Barbarian of Gor Chapter Six

 

“The situation is even more dire than I may have previously suggested,” I whispered through the side of my mouth as pretty Leda served breakfast to our table, on her knees.

 

When she looked up in alarm, her hands shaking slightly as she held a tray of bowls and plates, I quickly added, “do not acknowledge anything I tell you. Not a thing! The Innkeeper’s eyes may be upon us at this very moment!”

 

Pretty Leda lowered her eyes submissively, the way a slave might. She had seen the other girls do so when awaiting a master’s command. She did it quite well, even though she was a proud free woman. No doubt it would come more naturally to her if she found herself enslaved, wearing a collar, and a kef brand marked upon her thigh.

 

“Early this morning the Innkeeper sent word to the outlying village for the services of a metal worker,” I explained.

 

“Oh!” she gasped. Her hands trembled as she placed the tray on the floor beside her knees and poured black wine into a small cup beside me. A metal worker is of course skilled in branding the left thigh of a woman. The implication from my words was no doubt obvious to pretty Leda. She seemed intelligent enough to grasp the obvious. 

 

“Do not act alarmed,” I continued to whisper. I chose not to look at her, and she did not look at me. “The situation is serious, but you have paid me gold so I will get you out of this Inn before the metal worker arrives, but you must do exactly as I say.”

 

Earlier that morning, shortly before breakfast was due to be served, I remarked to the Innkeeper my surprise that the free woman, now named Leda, would still be serving us.

 

“It is a surprise to me, too, Sir, for I was planning on unchaining the pretty little thing and returning her to her robes and gowns. But she begged to serve men at the breakfast tables in contrition for her earlier behaviour.”

 

“No?” I must have seemed surprised. I hoped I seemed surprised. “Serve men?”

 

“Why, yes. She claimed to have learned a valuable lesson last night on the natural role of women before men and she begged to serve breakfast alongside my slaves.”

 

“How shocking,” I suggested. “I see she, like the slave girls, wears a short, crisp, off-white tunic with a light blue trim. It is very fetching.”

 

“A slave tunic,” The Innkeeper nodded. “And yes, she does wear it well. There will be free women present at the breakfast tables. I cannot parade a naked woman before them. This is a respectable Inn.”

“But of course.”

 

“And I cannot have a girl serving on her knees while dressed in the fine robes and veils of a gentle free woman. Such a thing might be construed as a subtle insult to the other free women diners.”

 

“Of course.” I smiled again as I gazed at pretty Leda. She was being directed around by one of the two tavern slaves. They were preparing plates with bacon, eggs and freshly baked rolls. Leda would still be clumsy, compared with the slaves. “She wears a collar.”

 

“A temporary measure,” explained the Innkeeper. He stroked his moustache as he spoke. “Again, I do not wish to offend the sensibilities of my free women diners. What would they say if a girl kneeling before them in a slave tunic lacked a collar? Why, they might surmise she was a free woman! Possibly even a paying guest! It might prove awkward.”

 

“Pretty Leda acquiesced to a collar?”

 

“Not at first. She wailed and protested. Even when I reassured her that the collar was a temporary measure. It is almost as if she didn’t believe me.”

 

“She refused then to serve?”

 

“Not at all. She still desired to serve my guests at breakfast. It is most peculiar.”

 

“Tch! Free women. Who can understand them,” I suggested.

 

“Indeed so. They are a mystery at times.”

 

I watched as pretty Leda tugged down at the hem of her slave garment. There was a little stretch to the rep cloth fabric, but that stretch gradually slid the fabric back in place within a few ihn. A girl cannot move in a slave tunic without being all too aware of its brevity and lack of a nether closure. I saw her hand touch the cold steel of her collar. She would know it was locked around her throat. She would by now be feeling very apprehensive. Leda was trying not to obviously look at me, but in so doing it was obvious to me at least that she was therefore looking everywhere but in my direction. 

 

“I understand that one of the guests has reported that his kaiila has slipped a metal shoe?”

 

“A small matter,” said the Innkeeper. “I have sent for a metal worker to fix a new one. He will be here soon enough with his leather bag of tools.”

