night's sleep will have me back to normal in the morning," she said, grimacing as she lowered herself onto her couch. "Mentally, emotionally, spiritually — I'm better than I've been since your father passed away. How was your evening and morning?"

As she listened to Jason burble about the fun he'd had with Usagi, she thanked the Great Whatever that she'd decided to be so stupid with just the right group of people.

Usagi was back and drying off from a most welcome shower when the phone rang.

A few moments later, the lovely Japanese woman, still naked, ran out to the hot tub on the deck.

"Master Grimes, a Master Gregory of House O'Shaunnesy is on the phone and wishes to know if he might have an audience with you and/or Madam Grimes this afternoon?"

"Certainly," Harry replied, "tell him I await his convenience."

She returned shortly. "He will be arriving in about five minutes by his calculations."

"Bring him out here when he arrives."

"Yes sir," she replied, running back inside.

"Well, so much for a slow comfortable screw," Kelly said, hopping off of his cock.

"Later, beloved, later."

When Usagi showed Master Gregory's party through the house and on to the back deck, Gregory O'Shaunnessy had to forcibly remind himself that he had that well-known and much-mocked stick up his ass, and that that stick was his problem, not anyone else's.

Harry was waiting for him in the hot tub, Kelly on one side, Camille on the other, taking a hit off a water pipe. Gregory, Mistress Mallon and Pamela, the sub he'd brought to seal the deal, stood before him.

Gregory began, "Master Grimes, I have come-"

"Master Gregory, Mistress Mallon and whoever the lovely young sub is, please, get comfortable. Hop in the tub; let Usagi get you something to drink. Would any of you like a hit off the pipe ... or three?"

Snickering, Dorothy Mallon shucked her clothes, pulled off Pamela's top and yanked down her skirt, revealing she was wearing nothing else but a collar, and hauled Pamela into the hot tub with her.

"I'll take you up on that pipe and a drink. Scotch on the rocks, Usagi."

She looked back at her House's head.

"Greg, you know better, remove stick, remove clothes, get in tub."

She turned back to Harry.

"This is Pamela, Harry. He's Greg and I'm Dorothy. Now that my Head has been reminded how informally you like to do things, maybe we'll finally get something done."

She threw a leg over Harry, snuggled into his lap and kissed him - and if his cock hadn't still been semi-hard from Kelly's teasing ministrations, that would have taken care of the issue.

Dorothy hopped off, grinning. "Remember Boss-man, no inappropriate relations with employees."

"You are a bitch, my dear," Harry replied. "What does Greg drink, Dorothy?"

She looked at the patiently waiting Usagi. "A screwdriver for Master Gregory, Usagi, light on the screw."

As she scurried off to the kitchen, Gregory finally got his clothes off and slowly eased himself into the tub.

"Master Grimes," he began again.

Dorothy punched him in the arm.

"Harry," he said, cutting Dorothy a dirty look, "my apologies ... I meant to be at Dominique's Friday night to ally my House with yours, but a family matter kept me away. If you'd like, I can certainly wait until a more public occasion to do this, but I'm prepared to do so now if that's your wish."

"Now's just fine, Greg," Harry said. "Showing up with us at the club next Friday night is all the public acknowledgement I think we'll need. Hopefully everything is all right with your family?"

Gregory looked at him, surprised, and smiled. "Yes ... yes it is. Thank you for your concern." He sobered again. "I formally ask to ally my House with yours and under yours, to be — OW!" he barked as Dorothy elbowed him again.

Dorothy laughed, "Stick ... ass. Harry, he's got a terminal case of formality and I'm afraid dealing with House O'Shaunnessy will require regular doses of patience with that."

"Yeah," Harry replied, "and I'm afraid, Greg, that dealing with us is going to try your patience in the other direction. Of course we accept, gladly. Now, hopefully you brought Pamela to seal the deal?" he said, eyeing the pretty brunette.

"Yes, yes we did," Gregory replied, grinning in spite of himself.

"Camille, you're off the chain. Go seal our alliance with Greg. You, my dear," Harry said as Pamela tentatively moved towards him, "come here and let me whisper dirty words into your ears."

Kelly slid over to Dorothy. "I don't work for G&P, so I'm not thinking there are any employer/employee issues, are there, Dorothy?"

"Not a one," Dorothy Mallon replied, pulling Kelly onto her lap. "Thank God."

Danny de Vere's was located in a freeway-side strip mall between a furniture rental and a Mongolian barbecue restaurant. From the outside, it might have been mistaken for a bar or a "gentleman's club", as the windows were covered and the only sign simply read "Danny de Vere's — For Adults Only".

