Exit to Eden by Anne Rice Page B

any alliance with a master outside the house, though several were enthusiastically offered after almost every group activity in which the slave was used.
    "Extremely resilient and strong. Requires hard punishment to make an impression, but surprisingly easily humiliated, almost to the point of panic, in a variety of circumstances… A subtle stubbornness surfaces in this slave that won't be discerned except—"
    I stopped. This sort of thing I would find out my way and with exquisite pleasure. I flipped forward a few pages, knowing Martin's penchant for description.
    "Slave incarcerated briefly at Marin County country estate, and obviously found the full week's program very strenuous yet requested almost immediate return. Sleeps extremely well after all sessions. Reads constantly during rest period at the end, a wide variety of classics, trash, and sometimes poetry. Addicted to mystery stories and James Bond thrillers, but then reads great Russian novels apparently word for word." (That was too juicy. Who would notice it, but Martin, the spy?) "Slave is a romantic. Yet shows no attachment
so far
to any master after any session, asks only for whatever I recommend in the future, saying that
he wants what he fears most
."
    I glanced at the picture again. Squarish face, even features except for the mouth, which was a little full. And the smile could be construed as having just a touch of mockery in it, a little bit of a sneer. There ought to be some word for a sneer that isn't quite as crude as a sneer. He had a "nice" face, rather antithetical to the word sneer.
    God, two weeks ago I might have passed him in Berkeley on the street, seen him at the bar at…
    Take it easy, Lisa.
    You've read a thousand files on slaves from San Francisco. And we don't have any life beyond this island, right? The information in this file, as you've told the new trainers over and over, is supposed to help you
here
.
    I flipped to the digest of the training history.
    "Surprised to find slave returned immediately after two-week session in the country during which he was worked almost relentlessly by series of out-of-town guests. Old Russo-Prussian countess in love with the slave (see later notes). Slave says if longer incarceration can't be arranged he will go elsewhere. Money no object. Slave mentioned several times that the younger masters terrified him, yet he makes no request to avoid them. Says it is particularly terrifying to be humiliated by someone weaker than himself."
    I flipped to the end. "Sent with the highest recommendations
(ideal
for The Club!),
but must emphasize this slave is a novice. Watch
. Though I can vouch for his readiness and mental stability, I must add that his training has not gone on very long! And though he passed tests with women handlers here, these were very stressful situations for the slave, who obviously fears the women more than the men. Slave refuses to talk about the women, however, saying he will do whatever he can to be accepted by The Club. Repeat. Watch. Slave responded well to the women,
obviously profoundly excited by the women
, but this produced intense conflict in the slave."
    I had a suspicion about the face. Paged through the file until I found several small pictures. I was right. In the profile shots, when he wasn't addressing the camera, Elliott Slater looked hard, almost cold. Something really formidable in the preoccupied face. I flipped back to the smile again. Very lovable.
    I closed the file without reading "Notes on Masters and Mistresses Who Favor the Slave." And God knows how much else Martin had written out. Martin should have been a novelist. Or maybe Martin should have been exactly what Martin was.
    I sat there just looking at the manila cover. Then I opened it and looked at the photograph of Slater again.
    I could feel Diana beside me. Feel her warmth and her need. I could feel something else in her, too, a little concern about the tension in me.
    "I won't be back for supper," I said.