Chapter 39

When Tom woke he saw the false dawn through the window and knew that it was time to start another day. He noticed that both women were peacefully sleeping on his chest, one of each side snuggled up tight to him. A few firm nipple tweaks had both of them moaning softly in their sleep. Tom grinned and gently slipped from the warm bodies snuggled up to him. He managed to slip out without waking them. He knew that it was only because he had so much practice at doing it.

He didn't have to work too hard to slip his finger into each of his sleeping companions. His slow and gentle thrusting quickly brought them up to the moaning stage and he wasn't surprised when they wrapped their arms around each other in their sleep. He started a little faster thrusting and before they knew what was happening they were withering in each other's arms. When they came down from their pleasurable peak they looked at each other, kissed softly and tenderly and then looked down their bodies at their grinning master. "He does have a way about waking us up, doesn't he?" Mei grinned at Su.

As they all slipped on some clothes Mei quickly told Tom, "Master, just carry the rest. We will go to the bathing room and get washed for the day before we dress." Tom nodded and let them lead the way.

He wasn't too surprised to see that they had a handle on things quickly and had him washed and dressed before he knew what was going on. He watched as Mei and Su quickly washed themselves and each other. He suspected that it was the first time that they had washed each other and was grinning as they looked at him. When they saw the acceptance in his eyes they grinned back and worked much more enthusiastically. Tom noticed that Su still blushed a lot, but he knew that it would go away quickly.

Once they were all dressed for the day Mei turned to Tom and said, "Today we will start on the next room. We will be installing laundry machine so that we can keep the clothes clean." Tom frowned for a minute before he said, "I thought that Li's family did laundry cheap. Why are we going to do our own laundry?"

The girls looked at each other for a minute and frowned. Su answered the question, "Laundry machines not so hard to make. We need to wash each day keep clothes clean."

Tom shook his head and smiled at them, "No, that just means that we need more clothes. We will get enough so that we can send the clothes to Li's family and still have plenty to wear. That way we don't have to do laundry every day, and we can do other things that are more important."

Tom smiled again at the girls and got a big smile back. Su looked at Mei and said, "See, we have very smart master. He know what we need." Mei grinned as she shook her head.

Mei led the way out of the wash room and said in a firm voice, "Su, we need to get master's food ready."

Tom quickly responded, "No. I will not be eating anything this morning and neither will you." Both of the girls turned to look questioningly at him but he just motioned for them to follow him. He led them to the large front door and opened it. Sure enough, there were two Chinese women waiting there. He suspected that they would have kept waiting until dark before either would knock.

Mei and Su looked confused but Tom motioned the two women in and led them to the kitchen. They took one look, bowed to him and were gone. Tom smiled at the girls' confusion and motioned them back into the large dining room. After he had them seated he explained. "I am hiring a new cook today. I can't test their cooking if you stuff me before they show me what they can do. If they don't speak English you will talk to them for me. You will also be eating and tell me of you think they are good cooks." The girls looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders.

It was only a few minutes later that all of the men showed up at the table. Each took a seat and waited expectantly for Tom to explain what was going on. Tom smiled at each of them and sat contently.

After a few minutes thought Tom leaned close to Su and whispered, "You might want to warn the ladies cooking what to expect, since there will be a few of us trying their food. You might also tell them that there will be other cooks here today so they need to do their best." Su nodded and went to the kitchen.

As they sat waiting Willard showed up and politely coughed, "Sir, there are some strange women in the kitchen. Will they be the new cooks?"

Tom turned his attention to Willard, "I don't know yet. They are showing me what they can do. There will be others arriving soon to also show me what they can do. We will keep the best one, or even maybe two and send the rest away. Sometime in the process we will all get some breakfast. I would like yours and Becky's opinion also of the food. We do want the keep the best of the bunch."

Willard seemed to be taken aback by the whole process, or maybe he just never expected to be asked his opinion. "Very well sir. I will explain to Miss Rebecca what is happening. It might affect our schedules today, but we will do your best to accomplish our duties."

Tom smiled at Willard, "Willard, there are going to be quite a few changes in the works for a bit. I am planning to add additional staff as well. If things don't get done just like they should don't let it worry you right now. Things will get straightened out once everything settles down. You might have to keep a close eye on the door as some of our cooks appear to be the timid type and are afraid to knock."

Willard bowed with a rigid formality and softly replied, "Yes sir, very good sir." Then he simply took a step or two and vanished. Tom noticed that the warriors were a little troubled at the way that Willard softly traveled around the place and just seemed to appear and disappear at will.

Tom smiled at the warriors, "What's the matter? Not used to seeing a person slip around more quietly than you can?" Tom laughed at the looks that they gave him.

As he laughed and said, "Think about it. He has had years of training and probably knows this place better than the back of his own hand. He could probably close his eyes and walk from one end to the other and never bump into anything. Before you start getting jumpy think about the situation, and don't let it bother you too much." They frowned at the thought but saw the wisdom of his words.

As they were thinking about it the first cook appeared and food started to appear on the table. Tom turned to the woman after she was finished serving the food. "Do you speak English?"