Inside, however, it was clear it was a jewelry store, but not one that any mundane looking for an engagement ring would find comprehensible. Slave collars, slave rings, ear rings, nose rings, nipple rings, rings to put in every kind of piercing imaginable and some that weren't imaginable. They were available individually or connected in any combination by lengths of fine chain — the possible permutations, displayed on mannequins, took up one entire side of the store. Unlike Tattie's inventory, which did have some very subtle pieces suitable for use as collars on display, de Vere's had a plethora - subtle, unsubtle and oh-my-God blatant - all for prices that didn't start at four figures.

And then there was Danny de Vere himself. From his tattoos, piercings, hairstyle, Kodiak-bear-like-size, face and great bushy beard, you'd have thought Danny was a biker — a biker from some particularly nasty gang that made the Angels and Bandidos look like Brownie troops.

All of that conflicted with his Italian-made suits, his mellow and kindly bass voice and unfailing politeness — and none of that changed in the least his past affiliation with Rage Hammer, a Norse/pagan biker gang. Danny had decided to leave them when he met the Puerto Rican woman he would make his wife, Jomayra, and still remained on civil terms with them, even making club-distinctive jewelry for them at a discounted price.

Danny had seen many groups come into his store before, Dominants and submissives of every size, shape, creed, color and economic background.

His store had never been invaded by a group such as hit the door that day.

Carol, Jackie, Lisa, Sheila, Nicki, Billy, Candy, Galena, Andrea, Karen, Patricia, Andrea, Eddie, Tamara — and coming from a different part of town, Dommi and her three subs, Ricky, Christian and Deanna ... his store was packed and they were all from one House.

"Carol, it's been too long, I was so pleased to get your call, how may I help House Chorale today?"

"Well Danny, new collars for several recent acquisitions, and slave rings ... twenty-seven, two custom designs, one for Dominants, one for submissives."

"Mmmm ... it's going to take time, and it's going to take money."

"Money we have and time we're willing to pay for ... even more if it's done quickly."

"Twenty-seven slave rings, two different designs, I'm sure you have your own ideas about those ... materials?"

"Silver, ruby, either obsidian, black onyx or hematite — let me make you a sketch."

Forty-five minutes later, designs agreed upon, measurements taken and down payment made, the group was ready to head out with the collars they'd purchased and a promise that the rings would be ready by the following Friday.

"Danny," Carol said, I know it's rather late notice, but are you doing anything vital two weeks from yesterday, the Saturday after next? We're having a get-together and we'd love to see you and Jomayra there."

"Nothing I can't cancel for a good party."

"I'll send you the information. See you Friday."

"So, how are you feeling about last night?" Patricia asked Karen as she killed massive amounts of pixels in "Halo 2" on the Xbox.

Karen paused the game. "Conflicted ... I mean, I really enjoyed it — it reminded me of some of the things that would happen in the bad old days when we'd close down a bar ... except I remember a lot more of last night and don't have a brain-paralyzing hangover this morning. Well, and there was never a guy close enough to stick his tongue where it didn't belong.

"On the other hand ... Trish, if I lose you, for any reason, I've lost everything. I'll keep going, mostly because those people across the street won't let me stop ... but what if they're the ones I lose you to?"

"Liz, let's look at that carefully. One, they'd have to want me. They do. Two, I'd have to want them. I don't ... at least, not that way, since I have you. Three, they'd have to be willing to hurt you terribly by taking me. They aren't. Four, I'd have to hate you more than I can imagine to go to them. I don't — I didn't hate you that much when I left you before. I just couldn't live with someone I adored who only let me have the scraps of her life. Five ... well, there is no five, but you see the confluence of events it would take for me to leave you for them? I'd have to want to, they'd have to want to hurt you by accepting me, I'd have to want to hurt you so badly that it would be kinder to just kill you.

"Liz, how likely is all that to happen? I know, sex is never as simple as we think it ought to be, and people's heads get messed up when they fuck, they start thinking in terms of ownership and jealousy gets involved but ... that's silly here. You own me, Liz. Body and soul, from now until the end of our lives, I'm yours. Thanks to our shopping today, I wear a collar now, until the end of my days, which testifies to that fact. By the end of this week, I'll be wearing a ring that says the same thing.

"I promise you, the very day I start feeling "in love" with any of them is the very day I stop playing with them."

Karen looked down at the game controller in her hand.

"I suppose that will have to be enough ... all right, we play. But there are going to be nights when I don't feel like it-"

"And you let me know that, Karen Elizabeth Pinard, and we'll leave together, come home, and do whatever. See, I know you're trying Liz, you're trying very hard, and I'm more than willing to work with you and be patient with you — because I do love you more than I've ever loved anyone else. We'll be fine, you'll see. And when we're not, we'll work on it till we are."