Chapter 57

The club closed at 2 AM ... House Chorale was still there.

The pizzas were delivered by 2:45.

4 AM rolled around and most of Chorale's allies had taken their new charges and gone home. Cornelius and Newton were still there, as either was more than happy to take any potential troublemakers.

By 5, Minerva, Hans, Andre and Puppy had taken their seven guests and gone home. All that were left were Karghold Newton's ten and Carol was trying desperately to get a read on the last three of them who'd been put in the 'not sure' group.

"Sweetie," Vida Newton said, "please ... enough. Let time tell the tale. It doesn't matter, we're running all of them out to the ranch tomorrow. They'll be where they can't hurt anyone. Let it go."

Carol's face was haunted. "What if I'm wrong ... what if I've let someone through who hurts one of our allies?"

"Then, dear woman, we'll all throw up our hands," Thad said, "and in a mighty chorus proclaim 'Shit Happens' and fix whatever needs fixing. Really, Carol, none of us are crazy enough to pull these refugees to our bosoms without reservations – even the ones you gave a green light to."

"It's one of those rare times when my husband knows what he's talking about," Vida said. "I'd listen to him. Margo, take this poor girl home and soothe her mind. You have a party tomorrow; Madame Cornelius is going to be looking for alternate arrangements for as many of these as she can. Everything will be fine. We'll probably see you sometime next week. Good night everyone."

"A very good idea," Harry said. "Let's get out of here, go home, get some sleep. There's not much more we can do tonight."

The two that had gone home with Karen, Patricia, Galena and Andrea, a handsome young man named Patrick Conrad and a matronly woman with soft curves and a sprinkling of grey in her hair named Martha Morton, had been settled into the Galena's old bedroom at the rear of the house after she'd quickly moved her things out.

As the last load had been hauled into Andrea's room, she'd smiled at her submissive. "It's not like I'm spending much time there anyway."

On the way home, the four of them had gotten some of the submissives' histories. Patrick was 25 and had been born and raised in a House in San Antonio. The very thought had boggled Karen's mind.

"You mean you never had a chance to leave, to go out and live the life you wanted to?" she'd asked.

"I could have left at any time, still can," Patrick had replied with a smile, "but I've chosen not to. I like this life. I work hard, and in exchange I'm provided for. The only problem I've ever had with my lifestyle has been in the last eight months. The Master in the House I served got a little jealous of how much time his wife was spending in my arms, as opposed to his. He made my life quite unpleasant and in return ... well, I did what I could to return the favor. When Mistress Fruehauf came calling with the chance to painlessly get rid of me, out I went."

Andrea and Galena had already seen what was under his loincloth and were happy at the prospect of him working hard.

Martha, 37, had always had a submissive streak to her personality, but two very bad marriages, a miscarriage caused by spousal abuse and other personal problems had caused her to retreat into the relative safety of a full-time submissive role by the age of 30 in a House in Houston.

When questioned as to her being discarded by her House, she'd replied, "I'm far from the youngest, newest model ... so I was a drain on the House, unappreciated except for my housekeeping skills. They weren't enough to justify a bed that could be filled with someone fifteen years younger and a lot prettier."

Her whole attitude and demeanor suggested someone beaten down by the world and Galena had decided to do her best to change that.

As she sat in the kitchen with Andrea, Karen and Patricia, she said, "Look, I know you're at least thinking about acquiring some submissives of your own choosing, and I'm sorry no one tonight particularly grabbed your interest. As soon as room opens up in another house on the street, we'll move out and take those two with us, provided they work out. That'll leave you room to find some ladies you do want to make part of your lives."

Karen still looked very unhappy at the whole prospect.

"Not really sure yet I want to even think about that," she grumbled.

"You will, Liz, I promise," Patricia said, patting her on the arm patronizingly. "You just leave this side of our lives to me. I'll work it all out and you'll be much happier not having to deal with it."

Karen cut her a look that in many other couples would've signaled the start of a fight, or at the very least, a serious discussion. Patricia just laughed and kissed her partner.

