Chapter 4
The concubines looked at each other and each of them remembered their lives here in this palace. It was inconceivable to them how much of their lives revolved around the seductive blue satin, and as they put the clothes into their garment bags, they realized that all of their clothing was alluring, with the exception of some rather plain clothes. They realized that all of their lives in here had been spent in trying to allure the emperor. That part of their lives was now over.
As they quietly put their belongings together, they realized that they could not go back to their lives before the harem. Most of them were girls without families, prostitutes or orphans, and there was nowhere for them to go except in the world of trying to allure men with their beauty. They knew that having been in Natonito's harem they would be very much in demand in the world outside. From their reading newspapers they knew the rumors that went around about their prowess in bed, thanks to the demands of the Directrix. While some of it was scurrilous rumor, some of it was true, and they were more proficient in bed than most of the wallflower girls that nobility married. Even without a noble name, their association with the Directrix would make them very desirable to the guys around.
That much they knew, and they were glad about that. First, though, they were bewildered. How were they going to spend their days. Few of them had any sort of skills that would be useful in the working world, for while they could flirt and engage in witty word games with intelligent men, but they could not sew or even cook. There were servants for those things, you know. Better for a woman to have a maid than for a woman to be a maid.
They filled their bags with their lace and silk, and changed into their plain dresses. They would have to buy some clothes soon, something none of them had a problem doing. They realized that now they would have to buy their clothing at lower prices, barring some a susceptible tailor to flirt with. They would have to use all of their feminine charms now to keep from poverty, but they knew that in all likelihood the news of their banishment from the palace would draw bachelor young nobles from far and wide.
After thinking about this for a while, they realized it was not as bad as they had first thought. After all, they would have the chance to be someone's one and only, and they would make sure their husbands were loyal. They knew how galling it was to have a husband cheating in his own house with impunity. None of them blamed Bathsheba for being so quick to clean house. They would do the same things themselves. They were glad that their living expenses would be provided for until they were settled in with husbands. After all, money was not an object for the Directrix, and they knew he did not want to just toss them out.
With their bags filled in their rooms, they went to the common area and looked at each other. Each of them had gotten just a little bit more mature in these last few hours. Then they marched together to the dining room and put their bags down. Apparently Bathsheba was off somewhere, so they just sat down exhausted and thought about what their lives would be like.
They knew that they would be living in the inn across the street, and they knew it would probably be small and wooden, with some kind of seedy restaurant where they would eat and where they would judge the noblemen who would come to sweep them away. Each of them had their own qualities that they were looking for, but all of them alike knew that they would have to have loyal husbands, or they would be taking a lot of his money and land. Most noblemen knew that girls in demand were very demanding. An economist one time had set the laws of supply in demand in a framework of morality, and this applied to love as well as money. The more you are wanted, the higher standards (thus, the higher "price") you can set on those who want you.
Some of them were more focused on looks then other ones, and they wanted young and handsome noblemen as their husbands. Some of them were more interested in what sort of assets the noblemen had, to provide a good lifestyle for them in the years to come. Other ones focused more on what type of character and personality the noblemen had. All of them wanted that spark of attraction, just like they had felt with Natonito in the years before.
Since they had no family to support them, though, all of them were going to be very detailed and strict about livelihood. They may have only been concubines before, but Natonito had taught all of them to use contracts and law to their advantage, as he had done in so many occasions that they all knew about. Their future would be wrapped up in whoever they chose to marry, and they knew that unless they were very clear in contracts about the marriage, a mistake would be fatal.
So while they were waiting they decided to write down what they wanted included in any marriage contract with a nobleman. This gave them the chance to work out some of their nerves, for all them were very nervous about the future. It also gave them the chance to do something for their future, since there was little else they could do other than wait.
And so they passed the time before it was time for them to leave the palace for good. Never again would they know intimacy in the satin sheets in the palace while the sounds of lovemaking could be heard by all of the other concubines around. They would be making love in the manor homes of provincial nobility or in the city homes of urban nobility and no one else would ever share their bed. These thoughts served to comfort them for their lives ahead.
[ Chapter 3 ]
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