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“And here’s Lady Paddlepants and her daughter Yulla,” Lady Mirabella continued.
A thin woman with a patrician nose and a permanently sour expression on her face nodded briefly to Lilli. Her daughter was a dull-looking creature with watery gray eyes and an upper lip which didn’t quite meet the lower one. This resulted in her top teeth showing at all times, which made her look very much like the Earth animal called a rabbit, Karn thought. They both nodded at Lilli, who nodded back politely.
Yulla, too, had a softly rounded abdomen. Karn frowned—was it some kind of body-mod? But why would females who were so self-conscious about their weight modify themselves to look less than sleek and perfect? He had no idea but it seemed very strange.
“And finally, meet Lady Bodypom and her twin daughters, Beelie and Bodie,” Lady Mirabella finished, nodding at the last of the party.
Lady Bodypom had a tower of bright pink hair and a self-important look on her sallow face. Her daughters both had silver-tipped, black hair and wide purple eyes which they turned on Lilli in unison. They, too, had slightly rounded abdomens which stuck out above their long, silver, split skirts.
“Hello, it’s very nice to meet all of you,” Lilli said, trying to smile, though Karn could see what the effort cost her. He hadn’t known her long, but he thought his new Mistress was something of an introvert, which meant that this kind of social gathering was going to be difficult for her.
“Well…” Lady Mirabella clapped her hands. “Shall we go in to dinner? I have us in the smaller dining room, since we’re just an intimate little party,” she added, and smiled at her guests.
There was a general murmur of agreement and the entire party followed their hostess through the grand entryway, down a long marble hallway, and finally into a vast banquet hall.
So this is the smaller dining room? Karn thought, looking around in awe. The hall could have comfortably seated two hundred or more, so their party of nine Mistresses and their accompanying bodyslaves was dwarfed by the echoing chamber. He wondered if Lady Mirabella really did have a larger banquet hall somewhere in this immense palace or if she was just showing off for the other Mistresses.
They all trooped to the center of the room where two separate tables had been set up under two huge glittering gold and diamond chandeliers. Here, as everywhere in the mansion, Lady Mirabella’s vast wealth was on display.
All of the plates and eating utensils were solid platinum. The crystal goblets were actually diamond, Karn realized, after one of the girls knocked one over with a swish of her dress and it chipped the marble floor rather than shattering.
The wine in the solid gold serving ewers had the faintest scent of Elysium spice which meant it had to be a vintage from the bubble grape fields of Zinzu Tertia. The planet was renowned for wines that cost so much a single sip would buy an entire home on most other worlds.
Lady Mirabella seemed eager to please—trying too hard, Karn thought—to impress her important guests. He knew she had only recently been appointed to the Sacred Seven and that she was at a social disadvantage because she lived outside Opulex rather than inside the city itself. But was this obscene display of wealth really necessary?
“Now, I have two separate tables so the grownups can talk business while the youngsters socialize,” she said, fluttering around the tables to show everyone their seats—even though there were already gold and silver engraved name cards at every seat. “You girls enjoy yourselves,” she told the daughters of her friends. “And Lilli, be a gracious hostess,” she added sharply to her own daughter. “You must sit at the head of the table and make certain everyone has enough to drink and that conversation flows smoothly.”
Karn saw Lilli’s face go pale but she nodded obediently and tried to smile.
“Yes, Mother. Um, shall we all sit down?” she said, speaking to Priss and Yulla and the twins, Beelie and Bodie.
“I suppose if we must.” Priss, the tall thin girl with sharp features and big blue eyes threw herself into a chair at the head of the table—which happened to be the place where Lilli’s name card was positioned.
Lilli cleared her throat uncomfortably.
“Um, Priss? I think you’re in my seat,” she said. “Not that I care about that kind of thing but Mother gets so upset—”
“She’ll get over it.” Picking up the gold and silver engraved name card with Lilli’s name on it, Priss tossed it to her left. “You can sit there, Lilliana—I’m not moving,” she announced.
Lilli looked like she wanted to say something but wasn’t sure what she could do to change the situation without sounding rude.
It was Priss who was being fucking rude, Karn thought, a low growl rising in his throat. But there was nothing he could do about it. He—like the other bodyslaves standing around the table—was only there to serve his Mistress. If someone attacked her with direct force, he could intervene. But he couldn’t do a damn thing about the rich bitch girls at the table being snarky.