"You can't scare me, grumpy old bear ... I know you too well."

"Grumpy old bear?" Galena repeated to Andrea, holding in her laughter.

"Not one word, young lady," Karen growled, "or you'll regret it."

"Oh, I'm not going to say a thing," Galena chuckled.

"Neither am I," Andrea agreed.

"At least, not while you're around to hear it, Liz," Patricia finished.

Upon getting home, Harry had ordered Carol to the bath and had a stiff drink and the hookah brought to her there, while Angela was shown where she'd be sleeping for the time being.

Margo told her, "I'm sorry your 'welcome home' will have to wait for awhile, but if you'll let us know what we can do for you, I promise you we'll all do our best to make it memorable."

"Thank you, Madam ... simply being 'home' is enough for now. I can't believe this dream has finally come true."

"Sweetie, you've earned it – we all love you dearly and think the world of you."

In the bathroom, Carol was slowly coming down from a night of high tension. Leaning back against Jackie's ample breasts and belly, Lisa was pressed against Carol's front and the two massaged her body with theirs. The water wasn't too hot and she could feel the circulation of the jets on the few parts of her body that weren't encased in warm, loving flesh.

To Carol, it felt like being back in the womb, at least as long as she kept her eyes closed so as not to spoil the illusion. Periodically Camille passed her drink to her, or put the mouthpiece of one of the pipe's hoses between her lips.

Somewhere in the procedure, Carol fell asleep and scarcely noticed as she was dried off and put to bed.

In the bedroom, Harry talked with Gloria.

"Piglet, you're doing very well. It's time for you to go home to your son. You're both invited to the party tomorrow afternoon, where – remember – you'll be treated as a guest ... unless you choose to incur the House's wrath while you're here. I wouldn't advise it. Anything that takes us away from the party and our friends and co-workers will get you all kinds of bad attention.

"Now, before you go home for the evening, here are your instructions for the week. You will bring yourself almost to the point of release every night this next week – Saturday through Thursday – but you will not allow yourself to orgasm. Should you climax at any point, it'll be five lashes from Kelly, our best whip-wielder, for every time you come. You show up here as soon as possible after you get off work Friday, taking time to stop by home and change, and if you've been good, perhaps someone will help you get off. Now go home, and send Sheila back here. Looks like she and Nicki are staying the night."

"Yes Master," she replied. "My son and I will see all of you tomorrow."

Sheila walked into the bedroom where most of the household were assembled.

"We're going to have to be careful where Jason's concerned," she said, smiling. "He's a cutie, and a perfect gentleman. We sat and watched movies tonight and I think his dick was hard through most of it but he never said or did anything that was in the least bit improper."

"So why are we going to have to be careful?" Nicki asked as she worked on Harry's leg.

"Because as he gets more comfortable with all of us, some of that reserve will melt away and he will try something," Sheila replied.

Candy added her opinion as she tried to work the iron-like knots out of Margo's back. "Happens all the time in the elder Houses – the kids have problems with a "look but don't touch" attitude where the staff is concerned. They grow up rarely seeing their parents less than properly dressed, but the staff can be rather hit-or-miss, depending on the situation. Not to mention that what's going on behind closed doors with their parents and the staff has to be one of the worst-kept secrets in the world – not due to laxity on the parents' part, but kids are curious, clever and conniving. They find a way to peep, and peep they do."

"So ... ow ... that's a damn big knot ... how do they handle it?" Margo asked.

"Depends on the House ... in some, the kids pretty much get sent away to boarding school when they start getting too interested. As soon as they're legal, well – no one tries too hard to stop the predictable from occurring and they're frequently brought home to go to school somewhere close. In other Houses ... take what happened to me for an example. The Master and Mistress came to my room one night and asked me if I would consent to a very quiet relationship with their son, who'd just turned fourteen. They assured me nothing would be said or done that would make any legal complications for me, but Junior was a sneaky, vile little piece of shit and I declined. No big surprise, I got sent elsewhere before the month was out. However, if he hadn't been such a conniving little weasel, I might well have said yes. Although it happens quite a lot, I've never heard of a submissive ending up in legal trouble for taking care of one of the family's children. It would bring far too much attention to the House involved.

