bathrooms. A few minutes later she slipped out without any difficulty. In the circus-like atmosphere of the orgy with music blaring and men and women filing in and out of bedrooms, no one seemed to be interested in counting noses.
She was anxious to get home for another reason. Her excuse to the jealous Ruth had not gone down too well. Ruth had listened to her story that she had to meet a friend flying across country at the Los Angeles airport and have dinner with her. But Mara knew Ruth too well not to notice the strong suspicion in her voice and especially in her eyes.
'How come you didn't tell me about this woman coming in yesterday,' Ruth demanded in a sulky tone.
'She just cabled me at the last minute, darling,' Mara said, making something up. 'How could I warn you ahead of time?'
'Where's the cable,' Ruth asked firmly. 'I think you're meeting that bastard Mike or someone else.'
Mara insisted that she had destroyed the cable but that she remained loyal. Still, not till Mara swore that she would meet Ruth at her apartment after the dinner with her traveling friend did the teacher seem placated. Even then she demanded that Mara give her an extra key to her flat.
Ruth was already fuming when she got to her apartment a little after ten. Why had Mara been so long she asked in an angry tone? She was supposed to have met the woman at five-thirty. Why did the dinner take several hours? And why did Mara look so completely worn out? Her face was all flushed, her hair was awry and her finger nail polish was coming off.
'You went to a motel and made love to her, didn't you?' Ruth said accusingly.
'Good lord no. I swear I didn't. It was just so hectic at the airport, homecoming crowds, people jostling etc. that's all.'
She took Ruth into her arms and kissed her warmly and a moment later led her into the bedroom. Slowly she began to strip the teacher. As she took off each nylon, she bent down and ran her lips over the woman's thighs. Then she let her lips roam upward toward Ruth's pussy. The older woman drew her breath in sharply.
'Oh your tongue is exquisite darling! I've been so lonely for you that I could barely endure it here alone. I haven't been able to think of anything but making love to you.'
'Me too darling,' Mara said soothingly, sensing Ruth's need to be cajoled.
'I get so jealous sometimes when you're late,' Ruth said, 'that I want to go out and strangle whoever's with you. I can't help it. I'm terribly possessive I can't help it.' She grinned ruefully. 'Can you understand me?'
Mara kissed her and embraced her again. She was about to say something else when the doorbell began to ring furiously.
'Who on earth is that?' Ruth said. 'It's after eleven.'
'I don't know. Probably some mistake,' Mara said.
She tried to ignore the rings but then they were succeeded by an endless series of loud knocks. Finally, getting up from the bed and putting on her robe, Mara answered the door. As soon as she did, Tom Leonard, Neil Ransom and Harry Banner rushed through the door. Mara wanted to kick herself for not putting the chain up.
'Hey what happened to you,' Neil said drunkenly. 'All of a sudden you just walked out… And we'd just begun… Came to get you because we're all flying to Las Vegas in my private plane. Everybody's waiting outside. We gotta keep the party going.'
Mara stared at them in horror as they opened the door and let in the others. They were all crocked: Tom Leonard, the three other men and the three other women.
'Hey baby we can eat each other on the plane again,' the red-headed girl yelled out merrily. 'Let's go.'
In the wall mirror Mara saw the bedroom open a crack and caught a quick flash of Ruth Peter's face. She had seen and heard everything before closing the door quietly.
'I'm sorry,' Mara said, pushing them all out into the hall. 'But I'm exhausted and I can't move.'
'Don't have to move,' Harry yelled. 'I'll do all the moving you need inside your lovely pussy. And if you need more motion, we got plenty of others to help. Come on honey.'
It took several minutes before she could convince them to leave and then chain and bolt the door. She had just finished the job with a long sigh of relief when the bedroom door opened and Ruth Peter, fully dressed and obviously in a towering rage, emerged.
'So you had a hectic time at the airport,' Ruth raged. 'What did you do screw everybody in the flight lounge?'
'Ruth listen,' Mara began. 'Let me explain for heaven's sakes.'
'Let me out of here, you faithless little bitch,' Ruth fumed. 'I don't want to see you or talk to you ever.'
'Ruth you've got to listen to me,' Mara cried. 'I had to do it. Tom Leonard was blackmailing me. Us! It was even worse than what Mike had on us and he was going to show it to everyone.'
Ruth stopped and listened as Mara poured out the entire story.
'Is that all of it?' Ruth asked quietly.
'No. There's more. I've spared you the details but you might as well know the rest.'
Slowly Mara proceeded to tell her what had occurred with Joe Mills and Patty O'Hare.
Ruth listened quietly and then getting up grabbed a vase full of flowers and smashed it on the floor.
'So you've been putting out for every bastard and bitch who came near you.'
'What else could I do? I was protecting you. As well as me,' Mara said. 'It was horrible. The worst ordeal I ever went through!'
'Was it?' Ruth said in her usual sulking tone. 'You sure you didn't enjoy having Patty lick your coot or Joe Mills putting his elephant cock in you? Or that orgy!'
'Of course not,' Mara yelled. 'What a stupid idea.' Ruth looked at her as if she did not believe at word she said.
'I think I'd better go home now. I-I'm in no mood to talk or do anything.'
'I thought we could sleep together,' Mara began uncertainly.
'I think you've had enough sex for one day,' Ruth snapped. She unlocked the door, took off the chain and left slamming the door behind her. An hour later she phoned to apologize. 'Bear with me sweet. I'm terribly jealous. I just need time to get over it or I'll break.' All that week Ruth barely communicated with her except in a formal manner. And she pleaded special evening chores that would preclude their having dinner together.
It was another week before Ruth thawed sufficiently to invite her to take a trip to Palm Springs for the Easter holidays. When they got back three days later, it was to find that the old principal was gone, transferred to another school and that in her place was a large, aggressive, domineering woman named Allegra Haskell. Ruth, who had liked the old principal, was chagrined.
Almost at once she decided she hated Allegra with a vehemence she could not control. Allegra not only insisted on daily staff meetings to discuss departmental projects but in addition installed a new system of bookkeeping and memos that involved a great deal of work for the department chiefs. After two weeks of this Ruth muttered that she was going to seek a transfer.
'But where would you go'!' Mara asked. 'Jobs are hard to get. You know that!'
'I know that but I cannot stand her. Everything about her irritates me. Not only her bossiness, her lack of trust, her refusal to delegate authority. But her manner is damned impossible to take. She acts like she owns everybody in the building.'
Mara realized that among the things that bothered her most was Allegra Haskell's attitude toward her. The new principal was always inviting Mara to come in and discuss the Far East with her and this had aroused Ruth's jealousy.
It was, an invitation Mara did not welcome. As with Patty O'Hare, she sensed that Allegra was a dyke, either active or a closet deviate. There was something mannish about her, something so unfeminine that Mara's sixth sense told her to be careful. The new principal did not, as had Ruth Peter, make obvious or leading remarks that would prove lesbian desires. And yet she did invite Mara into her office daily for long chats about Burma and Rangoon, about Asiatic music and dancing. Although the reason given was Allegra's preparation for a P.H.D. thesis, Mara was not convinced.
During each office visit, Allegra's eyes never left her body. They seemed to roam over its curves like a jeweler appraising a fine gem. Several times she would compliment Mara on the beauty of her clothes, her hair do, her accessories. And once when Allegra approached close to her she breathed in the scent from Mara's hair and said poetically that it had 'the heavenly scent of fresh cedars' of Lebanon tinged with oil of cloves,' and that
