She had been terrified that day when she’d woken up and found the huge Guild Master in Milo’s cubicle. At first she’d thought she was alone with the creature and feared the worst, but then saw Milo and one of the overseers behind him. She feared that Bannion had come to take her away with him but instead he was only on an errand. An errand for the Aristos. Pompously, he told her that Lord Pangloth had graciously decided to reward her for her heroism by granting her freedom. When she was well enough she would be taken to the quarters of the Lord Chamberlain, Prince Magid, which would be her new home for the time being. Then he’d patted her on the cheek and said wistfully, “What a waste, my dear. I had other plans for you.”
When he’d manoeuvred his bulk out through the cubicle’s narrow entrance she had stared with astonishment at Milo. He looked cheerful. “Congratulations,” he said and sat down in the wicker chair.
“I don’t want to go and live with the Aristos,” she told him.
“You want to stay here as a slave? You want to keep working as a glass walker and end up as Bannion’s plaything?”
“No,” she’d admitted. “But. …”
“Ah, I know what it is. You don’t want to leave me.”
“Rubbish,” she said, then regretted having spoken so quickly. But Milo was still smiling. His reaction puzzled her. “You don’t seem very upset about my imminent departure. I thought you had ‘plans’ for me too.”
“And I still do. But they’re no longer the same ones.”
She frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“I no longer have plans for your body, but for your new exalted position in our airborne society. You’re going to be in a position to do me a great deal of good.”
“Like what?” she asked, suspiciously, having visions of herself smuggling various luxury items out of the Aristo section for Milo.
“Like enabling me to achieve what I’ve been trying to do for the three years I’ve been on board this thing. And if you do that I promise you two things that are closest to your heart.”
“And they are?”
“Your freedom; and vengeance on the Lord Pangloth.”
There was a tap on Jan’s door. She groaned under her breath, presuming that it was Mary Anne coming back. But when the door opened she saw it was Ceri. She was dressed in a white shift and her hair was tousled. Jan guessed she’d come from her bed. “The Mistress asked me to see if you needed anything,” she told Jan. “From now on you are to regard me as your servant.”
“I don’t need anything, thanks, and I’m certainly not going to treat you as my servant,” Jan said firmly.
“I find it’s best to do as the Mistress says,” said Ceri. “It makes for a quieter life.”
“Does she mistreat you?”
Ceri gave a slight shrug of the shoulders. “No, not physically. But she can be very tiresome when she doesn’t get her own way.”
“What about Prince Magid?”
Again the slight shrug. “It’s best to keep him happy too,” she said cryptically.
Jan patted the bed beside her. “Come and sit down. I’d like to talk to you awhile. Unless you’re anxious to get back to your own bed.”
“No.” Ceri came over and sat down. They looked at each other. “You’re very pretty,” Jan told her.
“Thank you. So are you.”
They were silent for a time then Ceri asked, “Did you enjoy yourself tonight?”
Jan made a face. “It was an ordeal. The Aristos are strange people. Everyone I talked to only talked about themselves. They’d ask a token question—usually asking if I’d fully recovered from the attack—and that was the only interest they showed in me; the rest of their conversation was about their problems. Not that they seemed to have any real ones.”
“No, they live in a world of their own. Anything that lies outside of it is of no interest to them. They spend their time playing games, watching their ‘entertainments’, having sex and flattering Prince Caspar and his mother,” said Ceri. “Were you presented to them, by the way? To the Prince and Lady Jane?”
“Oh yes. And later I had a brief chat with him. He’s invited me to their private quarters tomorrow night for dinner. I don’t want to go but I suppose I have no choice.”
“What was your impression of him?” Ceri asked.
“Very beautiful. For a man…. ” The implication hung in the air between them. Jan suddenly realized she had an overpowering urge to embrace Ceri. She badly needed the comfort of another woman’s arms around her. It had been so long. …
She gave way to the impulse. She leaned forward and hugged Ceri, burying her face against her neck. “Hold me, please,” she begged.
Ceri put her arms around Jan but not tightly. They stayed in this position for awhile and then Ceri said quietly, “You want me to sleep with you?”
“Oh yes, yes,” sighed Jan. “More than anything.”
Ceri gently disengaged herself from Jan’s arms, stood up and pulled her white shift up over her head and dropped it on the floor. She wore nothing beneath it. She stood there and looked at Jan. Then she said coolly, “You are certainly learning fast.”
“What do you mean?” asked Jan, puzzled by her attitude.
“Learning how to treat me as a servant. At this rate you’ll make a fine Aristo.”
Jan gasped. “You think … you think I’m forcing you to have sex with me?”
“Aren’t you?”
“No! Of course not!” Jan was shocked that Ceri could have thought that of her. “I just assumed you wanted to.”
“I’m not a Minervan, Jan,” Ceri said quietly.
Comprehension dawned on Jan. She put her hand to her mouth. “Oh, I didn’t realize. I mean, I just. …” She felt embarrassed. “You don’t like women? I mean, you don’t sleep with women?”
“I sleep with women. When I have to. And since I’ve been working for the Aristos I’ve slept with quite a lot of women. And a lot of Aristo men too.”
“You mean they make you?”
She shrugged. “Let’s say I have no choice in the matter. Unless I want to return to being a common slave again. At least the living conditions are better here.”
Jan didn’t know what to say. Her emotions were in confusion; she felt embarrassed, hurt; indignant on Ceri’s behalf … and still sexually aroused. She said hurriedly, “Please put your shift back on. I’m sorry for the misunderstanding.”
“That’s all right.” said Ceri as she bent down and picked up the white sleeping garment. As she slipped it over her head and pulled it down Jan said to her, “Please stay, though, and talk to me a while longer. But only if you want to, as my friend. Not because you think you have some obligation to.”
Ceri gave her a searching look then smiled. “I’d be happy to stay for awhile, as your friend.” She sat back down on the bed beside Jan.
Jan said, “How long have you been on the Lord Pangloth, Ceri?”
“Three years. Before that I lived at sea. On a sea habitat. Do you know what that is?”
“Why yes. The slave who, well, befriended me—he lived on one as well. He said it was like a floating town.” A thought occurred to her. “Maybe you both lived on the same one! Do you know a man by the name of Milo?”
At the mention of Milo’s name Ceri’s expression darkened. “Milo? That’s the man who befriended you?”