" "I would hope, I said, "that Mistress would to some extent, in view of her fabled beauty and the damage that even the thought of it may wreak in the hearts of poor men, be rather moved to pity, be rather moved to look leniently on this bold transgression. "She smiled.
" "Is morning to be blamed that it should glow in the light of the sun, or the tides that they are drawn by the moons, or oil that it cannot help but burn at the touch of fire? " "Perhaps not, she said, the vain, haughty thing!"
"Continue," I said.
" "Whereas you must understand that I am not personally in the least interested in matters such as these, she said, "there may be a woman of my acquaintance to whom such attentions may not be entirely unwelcome. " "Mistress? I asked. She thought I would believe this!
" "I shall have to consult with her, she said.
" "Yes, Mistress, I said.
" "Ludmilla, of Ar. she said."
"Ah!" I said.
"This is meaningful to Master?" asked the slave.
"I think so," I said. "I am not sure. It is something I have long suspected." "Master?" asked the slave.
"In any event," I said, "that is apparently the name she will use for her intrigue."
"That I had gathered, Master," said the slave.
"I do not think, at any rate," I said, "that it is a mere accident that that name occurred to her, as on the spur of the moment."
"Perhaps not, Master," said the girl, puzzled.
To be sure, there are many Ludmillas in Ar, as there are many Publias, Claudias, and so on. Indeed, there are doubtless several Talenas.
" "But it is you, Mistress, I protested, "not some other, for whom the beautiful Milo pines, as a sickened verr. "She laughed. She thought me stupid, doubtless."
"Continue," I said.
" "You will speak to him of Ludmilla, she said. "He will understand. " "How shall I know this Ludmilla, or he know her? I asked.
" "You will report to me, she said. "All matters will be arranged through me. " "Yes, Mistress. I said.
" "And the first thing you will tell him is that Ludmilla scolds him for his foolishness in sending such a note, and warns him to quake in terror of having incurred her displeasure for having done so, and then she added, thoughtfully, "and yet that she is inclined, as is her nature, to be merciful, indeed, that she is not altogether unmoved by his plight. " "But should Mistress not confer with the noble Ludmilla before conveying these sentiments on her behalf? I asked."
"Beware, Lavinia," I smiled. "You are treading on dangerous ground."
"But she is such a haughty slut, Master!" said Lavinia.
"You speak of her as though she might be a slave," I said.
"I think she is a slave," said Lavinia, "but in the robes of a Ubara!"
"Perhaps," I said.
" "I can speak for her, she said.
" "Yes, Mistress, I said.
" "This will save time, she said. "I have decided it. " "Yes, Mistress, I said."
"Apparently the Ubara is eager," I said.
"Yes, Master," said the slave.
" "Tell him, too, said she, "that his plaint may not have been altogether ill received. " "Yes, Mistress, I said.
" "Put your head to the floor, slave girl, she said.
"I obeyed, and sensed the lowering of her veil, the soft sound of rustling silk."
" "You may look up. she said.
"I looked up, Master," said the slave. "I gasped. I could not even speak. I was awed. She was more beautiful than I had imagined! She was more beautiful than I could have dreamed! She was utterly beautiful!"
"Much was doubtless a function of the context," I said, "she in the robes and veils, so colorful and resplendent, and silken, and being Ubara, and you on your knees before her, merely a slave. The comparison is not really fair to you." "She is very beautiful!" said Lavinia.
"She had been said to be the most beautiful woman on Gor," I said, "but there are thousands upon thousands of incredibly beautiful women on Gor, perhaps millions, most of whom are in collars where they belong."
"But surely she is one of the most beautiful women on Gor!" said Lavinia. "I would not even be sure of that," I said.
"Master?" said Lavinia.
"She is pretty," I said, "and is, or was, the daughter of a Ubar. Such things tend to increase one's reputation in such matters."
"She is surely one of the most beautiful women on Gor!" said Lavinia.
"I am inclined to doubt it," I said. "Still she is pretty I recall that I once found her of interest."
"Master knows the Ubara?" she asked, in awe.
"Once, long ago," I said.
"Does the Ubara recall Master?" she asked.
"If she were to see me," I said, "I think it possible she would recall me." "She is very beautiful," said Lavinia, softly.
"That I think is true," I said. There could be no gainsaying that. On the other hand, it is one thing to be very beautiful, and another to be one of the most beautiful women on a planet. I would have surely granted that Talena was very beautiful, but I would really doubt that she might have counted in among the most beautiful women on Gor. this is not to deny that she would bring a high price in a market, nor that her alcove space on holidays might have been signed up early in the evening.
"She is so beautiful!" said Lavinia.
"Suppose," I said, "that she were not free, that she were not Ubara. Suppose, rather, that she were on slave among others, lovely slaves all, chained to a wall. Or suppose that she was paraded in a line, with other slaves, excellent slaves all, on all fours, in neck coffle, the chains going back under the slaves' bodies and between their legs, rising to the collar of the next in line, and so on, before a conqueror's chair. Would she then seem so outstanding? Or might not other girls, here and there, more appeal to one man or another?" "I see what Master is saying," said Lavinia.
"If she were a captured Ubara," I said, "and auctioned before Ubars, doubtless her price would be high, perhaps thousands of tarn disks, but if she were unknown, and only one slave on a chain with others, and it were she alone, the girl alone, only herself, so to speak, who was to ascend the block, hurried by the gesture of the auctioneer's whip, what would she bring?"
"I do not know, Master," said Lavinia.
"Perhaps two or three silver tarsks," I said.
"Surely Master jests," she said.
"Remember," I said, "it is only she being sold, not her reputation, not her political importance, not her symbolic value as an acquisition, not her value as a trophy, not her possible historical interest as a collector's item, and such, but only she, only the girl, only another slave."
"I see, Master," she said.
"And I would conjecture," I said, "for two or there silver tarsks."
"Possibly," mused Lavinia.
"Indeed," I said, "it is possible that you would bring a higher price."
"I?" exclaimed Lavinia.
"Yes," I said. "And do not forget to keep your knees properly positioned." "Yes, Master!" she said, delighted, hastily readjusting the position of her knees.
"Do you really think I compare in beauty?" she asked.
"Yes," I said. Indeed, I thought it might be interesting to see both in slave silk, hurrying about, barefoot, perhaps belled, fearing the whip, striving to serve well, hoping to found pleasing by masters.
"Thank you, Master!" she said.
"Continue," I said.
"As you recall," she said, "I had just been permitted to glimpse the beauty of the Ubara."
"Yes," I said.
"Why did she show herself to me?" asked Lavinia.
"I suppose," I said, "because she was jealous of you, and wished, in a sense, to awe you with her own beauty."
"I thought so," said Lavinia. "What a vain creature!"
"She is a female," I said.
"Yes, Master!" said Lavinia.
"Like yourself," I said.