The Arrangement [Box Set] (7 page)

She had never been an overly materialistic person but looking down at the men creating the new poolside area, she couldn’t help letting her mouth form a smile. She did like it here. She loved it. She loved the feeling that everything was being taken care of. It made her feel safe, secure, and more than anything in life, security was what was important to April.

When she first arrived at the new house she’d felt a little guilty about letting Herb foot the bill for everything. He’d given them this enormous house, paid for her shopping spree with Mark, and had even given Walter a new car. It all seemed too much. After what happened at the party the other night though, she was beginning to feel differently about that. She felt more entitled to it all now. She felt that she was doing her own part to earn all these luxuries. She was giving Herb and the other partners in the firm something that they wanted very much, something pleasurable, and that made her feel like this home and this new life belonged to her. She felt less and less like she was going to wake up and find that everything had disappeared or that it had all just been a dream. By letting the partners all enjoy her sexually, she was making her position secure and safe. At least, that’s what she told herself as she leaned back on the recliner and sipped her wine.

Not that the events at the party hadn’t shocked her. They had, deeply. She’d never in her wildest dreams imagined that something like that could happen, not just to her but to anyone. It was obscene. She knew it was.

But she was willing to do it in order to feel secure in her surroundings. She would do whatever it took to please the partners if it meant she and her children would be taken care of. Now that she understood what was going on, and understood the role she was expected to play, she had begun the process of convincing herself that she could indeed play that role.

Before, when she still didn’t know what the other partners wanted of her, she’d been completely bewildered by all the generosity that was being showered down on her and Walter. Now that she understood what they expected, what services she would be required to perform for their pleasure, she was much more at ease. While she hadn’t fully come to terms with everything, she felt that at least she knew her place and that was a start.

And slowly she was coming to terms with it. It had shocked her. What had happened on Frank Prentiss’s billiard table was beyond the bounds of propriety as far as April was concerned. She’d never heard of anything like it in her life. A man letting his business partners taste his wife, it was simply obscene. There was no denying that. But she was slowly coming to realize what was important to her. Family was important, and the fact that Walter was so intent on going through with this arrangement had a huge impact on her thinking. And even more deeply than that, what was important to April was security. She wanted to feel safe in her life. She’d been through so much with her mother and sister when she was a child, and what she wanted now for herself and her two daughters was the security of knowing her place in the world. She wanted a comfortable, secure home where nothing bad could happen to her. She wanted that more than anything else in the world, and the fact that her home just happened to be a gorgeous, luxury mansion in the exclusive hills outside of Washington DC, surrounded by some of the most powerful and privileged people in the country only served to make that goal more attractive and satisfying to her.

She felt that as long as Walter and his partners were happy with her, and that the wives were happy with her, she was safe. And so she began to set her mind on the objective of keeping Walter and his partners as happy as she could. If that meant that she would occasionally have to set her dignity aside and do something kinky or sexual for their enjoyment then that was something she would just have to live with.

What was important for April was that she was safe and secure and was allowed to live a good life. She felt that if she could get that out of the arrangement then she would gladly give them back a few sexual favors. In fact, the more she thought about it the more she was able to convince herself that it was a fair arrangement. It wasn’t even that different from the traditional arrangement she’d had with Walter for their entire marriage. If she was completely honest, the reason she was with Walter wasn’t because she loved him and he loved her. It was because she needed him. Their marriage was a contract in which they each gave something and received something. She received a home and financial security for herself and her daughters and he received the comforts of a family life including the right to enjoy her sexually pretty much whenever he felt like it.

If she was even more honest with herself, the events that had taken place on Frank Prentiss’s billiard table were more pleasurable and exciting than anything she’d ever enjoyed with Walter. There was an inherent thrill to the whole thing. She was excited at the idea of all four men wanting her at once. They had been so hungry for her, hungrier than Walter had ever been before. And all of that attention and lust was focused directly on her. It made her shudder to the depths of her thighs just thinking about it.

And the financial security she was receiving in return for her participation with the partners was far more than anything Walter had ever been able to give her by himself. With just her husband, they’d been able to afford an ordinary house in an ordinary neighborhood. Now she was getting a mansion, her own swimming pool, servants, drivers, shopping sprees, the whole deal. What more could she want?

She told herself that the new arrangement was just an enhancement of the marriage contract she’d always had with Walter. She still had to provide essentially the same services, playing wife and mother and giving sexual pleasure, only now the sex was more exciting, and the financial security was a lot more luxurious.

As if on cue, a maid in a black dress with a white apron came out and offered her another glass of wine. Of course this was a life she could learn to enjoy.

II

A
PRIL WAS NERVOUS AS THE
day approached for the girls to go to their new boarding school. She was terribly conflicted about sending them away. Although Greenwood Springs was just a few hours from their home and she had been assured repeatedly that it was one of the best schools in the country, the girls were so young that it went against her maternal instincts to let them go.

Lucy was six and was just beginning to become a friend to her mother. April would let her sit with her in front of the vanity while she got ready in the morning and the two of them would put on makeup together. They always laughed and had fun as Lucy tried on the different colors of eyeshadow and lipstick and blush. She would miss that little morning routine.

Mary was four and was really just starting to settle into her own personality. She could be willful and stubborn but she was also the sweetest little thing April had ever seen. She wanted a dog and with all the space around the new house it would have been the perfect time for them to get one. But April knew that there was no point. It would only be cruel to get her a dog and then tell her she had to leave it behind while she went off to boarding school.

