Chapter 55: Parties

Victoria wasn't as happy as she thought that she would be. She found that fifty dollars didn't go as far as she thought that it would. She could only get one dress, and that wasn't as nice as she wanted, but she found that she could make do. She had to plead for Tom to make another trip to town to pick up her dress on Friday afternoon, but she found that he was much more agreeable when she wasn't asking for money.

Saturday afternoon came and Victoria asked Tom if she could use the carriage. Tom agreed, but sent Peter to drive it for her. She didn't know that he was there as more than a driver. She might have been flattered if she had.

When she arrived at the party she went to see Charlotte first. She noticed Charlotte giving her dress a critical eye and found that she really didn't care what Charlotte thought. She paid for this dress on her own and she liked it better than any of her other dresses.

After she and Charlotte had gossiped she found that there were things that she wanted to do and excused herself. She quickly made the rounds and worked on filling her dance card, something that she rarely did before. She even penciled in Tommy Johnson for a dance, he had the reputation of grabbing things that he shouldn't, but Victoria also heard that his daddy was rich and Tommy was his only son.

Victoria spent her dance time asking all of the important questions. If a prospect passed the first round she allowed a second dance. Her problem was that most of the young men were just that, young men with no prospects that his parents didn't give him. She quickly found out that older brothers meant lack of a future for many young men.

After she had danced with all of the young men, she found that only two had any future potential as husbands, and one was Tommy Johnson. When he asked for a stroll through the garden Victoria was sure that she could control his wandering hands.

Victoria looked Tommy over critically and found that he had potential. He was tall and even though not handsome, he was far from ugly. He had a good solid body and he was reasonably graceful, at least he didn't step on her toes. His hair was black and well-trimmed, even if it was slicked down. She thought that his brown eyes were the color of a newborn fawn. In general she found enough to put him down as a possible suitor, one with financial potential.

When they got to the rear of the garden Tommy suggested sitting on the bench. It was still twilight and she could easily see the house. She nodded her head and allowed him to guide her to the bench. She was surprised that she hadn't been sitting more than half a minute before Tommy had his hands on her breasts. She quickly fended him off, but he just shifted the position to a target a little lower. She suddenly wondered when he had grown three more hands. They seemed to be everywhere at the same time, and she was hard pressed to keep his hands off of all of her tender spots.

Since she didn't slap him and stomp away, as she usually did in these situations, she quickly found that he managed to stimulate enough places to get her blood pumping and to reconsider letting him take a few more liberties. Even though he didn't seem to know what to do with the places that he was grabbing, he managed to do enough to make Victoria pant with need.

He slipped his hand under her dress and into her pantaloons, and Victoria considered rolling onto her back when things took a turn for the worse. Victoria was wet and panting and wondering if Tommy would taste as good as Tom when he suddenly stiffened and sighed. He quickly pulled his hand from her dress and she wondered what had happened. She looked at him and saw a silly expression his face and when she looked down she saw a stain spreading on his trousers. Tommy quickly made an excuse and took off leaving her sitting here looking confused and feeling frustrated.

She suddenly understood, and she wasn't the least bit happy that he was leaving her wet and frustrated after he got his jollies. She stormed off to the outhouse thinking of the many things that she would like to do to Tommy Johnson. When she got to the outhouse, she seriously considered finishing what Tommy had started. A quick look around told her that there were too many places that people could see into the outhouse, and she would be better off just wiping herself dry and waiting until she got home to do anything more.

When Victoria returned to the party she couldn't find Tommy Johnson anywhere. She asked about him as was told that he suddenly felt sick and left. She knew exactly why he was sick and hoped that everybody saw the wet stain on his trousers.

After a few more dances she decided that there wasn't much more that she could get done. She made her way to where Charlotte had been sitting, intending to say goodbye, but she couldn't find her. She looked toward the refreshment table and thought that she saw her disappearing around the corner of the kitchen. She went in search of her and was just about to turn the corner when she heard giggling and she froze. She stopped to listen to the conversation, "I tell you I saw it myself! There she was, in broad daylight, sitting on the bench with Tommy Johnson. She had her legs spread and he had his hand under her dress. She's just like her sister, and I thought that she had proper breeding and upbringing, but there she was acting like a trollop for the world to see."

