The Manor House Ch. 03

"No. No one will miss me tonight. Now that I'm satisfied you're not going to cut my balls off I am actually enjoying this. Just don't leave me too long."

Camille assured him as they went out the door. "Don't worry. I'm looking forward to coming back."

The hotel dining room was large and elegant. Crystal chandeliers cast a soft light that was augmented by candles on each white-clothed table. Scattered among the tables and providing privacy were plants in ornate terracotta pots. The room was about half full of well dressed men and women, mostly couples, but a few single men were seated at small tables along the periphery.

At least twenty pair of eyes followed Sarah and Camille as they were shown to a table near the center. Camille had dressed up the clothes she wore into town by adding long hoop earrings and a tiara in her buffed up hair. Sarah had chosen one of the sexiest of the new dresses she had bought that day, one that showed off her youthful figure to great advantage. Together they gave the impression of young women out for a good time.

"Do you think we'd have any trouble getting picked up in here?" asked Camille playfully as they were seated. She was speaking to Sarah, but said it loud enough for the waiter to hear. He smiled and handed them their menus.

"Would you care to order drinks?" he inquired politely. "Or would you prefer to wait for one of the gentlemen studying you to send them to you?"

"My aren't you the perceptive waiter," laughed Camille. "But I think we'll order the first round ourselves. Champagne cocktails please."

"Very good madam," he said, bowing and backing away.

"Camille, shame on you," chuckled Sarah. "We already have one hotel employee under our control. Do you want another one?"

"What can I say? I like to flirt."

The menus were large and had many pages. "My goodness, I have never seen such a variety of choices," said Sarah. "How can I know what to order?"

"The seafood here is always excellent," responded Camille. "Would you like me to order for you?"

Sarah put down the menu and batted her eyes. "That would be lovely. You can be in charge of me for the night."

"Better be careful what you say girl," laughed Camille. "I will have you doing more tricks than a circus clown."

The words stirred something wiggly in Sarah's stomach. She looked up at Camille's pretty face and smiled. Suddenly over Camille's shoulder she saw a large man enter the dining room.

"OH MY GOD, Camille. You're not going to believe this, but I think John just came in."

Camille wheeled around in her chair to look. The motion caught John's eye, and he headed toward them.

"Hello," he said simply.

"Hello yourself," said Camille. "What are you doing here?"

Sarah kept her eyes down, not knowing how to react to this surprise. She was flustered and at the same time strangely excited by John's sudden appearance.

"I came looking for you," he said. "Ian told me you would be staying at the Royal Crown. Do you mind if I join you?"

"OK with me," shrugged Camille. "What do you say, Sarah? You know that outside the Club John does not have any special authority over us."

Sarah raised her eyes and found John staring at her, his eyes conveying an emotion she had not seen before. He spoke directly to her. "Sarah, I want to talk with you about our relationship. We can do it in private, or with Camille. I know she is your friend and you will want her to confide in her anyway. What do you say?"

When she answered the sound of her own voice was strange to her. Her heart seemed to have risen in her chest and smothered her vocal cords. What came out was broken phrases in the tone of a little girl about to be chastised. "Our relationship? .... okay..... yes..... yes, I would like Camille to be with me.... please sit down .... "

John pulled up a chair just as the waiter returned with the two glasses of champagne. He recognized John as a frequent customer in the hotel restaurant and a big tipper. "Good evening, sir. Can I bring you a cocktail? You prefer our best scotch if I recall."

"Thank you Robert," said John. "Make it a double. And I think the ladies are ready to order their dinner. I will be joining them, but will not be eating."

"Yes," said Camille. "Let's order now so this important conversation will not be interrupted. My companion and I will each have the filet of sole."

The waiter left and John took Sarah's hand. "It's very simple really," he said softly. "I want you to wear my red ribbon again. You are in my thoughts constantly, and I can't stand the idea that other men are taking advantage of you."

A tear formed in the corner of Sarah's eye. Camille sipped her champagne and remained quiet. John put his hand on Sarah's cheek and continued. "You deserve to know why I did what I did. I was afraid of having you become too dependent on me. For the past five years I have avoided like the plague taking on any responsibility for another person. I thought I wanted to be completely free. But now I see that I need the kind of intimacy in my life that you and I experienced."

"Oh John," said Sarah. "You don't have to give up your freedom to be intimate with me. I understand your need to be able to play with other women and not feel guilty. Let's face it; I like variety as much as you. I could have left the Club after you made me wear the yellow ribbon, but I didn't. None of the other men made me feel the way you did, but still I loved the sexual excitement."

He took a deep breath. "Do you think it's possible for a man and a woman to have a special closeness and share everything while at the same time they are enjoying sex with other people? I've always thought that men maybe could do that, but women could not."

Camille could not hold back. "That's an idea that our modern culture has forced on women. The fact that the Commerce Club is flourishing proves that it does not hold for all women. Think about the thousands of years when men had multiple wives. I'll bet there was always one wife who was close to her husband, and the others were mainly sex partners."

The waiter appeared and set John's drink in front of him. He took a sip, waiting for Sarah's reaction. When she was silent he pressed her. "What do you think Sarah?"

"I am still feeling my way in all this. Remember it's been only a few weeks since I came in from the country, a virgin with no experience with men. All I know is that you make me feel special, and that I am turned on by sexual submission."

"And that you like women too," said Camille with a smile.

"Some women, sometimes," replied Sarah grinning. "But I want to have a close relationship with a man, a particular man. I will gladly wear your red ribbon again, John. At some point I know I will want to leave the Club and have a more normal life, but I am still young and want to experiment. Let's see where it goes."

"That's great!" he said enthusiastically. "I promise not to back off when I feel that I am getting too close to you."

"And I promise not to be demanding or possessive."

Camille through up her hands in mock dismay. "This is getting too mushy for words. We should have violins playing. I promise to tempt you both sexually all the time to keep you on your toes."

They all laughed and toasted each other. "Well, I'm glad that's settled," said John. "How shall we celebrate?"

Sarah and Camille looked at each other. "You tell him," said Sarah.

"Well.... you see John we did not expect to see you here and we have sort of already arranged... well... you see we have a young man... actually the hotel desk clerk.... well you see he is naked and tied to our bed in our hotel room. He's waiting for us to come back after dinner."

John coughed into his drink, blowing scotch up into his nose. "Ahh... you've got to be kidding me!"

"I'm afraid not," said Sarah with a sweet smile. "You teach us all these things at the Club, and then when we are let loose on society.... well..... we do what comes naturally. I'll tell you that is one happy desk clerk up there, waiting for more."

"Well he's not getting any more of you tonight," said John with authority.

Camille scolded him playfully. "Now John, you know you don't have control over us outside of the Club. The red ribbon doesn't work here."

"It works for me," said Sarah. "I am happy to be with John tonight. Camille, you can have the desk clerk all to yourself."

"Okay," laughed Camille. "I guess our joint night on the town is being postponed for now. But when John is away, or whenever you get tired of him, let me know and we'll come back here again."

"You are going to keep me on my toes," said John. "Give me your hand, Sarah."

Sarah lay her hand on the table in front of John, her palm up in a gesture of supplication. He produced a red ribbon from his coat pocket and lovingly tied it around her wrist.

The End