There was so much of their childhood that she would miss now. She would always be their mother of course but she wouldn’t be there every day to see all the little things that comprise the substance of a life. She would become like a relative to them, someone they knew loved them and who bought them presents on holidays but no longer as intimate as a mother should be. She was afraid that her importance to their lives would gradually fade.

During that first week in the new house April tried to spend as much time with them as possible while she still had the chance. She took them into the city and bought them clothes, she took them to the zoo and the Smithsonian, she even took them for walks along the forest paths around the house.

She was still embarrassed every time she stepped into one of the firm’s black town cars and saw that Akbar was her driver but he had shown her nothing but respect since she’d given him that warning. In fact, she usually found it strangely comforting having Akbar with her when they went into the city. They didn’t talk much to each other but he would nod and smile when he picked her up, letting her know that everything was alright, and she knew that he would always be there waiting with the car for her whenever she was ready to go home. She found that the city had become a lot more accessible and inviting to her now that she had a driver. She didn’t have to negotiate traffic or find her way in a new neighborhood and parking was never an issue. Just another perk of being with the firm, she thought.

And it was just one more thing that she found she was able to get used to when she corrected her thinking. At first when Walter told her that she wouldn’t be having her own car she had panicked. That was always her first response. She saw it as an attack on her autonomy. But now that she was used to it she realized just how many advantages there were to having your own private chauffeur. She hoped it would be like that with the girls’ school. It was no small thing, sending them away. She’d be able to visit them on the weekends but she prayed that they were happy enough at the school to survive the whole week without her. They’d be allowed to call home every evening, which was some comfort. It was just that they were so very young. She tried to calm down as she told herself that the school would be like everything else in this new life and that once she got used to it she would see just how advantageous it was.

When the day at last arrived to take the girls to the boarding school she prepared them in every way she could think of. She had of course told them about the school beforehand and had shown them pictures but now that it was time to leave she sat them down and explained it all to them again. Then she took them upstairs and packed bags for them. She’d had photos printed and framed of the family together at Disney Land and she packed them each a picture to put by their bed.

It was Sunday and Walter would be driving them out to Greenwood Springs. After they’d packed she brought everyone to the dining room and they ate dinner together. She’d helped with the roast but they had a cook now as well as a couple of servants and she let them serve so that she could give her full attention to the girls. During the meal she hardly looked at Walter. She was angry with him for forcing her to send the girls away and she couldn’t bring herself to be pleasant, not tonight. She was sure Walter sensed it but she didn’t care.

After dinner, Walter brought the car to the front of the house and they all climbed in.

The drive to Greenwood Springs was beautiful. The fall trees were turning brown as they drove through the hills of Virginia and the girls were having fun in the back of the car. Walter put his hand on April’s lap and she was relaxed enough to let him leave it there. They spoke little on the drive and it was about an hour and a half till Walter left the road to go down the long driveway of the Greenwood Academy.

The school grounds were beautifully manicured of course. By now, April expected no less. Everything the firm arranged was always of the highest standard. When they got out of the car they were greeted by a young woman in her twenties who said she was a liaison officer. She brought them to the school’s administrative building, a beautiful stone cottage next to the main building. April was pleased to see that the girls followed the woman obediently and didn’t make a scene. They seemed to be quite excited about their surroundings and pointed things out to each other as they followed the liaison officer.

At the building they met Ms. Forrester, the headmistress of the school. She was about forty-five and very competent looking. She had on a black cotton dress that fit her perfectly and lace stockings and she had to be the most elegant school teacher April had ever seen. They all went into a small sitting room and sat. Someone served her and Walter tea and there was juice and cookies for the girls.

Ms. Forrester addressed the girls first. She welcomed them to the Greenwood Academy and explained that this was going to be their home for the school term. The girls scarcely understood most of it, April was certain of that, but they were polite and went along with everything that was being told to them happily enough. Then two students, girls who were about eight years old, were shown into the room and Ms. Forrester introduced them to Lucy and Mary. She told April and Walter to say goodbye so that the girls could go off and be shown to their rooms.

To April’s relief the girls actually seemed excited. She hugged and kissed them both and the only tears that were shed were her own. Then the girls all went off to the dormitory with the liaison officer and left her and Walter alone with Ms. Forrester.

—Will they have trouble settling in? April said.

—There will be some tears for the first few nights. There always are when they realize that they’re here for good. Most of them are expecting their parents to take them home at bedtime, they think it’s a game, and when they realize they have to sleep here they cry. But they settle in within a few days. It’s a very nice school, I assure you, and the children grow to love the place very quickly. We’re good to them here.

—And what about visiting?

—Well, visits are allowed on Sunday afternoons but we really do recommend you leave it two or three weeks before the first visit.

—Why? April said. That sounded like an eternity to her.

—It just allows them to get settled. They settle in more quickly if you leave them to it for a while.

April looked at Walter. Walter ignored the look. He thanked Ms. Forrester and then brought April back out to the car. Before he’d even started the ignition she was in tears.

—They’ll be fine, he assured her. We’ll come and visit them in a few weeks.

April sensed the impatience in Walter’s voice but she just couldn’t stop crying. She let Walter hold her even though she blamed him for all this and on the drive home she spoke even less than she had on the way there.

She thought about the amount of control she’d allowed Walter to gain over her life. He’d brought her to a new neighborhood, moved her into a house that belonged to the firm, taken away her car, put her under the supervision of servants and drivers, and then allowed his partners to have their way with her sexually. She could not have given up more control over her life than she already had. She was completely under the control of Walter and the other partners now and she was acutely aware of the fact. And as if that wasn’t all enough, now he’d taken away her two little babies so that she would be entirely alone.