 

“Excellent. You do look after your guests. I will commend you to all passing travellers I encounter on the road.”

 

“My thanks, by the way,” said the Innkeeper, “for being such an honest fellow last night and drawing to my attention the possibility that the discarded robes and gowns of the free woman might contain valuables that I should safeguard for her. I was in time to retrieve her purse, though some fellow had already been at the stitching of the hems where she might have hidden a few additional coins.”

 

“Scoundrels,” I suggested. The coins from the hemline of course were now in my possession. “Did she carry impressive funds?”

 

“Not at all and therein lies a secondary problem,” remarked the Innkeeper as he stroked his moustache again. “The purse was a cheap one, of the sort a wandering peasant might carry, and it contains only a handful of tarsk bits. Between you and me, there is not enough there to cover the accounting for the Lady’s stay these past few days. Had I known, my line of credit would not have been so generous. She did not stint on her expenditure.”

 

“She carried so little funds?” I said. “And in a pouch more commonly associated with a wandering peasant?”

 

“It is sadly so.”

 

I was of course familiar with the money pouch in question, for it had been mine, at least until I had swapped it for that beautifully ornate purse the Lady concealed in her inner gown – the one that contained ample funds for her work. 

 

“What then is going to happen to the Lady? If she cannot settle her accounts, I mean?”

 

“Well, there is the dilemma I alluded to. I was going to simply set her free this morning, and trust she had learnt a valuable lesson on the road. But she can hardly settle her bill as it stands.”

 

“Do you think she was planning on slipping away without paying?”

 

“The thought has since crossed my mind. I am too trusting, it seems, with well-spoken free women.”

 

“They charm us all,” I agreed. “We are often blind to deceit when it wears a pretty gown.”

 

“I confess the collar around her throat has a secondary function. If she does try to run without paying…”

 

“Of course. I understand. Where can a woman run to while she wears a collar?”

 

“Precisely,” agreed the Innkeeper. 

 

“What is your normal procedure for women when they are unable to settle their accounts?”

 

“The truth of the matter is a free woman of good breeding is often able to persuade a man to settle her debts. There is always someone who will take pity on her when she pleads her sorry tale.”

 

“Always?”

 

“Well, not always, I suppose, but usually.”

 

“Usually? Even in times of war?”

 

“The probability may be more slender than before.”

 

“I would be interested in settling her accounts,” I said after some apparent thought. “Her tragic tale has touched upon my heart strings.”

 

“Really?” The Innkeeper seemed surprised. “You have such funds?”

 

“I sold my pedigree pot-belied tarsks before fleeing my village. I got a good price for them.”

 

“Well done. But are you sure you wish to settle a free woman’s onerous bills with the proceeds from your sale? It seems overly generous of you. Not that I am complaining, of course.”

 

“She is a free woman in need of help,” I declared.

 

“I suppose there is that. And yet…”

 

“I expect she will be very grateful.”

 

“Well, truthfully? Once free women have their bills settled, they can sometimes be…”

 

“Not this Lady. I am sure she will strive to repay me in due course. It will be her life’s mission.”

 

The Innkeeper looked at me as if I might be a complete fool. But when I produced some silver coins from the Lady’s former purse, he gladly took them. “She is yours, Sir. I can have her collar removed and her gowns restored to her in the next ten ehn or so.”

 

“No need,” I remarked. “Simply give me the key to her collar. I wish the Lady to see how generous her saviour is when I unlock the collar myself.”

 

“Of course.” The Innkeeper produced the key promptly, which I then pocketed. “Is she still to serve breakfast?”

 

“She seems keen to do so. Why spoil her fun? I shall claim her later, once everyone has eaten. But say nothing to her, Innkeeper. I wish to see the joy in her eyes when I show her that her accounts are now fully settled and she is free to leave under my protection.”

 

“It will be as you wish, Sir.”

 

----------------------------------

 

Adamus gazed at me for several long seconds before he supped his black wine and then said, “you stole the free woman’s purse when she was dancing?”

 

“No one was looking at her bundle of robes. Not when she was displaying herself so provocatively.”

 

“She is a free woman of Corcyrus!” declared Felix. He seemed angry with what I had done.

