Chapter 50

Janet had never been to Chinatown, as it wasn't the type of place for respectable women to go. She was intrigued by all of the colors and people, and secretly thought it was a wonderful place and hoped that they would come here often. She was confused when some people stopped what they were doing and bowed as the carriage went by. She saw that Tom pretended not to notice or acknowledge it. She wanted to ask but knew that since he was ignoring it, it wouldn't be proper.

When they stopped in front of one of the businesses Tom told her to stay seated as he stood and climbed out of the carriage. She watched as a Chinese man came out of the building and bowed to Tom. She was surprised when Tom bowed back to him. Then they shook hands and Tom began to speak. She couldn't hear what he was saying, but she did notice that the Chinese man seemed surprised and she blushed as he looked her over quite closely. When he turned his attention back to Tom he nodded his head and said something. She then watched as both men got into the carriage. The Chinese man sat across from her and just behind the man driving.

Once they were settled Ben shook the reins and the horses started walking. Li stood and spoke to Ben quietly and made some hand motions as he spoke. Ben nodded his head a few times and then Li sat back down and turned all of his attention on Janet. She had never felt so exposed in her life as she did with him looking at her. She was surprised when he spoke flawless English, "Let me congratulate you on your coming wedding. Tom is a great man, and very well respected in Chinatown. You might have noticed the people bowing as we pass. That is to show respect to Tom. He has done many things that have helped many people here in Chinatown, and his respect grows with each thing. As his wife you will be as deeply respected, but everything that you do will also reflect on him. I think that you are a very lucky woman, as I know many women who would kill to be sitting where you are now." Tom snorted and looked away, but Janet realized that the man was telling her something very important. She vowed never to be an embarrassment to him.

They rode in silence for a few more minutes, until Ben stopped the carriage in front of another business. Since Janet couldn't read Chinese she didn't have a clue what it was, but she wasn't worried. Tom stood and motioned to Li, who got out first. Tom turned and offered his hand to Janet and helped her to rise before stepped down from the carriage and took her hand again and helped steady her as she got out of the carriage. He then draped her hand over his arm and she walked with him as they followed Li into the business.

She gasped as she realized that they were in a jewelry store. Even though she had jewelry she had sold all of the valuable pieces long ago. It only took one look around the room to know that everything that was in this store was valuable. It appeared that this store only dealt in the best.

Janet watched as Li talked to another Chinese man, and after a minute both of them came to stand in front of Tom. The new man bowed respectfully. Janet had no doubts that she was not included in any show of respect, regardless of what Li might have said. She knew that this was all for Tom, and she realized that he was a much more important man than she thought. It seemed that the more that she found out about this strange man, the more it surprised her.

Tom bowed respectfully back to the owner of the shop. He was an older man, but his eyes were alive and shining. He motion Tom over and began to show him many fine pieces of jewelry before Tom waved them away and said, "You know why I came here. I specifically asked Li where I could get a nice ring. You are showing me everything but rings. If you don't want to sell me one, just say so and I will find a place myself."

Janet thought that Li looked offended, but not by Tom's words. He said some things to the other man who promptly took them over to another case. It had some of the most beautiful rings that Janet had ever seen, and she had seen many since she had been coming to Washington. Tom looked over the case and pointed to a rather plain gold band. Janet's heart dropped but realized that it was better than she had now, or that she could likely hope to get from any other man.

Tom had several of the bands fitted to find the right size. Once they had the size Tom pointed to a simple band with three diamonds. Janet's breath caught at the size of the center diamond. Tom didn't let her try on that one, but put it in his pocket. He then thoroughly confused her by telling them that he wanted five more plain gold bands to be delivered at his house. He explained that sizing would be a problem, but the old Chinese man shook his head and explained that he could bring a number of different sizes.