Victoria was hurt and mad. She might have done those things, but it wasn't anything like Charlotte was telling it. "I heard that her sister worked her way through all of the Washington men, just like Victoria did tonight. I wouldn't be surprised if she got her husband the same that Victoria is trying to get Tommy Johnson. I'll bet that she is the biggest whore in Washington, and that man she married isn't any better. I heard that he got drunk in the saloon and killed three unarmed men. And I heard that they allow those Chinese maids to run around giving orders, just like a white woman, and everybody knows that a Chinese is worse than any nigger ever thought of being."

Victoria couldn't take any more and she stormed around the corner and came face to face with Charlotte and Mary Jennings. She saw the surprised look on their faces just as she slapped Charlotte hard enough to knock her to the floor. Charlotte sat there holding her cheek, with tears leaking down her face. Victoria didn't yell but her voice was strong and clear. "I will tell you this to your face, since I don't go sneaking around behind corners and talking behind people's backs. What you saw in the garden was Tommy Johnson doing his best to get into my bloomers, and he didn't succeed. As far as my sister is concerned, she is more of a lady than you will ever be. If you can find one man in Washington, or anywhere else, that can say that she has done anything improper he's a lair. If he is willing to say it, he had better be prepared to defend it with his life. Tom, her husband, doesn't take well to people sullying his wife's honor."

Victoria smiled at Charlotte sitting on the floor, "When he hears about this, he just might come over here and see if your daddy is as good with a gun as any of those men in the saloon. Do you know what will happen if your daddy dies Charlotte? A woman can't own land; they will take this plantation away from you and turn you out on the street, with nothing more than the clothes on your back. What will you do then Charlotte? Will you put a bullet in your brain, or will you make your living on your back?" Victoria turned her hard gaze to Mary Jennings, "And do you have anything that you want to say? Mary shook her head and Victoria saw the tears on her face fly as she did.

Victoria realized that she probably said too much, but she didn't care. "Goodbye Charlotte, I doubt that I will be seeing you again. And if I ever hear of either of you talking behind my back again, you'll get the same thing that you just got, or maybe worse." Victoria turned on her heel and walked away. She walked out to the carriage and found Peter missing. She didn't want to have to go back inside looking for him so she climbed into the carriage and waited. Within a minute he lightly sprung up to the driver's seat and took the reins, and they were on their way home.

Victoria fretted about what was going to happen when Janet and Tom found out about what she said, because she knew that it would get back to them sooner or later. Peter cleared his throat before he started to speak, "I think that you did real good in there, and I'm proud of you. I really didn't think that you had it in you."

She looked stunned as she realized that he had heard, and then his words registered on her befuddled brain. "You mean that you heard what I said?" Peter grinned, "I have seen everything that you have done, and heard very word that you have said, since you got to the party. I couldn't very well keep you safe if I wasn't watching you, now could I?"

Victoria was stunned, "What do you mean keep me safe? Why would you be keeping me safe, and from what?" Peter grinned, "Tom said to keep you safe. I didn't ask from what. If anything threatened you I would have handled it, including the young man on the bench. If you had yelled, I would have stopped him. I heard as much of the conversation, of the two girls, as you did and I was impressed with your defense of your family. That took courage, but if you are anything like your sister you have plenty of that." Victoria blushed even though nobody was there to see it.

Victoria quietly asked, "Is what she said true, you know about Tom killing those men?" Peter shook his head, "Well, yes and no. She had a lot of the facts wrong. Tom and John were in the saloon, waiting for you girls in the dress shop. They only had one beer and were far from drunk. Tom only killed two men, John killed the other one, and all three of them were armed. Actually it was Bennet that drew his gun first."

Victoria gasped, "He killed one of the Bennet brothers? Doesn't he know that the others will hunt him down?" She couldn't see Peter's grin when he answered, "Well, it seems that the other Bennet brothers had a little accident the same night, and now there aren't any Bennet brothers left." Victoria shivered. The Bennet brothers had raped more women and killed more men than anybody in the state. They bragged when they did it and if you were the unlucky one, you knew that if you ever went to the sheriff they would find your body before the sun rose again. She had a hard time believing that the Bennet brothers were gone, but knew that if it were true a lot of people would sleep easier in their beds.

