Lara followed Tania, and during the next few hours her world was expanded as she learned the secret of how Pleasure Women were treated. She was seated, and a slave woman began to pare and shape her nails. Her hands were first soaked in a mixture of hot water and soap, then her nails were cleaned, and each hand massaged before being put into a separate bowl of warm scented cream. While her hands were being treated, another slave woman began on her feet, tsking at the rough heels and soles she possessed.

“Make them like silk,” Tania ordered.

“It will take days to make these feet presentable,” the slave told Tania.

“She is being shown tonight,” Tania said. “You don’t want the master displeased, do you? Do you remember how long it took the welts to go down on the last slave who made him unhappy? He has a great investment in this girl.”

“Then he should have taken her from her family sooner, and not left it to the last minute,” the slave at Lara’s feet huffed. “I’ll do my best, but I’m not promising anything, and threatening me with a beating isn’t going to change a thing. The girl has feet like a farm worker, although I admit their dainty size will work to her advantage.”

Lara remained silent as the slaves worked on her. She was bathed next, slaves washing her all over with large sea sponges filled with scented soap. Then she was scraped and rinsed to be certain the dirt was removed from her body. A sweet-smelling paste the color of almond blossoms was smeared on her legs and her pubic mound. It burned slightly, and she complained as it was quickly rinsed away. She was then washed again, this time by Tania, who pushed the cloth she used into the most intimate areas of Lara’s body, causing Lara to blush furiously.

Tania snorted with impatience. “Every part of you must be fresh and sweet-smelling for your lovers,” she explained. “You’ll get use to this.” She rinsed Lara with basins of fragrant warm water. “Now, get into the bath pool and sit down while your hair is washed, child.”

The bathing pool had a bench that circled the entire pool. Lara sat down. The water was warm and very relaxing. She waited for someone to get into the water with her to wash her hair, but instead she was instructed to put her head back, and a slave woman washed her long tresses from the outside of the pool. Her pale gold locks were twice soaped, twice rinsed and then rinsed a third time with lemon juice and water.

“It makes golden hair even more golden,” Tania told her. “Are you hungry?” She busily toweled Lara’s hair dry first with a drying cloth, and then with a silk one.

“A little,” Lara admitted. She had been pampered for several hours now.

“Then I will have something brought to you before we continue,” Tania said. “It will be light, and you will not eat again until after you have been displayed.” She gave orders in a brisk tone, and shortly Lara was served a dish of yogurt flavored with berries, a piece of flat crisp bread with a thin slice of cheese, and a small goblet of wine.

When she had finished Tania handed her a goblet of minted water with which to rinse her mouth. Then to Lara’s surprise her mouth, her tongue and teeth were brushed with a boar’s bristle brush, and she rinsed again.

“A woman should always have sweet breath,” Tania said.

Lara was then laid out on a padded table. Her face was cleaned and creamed. Her body was thoroughly massaged until she felt as weak as a newborn kitten, and could barely stand on her own two legs. She was then led to a soft mattress, and a silvery curtain was drawn around it.

“You will sleep now,” Tania said. “When it is time I will come and get you.”

Lara needed no encouragement, and when she was awakened several hours later she realized that she felt better than she had ever felt in her life. Instinctively she touched the pendant. She had not allowed them to remove it from her neck while she was being prepared for display. Tania offered her a small goblet of water, and thirsty, Lara drank it down. Then at the older woman’s suggesting she relieved herself and was washed in that private place once again.

“What am I to wear this evening?” she asked Tania.

“You will be displayed naked but for your pendant and some flowers,” Tania said. “You understand that you will be touched by both the men and the women at the table? You must show no emotion at all, no matter how intimate a gesture it seems to you. Fear or repulsion will irritate the master’s guests. There are also some among the guests whose houses cater to those men with odd or brutal tastes. You do not want to end up in one of those places, child. Remain emotionless at all costs.”

Lara nodded. “I don’t understand, but I know your advice is sound,” she told Tania. “What is it these men like that is so strange?”

