Lotta attended me to the Audience Chamber. Safely delivered, she unlocked my handcuffs, ostentatiously placed them with their key upon a chair, and went her way. James rose and kissed my hand. The grave courtesy set the tone for what transpired. If my Master was troubled, he hid it well. I knelt before him but he raised me to my feet and led me to a chair. "There are those who desire your services," he told me gently. "It is expedient that I lend you to them. The honour of my house will be in your hands."
"It's more of those wheels within wheels I told you about, love," James explained as I sat beside him in the familiar car. "A bit of political wrangling has entered into this one. Fact is, Bolling is curious about you. Any man has to be curious about a girl who's pursued and kidnapped the way you have been. He wants to use you once for his own amusement and once as leverage with some Johnny who can do him a favor. Then back you go to his Nibs." It was all too much! I'm only human. He gave me a sideways look, uncertain. "That's if you want to go back?"
"And if I don't'?"
"There's always me, love." He got the message from my eyes. He turned the car into a lay-by, stopped the motor and took me in his arms. He felt very good and smelt the way I remembered. I discovered I was crying great floods of tears on to his jacket. He was the same wistful boy I had loved upon the moor. He patted me gently on a bare shoulder and buried his face in my hair and let me cry myself out.
"I haven't any clothes on," I said absurdly when the tears were past.
"You haven't, have you!" he agreed amusedly.
"I forgot. I just walked out with you."
"A shameless hussy."
"Well, it's all been a bit much. After all-"
"Terribly thoughtless of me, love, you should wear something," Gently but very firmly he handcuffed my wrists behind my back. "Picked 'em up off the chair, y'know, where that woman left 'em."
"I'd be lost without them, darling."
"I knew you'd be pleased." His old grin was back again.
"Fact is, I brought a pair of my own along, just in case."
"My ankles are slender, they'll probably fit," I said demurely. We both laughed. I got soundly kissed. We were back where we had been before. At least we were on the surface, or perhaps in a sense of wishful thinking. But the weight of emotion thrust upon me in the past days was heavy in my mind. Yolanda and Azzam were tugging at me from different directions, and now James! In different ways I loved them all. But to each I was a captive specifically their own. Right now, I was securely handcuffed by this glorious boy who professed to love me with his own male brand of adoration, The handcuffs might be no more than a joke or tease. Probably he would remove them instantly if I asked… probably! I knew I ought to ask so as to find out. But for the life of me I could not bring myself to do so. I told myself it would show a lack of trust. But I was scared to find out. Those handcuffs, on or off, had become symbolic. Wryly, I admitted to myself that wearing them gave me a constant erotic thrill. Quite hopeless, aren't I!
"You don't mind about Bolling, darling?" Actually I did mind. I was tired of being tortured by people I did not love. I had faced the fact that had it not been for the fire that burns constantly between my legs, my misadventures since meeting James that night at Yola's reception could have been shockingly traumatic. Some of them had scared me half to death anyway.
"Of course I mind, It's an odd distinction to be wanted because I get a wet puss after six of the best or wearing these handcuffs."
"Say the word and I'll take you back, love."
"It's too late. Azzam has committed me, and if we're going to be married you need Bolling's goodwill. I don't see why you can't keep your job with him if I put in these couple of sessions with rampant and sadistic males. If everybody's satisfied then it's worth a bit of pain." James squeezed me. "You're wonderful, Phemie." He tensed, "But there's still your return to the Sheik. If you go back to your slavery with him there's no wedding bells. If you don't go back there's no job."
"We'll open a hot dog stand," I said with more courage than I felt. James pensively started the motor. Bolling was better than I expected. Large and intense and alive. A girl always feels good in pampered luxury; Bolling had it. I almost disappeared into the soft upholstery of the huge chair. "We won't remove those handcuffs, if you don't mind," he decided conversationally.