Moon - New Moon Part 30

"It was better than what I would have had if they hadn't discovered my potential. At least I had enough to eat, I learned to read and do math, and I didn't have to do menial work." She laughed. "Well, I do. But not for someone else."

Leaning forward, he asked. "Is that what your mother did?"

"No. My mother was the concubine of a rich man named Jandor. He's on the council. He's got a wife and three children, but he always had concubines, too. My mother's life with him was comfortable, and when he got tired of her, he got her a job in... in a place where they cut the hair of rich women and do beauty treatments for them. She does fortune-telling there while they get their hair and nails done. Or while they are relaxing after the treatments. She's very good, so the women like her. Jandor was clever about placing her there. He also uses her as a way to get information about what other men on the council are doing. That part can be dangerous, but she does what he asks because he could yank her out of there and send her somewhere much worse."

"I'm sorry."

She shrugged. "That's the way it is in Sun Acres."

"Jandor is your father?"

"Yes. After I was born, he made my mother have an operation so she wouldn't have any more children."

"Christ!"

"It could have been worse."

"And it could have been a lot better. Here n.o.body owns anyone else."

"But some of your people have better status than others."

"That's always going to be true. The communists tried to change the equation. Their way didn't work, either."

"The communists?"

He laughed. "Let's not get off on them. We should talk about us."

"Us," she repeated uncertainly.

"I want you for my wife," he said. He hadn't intended to say that so soon-but it had come tumbling from his lips.

She stared at him wide-eyed. "You don't even know me."

"I know what's important about you."

"I'm a slave," she said again.

"No. You had the courage to free yourself."

She turned over her arm and pointed to the wavy lines below her elbow. "That's Jandor's mark."

"Not anymore. We can have it removed."

"It's still... in my head."

"You'll find out that in this world, it doesn't matter where you came from or what you were. We have a saying here: This is the first day of the rest of your life."

Before he could say more, a ringing sound made her jump in her seat.

"Falcone!"

"No. The telephone."

She looked wildly around, trying to identify the source.

He got up and hurried to the end of the counter, pointing to a phone with a built-in answering machine. "Don't answer it. It's probably someone calling the people who live here."

"I don't know how to answer it."

A woman's voice came on the answering machine. "Bart? Helen? Are you there?" The caller sighed. "I guess not. This is Terry. Give me a jingle when you get in. We have a problem with the duplicate bridge date." The line clicked off.

"What was that?"

"Someone named Terry calling them to talk about bridge."

"To cross a river?"

"No. There are bridges to cross rivers. But she's talking about a card game called bridge. Do you play cards?"

"Rich people do."

"When Terry didn't find Bart and Helen home, she left a message."

"Okay."

He picked up the portable receiver and brought it to her, dialing back to the previous call on the caller ID. "This is the woman who called. Terry Maxwell."

She stared at the readout and nodded, then said, "Why is it buzzing?"

"That's the dial tone. It means you could make a call to someone else. You also pick this up to get a call. You put this part to your ear and speak here." He dialed the weather and held it to her ear.

She listened.

"He says it's going to stop raining. How does he know?"

"We have weather satellites. But don't worry about that right now."

She sighed. "It's complicated."

"You're smart. You'll get the hang of it. And you don't have to do it all at once." He put the receiver back, then stood beside her so he could stroke her shoulder. "Right now we need to keep you safe from Falcone. My family will help us."

"Why?"

"Because you're my..." He stopped short.

"What?"

"Lifemate. That's what we call the woman who bonds with one of the men in our family."