"Sometimes, the House's children are given their own submissives, as close to them in age as possible, and they develop a relationship that continues on as the child reaches their maturity. Several of the current Mistresses of some of the elder Houses were raised that way. Plus the pretty little feudal games the major Houses play mean that quite frequently, marriages are for convenience, not love – a carryover from their origins in Europe - so the Master of the House might have his stable of playthings, the Mistress hers ... the only time they really interact with each other is for House business, at scheduled playtimes and in the breeding and raising of their children."

"Jesus, it really is a completely different society hidden in, I hesitate to use the term, 'normal' society," Nicki replied. "I wonder if I could write a story on it..."

"Not if you wanted anyone to talk on the record," Candy said. "Everybody is happy with the way things run – if they're not, they leave, no harm, no foul. As far as the submissives go ... well, we don't live this kind of life because it sounds like a fun little game. We're in this because it fulfills our needs, and why would anyone cut their own throat by saying anything?

"And then, even if you did get the story written ... I think you'd run into a lot of problems getting it in print. While not everyone in power is a player in our society, a lot of them dabble in it from time to time. I mean, come on – who wouldn't want a passive and submissive sex partner for all the dirty little games they'd care to play? Since everyone there is consenting, nobody gets hurt – at least officially – and everyone gets their rocks off. No harm, no foul ... and no story. Of course, getting it out on the internet would be a lot easier ... and win you a lot of enemies."

"What if the children aren't dominant, but are submissive?" Harry asked.

"Then, Master, they're either sent away for their own good or things happen which no one ever discusses. We could discuss theoretical situations, I suppose, but nothing literal."

"What the hell do you mean, Candy?" he replied, exasperation creeping into his voice.

"Oh, say if the son, let's name him 'Danny', of a major House, one we'll call 'Hufrauff', was much more prone to take the knee than the whip, he might spend a lot of time in his mother's chambers ... let's call her 'Betty' ... where he'd be taught all the ways of pleasing a Dominant. In fact, that child might be taught by both parents all they'd ever need to know about being a submissive. And then when that child reached seventeen, he might be given to another House, let's say one called 'Sacker', as a sign of undying friendship. But in those hypothetical situations, that child would rarely be trained by anyone other than their parents or other blood relatives – too much risk in about eighteen different ways if they were. If it ever happens, it's kept very secret, even from the rest of the House. Supposedly, such hypothetical situations are very rare ... supposedly. But if such things should ever happen, it would be with the full consent of the children involved, and they're free to leave at any time ... at least in theory. Being raised in a major House comes with its own forms of mental programming and subtle coercion."

Various sounds of unhappiness and disgust filled the bedroom.

"But wait ... before you get too judgmental," Candy continued, "think about it. You're planning on having children, and raising them in your little compound here. I know you're going to be very careful, try to keep playtime and family time as separate as possible, but get real – there's going to be mistakes and problems and 'oopsies' galore. What do you plan to do when - not if but when - one of your kids wants to play? Gonna keep 'em around here, let 'em see but not touch? Gonna ship 'em off? And what are you going to do if one of them bends the knee and asks to serve?"

Candy shifted down to work on Margo's lower back.

"Those are the kind of things a major House needs to consider," she continued. "Because trust me, they will come up. And you are positioning yourself as a major House."

The bedroom was quiet for quite some time after that.

When Li Kuan came home at about 6 AM, Madame Cornelius was waiting for her.

"I assume little Ramon has joined Mr. Carter?" she asked.

Li Kuan shrugged out of her costume and hit her knees in a submissive position in one fluid motion.

"Yes Madame," she replied.

"No more, Li Kuan – at least not for a while."

"I obey, Madame, but it is perfectly safe, there is no way-"

"Li Kuan," Minerva Cornelius snapped, "I do not want details, not now, not ever. All that I require ... all that I demand," she continued as her voice softened, "is that you be careful. You know full well that if something were to happen to you..."

