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Part 5
You see? Here's a man with heart as well as a head. He's both compassionate and conservative. He treats his property well but knows how to run a tight, profitable ship.
“Well,” you may be saying, “what does any of this prove? Amanda was obviously in love with Trent and he had some sort of weird thing going for her, even though she was old and he should have turned her into meat long ago when she was no longer fertile.”
Good point. That, in fact, is exactly what he did with all the other original members of his pride. Trent's too sharp a businessman to clutter up the household with deadwood that's not contributing positively to the bottom line. So let's look at this with a clear eye. Amanda was more than a sentimental favorite. She was a really effective Household Enforcer, and that made her economically viable long after she was useless as a breeding wife. She was cheap labor, doing executive work for zero pay, just minimal food and clothing. Plus, she was loyal, obedient and reliable. Sounds like a good deal to me.
But let's expand our perception of Trent Hamilton. Let's hear from a man who has actually done business with him. Jeffrey Sanborn made a private purchase from Trent a year and a half ago. I recorded a conversation with him and his acquisition a while back. This is how it went.
* * *
Curt: What did you buy from Trent?
Jeff: A bride. This girl here. Her name is Clover.
Curt: Hi, Clover.
Clover: (A shy nod.)
Curt: Any complaints?
Jeff: Only the price. But not really. She was worth every penny. Look at her; she's a stunner! Except for her shape. She used to have a wasp waist, but she's seven months pregnant. But look at that incredible face, that long chocolate hair, those dark sexy eyes, those long elegant legs. The minute I saw her, I knew I had to have her. She's irresistible!
Curt: I agree with you there. But pregnant, you say. So she's a good investment, too.
Jeff: Well, yeah. But it took a while. I had my doubts. Still do.
Curt: What do you mean?
Jeff: For the first three months after I bought her, I spent every spare minute in the sack with her, ignoring all my other wives, but she didn't get pregnant. I began to wonder if I'd purchased a dud. So I called Trent and he said not to worry, that he'd send someone over and if she wasn't pregnant within forty-five days, he'd buy her back. The next day a guy named Vito shows up with a contract that says I have to give him half an hour with her in a locked room every day for a month, or until she's pregnant. If she doesn't test positive within 45 days, Trent will recall her and give me a full refund. So I says to Vito, ‘So what are you gonna do in there behind the locked door? You're gonna fuck her, right?' ‘Right,' he says, ‘plus I'm gonna give her a fertility shot.' ‘Why don't you give her the shot and I fuck her?' I says. He goes, ‘Okay by me, but it will void the guarantee if she don't get pregnant.' So I figure, what the hell. At least I'll know she's fertile if he gets her to produce a calf. And he did. Or one of us did. Anyway, she's expecting. If she can drop one every couple of years she'll be a good investment. If not, I'll have to decide if she's worth more to me as a fuck bunny or if I should sell her as a used bride. That market's been getting hotter by the day. But hey, I'll do business with Trent any day of the week. He's an honest man.
Curt: Clover, is that what the man did to you behind the locked door? Gave you a shot and fucked you?
Clover: (Nods. Looks down at the floor, avoiding my eyes.)
Curt: What? Are you shy?
Clover: (Shakes her head.)
Curt: What is it with this girl, Jeff? Can't she talk?
Jeff: Sure she can. She's just being good. She's well disciplined. None of the females in this household are allowed to speak when I'm home without my specific permission. Eliminates the noise and bedlam so a man can think.
Curt: Did you train her?
Jeff: Naw. All Trents girls come fully trained.
Curt: Is that the case, Clover? Are all the calves in Master Trent's household trained to remain silent in a man's presence unless given permission?
Clover: (Nods, looking at the floor.)
Jeff: You may speak now, Clover. Answer the man.
Clover: Thank you, Master Jeffrey. Yes sir, Master Curt. It's part of our regular schooling.
Curt: Admirable! But it seems to me I hear a lot of talking going on among the females when I'm there at Master Trent's estate.