The woman nodded once, but kept her head down. Tom looked her over. She appeared to be a middle-aged woman with her long hair pulled back with a couple of combs. Her slight figure was just starting to spread in the middle to match her wide hips. She wasn't fat, but was losing the fight to keep trim. Tom noticed that her diminutive frame seemed to be the standard for the Chinese people. Her tiny hands and feet almost made her look like a child, but the wisps of gray in her hair and the small wrinkles around her eyes dispelled that.

"Why do you want to be my cook?" Tom noticed that she never looked up, but he heard her soft voice. "My family is gone. My husband is dead and the children are all gone. I like to cook, but I am alone. I want to be with people again, I want to feel useful again." Tom nodded his head. Even though her head was down Tom knew that she could see his every move. He gave a small wave of his hand and she was gone back into the kitchen.

Tom looked at the warriors. "Try out the cooking, but remember there are more cooks to test, so don't try to eat everything." There were some laughs and the eating began.

After all of the food was removed to the staff dining room the next cook brought in her food. She placed Chinese food on one end and typical American food on the other. Tom was surprised and understood why she had taken longer to prepare her food. She also stood and waited for Tom to speak to her. "What is your name?"

She didn't hesitate for a second before she responded, "I am Ho Min Wei." Tom thought for a minute as he appraised her. She was young; she couldn't have been more than eighteen or maybe nineteen. Her black hair was down to her waist, and held in the back in a ponytail style. Non-typical of most of the Chinese women this woman had a full bust. Tom had seen others that were larger, but this girl looked like she was going to fall over as she stood there. Her skin was creamy alabaster white and her trim figure showed off very well in the silk pants that she wore. Her little feet were in slipper type shoes.

"Well Wei, why do you want to be my cook?" Tom watched as the warriors were helping themselves to the food. Both the Chinese food and the more traditional food, but he knew that they were listening just as closely as he was.

"I am a disgrace to my family. I have past the time of honor and did not receive any offers. I now cook at my family's restaurant, but I still bring shame upon them. I was hoping that you would offer to buy me. Even if just to be the cook, it would restore my family's honor." Tom nodded his head and waved his hand. He wasn't surprised when she quickly vanished back inside the kitchen. Tom didn't miss the looks of Mei and Su. He wondered if they were too easily swayed by their emotions.

Before Tom managed to get any food on his plate Willard was suddenly at his side. "Master Tom, there were three more women at the front door about the cooks position. I escorted them to the kitchen and they are busy at work. I will keep you informed." Tom nodded that he understood and Willard vanished as quickly and quietly as he arrived.

When Tom finished tasting each of the dishes prepared, he motioned to the young woman waiting and she quickly whisked everything off to the staff dining room as the next young lady started bringing out her offering. Tom immediately saw that this was standard American cooking and saw that the young lady was a white woman.

As she placed the dishes on the table Tom watched her move and watched her work. She wore a traditional dress that covered her from her neck down to the floor. Her extremely small waist flared to wide womanly hips and her breasts wiggled as she worked. He noticed that she didn't keep them bound in the traditional style. He smiled as he thought that he wouldn't like to have his own chest wrapped in cloth, or to wear a corset that crushed his body. She appeared to be a little non-traditional in a traditional way. He smiled at the thought.

As the others were serving their plates he asked his first question, "Why do you want to be my cook?" He noticed that she looked him in the eye and wrung her hands in front of her. "Ah, well sir, I need the job and it's about the only thing that I know how to do. My momma taught me how to cook and I've been doing it for a few years. But with momma gone I have to find work." She almost looked like she was going to cry.

Tom slowly put some of each thing on his plate as he thought. "What other jobs have you applied for and why didn't they hire you?" He saw her fidget a few times before she took a deep breath. "Well sir, I have applied for cooks' position and twice for a maid's job. Ah the men sort of, well ah, I mean, they thought that I would be willing to do more than the job required. They were quite fresh sir, and I left them flat. But now it looks like I am in dire straits sir, and I will do anything for a job. I mean that sir, anything."

Tom nodded as he tried her cooking. He looked at her closely. Her sandy blonde hair obviously needing cleaning and looking closer he saw the fraying at the hem of her dress. Her soft blue eyes had a pleading look in them. Her nodded to her and told her to take the dishes to the staff dining room. As she started to collect the food he asked, "What is your name?" She never looked at him as she answered, "Jennifer Bristol, sir." Tom nodded as she disappeared.

Tom watched the next women move with true grace a she quickly had the table filled with her cooking. She was another white woman and she also dressed in typical American fashion. He looked at her as she floated around the room. She was a small woman and appeared to be in her middle twenties. Her obviously long brown hair was all stuffed in a bun at the back of her head. Her dress went from her neck to the floor. He noticed that is was simple and homemade. It was something rare here in the city, but it was the standard fare during their travels.

When she looked at him he saw deep brown eyes that matched her hair. After the eyes locked he noticed that she quickly looked away and she even faltered for a minute. Her figure was lithe and trim with small breast and a firm ass, or at least as much as he could tell from the way that she dressed.

Tom noticed that the food was good even if it was simple. He realized that American food was usually bland, just as they had always eaten it. Comparing it to the spicy Chinese food was not a fair test.

"What is your Name, and why are you here to cook for me instead of cooking for you own family?" Tom watched as she turned it over in her mind.