The old man explained that the bands were simple and it would be easier to have many on hand. Tom negotiated the price and Janet gasped again. She couldn't believe that he would spend a thousand dollars so casually. Tom reached into his jacket and removed his wallet. He took a stack of money out and asked the old man if he would accept the bank notes. Janet was confused since everybody dealt with bank notes. She had no way of knowing that Tom preferred to deal in gold. The old man smiled and counted the money before he smiled and said that he would arrive at Tom's house in a few hours. Tom nodded his agreement.

Tom took Janet's hand and led her to the carriage. Li and the old man bowed and Tom bowed to them. Janet did her best to imitate and gave her own bow. Li and the old man smiled to her. Tom helped her back into the carriage and he followed. Li said that he would stay with the old man and wished Tom good fortune. Tom smiled and said that he would see them both later.

Once they were both seated Ben shook the reins and the horses move off at a steady walk. Janet didn't remember much about the ride out of Chinatown as her own thoughts kept intruding. She didn't notice much of anything until they stopped at a church on Pennsylvania Ave.

Once again Tom helped her to rise and out of the carriage. This time John and Ben accompanied them into the church; John in front and Ben following. She realized that nobody could get to Tom without going through one of them first. She wondered how much he paid them to get such loyalty.

A few minutes later found them talking with the priest. Tom explained that they wanted to get married. It was a bit more complicated than the last time Tom went through it, since the priest wanted to fill out a bunch of papers. Tom and Janet answered the questions and the priest filled out the papers. When he was finished he took them into the chapel and started the service. Janet was filled with mixed feelings, she wanted to be married to wash away the shame that she felt, but she also wanted the big wedding that she could invite the Washington elite.

It didn't take much time to come to terms with the simple wedding. It was better than her prospects the day before, and when Tom slipped the ring on her finger she forgot all about the Washington elite, or having a big wedding. She only saw Tom and she realized that it didn't matter who else was there, she would still be just as married. When they left the church she had a smile on her face that an undertaker couldn't remove.

They rode in silence through the streets. Janet was only mildly surprised when they stopped in front of the Restaurant. When she looked at Tom he saw the confusion on her face. "We still have business to conduct." She realized that he was not as sentimental as she was. She had made promises and agreements and he intended to see them through. She calmly nodded her head; she would go through with things just as she agreed to.

When they were seated at Tom's normal table, Tom calmly retrieved his case and removed a stack of papers and put them in front Janet. She was confused for a minute until she saw the markers. She quickly grabbed them before she started to read the document. She was stunned when she realized what it was. When she finished reading she pushed the document to Tom, but refused to let go of the markers. Tom Smiled and asked her if she would like a match. She didn't understand for a moment, but when her brain finally started to process things again she nodded her head and found she couldn't stop smiling again. She never thought the smell of burnt paper could ever smell so good. She thought it smelled better than honeysuckle in June, and thought that she would probably get to smell that at Magnolia House.

Tom explained about the unfortunate accident that befell poor Mr. Belamy and his associates, and then he had the duty to tell her about Mr. Richmond and his mad suicide craze. Janet listened and wondered how many more miracles this man could produce in one day. She wondered if he was really just a man, or if she had stumbled upon a God. She remembered reading about the Greek Gods coming down from Mount Olympus and working miracles, and she couldn't imagine any of them doing any more for her then this young man.

When she thought about it, she realized that he was very young. She didn't know how old he really was, and she wasn't sure if he was older then her or not. But as she looked at him she saw the hard lean body and the supple grace of his movement and realized that a cat would be clumsy next to him. His chiseled features and strong body almost had her panting in her chair. She thought about her earlier thoughts of a Greek God and realized that she was seeing her own Adonis. The very thought made it hard for her to breathe.

Her voice was low and quiet; almost a whisper, "You will need to show the marriage papers to Mr. Holt, at the firm of Holt, Schmitt and Brand. Mr. Holt will do all of the paperwork and give you the deed to Magnolia House." Tom nodded and motioned to John. After a hasty few lines written on his personal stationary Tom handed the envelope and the marriage papers to John. The outside of the envelope held the name of the firm and who he needed to see. John looked it over and nodded his head, "Peter, ride with me." She watched as another young man easily rose and followed John out the door. She noticed that there was no talking or complaining, they all just did as they were told to. She looked at Tom again and wondered about him once again.

