"Oh Jacqui, you are such a dear. Let's go home. . ."

"It's Chang," I said, feeling rather jarred when I heard that come out of my mouth. I sure didn't feel like a Chang.

_______________________________________________________________

A Mark Seven truck and two of Kurt's workers followed us to Carla's house the next morning. This time I was wearing a full denim skirt hemmed just above my knees and white cashmere, long-sleeve, turtleneck sweater. Kurt had bought me an exquisite black leather jacket that hung down to about the middle of my butt and was suppressed slightly at the waist. I pulled the collar up and the sexy little lapels looked great next to my face. On my feet, I only wore white Keds, although I couldn’t resist the lacy little anklets Kurt had somehow thought to buy. In these understated clothes, I was dressed like an American classic, but I still looked like an oriental bombshell. I hadn't dressed this modestly, or comfortably, for that matter, since beginning my ill-fated career as a maid. Unfortunately, my mind was a confused jumble of thoughts and feelings. I didn't feel the exhilaration I thought would be part of my new found freedom.

When we arrived at Carla’s estate, two State Troopers and a Sheriff’s deputy, who’d waited at the foot of the driveway with Adrian Steele and one of his men, joined us.

The Deputy and troopers entered first and showed Melissa the court orders Kurt’s lawyers had obtained just the previous afternoon. One gave me the right to remove all of my belongings from the house and the other was a restraining order, preventing her or Carla from stopping me, and ordering them to stay away from me. Understandably, Melissa was intimidated; a trooper kept her downstairs.

While his workers carried all of my things down to the waiting van, I made a most propitious discovery. The keys to my chastity belt were on Melissa’s vanity. I immediately opened the shields on my chastity belt and then removed it. I started to toss it away, but as I stood with it in my hand, I changed my mind and decided to keep it. I wasn't entirely sure why, but I just knew taking it along was the right thing to do.

"Kurt, look!" I squeaked excitedly as I ran down the stairs. "I found the keys." And I held up the chastity belt so he could see it.

"Don't be too quick to throw it away," Melissa cut in. "Maids need their protection." There was so much bitterness in her voice that I cringed and just glanced at her sourly.

"Shut up Melissa, You may act like a subservient maid, but deep down inside you're just as nasty as your sister." I paused for a moment and looked at her, "And even more duplicitous."

It didn't take long before my entire wardrobe, makeup, jewelry and other personal items were loaded into the van. I didn't take anything that wasn’t mine, and I didn’t look back. I left the large house for the very last time without any regrets. My departure had taken less than an hour. Sadly, it didn't make me feel much better about my life.

"I won't take up much room, or get in the way," I mumbled to Kurt as we sat together in the back of his Mercedes.

Kurt looked at me like I was certifiable. "What kind of nonsense is that?" he asked as he lifted me by my waist to sit me facing him on his lap.

"Jacqui, you will be the center of my life. I want you to take up all my room and be in my way all the time. I want you to share my bed," he looked concerned.

I lowered my head so he couldn't see my eyes and shook my head no. "Kurt, this is all happening much too quickly for me. The day before yesterday, I was trapped as Carla's maid and threatened with deportation if I misbehaved. Today you are telling me to be the center of your life. I don't think I could live without you, but I need a little space to get my bearings. And I'm afraid of what Carla might do to you once she discovers that you've helped me."

"Jacqui," Kurt sighed, "you are really are confused, aren't you. Carla certainly can't hurt me, and I swear, she can't hurt you anymore either. It is she who should be afraid of us. Please believe that. She may have been able to terrorize you while you lived in her house, but you don't anymore. I insist you live in my house so I may protect you. And I promise that Carla will soon be paying the price for her horrible treatment of you."

"I love you dearly, Kurt." I leaned up and kissed his cheek, "But I need time to sort all this out. May I please stay in a separate room?"

"A separate room? Really?" Kurt asked, slightly confused. "Is that all you want?" He laughed and then pulled me into a hug. After a moment, he pushed me away by the waist and when I looked up, he asked, "Will you at least eat dinner with me?" I nodded, taking this all very seriously, but he laughed again.

"Oh Jacqui, you are such a dear. Let's go home. I have something to show you. A small room you might like." He laughed again and pulled me tightly into his embrace, not letting go until we reached his home, the dear man.

When we turned into the driveway that led to the front of his house (another led to the garages), Kurt sat me up and looked at me seriously. "Jacqui, as much as I'd like to feel your body next to mine at night, I can wait." He smiled down at me. I felt like a little bird. "I have the perfect rooms for you. I want no argument from you when you see them. Do you agree?" If not for Kurt, I’d still be sleeping in the maid’s quarters at Carla’s or in a Federal Detention Center awaiting deportation, I wasn't going to disagree. In spite of what the lawyers had said the previous day, I was still afraid of Carla. I nodded, 'yes,' but for some reason, I was still afraid.