Li Kuan reached up and stroked her Madame's cheek gently.

"Yes Madame, I know, and I am very careful for just that reason ... and because I would be lost without you as well."

The next morning Harry had come awake suddenly, his mind filling with thoughts raised by the conversation the night before. He rolled over and faced the center of the bed, Camille cuddled up to his back. He could tell she was somewhat awake, but she seemed unwilling to become fully conscious.

He found himself staring at Nicki, her eyes bright and wide open.

"You've been thinking about being wicked Aunt Nicki who gets to train all the young ones, haven't you?" he whispered.

"A little ... not literally – that's a bit too real for me at this point – but as a fantasy? Oh, you betcha," she replied softly. "It's got me all hot and bothered ... wanna help me with that?"

"If you do," came Kelly's disgruntled voice from Nicki's other side, "take this girl too, would you? It's way too early for horny blondes."

"I'll remind you that you said that someday," Angela whispered.

"Go away woman," Kelly groaned, "let me get some more sleep."

"Do you need to hit the john?" Nicki whispered.

Harry jiggled his hips a little.

"Nope, still good."

After a minimum of shifting around, Harry found himself on his back – Angela on his cock and Nicki on his face.

He reflected that life was pretty good, despite his recent dreams and the sense of foreboding they brought ... so he waited for the other shoe to drop as he enjoyed his morning fun.

Out of deference to her friends and potential allies, Madame Minerva Cornelius waited until noon to begin calling around to find more permanent homes for some of the cast-offs Wilma Fruehauf had gifted them with then night before. Where absorbing another five or seven or even ten mouths to feed wasn't that much of a stretch for a major House, she knew that Houses like St. Paul, Ra and Franklin weren't really equipped to do so. She had been very surprised by Karghold Newton's response however ... she had to consider that perhaps her long and studious disregard of any House that called itself a Karghold might have been an error. Thad, Vida and their other Dominants had impressed her, as had the size of their House. If they hadn't associated themselves with the Karg, they'd be a major House beyond a shadow of a doubt. House O'Shannessy had surprised her as well – it was easy to see the 'public face' a House wore in the fragmented Society that Laney's stewardship had created, and not see the House's true strength and size. She'd certainly never heard of such active participation from them before. Overall, she was very pleased about almost every facet of their situation.

Promptly at noon, she started making phone calls. There was no way under the sun she was going to keep the seven refugees she'd taken in one second longer than necessary, neither did she expect the other Houses to keep theirs any longer than House Cornelius, unless they decided otherwise.

Jason Tanner woke up around three hours after his mother had gotten home. He'd surfaced briefly when the front door had opened; only awake enough to hear that nothing was wrong and to note the time. Then he'd fallen back into deep sleep, just a little more secure now that his mother was home safe and sound.

After his father had left them, Jason had started having abandonment issues. He might not have known the technical term for them, but he was more than smart enough to realize that even with his mother acting so strangely, he'd started paying attention to when she left and when she returned, always breathing easier when she was home and safe with him.

As he walked down the hall towards the kitchen, he opened her bedroom door just a crack, happy to see her under the sheets, breathing peacefully.

Closing the door, he continued on to the kitchen. A bowl of cereal wasn't Usagi's waffles, or even his mother's, but it was acceptable in a pinch.

Carol was mortified by what she saw on the clock when she woke up.

She stumbled into the kitchen where all the family was gathered.

"Who's idea was it to let me sleep this long?" she asked.

"Mine," Margo replied from her seat at the table, "and if it upsets you too much I'll let you show your displeasure by accepting a spanking with no ass play afterwards. Now then, are you okay with being allowed to sleep late?"

"Yes Madam," Carol said, her face set in a stubborn expression. "But it's just that there are so many final details for the party this afternoon..."

"No, there aren't. Everything's fine, you have a large household staff to help and they've already taken care of all the last minute prep," Margo replied, looking at her sternly. "You worked very hard last night, under a lot of stress, and if I decide that you should sleep late you will by God sleep late!"