After John had left Tom stood and picked up his case. "That's all for today. Let's go home." Ben smiled and headed out the back. Tom escorted Janet out the front to wait for the carriage. Janet looked up at Tom and her breath caught again, "We had a small house here in Washington that father used while he was here. We can go there, if you like." Tom smiled at her, "You can keep it if you like, or we can sell it. It really makes no difference." And she realized that to him, it didn't.

Once Ben arrived with the carriage Tom helped her in and sat beside her. As they made their way through the city she realized that she didn't have any idea where they were going. She sat back and watched and waited, she knew that one way or another she would find out soon enough. She watched as the city moved past her, and noticed that they were moving in a northeast direction. She knew that if they kept going they would end up in the very exclusive section of town, and wondered once again just how rich her young husband was.

When they left the edge of the town and were heading for snob hill, as Janet liked to call it, she began to feel concerned. When they continued to the very top of the hill and turned into the Old Wheeler mansion she gasped. "This is the old Wheeler mansion. What are we doing here?"

Tom smiled at her, "I bought the old place last year and had it fixed up. I find the place rather comfortable." Janet couldn't believe his words; comfortable? It wouldn't be one of the ones that she would have chosen, but realized that it was all what you were accustomed to. Many people would probably think the same thing about Magnolia House, and she was very comfortable there. She decided to wait and see what happened. She didn't have long to wait.

Tom took her to the drawing room. He grabbed Jess as she was passing and pulled her into the room. As Tom was talking to Jess, Janet noticed that she kept running her hands over any part of his body that she could reach. She quickly realized that she didn't like this slip of a girl handling her husband, and recognized the feeling for what it was. She had been warned that there would be other women, but she didn't realize that it would be so soon, or she would be so affected.

"Jess, find Mei, Su and Wei, and have them come here. Also find Willard and tell him that I need to talk to him when I finish with the girls." Jess looked at Janet with undisguised hostility before she left the room at a run. Janet turned her attention back to Tom, and waited for an explanation. If Tom saw the look, he ignored it. Janet was feeling frustrated, but she couldn't for the life of her imagine why.

Su was the first to arrive. She came to a screeching stop when she entered the room and saw Janet. She looked enquiringly at Tom, but once again he ignored the look. With a wave of his hand he motioned for Su to sit on one of the couches. When Mei arrived it was almost an identical response. Wei being the last had Tom's attention. "Please close the door and have a seat with the others." Wei softly closed the door and as she took in the situation. She didn't look happy as she sat with Mei and Su.

They had time to sit and study each other and Tom felt the tension in the room. He shook his head and cleared his throat to get everybody's attention. "There have been some changes since this morning." Tom turned to Mei, Su and Wei and looked each of them in the eye, "All of you know that I have wives. This is a new one, and I expect you to act correctly with her." Tom had noticed Janet's gasp at the mention of wives and waited to see what she would do. He found it interesting that she sat and did nothing.

As one, each of the Chinese women stood and bowed respectfully to Janet. After they had bowed they sat stiffly back on the couch. Tom let out a sigh as he turned to Janet. "I have explained that we are married, and as my concubines they are offering you the respect of a wife in the house. Normally, they would defer to you and your superior position in the house. But our situation is different and I might as well put all the cards on the table, so to speak."

Tom turned his full attention on Janet, "What are you?" Janet seemed confused for a minute before she answered, "I'm your wife."

Tom shook his head and took a deep breath, "No, you are a whore. You can call yourself anything that you want, but in the end you are still nothing but a whore. I have told you that I will treat you like a whore and I will. I don't know what you expected but you can be certain that I warned you before you married me. I also warned you that there were other women, and that I would have complete obedience from you. You agreed to all of these things and you weren't concerned. Well, now it is time to face your new life and the sooner we get this done the better." Janet looked at him in horror, "What do you mean? I understand that I am a whore; I sold you my body. When you told me that there would be other women, I wasn't expecting that you already had a harem. As far as obeying you, I believe that a wife should obey her husband. But I won't be treated like some cheap whore just for your amusement."

