Wife of the Party

Chapter 4

"We got another one," announced Monique. She was in the library checking her emails at the computer. Pierre was reading the newspaper and smoking his pipe in a chair nearby.

"Another what, dear?" he asked.

"Another offer," she replied.

"Oh. Where did this one come from?"

"New Zealand.."

"How much this time?"

"You have to see this one for yourself," she said.

It was remarkable. For the past several months, they had been receiving offers for the purchase of their slaves. The offers originated from all over the world: Canada, England, Australia, South Africa. This latest one from New Zealand kept up the pattern. They speculated that they all originated from the same person but they were not sure.

The first one arrived when Laura was still pregnant. "How much do you want for your slavegirl?" was all that the email said. They had ignored it.

Neither Pierre nor Monique could imagine who could be sending the emails. They had not advertised their slaves for sale. They had not even displayed them publicly. Some of their friends had met the two slaves at various parties hosted by the Chambeaux family and some of Katherine's friends had met and used the slave couple. They could not believe that any of their friends would be so outrageous as to try to purchase their slaves, though.

Pierre got up from his chair and stood behind Monique, massaging her shoulders as he read the email. "I will offer you $1.5 million for your pair of slaves. Delivery is not necessary. I can arrange to have them collected."

Pierre whistled. "That's starting to become real money. Do you think we should sell?"

"Pierre!" scolded Monique. "How can you even think of such a thing? They are far too precious."

"At some point, everything has a price," he responded. "Would you sell them if they offered a hundred million?"

"That's pretty unrealistic. But I probably would for that price."

"Like I said, everything has a price. Maybe the price isn't high enough yet but, if they keep this up, it will be."

"What do you think we should do?" asked Monique.

"Well the price isn't high enough for me. But I'm dying to learn who this is. Let's suggest a meeting." Pierre then helped Monique script a response. "Regarding your offer, we should meet to discuss the terms of the transaction."

Monique sent the email. Fifteen minutes later, she received a reply. "4:00 today at the Four Seasons. No need to bring the merchandise."

"So much for this email coming from New Zealand," commented Monique. "It's obviously a fake email account. I'm sure that all of these emails are from the same guy."

"We'll find out this afternoon, won't we?" said Pierre.

Shortly before 4:00, the couple was seated at a table in the bar of the Four Seasons. Pierre was sipping a glass of red wine and Monique was enjoying a cup of tea. She kept looking around, trying to see if she recognized anyone but nobody looked familiar. Several minutes after 4:00, a man approached the table.

"Mr. and Mrs. Chambeaux, I presume?" he said.

"Yes, I am Pierre Chambeaux," said Pierre as he stood and extended his hand. They shook briefly. "And this is my wife, Monique."

"Excuse me for being tardy," said the man as he shook her hand. "I was delayed. My, you are lovely," he commented as he gazed at Monique. "When I first arrived, I was convinced that you were the merchandise of which we have been communicating."

"Thank you," replied Monique. "I think."

"My name is Alan Chisholm," the man explained. "May I join you?"

"Please be seated," responded Pierre.

Alan took a chair and then leaned forward, placing his palms flat on the table as he looked from Pierre to Monique and then back to Pierre again. "Now then, let's get down to business, shall we? You have a package that I would very much like to acquire. My offers to date have been rejected but hopefully they have demonstrated my sincerity and my flexibility when it comes to the terms of the deal. Hopefully, they have also demonstrated that I am determined and that price is not a major issue for me."

"Yes, you have demonstrated all of those things," replied Pierre. "We were surprised at some of the offers. Tell me this, though. How did you learn of our… merchandise?"

"Oh," nodded Alan. He paused for a moment. "From a very reliable source. An acquaintance of mine."

"I see," pondered Pierre. "And do we know this acquaintance of yours?"

"Yes," nodded Alan again. "Yes, I believe you do."

"May we know who that is?" asked Monique.

Again, Alan paused. "For the moment, I think it best to keep him unnamed. His identity will be revealed eventually but for now let us call him Mr. X"

"And what is Mr. X' interest in the transaction?" asked Monique, "if you can share that."

"His interest is honorable," replied Alan, "if that is what you are worried about. He is quite infatuated with your female… errrr… pet."

"Oh, so is he the actual buyer?" asked Pierre.

"No, no," Alan shook his head. "Nothing like that. Unfortunately, he does not have the wherewithal for such a transaction. I will be the buyer. I do intend to deed the property to him after the transaction, though. As a sort of gift."

Monique studied the man. Alan Chisholm appeared to be in his mid to late forties. He was distinguished looking with a slight bit of graying around his temples. He was fit and rather handsome. And he was obviously wealthy. Monique could tell this from the outrageously high offers but also from the expensive suit that he wore.

"That is a very generous gift, indeed," remarked Pierre. "Your latest offer was for both articles of merchandise. What is your acquaintance's interest in the second item?"

"Alas," responded Alan, "he has no real interest in the second item. But it became evident that you believed they should be kept together, as a collection so to speak. As I mentioned, however, my acquaintance is an honorable man. He would take them both and keep them together."

"Are you aware that there is a third article in the collection now?" asked Pierre.

"Yes," nodded Alan. "I have been informed of that development. I did not know how to address the third item in my offers. I did not know of your intentions or desires."

"The third…. article is an integral part of the collection now," responded Monique quickly. "The set cannot be broken up."

"I see," commented Alan. "Then I shall modify my offer to include the entire set. I am open to considering any other terms and conditions that you might propose."

"To be honest with you, Mr. Chisholm," Pierre said, "we are not inclined to part with our collection. They suit our needs perfectly. They are exquisite and they are trained to our liking."

"As unusual as this sounds," added Monique, "They have become part of the family. There would be a huge hole left behind if we sold them."

"Yes, I can understand that," commented Alan. "From what I understand, the female pet is divine. I'm sure that the male pet is also equally precious to you. Thank you for your time. I will tell my acquaintance that they are not available. He will be disappointed but perhaps it is for the best. I envisioned the female becoming a huge distraction to him." Alan Chisholm arose and shook hands with Pierre and Monique before departing. "Thank you again for meeting with me."

"That was sure strange," commented Monique on the drive home.

"It was," agreed Pierre. "I have never had a discussion about selling a human before."

"Should we be worried? He seemed awfully determined. Might he steal her?"

Pierre shook his head. "No, I don't think so. He didn't appear to be the type. I think we'll hear from him again, but I don't think that we have to worry about any criminal activity."

"Nevertheless," Monique continued, "maybe we should get them insured."

"Insure a slave?" sputtered Pierre. "You can't insure a slave. You can't even own one."

"It was just a thought," huffed Monique. "We never knew how valuable they were and now I'm worried about losing them."

"We'll just have to keep them safe," replied Pierre.