"Yes Madam," Carol replied rather sheepishly. "Did Madam also decide I should be served breakfast and a cup of coffee some time soon?"

"Yes, I did, so sit down and eat, silly woman.

"All right," Margo began, "there are some issues that are really irking the shit out of me and I've decided our day isn't busy enough so we're going to discuss them now."

From around the table the family and its servants chuckled.

"First I need to know from our submissives, and please dear God answer honestly, how much is the overcrowding bothering you, especially those of you," she nodded to Jackie and Lisa, "who have jobs outside the home?"

Lisa said, "Madam, if it were a long-term situation ... then yes, maybe I'd be considering finding new accommodations ... and believe me, I don't want to leave Chez Decadence," she continued, to more chuckles from the group. "But it's not permanent; it's not even that long term – I mean, what are a few months? We've lived under worse conditions, with people we didn't care for anywhere near as much, and with none of the side benefits of living here. We can hold out."

Margo looked guilt-stricken. "But damn it, Lisa darling, you shouldn't have to."

Jackie spoke up. "Madam, please don't worry about this. I can't speak for anyone else, but there are far more important things for you to be concerned with than this."

The rest of the household's submissives made general sounds of agreement.

"Madam Grimes," Candy said, "if I might make a suggestion ... you seem to be worried primarily about the folks that have real-world jobs – and you should be. Why not put me and Spyderchylde in the living room for the time being? An overnight bag or two, maybe some inflatable air mattresses ... it would get us out of their way in the mornings, and it would be easy to pack us up and leave no sign we bunk there when you needed the living room for a social gathering or some such."

"Well, I was thinking maybe of something like that, or having you bed down in the master bedroom on the far side from the bathroom. That would leave us plenty of room to get dressed and off to work in the mornings," Margo replied.

"No Madam," Dayna Spyderchylde's raspy voice interjected. "Please pardon my impertinence, but your bedroom is crowded enough as it is. I understand that there's some unused space there, but if you turn it into accommodations for Candy and me, the room will start to feel increasingly cramped and claustrophobic."

Billy added, "You spend a lot of time in there. The bedrooms of the staff ... they're places we go to sleep, and not much else. If quiet, 'alone-time' is needed ... well, we go elsewhere as we're pretty much out of luck in this house at present. So the crowding doesn't seem so bad, although I agree Jackie and Lisa need their space as they're working girls. But there's a lot of living that goes on in your bedroom ... I think Candy's got this one right."

"I know I can live like I'm on an extended sleep-over for the next couple of months with no problem," Candy said. "What about you, Dayna?"

"Fine with me," she replied. "Cheer up, Madam ... we know that we are cared for, we know better days are coming. I guarantee you, the next several months will pass before you know it ... especially with the big party happening next weekend. Once that's done..."

"We can sit back and relax?" Kelly asked, smiling sardonically.

"Well no, Mistress," Dayna replied, "but I honestly believe that next weekend will be a tipping point, one way or another. Either you'll have won, and can take it a little easier, coasting to the Samhain Ball, or you'll have lost decisively and there won't be any reason to worry about it any longer."

"But no pressure, right Dayna?" Harry quipped.

"No sir ... no pressure at all. Everything is in place. What will happen, will happen."

Margo sat back and felt as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

"Okay, next on the list of things keeping me awake at night," she said, "is the 'submissives sleeping in the master bedroom" schedule. Yes, I know Camille will be there till Kelly tells her otherwise, and I know that Billy and Helen are a team due to Helen and Harry's incurable straightness, but otherwise, I want the schedule redone so that no one shares nights. It will mean that y'all aren't in there every week, but we started this for intimacy with one sub at a time. Thoughts?"

No one seemed to have a problem with such a rescheduling, so after a brief amount of discussion, it was agreed that the schedule would be done alphabetically, starting from the beginning, one sub a night, starting the next Tuesday night.