Tom smiled. For the first time since he met her she had finally said something that he understood. "Let me explain your situation to you. You seemed to have forgotten that as your husband I own Magnolia House you don't have that to run back to. Also, you can bet that any other property will be in my name before the week is out. You have the clothes on your back and any money that you are carrying. I suspect that if I turn you out, you will be on your back before then of the week." Tom looked at her hard and waited for her to see the same things that he did.

When her gaze dropped to the floor in front of her Tom knew that she had seen the truth. "Now, there are three ways that we can handle this. First, you can refuse to accept your situation and try to make life difficult for everybody; you will find yourself on the street in short order. Second, you can accept your situation and believe that you have some hope to change me. I will do exactly as I said that I would do and strip you naked and tie you in front of the house. Third, you can accept your situation and do as you are told. In that case you would find a comfortable life and things would be better for all of us."

Tom walked over to Janet and raised her head with his fingers under her chin. "So, what will it be? The choice is yours." Janet struggled with herself. She knew that she had been warned and ignored it, or just refused to believe it. Now she didn't have much choice but to believe what she was seeing and hearing. She knew that he would throw her out, as surely as she knew that he had arranged the deaths of Mr. Belamy and his associates, and Mr. Richmond. She also knew that he was right, if he turned her out she would soon find herself on her back. It wasn't very flattering, but it was the truth. "I won't give you any trouble, sir."

Tom laughed, "Oh don't you believe it. You will cause me no end of trouble. But, as long as you are trying to get along we will see what we can do to work things out. Before you lose too much sleep on it, let me tell you a secret; all women are whores. Wives sell themselves to their husband for security. Concubines sell themselves to any man that her master tells her, for security. And whores sell themselves to all men, for security. The only difference between them is how honest they are about it, and who they sell themselves to." Tom watched as Janet listened to him and he could tell that she didn't believe it, but that she wanted to. He smiled at her, "Ask the other girls they have had a longer time to think about it and to come to grips with it."

Tom then walked back to the center of the room, "Okay whore, strip. I have paid the price and now I plan on seeing what I have bought." Tom watched her face as the command hit her full force. He saw the disbelief followed by the shock. She didn't move as he watched her trying to come to terms with his demand.

See looked at him with confusion that quickly turned to concern, "But, what about them?" She gestured toward the girls and Tom smiled, "Oh, do you want them to help you?" Tom smiled at the shock and terror that crossed her face. "No! I can do it on my own!"

Tom smiled at her reaction. He knew that soon she would have a totally different reaction. Tom snuck a quick peek at the girls and saw that all of them were watching with a new interest. They had realized that things weren't going to change much in the house, if any. They were looking with interest to see what the new girl had to offer. Tom could see that all three girls had hard nipples; silk didn't hide excitement well.

Tom turned his attention back on Janet and saw that she was slowly unbuttoning her dress. She had only managed to get three buttons undone and at the rate that she was going she would still be at it at bedtime. Tom walked to her and grabbed the top that she was working on in each hand and gave a hard pull; all of the buttons to her waist went flying in every direction. "There, I didn't want you to still be at it when it got dark. Do you need any more help getting undressed?" Janet's shocked face was quickly shaking her head. "Then you better get moving, or I will help you some more."

Janet could see that there was to be no reprieve, and dallying had already cost her the buttons of her best dress. She quickly finished the buttons below the hips and wiggled out of her dress. The corset would take some time no matter how she did it, but she started on it quickly. Tom smiled as he stepped up to her once again and produced a knife from somewhere. Janet froze at the sight of the fearsome weapon. Tom put the razor point below the laces and moved it up. Janet felt the laces part under the sharp blade and held her breath. With one slow measured stroke he parted every lace on her corset and left her breasts quivering in the cool air.