Free Bondmaiden by B.A. Bradbury Page A

by her bed and squatted, and Lia lay still, feigning sleep, wanting friendly contact after all the suffering she’d endured late into the night.
    Stig’s cold hands slipped under the blanket and grasped her breasts. He kneaded her and she remained quiet, breathing slowly, her eyes shut tight.
    ‘You’d never make a soldier, miss,’ he murmured. ‘Soldiers sleep every chance they get. You never know when you’ll get another opportunity.’
    ‘How did you know I’m awake?’ she whispered, opening her eyes.
    ‘I knew, that’s all,’ he said enigmatically. ‘A nightmare what woke you, was it?’
    ‘No,’ she said. ‘I was punished a few hours ago, and the soreness is keeping me awake.’
    ‘I’m sorry,’ he said, withdrawing his hands. ‘I’d best leave you in peace. You need to sleep. It’ll do you good.’ He started to rise but she caught hold of his sleeve. She pulled his hand under the blanket and guided it between her legs, hearing him inhale sharply.
    ‘I’m still a virgin,’ she whispered.
    ‘Don’t you worry, missy,’ he wheezed, understanding her need, ‘I’ll be careful.’ And he was. He caressed her sex, stroking and teasing the lips until she was wet. He found her nubbin and rubbed in tiny circles with a fingertip. Lia bit on a corner of the blanket to stifle her moans. The last thing she needed was Jarold wanting his cock sucked in return for his silence, but when Stig withdrew his hand she could have wept with frustration.
    ‘I’ve got to go,’ he said reluctantly.
    ‘Not yet,’ she pleaded. ‘Stay a minute longer.’
    ‘I can’t, missy, or we’ll both be in trouble for being late. Just you remember to tell me when you lose your cherry, all right? I’ll give you a proper fingering then, one you won’t forget in a hurry, and that’s a promise.’
    Then he was gone, leaving Lia to contemplate that she didn’t even know what he looked like.
    In the morning Lia was stiff and sore, but so was Tilda, and she wasn’t complaining. There was nothing for it but to carry on as best they could. The work was still there waiting to be done, and no one else was going to do it. Dagna largely ignored them, which made Lia think her theory was right, and the woman was content now the rightful order had been restored, and she and Tilda put firmly in their place.
    Holmann told the pair of them to fill the big water barrel, a task requiring many trips to the well. It was hard work lugging the heavy buckets, and Lia’s arms and shoulders were soon aching dreadfully. As they made their way back to the kitchen and emptied their buckets into the barrel for the twentieth time, Holmann came bustling up to check on them, his face wearing its customary scowl.
    ‘Hurry up and finish that, Tilda,’ he said. ‘I need you to start shelling them peas. Lia, I want a word with you.’ He took her arm and led her off to one side, and she waited anxiously for whatever it was he wanted to say, for she doubted it would be good news. ‘I want you to come to my room tonight,’ he said. ‘When you hear the vesper-bell, come and knock on my door. You understand what I’m saying?’
    Lia stared at him, only then remembering that today was Thursday, the day the overseer took one of the females in his charge to bed. His face was calm enough, but there was no mistaking the look in his eye. It was lust, plain and simple, and she was the object of it.
    ‘Y-yes, master,’ she stammered, there being no other answer she could give. He dismissed her brusquely, and she picked up the buckets and went out.
    ‘What did he want?’ Tilda asked as they waited their turn at the well.
    ‘I’m to go to him tonight,’ Lia said. ‘You know, to spend the night with him.’
    ‘I said he would, didn’t I? It was plain from the first moment he set eyes on you. Like I told you before, he’ll most likely want you to suck his cock, though I expect he’ll maul you a bit first. He’s a pig, is Holmann. He’ll make you