Free Hinterlands by Isha Dehaven Page B

shade
of green but had over the years faded into a wholly indescribable color. There
were three small beds with chests at the foot, and Amelia chose the only one
that was obviously vacant.   As she
removed her only pair of traveling shoes and stretched her aching feet, she wondered
what had become of the last girl to inhabit this space.   She hoped that she had gone on to make a
life for herself, but knew there was a good chance the girl had died of fever.   It had ravaged the countryside the past
year and she had heard from her mother that this was how she had obtained this
position in the first place.
    Amelia
had just placed a foot onto her clothing chest in order to adjust her
stockings, tightening the small straps that kept them hoisted up her thigh when
the door opened suddenly startling her.   It was a foreign girl of 18 or 19 with dark eyes and a fierce but
staggeringly beautiful face.   Amelia
dropped her skirt, flushing crimson. Her shyness had always been a problem, and
she knew she would have to overcome it as a housemaid, but some things are
easier said than done.
    “Who
are you?”   The girl demanded with an
accent that Amelia had never heard before.   
    “I’m
the new girl Amelia Kerrick” she said holding out her hand and smiling as
sweetly as she could.   The dark
skinned girl didn’t take it, staring at her suspiciously. She closed the door
behind her and immediately began unbuttoning a line of fasteners down the side
of her working dress, considering Amelia skeptically.  
    ‘There’s
no way to be bashful in thees place. You will find it’s a waste of time.   Here help with thees buttons!” the girl
commanded with authority, and Amelia began helping her unfasten buttons on the
back of the dress.   She fumbled
awkwardly with them, perhaps due to nervousness, or this girl’s aggressive tone.
As the buttons came apart she found herself looking at the delicate black hairs
on the back of the neck, curling this way and that. The girl’s skin was also
dark and smooth, and her body gave off an odor that was sweet, like cocoa and
rich with a spice that Amelia couldn’t identify.   As she helped her out of the dress and
it fell in a bundle around her feet, Amelia realized with shock that this girl
had been essentially naked beneath the dress, no brazier, no pantaloons. She
now stood plainly in her stockings and boots and nothing else. Amelia turned
her face away, wishing suddenly to be in any room but this one, but not before
she had seen the gracefully turned neck, the long smooth muscles of the girls
back, and her round buttocks. All of these curves were accentuated with her
sheer stockings and stocking belt. Amelia had never seen a woman like this, so
lurid and shameless.   Feverish
warmth spread throughout her body.
    “Miss….you…I”
Amelia stammered.
    “Enza”
the girl replied nonchalantly, rummaging through her chest looking for some
piece of clothing.   She seemed
brazen about her nudity the way she bent over, almost intentionally
provocative. She paused to pull up her stocking, taking her time. Then, finding
a blue serving dress with white lace, she turned to face Amelia revealing her
nakedness fully. “You don’t understand how things go here girl. But you will
tonight.   You will see how Lord
Dunmoore is served, and then you will know your place here.”   Holding the dress in her hands, but
making no attempt to put it on and cover her nakedness, she sauntered directly
up to Amelia backing her into the wall. She stopped only inches away, so close
that Amelia could feel her breath. Gently turning Amelia’s chin toward her, she
peered directly into her eyes.   
    “You are a pretty one aren’t you? Lips so soft,
like the petals of a flower.”   Enza
lightly brushed her lips against Amelia’s and her heart fluttered and beat
within her chest like a caged bird. The feeling was exciting and terrifying.
She stiffened suddenly as Enza brought her other hand up under her