Nora sat in the backseat, removing a compact from the depths of her purse before pulling out the pad to dab powder on her face. The drive had been long, and she wanted to her appearance to be such that no one would speak poorly of her Lord when backs were turned. Lord Baas had a well-deserved reputation as an intelligent man with many interests, however he was entrusting her to the task at hand of selecting someone new to be a part of one of his long-term projects. Specifically, his family agenda.
The girls back at the house were as loyal as she, if a bit catty at times. That was to be expected when several women lived under one roof. Certainly, they vied for his attention, and he was attentive to them all in turn, but jealousy could still be a factor behind the scenes, and it was Nora’s job to curb their behavior, or mark them for culling from the family. It wasn’t more wives he needed, however, but a stud. Or was it stallion? She couldn’t recall the correct term, but she knew she was headed to a classy, discreet auction.
The compact closed with a small click before being put away, and a small steno pad was produced, with notes written in her own shorthand, of the sorts of traits thought to be good or suitable for the family’s needs, and the set limit she could not go over. The sun was setting when the car turned into the gravel driveway of a country estate, rolling to a stop at the entrance. The home wasn’t much to look at from the outside, but she understood that the inside was supposed to be much grander.
The driver, an athletic, if nondescript man in a chauffeur’s uniform, opened the door for her and offered a hand to help her out. Nora took a look around as she carefully adjusted her blouse, then headed up the stairs, handing a slim card to a man at the door, who nodded to a housekeeper to lead her to where she needed to go. The interior of the house, while better than the outside, was not as grand as she felt she had been led to believe, so she wondered if she really was in the right place. Catching herself, she sternly thought ‘Nora, you know Lord Baas doesn’t make a mistake. If he told you to come, then you’re mean to be here!’
She was led to a parlor, where a handful of others also waited. One by one, they were collected by a house servant, and led to different rooms. Here was the first step – they would look over descriptions of the stock currently on hand, though the descriptions seemed somewhat scarce at first. No names were given, as they were deemed to just really not matter. What was given, however, were descriptors such as ethnicity, temperament, intelligence noted, and languages spoken. Rules of the auction were to narrow down your choice in stages. Stage one was the written descriptors, where she was now.
In an effort to widen the pool of what her Lord wanted, she selected the maximum of six options, and was then escorted to a second room. Here, she was given what appeared to be poorly taken photographs, only to notate that their faces were missing on purpose. The stock had been photographed at several angles and distances, though all wore enough clothes to cover body parts deemed risqué. Again, she narrowed it down to the maximum allotment, though this time it was three choices. She had to narrow it down to just one, and the final step was to meet the individuals.
Three of them were lined up before her, blindfolds on their eyes, bound behind their backs at the wrist, and being kept in line by their host’s personal right-hand man. It was not unlike trying to buy a horse – she looked them over for sores and sickness, ruling out one of them this way. This left a blond and a brunette before her, both seemingly in relatively good health. What she needed to know, had not been in the written descriptors, and she was not crass enough to check herself, so she turned to the host and his right hand, to ask about their more personal aspects.
The right hand jabbed the blonde briefly. “Average. Prolific. No heirs.”
“And the other?”
“Above average. We are to understand three heirs were produced. Doesn’t talk.”
“Doesn’t talk back or at all?” Nora asked, a little annoyed that information hadn’t been disclosed.
“At all. Not born that way – accident.”
“I see. Hardiness?”
Again, the right hand poked the blonde. “Average strength and endurance. Construction by trade.”
Nora sighed. She had to go home with one, but she felt she had made bad choices, and she did not wish to disappoint her Lord. She then gestured for continuance.
The right hand prodded the brunette. “Strong. Enduring. Soldier by trade.”
She nodded. “Eyes?”
“Blindfolds stay.” he prods the blond. “Green.” he then prods the brunette. “Blue.”
Nora pursed her lips, mulling it over, before asking for prices. Exorbitant, but then, they always were. Still, she felt she were getting a bargain for her choice. “That one.” she said, choosing the brunette.
A nod passed between the auctioneer and the right hand. The brunette was collected and the blonde led away, while the brunette was handed clothes more appropriate for heading outside and was directed to change. She turned as he did so, going over things with the auctioneer and collecting information for her lord to review when she got back home. When the purchase was ready, they were led through a different route in the house to the back door, where the car awaited.
“Don’t take off the ‘fold until you get out of state.” she was warned.
Nodding, she had the chauffeur put the purchase in the car after he helped her in. That ride was a quiet one, with no one saying anything until they had boarded the plane. Once on the small plane, Nora spoke with the pilot before lighting a cigarette, motioning to the chauffeur, who was now acting in a bodyguard capacity, to remove the blindfold on the purchase as she took a deep drag of the cigarette.
She’d just taken a drink from the whiskey sour she’d been handed when she looked over the purchase, finding herself startled by the unexpected brilliance of his eyes. She’d been told they were blue, but it was still unexpected, and prompted her to give him a better overall look, and came away feeling more secure in her choice. He should make the other girls happy, and she’d be sure to have her turns as well with this one.