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Authors: Elizabeth Coldwell
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were displayed in tantalizing fashion through the gap in the robe. The metal spreader bar she’d seen earlier had been used to secure Honey’s legs about 18 inches apart; Jessica knew that would force her new friend to take short, awkward steps. She prayed May didn’t have the same humiliating fate in mind for her.
She was at least spared that, though May abruptly yanked away the towel she’d fastened around herself, leaving her naked once more. Unlike Honey, she found her hands being cuffed behind her back before May fastened a collar around her neck, buckling it at her nape. The remaining robe was slipped over her shoulders. She’d have liked to apply make-up before being prepared for auction, feeling strangely vulnerable without even a coat of mascara or slick of lip gloss. The idea, she supposed, was that the men who were bidding to own her would see her as she really was, without any artificial adornment.
Mistress Delice striding into the room once more stopped her thoughts in their tracks.
‘All ready, are we?’ she asked, glancing from Jessica to Honey and back again without expecting an answer. ‘So let’s go, they’ll be waiting for us.’
Jessica followed Mistress Delice out into the corridor, wondering exactly where they were about to be taken. Honey shuffled behind her, with May bringing up the rear of their little procession. She thought she was being taken back the way she’d come from the interrogation suite, but she couldn’t be entirely sure, as there was nothing to distinguish one cream-painted corridor from another. This part of the complex reminded her of any number of blandly decorated airport hotels she’d spent time in; she almost expected to glance out of the window and spot a passenger jet coming in to land.
Taking a left turn, they came to a wider passageway, thickly carpeted and with Pre-Raphaelite artworks hanging on the wall. In any other resort, she’d have expected the selection of paintings to be reproductions; given Damon Barada’s vast wealth, she couldn’t be entirely sure she wasn’t looking at the real thing.
The change in décor indicated they’d reached a part of the building frequented by the male guests. Like the lobby she’d visited briefly when she and Max first arrived, this corridor had an air of quiet luxury.
Mistress Delice pushed open one half of a set of double doors and peered into the room beyond. ‘Looks like we’re the last to arrive. Simone and Adele are already waiting for us. Follow me.’
The two chained women did as they were told, stepping into what, to Jessica’s eyes, resembled nothing more than the backstage area of a theatre. Heavy curtains shielded this part of the room from what lay beyond, but from behind them she could hear raised male voices, and booming laughter. An expectant audience, waiting for the show to begin.
She recognised one of the women who already stood stage left as the blonde who’d been on the plane with her, but the tall redhead by her side was a stranger. Both, however, wore the same white robes and shackles that marked them out as auction lots.
‘So, the last of our slaves has arrived.’ Jessica recognised Damon Barada’s voice, but she didn’t turn her head in his direction. She suspected that wasn’t how she was expected to behave, if the bowed heads and downcast eyes of the other women were any indication.
‘Ladies,’ he continued, ‘I’m sure most of you know how this works, but for the benefit of our newcomer, Jessica, I’ll explain. I am the auctioneer tonight, and you will follow my instructions at all times. Any man in the room is allowed to bid for you, except for your own husband, and once the bids have been concluded, you will become the property of the winning bidder until the end of your stay here. Is that clear?’
‘Yes, sir.’ Jessica didn’t know where the honorific had come from, only that it seemed the appropriate form of address, even for a man who’d treated her as an
She was at least spared that, though May abruptly yanked away the towel she’d fastened around herself, leaving her naked once more. Unlike Honey, she found her hands being cuffed behind her back before May fastened a collar around her neck, buckling it at her nape. The remaining robe was slipped over her shoulders. She’d have liked to apply make-up before being prepared for auction, feeling strangely vulnerable without even a coat of mascara or slick of lip gloss. The idea, she supposed, was that the men who were bidding to own her would see her as she really was, without any artificial adornment.
Mistress Delice striding into the room once more stopped her thoughts in their tracks.
‘All ready, are we?’ she asked, glancing from Jessica to Honey and back again without expecting an answer. ‘So let’s go, they’ll be waiting for us.’
Jessica followed Mistress Delice out into the corridor, wondering exactly where they were about to be taken. Honey shuffled behind her, with May bringing up the rear of their little procession. She thought she was being taken back the way she’d come from the interrogation suite, but she couldn’t be entirely sure, as there was nothing to distinguish one cream-painted corridor from another. This part of the complex reminded her of any number of blandly decorated airport hotels she’d spent time in; she almost expected to glance out of the window and spot a passenger jet coming in to land.
Taking a left turn, they came to a wider passageway, thickly carpeted and with Pre-Raphaelite artworks hanging on the wall. In any other resort, she’d have expected the selection of paintings to be reproductions; given Damon Barada’s vast wealth, she couldn’t be entirely sure she wasn’t looking at the real thing.
The change in décor indicated they’d reached a part of the building frequented by the male guests. Like the lobby she’d visited briefly when she and Max first arrived, this corridor had an air of quiet luxury.
Mistress Delice pushed open one half of a set of double doors and peered into the room beyond. ‘Looks like we’re the last to arrive. Simone and Adele are already waiting for us. Follow me.’
The two chained women did as they were told, stepping into what, to Jessica’s eyes, resembled nothing more than the backstage area of a theatre. Heavy curtains shielded this part of the room from what lay beyond, but from behind them she could hear raised male voices, and booming laughter. An expectant audience, waiting for the show to begin.
She recognised one of the women who already stood stage left as the blonde who’d been on the plane with her, but the tall redhead by her side was a stranger. Both, however, wore the same white robes and shackles that marked them out as auction lots.
‘So, the last of our slaves has arrived.’ Jessica recognised Damon Barada’s voice, but she didn’t turn her head in his direction. She suspected that wasn’t how she was expected to behave, if the bowed heads and downcast eyes of the other women were any indication.
‘Ladies,’ he continued, ‘I’m sure most of you know how this works, but for the benefit of our newcomer, Jessica, I’ll explain. I am the auctioneer tonight, and you will follow my instructions at all times. Any man in the room is allowed to bid for you, except for your own husband, and once the bids have been concluded, you will become the property of the winning bidder until the end of your stay here. Is that clear?’
‘Yes, sir.’ Jessica didn’t know where the honorific had come from, only that it seemed the appropriate form of address, even for a man who’d treated her as an
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