"Oh my God, Kurt," I gasped as he led me by the hand into my new rooms. "You’ve got to be kidding. I've never seen anything so gorgeous."

"These rooms were Erica’s," he said. "She was the most important thing in my life when she was alive." He turned me by my hand and grabbed my shoulders. "Now you are. Do you understand that?"

I stood there, feeling weak and confused, suddenly more tired than I could ever remember. I had been under terrible stress and now this man was telling me it was all over. He was trying to create a safe haven for me, but I didn't even know what I needed. I just hoped he would keep telling me what to do.

"You shall stay here until you are ready to move in with me."

Kurt surprised me; for the first time since we met, he wasn't being the strong stubborn man that he was. He had tears in the corners of his eyes. Now it was my turn to do something for him.

"Oh Kurt, this is incredible. I never dreamed of anything like this. I'm so touched you want me to stay in Erica's room. Let me kiss you."

"Kiss me? I thought you wanted "space." You little wench. You were teasing me! I should spank you."

I squealed and tried to spin away, but even in sneakers, I couldn't avoid him and his large hand delivered a gentle slap on my butt. Then he grabbed me and spun me around to face him. I was giggling and received two more playful swats when I stuck out my tongue to mock his efforts. I was still smiling as I grabbed my ass in both my hands to pretend to rub away the stings.

"Is that how you are going to treat me once I’m your wife?"

"No," he looked serious. "That is how I will treat my fiancée, my wife will get more." I managed to scamper out of range when he came at me again after my tongue made another defiant appearance between my red lips. Both of us were laughing when he left to get his men.

After Kurt went to the office, I retired to my new suite to dilate and clean myself. I spent a good deal of time at it because this was the first time I had been able to look at myself in quite awhile and I wanted to become familiar with the new me.

I perched on the side of the large whirlpool tub and used a hand mirror to give myself a thorough examination, though my breasts made that really hard. So I used my fingers, trying to match what I was seeing with what I could feel. I was quite taken with my new lips, which seemed to be rather well formed, but was still uneasy with the space between them.

By the time I was done, however, I felt cleaner than I had any time since Carla had placed me in the female chastity belt. I put on a clean pair of silky French-cut panties, and perhaps for the first time really enjoyed the feeling as they snugged themselves over the now thoroughly female landscape between my legs. I don't know whether it was because I was finally out of Carla's clutches or not, but as I watched myself rub my hand over the front of my panties, I felt liberated not having a cock and balls there.

After I dressed, I went to find Anna. She was in the kitchen with Henry, drinking coffee.

"May I join you, please?" They both stood up as soon as I entered the room.

"Certainly, Jacqui. Please sit?" Henry tended my chair.

"What can I do to help with supper?" It seemed a natural question to me, but Anna surprised me by getting upset. Henry recovered more quickly; he was used to me by then.

"Jacqui, you are the mistress of this home now. You do as you please, but it is our job to take care of you and the house."

"Anna, dear, Jacqui is the young lady who I’ve been telling you about since July. She is Mr. Mark’s fiancée, although she and Mr. Mark have not yet set the date." Anna still did not seem very happy with my presence.

"How does, Mr. Mark normally take his evening meal, Anna?" I asked. I wanted to get along with her, even if she didn't like me being there just yet.

"In the dining room. My husband serves his needs."

So … they were husband and wife. Anna was obviously protecting her territory. There was no way that she would welcome my helping with the cooking or the serving.

"I have seen Henry at work, Anna. He is simply superb. Mr. Mark is lucky to have him."

That brought a smile to her face. Maybe I was making progress after my initial misstep. Still, I was having a hard time figuring out what to do. My instincts told me to put on a uniform and become the maid that I had been, but I quickly realized that was a very bad idea. First, I was no longer a maid and second, Anna would never accept me in that role. I would cause chaos in the household.

The right way to do this was to act, as I now was, Kurt’s fiancée, living in his house, albeit with my own apartment. I really needed to win over Anna and make it clear to her that I was not going to usurp her position in the household.

"Anna, I'm sure that Henry has told you that I have been working as a maid, although it's really more complicated than that. I'm fully prepared to help you with your chores, but I'm sure that Mr. Mark wouldn't like that and I doubt you would either." She nodded vigorously in agreement.

"So why don't you just tell me how things go around here and I'll do my best to fit in."

She let out a big sigh of relief and her defensive body language disappeared, replaced by a clearly more friendly posture. This encouraged me, so I pushed on.

"What time does Kurt normally come home after work, Anna?"

"Between five thirty and six. What is your last name, please?" Anna asked.