 

“Possibly she is,” I admitted, “but if so, she is a traitor to her Home Stone.”

“There is that,” admitted Adamus, trying to calm Felix down.

 

“But you did not know that before you searched her belongings!” said Felix.

 

“My first thought was to safeguard her property. I swear that on my honour. She declared for our city, and no matter how irritating she had been, Felix was right – we owed her some modicum of assistance. And then I saw the seal on the parchment letter. I recognised the seal.”

 

“You are familiar with the Assante seal?” said Adamus. “How?”

 

“I ran into Stannis Assante and his companion on the road to Corcyrus. I spent some time in their camp. It’s a long story, and not really relevant now. The important thing is, I owe them no loyalty.”

 

“So Leda has been watching this Inn. Does she have men here? Men other than that useless escort of hers?” 

 

“That was a poor choice and I suppose she hired the man herself, in which case it suggests she has no men of Argentum to call upon… yet. My best guess is she was sent here ahead of any support she might receive. Warriors may arrive soon to back her up. I suppose speed was of the essence as soon as Argentum heard of the Tatrix’s plan.”

 

“There are always spies in the palace,” admitted Adamus.

 

“I suppose so.” Again, I wondered whether I could truly trust these two men. Just how loyal were they? Few men knew of the proposed treaty, and yet the Assantes seemed to suspect that Laetitia might be slipped quietly from the city walls under cover of the military diversion. Stannis was either a cautious, suspicious, man who leaves nothing to chance, or he had inside knowledge of the Tatrix’s plans. 

 

“And you want to take her with us?” said Adamus.

 

“I do, yes.”

 

“Why?”

 

I smiled. “We have a saying on Earth, don’t we? Hide in plain sight? She is an agent of Argentum. It’s the perfect disguise – assisting the very same agent who is out there looking for Laetitia. It’s such a bold move that we should be able to slip through the lines of other agents watching out for us with ease. Why, Leda will even vouch for us as her men if we are confronted.”

 

“Hmm.” Adamus considered this as he finished his morning cup of black wine. 

 

“I have arranged matters so that Leda believes she is in danger of enslavement when the guests have left. She looks to me for help. She needs someone.”

 

“You should have consulted with me, Roland,” said Adamus. 

 

“There wasn’t really time,” I lied. 

 

“Gentlemen,” said Laetitia. She sat beside me at the low table in the main room. “I think you’re all forgetting something?”

 

“Lady?” enquired Adamus, with a deferential nod of his head.

 

“It seems that no one has yet asked my opinion.”

 

We were all quiet. It was true that no one had asked her opinion. There was a reason for that: she was a woman. And yet, she was also the daughter of the Tatrix.

 

“Forgive us,” said Adamus. “Would you care to speak?”

 

“I would.” She drew herself up a little, siting proudly. “Roland has done well.” She touched the back of my hand softly with her gloved right hand. “He has acted with great initiative.”

 

Adamus smiled politely. “As you say, Lady.”

 

“Thank you, Roland.” She turned to regard me with her eyes. 

 

“Thank you, Lady, for your kind words.”

 

“If this woman of Corcyrus is my enemy, and it appears she is, then it will indeed be a sweet revenge to use her to aid in our subterfuge. I agree completely with Roland’s proposal.” The young woman turned to address me again. “You seem able to settle her bill, Roland, and simply free her, but I think your plan may be a little more subtle than that?”

 

“Yes, Lady. I have in mind that she should be grateful to me. I do not plan on telling her that her affairs have been settled. Rather, I will do so with the Innkeeper, but I will then make a show of helping Leda escape the Inn. With your permission, Lady, I was going to dress her in your garments, leave the Inn, with her believing she was being smuggled out, and then return again to escort you from the building. In the meantime you would of course stay in your room until your clothing was given back to you.”

 

“I’m supposed to be a refugee who owns nothing more than the clothes she wears. I therefore do not have a spare set of garments for Leda,” said Laetitia. “What will she wear when she travels with us?”

 

“She has a brief tunic,” I observed. “It will do for now.”

 

“How splendid,” said Laetitia, with a soft laugh. “Oh, yes. I think that’s perfect!”

