Maggie was at a loss to understand her strange relationship with Marcus. As time went on it became even more tender, though he remained a perfect a gentleman, hardly the drunken man that had first fondled her at the tavern. There was a bit of her that longed for the rougher, cruder man than the one she lived with day to day. And the lack of punishment over the spilled burnt food made her wonder all the more what would truly anger Marcus enough to bring her under the strap again. It was nearly six months later before she found out.
On the eve of a local autumn festival, Marcus invited a half dozen men to his estate to the enjoy the revelry of the season. Late into the night they drank and told stories by the fire. Already two men had passed out on the floor, but Marcus and the others were