"It's Chang," I said, feeling rather jarred when I heard that come out of my mouth. I sure didn't feel like a Chang. "But I will be very angry with you if you call or refer as anyone but Jacqui."

"But people will think I'm being presumptuous if I call you by your first name, Miss Chang. It just isn't done."

Of course, she was right; I should have realized. "You're right Anna, in public you should address me as Miss Chang, at least until I become Mrs. Mark." I smiled at her brightly. "But please, when we are alone, couldn't you just call me Jacqui? That would make me feel so much more comfortable." She nodded reluctantly, but that's really all I needed at that point.

"So, please Anna, tell me about Kurt's normal routine?" We talked together for two hours, and when we were done, Anna was laughing and joking with me.

"Anna, there's one favor I need. I need someone to help me into my corset after I bathe. I can't tighten it as snuggly as I like by myself.

She looked rather startled and disapproving, "But I'll be busy with dinner and I'm not sure I'm strong enough to help you."

My request had obviously made her very uncomfortable. "Anna, please don't think that I'm being presumptuous, but Henry has helped me before, when I was in the hospital."

"Henry?" she said, even more startled. Then she started to giggle and looked at me as if we were plotting a clever crime together. "I'll bet it was the highlight of his year," she whispered. "If you promise not to steal him from me, I guess we can let him do that for you, as long as he behaves himself."

With Anna’s blessing, Henry showed up at my door an hour later to tighten my corset. I already had it on, along with a bra and panties to 'preserve his modesty', as Anna had suggested.

"Tell me Henry, who tends the house?" I asked.

"My wife and I perform the daily tasks, Jacqui. Twice a week, a contract crew comes to do a thorough cleaning.

"Will you require me to attend you further, or can you manage?" he asked once he’d tied off the laces.

"I’m fine. Thank you for doing my laces."

"Jacqui?" Henry lingered anyway. I pulled on my robe and then turned and nodded with a smile, for him to proceed. "Jacqui, I would think you’d be happy not to have to wear a tight corset any longer. Why did you put one on again?" He asked.

"Sit down," I said, motioning to the chair. I went to select stockings and shoes. I sat to face him on the stool before my vanity to put them on.

"I have a hate/love relationship with my clothes. Yes, my corsets are tight, they are restrictive and a first class pain in my torso." I gartered one stocking after smoothing it up my leg then slid the other one up to sheath my right leg. "At first I really hated them and even after I overcame the initial discomfort, I hated that I had to wear one, without choice. But then yesterday, I discovered that I hated not having its support and the feeling of its snug embrace."

I stood, unembarrassed, and straightened my seams before sitting back down to slip on the sandals Kurt had bought for me.

"I think I'll just have to see, Henry. I suspect I'll wear them some of the time at least. I'm afraid that in addition to enjoying the way a corset feels around my torso, I just love the way it makes me look. I'm afraid I've become quite proud of my looks since Carla turned me into a Chinese sex pot." I giggled and struck a pose for him with one leg bent and one hand over my head while the other was on my hip. I didn't need to look in a mirror to know I was centerfold quality now.

"You better go now," I teased, "If you're late to pick up your boss because you were hanging around in his girlfriend's bedroom, that might cause problems," I teased.

He rose with a wry smile on his lips, bowed to me and said, "Thank you mademoiselle. I shall keep that in mind." He smiled again, winked at me and left, carefully closing the door behind himself.

An hour later, I was reading a magazine and waiting for Kurt in the main hallway, eager for his return.

When I heard the car drive up in front of the house, I ran to open the front door for Kurt, greeting him with a deep curtsey and a big smile, "Welcome home, Kurt." I reached up to kiss him to show him just how pleased I was to see him.

Kurt broke the kiss and turned to Henry. "Please take the boxes to Jacqui’s rooms, Henry. That big one is quite heavy. Call me if you need help with it.

"Certainly, sir."

Unbidden, I followed Kurt up to his suite, which was at the opposite end of the second floor hallway from mine. Inside, I started to undress him.

"I know Henry usually does this, dear, but it is my job now. Besides, I’m going to have Henry helping me, from now on." Kurt didn’t believe me when I told him that Henry had laced my corset for me.

"Until Anna finds out," he said. "They’re married you know, Jacqui."

"Yes. Anna has no problem with it; I think we're buddies now.

The boxes, which Henry had carried to my rooms, contained a computer, equipped with the biggest, fastest and best of everything. I set it up myself the following morning, but had needed Henry to help me place the twenty-one inch monitor. My room was already wired with a cable broadband connection.

I spent the next afternoon, searching the Web for the perfect wedding gown and trying to forget about all of the unpleasant legal matters that loomed over my head.

