Chapter 17

After helping me getting undressed, a work Tamara seemed to find quite fulfilling in itself, and then helping me get dressed for my bed, she gave me a quick kiss and told me gently to try to get some rest. 'Take a nap while you can, Carl.' She gave me a sweet smile as she stepped out of the room. 'Try to remember Carl, decisive Carl.' Now my headache started to act up as if it wanted to pound my head into pieces while I lay there, trying to relax. In what way did I need to act decisively I pondered. Maybe I had been too meek with Tamara, could that be it? Nah, in the end I just gave up on understanding it, to get some sleep instead. Perhaps that damned pounding would disappear as I tried to fall asleep?

I woke up in the middle of the night by someone pushing me to the floor. It got me quite mad actually, even though my nose had the good luck to land in a pair of soft slippers. As I raised myself from the floor, in vain trying to see in that obscure dim light whose fault it was, I heard someone's satisfied sigh followed by a snoring sound from the bed. Tamara I thought. This time she had gone too far. I now for once found my patience as being exhausted, slowly I stealed closer to that insufferable fool of a woman, she that had had the nerve to throw me out of my own bed. I leaned over Tamara's shell shaped rosy little ear, took a deep calming breath and then bellowed. 'Attention ... Time to raise and shine little lady. Up on the floor, on the double.'

Tamara literally sprung from her bed as if blown away by shrapnel, at the same time as she tried to talk back at me, but this time I had no patience for such foolishness. 'Quiet, when the commander speaks.' I bawled. Yes I had done a tour in the military too, somehow the concise verbiage seemed to stick to me to night. 'No longer will I tolerate your insolent doings, down on your knees girl. Now!' Tamara seemed to shrink back slightly as if in fright as she went down on her knees before me. I looked down at her. 'Now girl, when with me you will behave. I will have none of that impudent behavior. Hereafter you will, at all times, answer me as Sir, am I understood.'

I studied her dim outline trying to see if she nodded. 'Do you understand girl?' I bellowed again. 'Yes Sir.' Came her lamblike answer. I smiled a most satisfied smile. 'Good girl.' I said. 'Now I will try to sleep, it will be your pleasure to see too that my sleep is good and uninterrupted, you hear. You may sleep by my side as long as you behave, I have no wish to punish you further girl.' She raised herself mumbling a low. 'Thank you Sir.' As we went to bed again. I could feel her carefully and timidly creeping near me, spooning me.

It was quite nice and relaxing as she most lovingly massaged my back. When I woke up the next morning I, to my surprise, found myself being alone. It made me start to wonder if it all just had been a chimera, an evil dream. As I looked around me to see where she had gone I couldn't but help notice the thickness of the walls and how cleverly their coldness had been hidden behind those sweet hand-woven drapes. The wall to my left side had three small openings or windows through which I now could see the dawn slowly appearing.

There came a timid knock on my door and one of Tamara's handmaidens came in with water and towels for my morning toilet. She seemed somewhat in awe of me as she stood there waiting on my pleasure. I thought smugly to myself as I allowed her to help me, that it was just those small things that showed who was the master and who was the servant. 'Will that be all Sir.' She asked meekly as I finished. I gave her my best royal gaze whereupon she humbly informed me that Tamara herself would bring up my breakfast, that said she disappeared like a shadow out the door. I whistled happily to myself as I knotted my breeches.

At long last I had found a proper solution to my problems. I just couldn't help myself here, I started to hum. 'Just a spoon full of sugar and the medicine goes down' even stretching it so far as to try the same cool moves as that chimney-sweeper in Mary Poppins once did. It was then Tamara opened the door. No knocks, nothing at all, just waltzing in as if she owned the place, well, maybe she did but that didn't excuse her behavior I thought. 'Carl are you ready?' she asked smiling at me. I noticed that she seemed relaxed and happy which, I thought, gave my deeds last night a good grade. 'Come here girl.' I said gravely. She looked at me surprised but came soon enough. I put her on my lap while caressing her sweet face. 'See how easy it is to find peace and happiness.' I said while I slowly stroked her long soft hair.

'One just have to listen Tamara, listen and learn my little wisp, isn't that right baby doll.' She momentarily looked at me as if I had lost my senses, but then nodded and seemed to relax in my embrace. 'Oh yes Carl.' she mumbled. 'I heard you was most decisive this night.' Heard? Now what did my little minx mean by that? While wondering I heard my stomach growl. 'Tamara.' I said. 'Do you mind if we go over to the table and have some breakfast.' I started to get up from the bed, but my little minx just kept clinging on to me, never releasing her hold. In the end I had to carry her to my chair and then sit down with her still resting on my knee. 'Open your mouth big now.' she said while taking a sandwich to my mouth. 'One for Mamma.' I chewed. 'And one for Me.' 'One for Mamma.' 'And one for Me.' It wasn't until she had ensured herself completely of my saturation that she would allow me to once more move freely.