Carl Van Marcus - The watching husband

"There is more… but you'll see all that later. Right now you must be tired… and we'll be having dinner shortly."

He led them back up stairs to the top floor where he showed them a luxurious suite of rooms that they were to call theirs for the duration of their stay.

"I want to get this straight right at the beginning," he told them just before he left, "I don't consider you as servants or even employees at all… you are my friends… and we will have our dinners and meals together as do my other guests. As for your functions in this household we will go into complete detail about enjoy yourselves while you're here… THAT is one of the primary rules of the house! Dinner in an hour folks… in the big dining room… oh yes, why not wear something special for your first evening here… after all, it is kind of a celebration."

He closed the big oak door behind him with a smile and he was gone.

"Whoopeeee!" Tim grabbed Kate up from the bed where she was sitting and whirled her around the room. "Oh, baby… we hit the jackpot this time… look at this room… and that sitting room… look at this place! It's a dream… don't pinch me whatever you do… I don't want to wake up." They pranced hysterically for a few minutes, giggling and shouting their excitement. Then they went through the three rooms and bath that they would occupy, looking in all the cabinets and drawers, examining the delicately carved woodwork and furniture. The windows were of leaded glass and the entire suite opened out over an enormous azure blue swimming pool below. Each room had French doors leading onto a stone terrace on which were placed colorful tables and chaises.

They were ecstatic and Kate was doubly happy because it was the first time in a long time that she had seen Tim so happy. Things had seemed to go wrong from the day or rather the night they were married, and he had shown her a dark, sullen side of his nature that she had never dreamed existed. She was inwardly proud of herself for having arranged this for them, and she hoped that Tim was giving her credit deep down inside for their good fortune.

While she relaxed in the deep, old-fashioned tub filled almost to the brim with water, she pondered the irony of her adventure with Sam Dagon, sending forth a silent prayer of thanks to the powers that had made her reconsider his offer.

A few hours later Tim and Kate were sitting at the long lace clothed table in the main dining room. The dinner had been prepared by a Parisian chef, Pierre, who had lived with his wife and daughter in the apartment that had been created out of the former servants' quarters.

Dot, their eighteen year old daughter, was the maid whose sole function seemed to be to serve meals as decoratively as possible.

Tim and Kate sat facing each other across the table while during the dinner of stuffed pheasant and wild rice, Sam sat at the head of the table. They were rapidly overcoming the nervousness they experienced in the unusual situation due to the copious filling of their crystal glasses with vintage wines, one for each course, ending with a dessert of delicate lichee nuts served with warm cognac. At the end of it, Kate felt slightly tipsy, and she could tell that Tim was downright drunk, although he was holding it very well. She felt flushed and excited by the dinner, and Sam's elegant, sophisticated dinner conversation… it was very similar to a book she had read once, or was it a movie… in any case, she remembered that Sam's part was played by some romantic star and that she had been very impressed with him as an impressionable teenager.

Sam proposed that they retire to the drawing room for coffee and brandy. As they rose from the table, Kate noticed how Tim staggered and frowned across at him. Her look was lost on him, however, since nothing could have marred the dazed good mood he was in.

As they entered the drawing room, he clapped his hand confidentially on Sam's shoulder, "I've got to hand it to you, Sam," he said… "You're a damned good host."

Kate winced, but noticed that Sam did not seem taken aback by this familiarity. Then she remembered his stern speech earlier about their being his guests, and she relaxed a little. And as she sank into a big leather chair she was glad she had decided to wear her silver dress. She knew she looked good in it, but she had had very few chances to wear it. She crossed her legs and noticed that she was sunk so far down in the chair that a great deal of her thighs showed below the short skirt of the dress, and both Sam and Tim were sitting directly opposite her. She tried to shift her position so that not so much of her stocking flesh was exposed, but after wiggling a bit, she realized that there was nothing to be done for it so she forgot about it. Before turning the conversation to the many specially bound books lining the room, she did attempt to signal to Tim that they should be going upstairs soon. The large brandy was making her dizzy, and yet, there was a warm, tingling at the base of her spine that made her want to snuggle up in the big double bed with her husband. She hoped that he wouldn't fall asleep right away.

"Well, my friends, I've told you quite a bit about the house and about myself this evening… now… if you're willing, we can discuss the future… what help I'll be counting on you for… how we can best work together… etcetera."

Sam sat in his favorite chair contemplating the splendid view of Kate's upper thighs… if he just leaned forward a bit he knew that he would be able to see the tender vee at the crux of her legs. "Mmmmmmm," he thought… mentally licking his lips, for he knew that it wouldn't be long before he would once more be touching her there. He wondered if she ever thought of that evening in the car, and how it affected her if she did.

She looked even better than he had thought in the setting of Dagon Manor… and she would look even better as time went on, he mused. Now he hoped the subtle additions he had made to Mr. and Mrs. Tassel's brandy would soon have the desired effect. He knew that the best thing he could do under the circumstances was to continue talking in his low monotone until Tim had to leave.

"So you see, you, Tim… we'll have all the time you like for your writing… I just need to make sure the grounds are kept in the finest shape possible… I'm a Capricorn… do you go in for that sort of thing? Well, whether you believe it or not… I like order around me… A Capricorn trait… You will have people to help you plan and organize and people to do the manual labor that you don't care to do yourself… The main thing that I want to know is that you are responsible for these things… right?"

Sam could see that Tim's eyes were heavy lidded and that his perfunctory nod was about all he could muster as an answer.

"Now as for the house, the pool, the stables… You will largely act as a sort of overseer… Crockett… the caretaker who has been here since my father's time will help you out and show you everything you need to know about the place, from the billiard tables in the attic to the cabanas below the swimming pool. Is there anything you'd like to ask me this evening?"

"Uh…!" Tim could barely speak, his words came out in a garbled rush… and then he fell silent realizing that he was making no sense. "Better… bed… sorry…" he managed to blurt out, lurching forward from his chair.

Kate jumped up and ran to help him, and Sam grabbed him by the arm. Together they helped him up the large, sweeping stairway, richly decorated with hanging tapestries and got him into the bedroom where he collapsed on the bed.

Kate stood by, not knowing what to do first… "I should get him out of his things… Oh, I'm sorry… Mr… I mean Sam. I'm sorry this had to spoil our first evening here. We're not used to alcohol, you know… and Tim…"