Clover: Yes, sir. Master Trent doesn't have the same rule as we do here. But we're trained for it. One week out of every six we practice silence. We have to wear a special collar during our Silence Week so everyone will know why we don't say anything and we're not allowed to speak at all unless given permission, either by Mistress Amanda or any male.
Curt: And what happens if you do?
Clover: We're punished, sir.
Curt: How? What do they do to you?
Clover: Different things, sir. Depends.
Curt: Do you get whipped? Caned? Things like that?
Clover: Yes, sir.
Curt: I'm told there's a cage. Were you ever put in that?
Clover: Yes, sir. Once.
Curt: What was that like?
Clover: I hated it, sir! They cane you first, forty strokes, really hard. The pain is terrible! Then they cram you into a tiny cage inside a pitch black, soundproofed room. You can't stand up or lie down and it's totally silent. You never know what day it is or what time it is. You're given a nasty gruel to eat from a bowl and you have to go to the bathroom right there on the cage floor. If you're in the lower cage, the piss and shit falls on you from the girl above. Now and then they chain you to a wheel with your hands cuffed behind you and you're dragged around and around in circles for . . . I don't know, it seemed like hours . . . for exercise. You're always gagged so you can't talk to each other.
Curt: But that only happened to you once. You learned your lesson.
Clover: Yes, sir. But what happened wasn't my fault. I always tried to be a good girl because I didn't want to be sold for meat. I wanted to be a bride.
Curt: What happened?
Clover: A girl named Tree was mad at me, sir, because I wouldn't lie for her to get her out of trouble. She'd been stealing another girl's clothes. So when I was in the pastry kitchen on serving duty, she took the power spray hose in the sink and sprayed me with it. That ruined a whole lot of pastries I'd just laid out on the shelf, so I grabbed at the hose and wrestled it out of her hands. Just then Tree's mother came in. Tree immediately accused me of being the one who did the spraying. I yelled back that I was innocent, but of course the mother believed Tree, so I was the one who got punished.
Curt: Forty hard strokes with a cane and a week in a tiny cage being shit on seems pretty severe for ruining some pastry.
Clover: I was convicted by the Disciplinary Panel on six counts, sir. Fighting, unauthorized use of equipment, destroying property, endangering a household asset, disrespecting a wife and lying.
Curt: Endangering a household asset?
Clover: Yes, sir. They said the water in the hose could have been hot and Tree could have been scalded and scarred, which would lower her value.
Curt: I see. But most of the time you kept out of trouble because you wanted to be a bride, not meat.
Clover: Yes, sir.
Curt: Is the training in Master Trent's household different for girls being trained to be brides?
Clover: Not at first, sir. At some point Master Trent decides if a girl is a possible candidate. Most girls are, but some are too . . . uh . . . homely.
Curt: But most girls aren't sold as brides.
Clover: No, sir. When we go on the auction block, if no one buys us to be a bride, we end up at a meat factory or a restaurant.
Curt: And you?
Clover: I was sold privately, sir, to Master Jeffrey.
Curt: Does that mean you're more beautiful than the average girl?
Clover: (Blushing) I don't know, sir. You'll have to ask Master Jeffrey.
Jeff: Damn right she is! She's the prettiest one in my pride by far! I can hardly keep my tool in its box when she's around. Now if she'll just crank out enough calves to justify my investment I'll be a truly happy man.
Curt: And if she doesn't?
Jeff: Well, if I can't get a decent price for her on the used wife market, I can always sell her to a fancy restaurant or catering service. She'll certainly be pretty enough for whole roasting when she gets her figure back. And even if she doesn't, they can do a lot of reshaping with the way they stuff ‘em, y'know?
Curt: How would you feel about that, Clover?
Clover: (Looking frightened.) I'm really going to try to keep getting pregnant, sir. I really am, Master Jeffrey! I know I can do it. I know I can, sir. I promise!
Curt: Hope so, darlin'. You're my favorite. I'd really miss you. (Turning to me.) But at any rate, I can't fault Trent for Clover's failings. He's a straight shooter. A fine, honest businessman.
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