#notstevesbromance

26. My muse will serve as a body pillow for yours.

"You really like lying on top of me, don't you, Husband?"

"Oh, goof. You've got to know that no ex could ever come close to what we have, don't you?"

The house isn't as grand as Steve's, but it's still bigger and more luxurious than any that Tess has ever lived in before. When she arrives, a butler answers the door and shows her in to the den, saying his mistress will be with her soon. She doesn't sit immediately, instead wanders to the wall where some portraits are hung. Fingers nearly reaching out for the delicate swipes of oil when a voice nearly makes her jump out of her skin.

"That's 150 years old, please don't touch it." She turns to the woman, in her early 60's. Blonde, and despite her age, still beautiful. She walks to stand near Tess, nodding to the portrait. "That's my great-grandfather, the patron of this house. Alexander Goode." She smiles softly, eyes flicking to the wide-eyed brunette. "I'm Fiona."

Somehow, Tess finds her voice and she extends her hand to shake. "Tesla Spencer."

Fiona looks at the hand like it's made of a bouquet of hissing snakes and shakes her head. "I guess this will be our first lesson, Miss Spencer. The women in our social standing do not shake hands. That's what our men do."

"So what should I do, curtsy?" She asks, half sarcastically and half honestly confused.

Fiona chuckles. "You've got spunk. Good. You'll need it." She shakes her head. "No. Only curtsy at formal events. And only to men, or to couples." She moves to sit on the sofa, encouraging Tess to do the same. "Look, some of this is going to seem backwards and old fashioned to someone like you, but we're not living in the dark ages either. There are some freedoms you'll keep as the companion of a man like Danny Williams, you can make friends, you can go out and shop and get your nails done. But you should avoid having any friendly relationships with men. And don't even think about screwing around."

"I'm not like that," The younger woman quickly cut in. "I'm not a whore."

"Then you're off to a good start. Now back to getting your nails done, do it if he likes that sort of thing. You should put your presentation and hygiene above anything else. Everything you do to yourself should be to please him. If he likes it all waxed, make sure it never grows back. If he likes you as a brunette, never dye your hair any other color unless he asks you to." She eyes the jeans that the younger woman is wearing. "Those are okay for social outings like this, and occasionally at home. But you should keep in mind that you should always be enticing to him. If he gets hard every time he sees you in a skirt with a garter, wear that more often."

The idea makes her blush a little and she smoothes her hands subconciously over her jeans. "Why don't I just go around naked?"

"Because he won't always want you that way," Fiona responds. "And if you're naked and he wants to watch a movie, he's going to get frustrated. Learn his moods, do it fast. Then you'll know when he'll appreciate your pajama bottoms or your best lingerie, which reminds me." She leans in closer, almost as if the room is full of nosy people. "Victoria's Secret might have been enough when you were the skinny little stripper he was fucking, but you're going to have to invest in some nicer stuff. Bra and panties is basic, you need to look into the stockings, the garters, the corsets, the nighties...have a nice variety. Keep him surprised and he'll never be disappointed."

Tess nods, drumming her fingers together before she looks at Fiona. "And what if things...Steve was hinting at things getting more serious. What will be different then?"

Fiona studies her, sizing her up. "Well as his wife, you're basically his indentured servant. That spunk will only be useful when he wants you to display it. He's not going to have any patience for disobedience when he's been brought up to believe that his wife will wait on him hand and foot." She reaches into the table nearest and finds a cigarette, lighting it. "Have you discussed children?"

"Not much, really. One of his old....partners gave birth recently and claimed it was his and he just about lost his mind."

"Mmmm," Fiona murmured, pausing in thought. "Well you can't play it too safe then, you'll have to keep up protection unless he tells you otherwise." She reaches to the side table, grabbing a photo of a young man and woman, sitting together and smiling for the camera. "I only had two myself, Cordelia and Jason. But my parents has seven and my grandfather had twelve."

Her eyes stay on the picture a moment, she recognizes Jason, he's been in the club. She's pretty sure he's friends with Steve and Danny, and she's positive she's given him a lapdance at least twice, but, she doesn't say anything. "Danny has a daughter, but, I'm not sure he's interested in more." She reaches out, touching just the frame. "I think I'd like to, though. I suppose that doesn't matter."

"If he cares about you it might down the line," Fiona sets the frame back down. "Your thoughts and feelings won't be forgotten in all of this, they just take a backseat to his. He's one of two kings in that castle."  She watches Tess. "And you know, they do great things. They set up their own little worlds for their families. Where everything is safe and no one wants for anything. They take care of us."

"They do," She agrees softly. She glances to Fiona. "Is that all I need to know?"

Fiona spends an hour or so teaching her to sit properly, to stand up straight and hold herself like she should. How to keep herself calm when she might otherwise get emotional. She even shows her a few tricks on calming Danny down, in case he comes home frustrated about something.

"I think you're as ready as you'll ever be," Fiona tells her finally, smiling a little. "But we can get together every week. I'll help you go pick out some of that new lingerie."

Tess laughs a little and moves to hug her, glad when the older woman returns the embrace. "Thanks, I needed this. I needed someone else who's....knowledgeable about this."