It was dark when the carriage stopped in front of Magnolia House. Peter jumped lightly to the ground and offered his hand to Victoria. She blushed as she took his hand and allowed him to help her down. He walked her to the steps of the porch. They noticed that there weren't any lights on the ground floor, but there were a few bedrooms that still had a light burning. "You go on up to bed now, you've had a busy day." Victoria blushed and nodded her head.

Peter went back to take the carriage to the stable. When got there he found two boys waiting. He didn't mind taking care of the horses himself, but they explained that it was their job, and they liked taking care of the horses. Peter grinned and pitched them the reins, as he went to make his report to Tom. The hated to go to Tom's bedroom, all of that exposed woman flesh, and Becky wasn't here to take the edge off. He wondered if Jess was in the mood, he had noticed that she had started acting like she was Tom's personal property. He didn't blame her, or any of the other women. Since he had first seen Tom, holding a knife at Gray Eagle's throat, he had known that he was more than the other warriors, and the women seemed to flock to him. He watched him treat them like shit, and he still couldn't drive them away. He didn't understand it, but he had come to accept it.

The smell that hit him when Tom opened the door made his cock hard in his pants. He tried not to look, but it was impossible. Tom didn't seem to notice and the women didn't seem to care, and that made it worse as they lounged around on the bed with their womanly parts exposed. Peter couldn't help but notice that Wei was with them as well, and she was toying with the nipples of her big tits distractedly. Tom listened to the report with interest. When Janet heard what Victoria did and said, she beamed with happiness, Tom even grinned.

When he finished his report, Tom nodded and Peter left. He went straight to Jess's room and lightly knocked on the door. When Jess opened the door she wasn't wearing a thing and the smell coming from the room was almost as strong as the one he had just left. They looked in each other's eyes and grinned. Peter grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her to his room, but she wasn't complaining.

The next morning as the women sat drinking their tea, Janet leaned over and kissed Victoria on the cheek. Victoria blushed, but didn't complain. Janet told her, "Honey, I'm real proud of you, but if you are going to go around defending my honor maybe we should teach you to fight a little bit." Victoria gasped and shook her head, "Janet, ladies do not fight." Janet smiled at her and said, "Honey, you just might be surprised at what real ladies do. Besides, who ever said that I was a lady? I'm a woman, and I'll fight for my family." Victoria thought about it and realized that her only ideas about ladies came from her friends, and she knew how wrong they could be about other things. Maybe the idea of learning to fight wouldn't be a bad idea, it certainly couldn't hurt, but she doubted that she would ever need it again.

When Janet saw her look she nodded to the other women. Ming and Ping looked absolutely ecstatic at the idea, and Janet shivered at the things that they had taught her. She knew that those two women loved to fight, almost as much as they loved to love. They had been teaching each other for a long time now. Ping one day, Ming the next, followed by Mei, then Su and finally Wei.

Janet had been surprised that Wei was the best single fighter, with or without a weapon. But as soon as Ming and Ping started to work together, none of them could stand against them. Janet grinned at what Victoria was about to learn. She smiled at the thought that even naked, she could still produce at least two small throwing knives, and she knew how to use them. Tom ignored the whole thing. He knew that the women worked out and trained together, and thought it was a great idea.

Tom was surprised that over the next few days there were a lot of visitors to Magnolia House. They were all the young people of the area, and most of them had attended Charlotte's party. After word had spread, it seems that they wanted Victoria to know that they agreed with her and wanted her to know. Tom suspected that many of the young ladies also wanted to get a look at him, since they were constantly flirting from the time that they arrived. Janet worked hard not to laugh, but he saw her quickly dart into the house a few times and knew that she had lost it.

Victoria was the talk of the town, and she loved it. She never realized that standing up for your family was so popular, but she began to understand that there were a lot of things that she didn't know before. Now that Janet was home, with her strong husband, she found that things had taken on a life of their own. She thought that it was like riding in a runaway carriage; there was nothing that you could do about it, but hang on and hope for the best.

By Tuesday the visitors had stopped and everything seemed to be settling down again. Tom found Victoria in front of his desk again, and Janet had closed the door. He looked up questioningly. He noticed the smile on her face and suspected what she really wanted. He was just curious what the pitch would be this time. He didn't have long to wait, to find out.