 

Laetitia’s enthusiastic support for me should have made me happy, but instead I felt a bit uncomfortable. Adamus was the nominal leader and I didn’t want Laetitia to obviously favour my opinions over his. It’s never good to undermine a commander, especially not on Gor where established hierarchies are far stricter than in the Western countries on Earth. I was also cautious not to do anything that might encourage Laetitia’s feelings towards me. It’s fair to say that women tend to like me. That’s always been the case, and it’s why I did what I did back on Earth with some success. But here on Gor it wouldn’t do for the young daughter of the Tatrix of Corcyrus to develop feelings for me. She had been promised to the son of the Ubar of Torcadino and, no matter what, that companionship had to take place for the good of her city and its people. I’ll give Laetitia her due – I think she is sincere in her sense of duty, and no matter what she might feel for me, she would go ahead regardless, but I preferred her to be happy, or as happy as possible, and not despondent because she secretly loved some other man. 

 

You will note that we didn’t consult Laetitia when we discussed the matter of pretty Leda and her treachery. It’s true that men should politely listen to the opinions of free women, and even possibly consider them, but they are rarely acted upon in matter of importance. Men prefer to make decisions themselves. But of course Laetitia was the daughter of our Tatrix. Her words should carry more weight.    

 

“You wish us to proceed with Roland’s plan, Lady?” asked Adamus. I sensed he was asking for the sake of politeness, having already made up his mind anyway. Free women like to think their opinions are important to men. Where possible men permit them to think so.

 

“I do, yes. It has merit. Who would think Leda’s travelling party is the very group she has been employed to locate!” Laetitia considered the matter a little further. “I have decided we will appear to rescue her.”

 

“We will?” asked Adamus with a smile. Laetitia had seemingly given him a command. I shifted slightly where I sat, feeling Felix take silent umbrage from being ordered about by a young woman with no actual formal authority here. Goreans don’t like that. Adamus, however, was an Earth man, like me, and we have had a lifetime of being ordered about by women. It is becoming commonplace in England, at least. 

 

“Yes. I have decided.”

 

Laetitia didn’t mean to overstep her authority here, and I don’t think she understood that Adamus and Felix felt she had no authority. She was the daughter of the Tatrix, yes, but she was not a Tatrix in her own right. She was simply a girl.  I would speak to her in private later and gently explain such things to her. I felt Adamus was patient and tolerant, but Felix might be offended. 

 

“The Lady has spoken,” said Adamus as he motioned for more black wine. Laetitia seemed pleased with his apparent deference to her. I had to remind myself that she was young and possibly headstrong. An older woman would be more sensible. 

 

We ceased our conversation as pretty Leda was sent to our table. In fact I think she had been watching our table carefully and had made sure she was the closest serving girl when Adamus raised his hand.

 

“Master?” she said as she knelt in tower with her knees together. 

 

She had been told to address men as master and women as mistress so long as she wore a collar. The word master is a little more flexible on Gor than you might at first think. Slaves use it, always, of course, but free men might use the word, too, when addressing another free man of much higher social rank. It does not always equate to a difference in status between slaves and free men. 

 

“More black wine,” said Adamus as he held out his cup. She took it and hurried away to fetch a refill.

 

“She is clumsy,” observed Laetitia.

 

“She is a free woman,” I pointed out.

 

“There is that,” said Laetitia. It was an open secret among the men here today that Leda was a free woman, serving alongside the slaves as a discipline for her behaviour last night. To my knowledge, though, the other free women had been kept ignorant of Leda’s true status. It amused the men, I think, not to tell their ladies. Leda would no doubt prefer that the fine ladies would remain ignorant. Some of them would know her true name and could ruin her reputation if the truth came out. The deception, and instruction for her to address us as master and mistress, was therefore in her own self-interest. 

 

“She does seem nervous,” observed Laetitia.

 

“There is a metal worker on his way to this Inn,” I remarked. “With his tools.”

 

“You mean?” Laetitia looked up in surprise.

 

“A kaiila has lost its shoe.”

 

And then, as we waited for pretty Leda to return with the black wine, we all laughed.