My thoughts ranged from an authentic Chinese style with flowing robes of embroidered red silk over white under gown and classic Chinese pajamas to modern ones, but I ended up doing a diligent search of Victorian costumes. When I logged off, I had lots of ideas, but not the perfect gown for me. I wasn’t even keen on white for the color.

Three hours later, the house was dark and quiet when I made my way down the hall and slipped in bed with him. He didn't awaken, and I fell asleep, pressed tightly to his warm body.

Nothing eventful happened until two weeks later. I spent my time while Kurt was at the office in my rooms, surfing the web and designing my wedding gown or working on my embroidery. That evening, Kurt was in an unusually happy mood when I greeted him at the door at the end of the day . He kept me waiting until we were eating dinner.

"We have met with Carla and her lawyers today, Jacqui." Kurt was unable to keep it to himself any longer and he had a huge smile. I waited for him to tell me everything, trying hard not to display my eagerness to know the outcome.

"As I expected, she attacked you first with talk of deporting you back to Hong Kong." He chuckled, "It is amusing; I think that she has come to believe her own fabricated story."

"Next, she was going to charge you with grand larceny. That is not the exact accusation, but claims you stole your uniforms when you left."

"My contract specifically states that uniforms and accessories were included as part of my compensation." I replied angrily at the absurdity of it. "It is a prima facie case — not guilty as charged."

"I know, I know." Kurt chuckled. "Calm yourself, liebling."

"Paul pointed her sharp beak to that clause in your contract. Carla was not pleased to be shown up so easily."

"He then carefully pointed out the evidence in your favor to her lawyers," Kurt continued, but stopped and began to eat his dinner when Henry placed our plates before us. I waited impatiently until we’d finished supper.

"As you might expect, Carla was livid with rage, but wisely remained silent."

"She had better," I giggled. "What next, Kurt?"

"Paul presented a proposal demanding that she turn over the entire company to you plus twenty-five million dollars."

"I don’t want the damn company and, besides, Carla doesn’t have that kind of money." I countered.

"We know that and didn't expect her accept it, but they need to understand how serious we are and how much Carla stands to lose if she plays this wrong. So, we expect a counter offer," he explained "and we will counter that. It is negotiation, Jacqui."

"I understand that you do not wish to become involved with the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the FBI or the police. Carla may try to play that card, but she is at much greater risk than you are, and her lawyer was smart enough to appreciate the magnitude of the evidence that you have." Kurt gave me the confidence that Carla would not do anything stupid. I turned pensive.

"Kurt?"

"Ja, liebling?"

"Kurt, do you think that Carla resorted to murder to do this to me?" I felt very saddened by that possibility.

"Ah!" he slapped his forehead. "Ich bin eine Dummkopf.

"Jacqui, Adrian believes that he has found her."

"What, in a grave near where they found the driver’s license?" I was still trapped by Carla's negativity.

"No, no, in Los Angeles. He is flying there next week to follow up a strong lead."

"Stop just trying to make me feel better, Kurt." I don't need false hopes to cheer me up.

"It is true. Carla issued an International money order to a man in Singapore in January for twenty-five thousand dollars. The other Jacqui Chang traveled there two weeks later. Apparently she never left the airport and retuned to Hong Kong on the next flight."

"So? What does that prove, Kurt?"

"It is a beginning," he stated. "One week after she arrived in New York, one ‘J. L. Ingram’ flew from Newark to Los Angeles. The ticket was purchased on Carla’s credit card again."

"You’re not teasing me, are you?" I was skeptical.

"Certainly not, Jacqui.

"It was also interesting to learn what you used to do for a living?"

"Me?" I squeaked. "We already know what I used to do." I was too focused on the details to even guess he might be joking.

"No, liebling, not John, Jacqui Lian Chang. She was a makeup artist in the film industry in Hong Kong and a part time actress. Adrian is seeing if he can obtain some of your tapes while out on the coast. They should be … educational." Kurt was laughing and I caught on to just what he was saying. I threw my napkin at him.

***

I had finalized the design of my dress and commissioned Suzanne to make it for me. Planning my wedding became the focus of my attention during the day when Kurt was at work. With my divorce having been finalized before my life as a maid had begun, there was no reason for us to think that later was better than sooner for our ceremony. Kurt was my life. Other than occasional updates on the status of negotiations, I did my best to forget about Carla.

Not being controlled and dominated any longer by Carla, I gained increased confidence in public. I’d been frightened and shy when I’d first been forced to go out in uniform, but serving the crowd at Carla’s last party had stripped away that silliness. Standing about in bright sunlight and serving strangers while wearing a ridiculously abbreviated French Maid’s uniform and ultra high-heels had taught me that I could do just about anything.

End of Part XI