Candy sat silently during the talk of rescheduling. She wasn't sure exactly what kind of House she'd landed in, but she was damn sure that so far, she liked it more than anywhere else she'd ever served.

Anna Pessino had wanted her husband Emilio to come with them to the party, but he wasn't feeling too well when he woke up Saturday morning and she didn't ask further. It seemed to her that he had given up on life outside of her and the children, and was content to sit out his days in the house they had bought together so many years before. She supposed that was his right – he had worked harder than anyone she knew until he got sick. If he decided it was time to sit at home, she wasn't going to tell him no.

She had Elena stay home to watch Emilio as well as Elena's infant son, but the rest of the family headed off to the party.

Anna hadn't seen nearly as much of Galena as she'd have liked since her daughter moved away ... and the times she had seen her, she'd been shocked by the changes. Gone was the shy and bookish girl Anna was used to ... and had cultivated, in hopes of Galena avoiding Elena's fate as an unwed mother. Galena had blossomed into a self-assured young woman. She no longer dressed in the concealing clothes Anna had chosen for her, but she hadn't gone too far in the opposite direction. Anna had seen Galena's new wardrobe referred to as 'stylishly professional' in some magazines. Galena was no longer afraid to state her opinions, even standing up to her older brothers, something that had very rarely happened in the past. She was charting a course for her life that was going somewhere successful, and that had given her the confidence to stand up for herself. While a lot of the changes vaguely disquieted Anna in a way she couldn't quite name, she was happy for her daughter and the many kindnesses she'd been shown by Harry Grimes and his friends.

As the months since Miss Carol came into Harry's life had gone by, Anna couldn't have helped noticing the changes the household was going through. Courtesy of her sons, she was no stranger to the smell of marijuana and she'd long been acquainted with the smells and stains of sex. She didn't know exactly what was going on with whom, but she couldn't argue with the results – the house was full of happy people and shone with more love than she'd seen there since Harry's parents were still alive.

Granted, at times it gave her Catholic soul pause when she thought about it too much, but she was an even firmer believer in the Biblical verse 'by their fruits shall ye know them', and the fruit from whatever was happening at the Grimes house was all good.

Between the tension of the party for the neighbors, which thankfully had turned out so well, and the absolute madness that was to be the party for their kinky associates, Harry was relieved beyond words that there was the party for the G&P employees and the Pessino family. Low-key and low stress, it was the only party Harry could actually believe he might enjoy as a party. The first one, and the upcoming third, were far too much like work.

He chuckled to himself, finding it so amusing that anything that involved as much kink as the next weekend's party could be considered 'work', but he did think of it that way.

He and Karen wandered out to 'ooh' and 'aah' over Mr. Carsidona's traveling barbeque pit, a long trailer with a wide cast iron oven running down the entire length. All the side dishes that required cooking had there own deep kettles that sat in one end on one side, and the side dishes that needed to be kept cold were in massive ice chests in the back of the truck.

The smells were heavenly and even though Harry was still full from breakfast, he could've dove headfirst into a plate of anything that came off that huge grill.

"Mr. Carsidona," Harry said admiringly, "that's got to be the most beautiful traveling pit I've ever seen."

"Boots" Carsidona, short and round as a barrel, bald-headed and every inch of exposed skin tanned dark by the Texas sun smiled at Harry like he was a lifelong friend – indeed, he smiled at everyone that way.

"Mr. Grimes, I done been back on your deck an' seen that grill o' yours. Now, I wouldn't say it's in the same league as mine, but it's damn sure as fine as anyone who don't do this professionally could ever have. You gonna have to have me over some day, lemme taste what you can do on it."

"It's a date, Mr. Carsidona," Harry laughed, "although it probably won't be till sometime after Halloween ... our schedule is a nightmare till then."

"That's fine," Boots replied, "wonderful thing about this part o' Texas is you can pretty much barbeque all year round."

Jessica rolled over in bed and heard disturbed grunting from Quan.

"Wha th' fug are you doin' up?" Quan mumbled.

"Go back to sleep, grouchy," Jessica replied as she got out of bed.