"Margalo Fitch. She's the owner?"

"Sole owner. Lives in the penthouse. And she rents only to women who are, uh, sympathetic, you might say."

"I get it. Like this whole building is her harem, huh? One great big lesbian harem for Margalo Fitch…"

"Oh, no. Anyway, I doubt it. She plays around, of course, but it's all done with the utmost discretion. Behind locked doors, you know what I mean?"

"Sounds kind of interesting, I must admit. What does she look like?"

"A real brunette type, dark hair and green eyes. Pretty gorgeous. A little on the heavy side, mature – late thirties, I guess – but she makes the most of her assets. Always dressed just right, always groomed to perfection. Elspeth, she's got a personal maid who does nothing but take care of her."

"A personal maid. Hah! Gay?"

"Naturally. I'm sure they must make it together. Only it isn't an ordinary thing – I'm sure of that, too. It's like nothing I ever came across in all my life."

"Oh? What's so different?"

"The way Margalo treats her maid. You'd never believe it. Kate is a servant and that's what she gets paid for. But honestly, she's really more like a slave."

"A slave? In what way?"

"In every way. Oh, I don't mean that Margalo is cruel to her or anything like that – although she might be when they're alone together – who knows? Anyway, the one time I was up there Margalo acted like a princess and that maid just about worshipped the ground she walked on. Margalo had a chipped toenail, for instance, and right away Kate had to get the pedicure stuff out and fix it; I mean she got right down on her knees and went to work. And meanwhile Margalo was just chatting with me and letting herself be fussed over like some kind of queen. Like a queen reigning over her subject – a willing subject, too – Kate seemed to be getting a big charge out of it."