Chapter 33

Damien was respectful, spoke excellent English, and was thoroughly shocked by what I said.

"It's nice to see that you've learned from Percy's mistakes, Damien. My men will open the gate and you can all come in and rest. You and I will go to my study to talk while Geron shows your honor guard around before he provides refreshments," I said.

Of course Damien wondered how I knew his name, and Percy's name, and that Percy had stepped in shit deeper than he was tall. He wasn't about to say nay to a parley though. He was sent to get information and I could tell he intended to. I intended to give him all he wanted. I didn't really need to, but what the hell, I didn't have anything better to do this afternoon.

The first inkling that Damien had that things were not exactly normal was when one of my serving girls met me at my study's door. She gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and then told me that the cook had indeed been told how to prepare coffee cake, then scooted away.

"Yes, I could use a little bit of a treat right now, come along Damien, I know you will enjoy this," I said, leading him to the dining room.

No doubt Damien had enjoyed the view already, if he liked girls that is. I'm sure the serving girl's very short skirt climbed at least halfway up her hips when she stretched to her tiptoes to give me that peck on the cheek. I knew damned well that this was the first time Damien had ever seen a maid costume like my maids were wearing.

When we got to the dining room Fawne, Jaycee, Cécile, Adèle, Meka, and even Tutsie met us just inside the door. They were all dressed in their new French finery, even Jaycee. Only Meka and Tutsie weren't. Meka was in Caddo Indian finery and of course Tutsie was naked.

Meka's new outfit wasn't exactly authentic, it sported a lot of beadwork and other frills, no doubt some more of Big Boy's handiwork. The quality was excellent, but to me it looked like a modern day estimation of what an Indian princess should be wearing.

They all lined up to present kisses to me, Meka too, and she didn't even giggle much when she did it. Tutsie gave me a nice lick up a nostril. Fawne welcomed Damien to our home then and directed him to a seat near mine. When we were in our places the coffee break began.

It was obvious that Damien knew exactly who Fawne was and exactly where she was supposed to be. He had the good sense not to bring it up though. I didn't, it was the first thing I began talking about.

"Wonderful country, France. I'm almost glad I ran into Alphonse now, so that I could hurry over and rescue Fawne. I'm afraid that Alphonse didn't do so well in his attempt to find riches in my country," I said.

"Your country?" Damien asked.

"Yes, America. You knew that Alphonse was on a journey of exploration didn't you?" I asked.

"I had heard that, yes," he said.

"Unfortunately, Alphonse didn't have much respect for those that didn't really want to be explored. I'm afraid I had to see to it that he was dealt with firmly," I said.

"Firmly?" he asked.

"Yes. You see Alphonse caused Meka's mother to be killed, and even caused Meka's arm to be broken. She has just recovered a few days ago. After we captured he and his men we turned them over to the tribe's women. They were not very understanding," I said.

"Tribe?"

"Yes, Caddo Indians. I believe you call all American Indians Red Indians here, an unfortunate mistake which leads to some surprises for those meeting them for the first time.

"Caddo Indians are usually peaceful, but they do not like to be bothered by Europeans seeking gold and treasure. Especially since they seek it on the Indian's land," I said.

"But what has become of Alphonse then?" he asked.

"Oh, he is safely dead. The tribe's women were slightly disappointed with Alphonse, since he only lasted through one night's torture. I have he and his men's hair in my other house if you'd like to see it," I said, trying to sound casual.

"Their hair?" he asked, plainly confused.

"Yes, the women scalped them, just like I did for Pierre," I said.

"I get Pierre scalp, Daddy," Meka said, and she was off like a shot.

Damien was looking a little pale around the gills about now. I already knew he wasn't a fighting man, and no doubt even fighting men in France would take pause at the Indian custom or lifting an enemy's hair.

I just thought Damien was pale when he heard about scalping. When Meka proudly displayed Pierre's former hair, Damien fainted. One of the serving girls was quick enough to keep him from falling out of his chair.

When Damien came around I guess he thought he'd gathered all the information he needed, I didn't think so but I didn't say anything until he started making noises as if to leave.

"I'm sorry, Damien, but I must insist that you stay here and enjoy our hospitality. If you go back tonight you might be hurt when we take control of Searlus, Jacques, and their men," I said.

"But, I came under a banner of truce," he said, trying to sound indignant.

"You came to get information. Now you know there's no chance of taking my holdings from me. What Jacques and Searlus don't understand is there's no chance of them living past sunset tomorrow. All the men will be within my walls, unarmed, naked, and bound shortly after the sun comes up.

"Do you really want to be with them, defenseless, when my men take control?" I asked.

From his facial expression it was easy to see that Damien wasn't looking forward to being with his Baron when my men arrived for a nighttime sneak attack. He didn't know that everyone would be asleep and I'm sure he envisioned quite a battle in the dark. He tried to keep up appearances though.

"But my honor guard," he said.

"Dead drunk by now. We have very powerful wine when we need it. It is excellent wine, just very strong," I said.

I must say he took it well, finally admitting that he was probably better off. After all, he'd seen the mess Percy had gotten himself into. I hoped that they hadn't really killed Percy. I was looking forward to having him around, if only to rub his nose in it.

I left Damien under the watchful eyes of Jaycee and the other women while I went down to check on Geron. He was smiling widely and trying not to laugh at the drunken honor guard. He'd left them where they passed out, for my amusement, he said. Soon enough they were stripped and bound too, and then taken out to a barracks to sleep it off.

After supper, which Damien attended - and was once again in high spirits for - Geron, Jaycee, and I went down to meet the men. Jaycee had already had boxes and boxes of handcuffs and leg irons that Big Boy cheerfully provided brought up to our make do parade ground. She'd also had the unconscious honor guard brought out as demonstration props.

She used the honor guards for examples and showed my men how to use the handcuffs and leg irons. I explained that everyone they encountered would be asleep and that they wouldn't be able to wake until morning. The men were instructed to strip them all naked and then secure them. I warned them not to bother the camp followers.

The raid went off without a hitch. We even found the whipped Percy and Jaycee did a little first aid on his back. It was an awful mess. After that we sat around talking for a while and then Jaycee and I made ourselves comfortable in Jacques's tent. It was nice.

Jaycee and I were out before sunup the next morning and someone had made sure we had coffee and pastries to keep us until we could return for a proper breakfast.

You can imagine the surprise of the men as they woke. There was very much complaining but it didn't last long, because stout switches had been provided for my men and they weren't shy about shushing our captives.

Searlus and Jacques were the most indignant, but it didn't do them any good. In their special case I provided a switch for Percy, and he was diligent in its application. Even though his ravaged back began bleeding again as he put switch to naked ass.

It only took about an hour to get things moving. We politely explained to the unharmed camp followers that we would need their help getting all the horses, tents, arms, and other equipment inside our walls.