“Pain and degradation,” came the answer. “Your first-night rights would be sold to men who would rape you instead of enjoying your sweetness and innocence. These men like inflicting punishment on women. They whip them with all manner of cruel instruments. They beat them with their hands and make them beg for mercy before using them in vile ways you should never hear from my lips. Show no emotion, Lara, lest you fall prey to one of these Pleasure Houses.”

“But surely Gaius Prospero would not permit me to be sold to such people?” Lara cried. “He seems a kind man.”

Tania laughed bitterly. “Child, remember, Gaius Prospero cares only for profit. If one of these creatures should offer him the highest price for you he will take it, and you will be lost. Remember what I have told you. Come now, I must place you.” She led Lara to where a large round golden tray was placed upon a small table. “You are to sit upon this. On your side, on one hip.” And when Lara had placed herself according to instructions, Tania brushed the tangles from her long hair, spreading it out. Then she placed a crown of small white flowers upon the girl’s head. Next she decorated the tray with the same white flowers and, standing back, surveyed her handiwork and nodded, pleased. “Are you afraid of being enclosed?” she asked Lara.

“I do not know,” Lara replied.

“Well, it will only be for a few moments,” Tania remarked. Then she clapped her hands, and two ebony-black men slaves stepped forward.

They were muscular and their beautifully formed bodies were oiled. They were completely naked, and their male organs had been painted with gold paint to display them. They seemed very large to Lara, but then she had never seen a male organ except her baby brother’s. About the necks of the men were twisted gold torques.

“You are to be carried to the dining room,” Tania explained, and then she lifted a large gold dome which she placed over Lara and her tray. “Take her to the master!”

Lara felt the tray lifted up. She struggled a moment to maintain her balance, but once she found it she had no more difficulty. The two men hurried with a measured step from the north wing of the house through the halls, and finally they stood outside the dining room where Gaius Prospero was entertaining his special guests. Lara heard the doors to the room open wide, and then she heard the voice of her master saying, “Ahh, here is our dessert, my friends. A most special treat, I assure you,” and he chuckled richly at his own humor.

“If it’s as good as the rest of the meal,” Lara heard a man’s voice say, “we will surely have no complaints,” and laughter erupted about the room.

“Oh, I think you will find this a most special and rich dish. One such as you have never had before,” Gaius Prospero said. Then he nodded to his majordomo who quickly lifted the lid to reveal Lara.

The guests gasped as one, surprised and delighted. Laughter rippled around the dining room.

Where the instinct came from she never knew, but she looked coyly at the guests about the table, her head moving slowly to take them all in. The impression she gave was of utter elegance and pride.

“Now, my friends, I will give each of you the opportunity to inspect this truly rare and, you will agree, unique piece of merchandise. She is a virgin. Every orifice is intact, untouched by man or woman. She is ready to be trained as the most perfect of Pleasure Women, but before that her first-night rights will bring her owner a fortune. Who among your clientele will not lust after this exquisite beauty?” He stood before Lara on her tray, and offering her his hand helped her down from the table, and up onto a small dais of polished wood. “Look at this skin. Silken to the touch.” His hand swept down Lara’s graceful back.

She was startled, but she remembered Tania’s warnings, remaining still and without expression. No matter what happened she would show no emotion.

“When did you last see breasts like these? A bit small, perhaps, but perfect in every way, and she is young. They will grow with loving handling,” he chuckled. “And have you ever seen hair like this?” His fat hand ruffled through Lara’s hair and it cascaded about her like a waterfall of golden gilt. “I have never had a finer piece of merchandise to offer you, and I will expect your bids to echo my expectations by this time tomorrow night.”

“Is it true she is faerie?” one of the men asked.

“Her mother was faerie, none will deny it. You know her father, Sir John Swiftsword,” Gaius Prospero said. “A fine lineage.”

The guests now arose from the table, and came forward to get a closer look at Lara.

“Open your mouth,” one woman said.

Lara complied.

“She has all her teeth, and there is no rot. The breath is sweet,” the woman remarked. “Her eyes are beautiful. They are green but the lashes are dark. A most striking contrast.”

Lara felt a hand fondling her bottom. She swallowed as discreetly as she might, but the expression on her face remained impassive.