"Tom, I want to throw a party." Tom looked at her and considered the request. He nodded his head, "Okay, why?" She seemed confused at his question and just looked at him. He smiled at her, "Why do you want to throw a party? Is it a Harvest party, or a President's party, or a birthday party?" He looked as she understood what he was asking.

She thought for a while before she answered, "Well, it's nothing like any of those. I just want to have a party. You don't really have to have a reason, do you?" Tom smiled, "Well, normally you do need a reason, but maybe we can think something up that will sound good. When do you want to have this party?" She was beaming when she said, "Oh, this Saturday afternoon."

Tom shook his head, "Nope, I can't allow that." Tom saw the dejected look and even noticed Janet was surprised. He waited, and soon enough Victoria asked the question that he knew was coming, "But why not?" Tom smiled at her, "I couldn't allow you to do that to your guests. You told me that all of the women will need a new dress for a party, and won't you need a new dress? Do you think that the dressmaker can turn out that many dresses in four days? Think of how many of your friends wouldn't come just because of that." Tom saw the light of understand hit her. She smiled and shook her head. "You're right. Thank You for understanding and not letting me make a fool out of myself."

Tom looked at her, "Will you be serving refreshments?" Victoria thought and nodded her head, "I'll have Nana put something together. She knows what we need. She's done it a million times." Tom grinned and new that was an exaggeration. After a thoughtful look Tom asked her, "Do you trust me? Will you allow me to handle the arrangements of your party?" Victoria was stunned. She couldn't believe that he would be willing to help. She smiled and nodded her head, "I would be honored if you would."

Tom nodded his head and looked at her pointedly, "And I suppose that you will need another dress?" Tom saw that she quickly nodded her head with a big smile on her face. He grinned back at her. "Well, this is a lot bigger than last time, and it will cost you more than it did before. Are you still willing to pay?" He noticed that her smile slipped a little, but he knew what she had been really asking for in the first place. She just needed a reason to do it. She stood straight, with her shoulders back and her perky tits pushing against her dress, he noticed that she wasn't wearing a corset. "Yes sir, I'm willing to pay whatever price that you name."

Tom smiled at her adventurous spirit. He thought that she was a lot like her sister. Tom nodded his head, "Okay, since this will cost a lot more, you will have to pay a lot more. You will spend every night in my bedroom, until the party." Tom heard Janet gasp, and saw the look on Victoria's face. He didn't know if she was shocked or happy about the news. "I will tell you now that I will expect some things from you that you never thought of before, and you will do them without complaint, or we will call off the whole thing."

Victoria had already decided to try anything, at least once, and she didn't see a problem with Tom's demand. She also knew that like he said, they could always call the whole thing off. She nodded her head. "What time do you want me in your room?" Tom smiled at her, "You will wear your nightdress, and nothing else. That means no pantaloons either, just the nightdress. You will be at my room at dusk, if you are late, then don't bother coming." He saw the look of excitement on her face and noticed that she was starting to have trouble standing still. He wondered if she would hold out until tonight, and decided to add a little spice in the mix. "Also I don't want you touching your womanly parts. That means no long trips to the outhouse, or sneaking up to your room, when you think that nobody is watching." Victoria gasped at the realization that he had known what she had been doing, it made her blush scarlet, but she kept her head high and nodded that she agreed. Tom smiled and waved her away.

After she left Janet was in his lap as the door clicked in closing, "Are you really going to do it? Are we going to get her, too? You think that she will allow it?" Tom put his lips over hers and easily silenced her. When he was sure that he had her juices flowing he broke the kiss and let her sit and pant her desire. "Now, yes I am really going to do it, and yes, I will give you girls a chance at her. As to whether she will allow it; that will be up to you."

Tom saw the confused look on her face and smiled. "You might remember that she agreed not to touch herself between now and tonight. I'm sure that she'll need close watching. You can even tell her that you're watching, just to make sure that she doesn't do anything that will get her into trouble. Think what it does to you, to smell yourself and the other women all day. If you happen to brush against her breasts, that will also work to your advantage. You did notice that she isn't wearing a corset didn't you? Maybe, if you can do it without rising suspicion, a rub or a grope when she last expects it. A playful swat on her ass if she is bending over or any number of other things might get her desires ahead of her thoughts when she sees all of you women tonight."