overseer hates worse than fornication. He’ll beat your arse black and blue for what you did, believe me.’
Lia did believe him. She realised how much trouble she was in and started to tremble, nerves and nausea churning her insides. ‘W-what do you want me to d-do?’ she stammered.
‘Sit down for a start,’ he said. ‘Even a bumpkin with dung in her ears should be able to manage that, I reckon.’
A plank ledge ran around two sides of the coop at roughly knee-height, and he made her sit with her back to the wall. He shuffled closer, his bobbing cock pointing up at an angle, right in front of her face. She stared at the long shaft with its purple head as though mesmerised.
‘Go on then,’ he sneered. ‘What are you waiting for? I know you know how to do it. Durwin’s been telling everyone all about your clever fingers.’
She didn’t believe him. Durwin wouldn’t say anything. Jarold was just trying to make trouble between them.
She reached out and took hold of his cock, and slid her hand back and forth as Durwin had taught her. Jarold groaned and began to push with his hips. She watched his face, concerned she wasn’t doing it properly. If she didn’t please him he might tell Holmann anyway, out of spite. But he seemed happy enough, for his eyes were half closed and his mouth hung open slackly.
‘Take your smock off,’ he said after a while, his voice hoarse.
‘My smock?’ she said nervously, fearing he wanted more than just her hand. ‘But—’
‘Just take it off,’ he snapped impatiently. ‘I want to feel your teats, that’s all. Come on, we haven’t got all day.’
She didn’t trust him, but knew she had no choice. She wriggled her skirts out from under her bottom and pulled her smock up over her head. Jarold grasped her breasts and squeezed, making her gasp.
‘Carry on,’ he said.
She took hold once more, and soon he was lost in his pleasure, moaning and thrusting ever faster with his hips. His fingers sank into her breasts, squeezing so hard she had to bite her lip to keep from crying out. She knew what would happen next; she’d cleaned slime from the bed more times than she cared to remember while Helma was at the stream washing more of the stuff off her, and sure enough, Jarold grunted and squirted into the humid air. Most of it splattered onto the straw-covered floor, though a few drops hit Lia’s cheek and throat. He then pushed her hand away and fastened his hose, saying nothing and not even looking at her. She rose and put on her smock, wiping his slime from her face as she did, then he handed her the sack of eggs and grumbled, ‘Here, you carry these. And don’t break any or you know what to expect.’
Chapter Three
‘You two took your time,’ Tilda muttered. ‘Anyone else but Jarold would be in big trouble by now.’
The two young women were washing pots together at the sink in the corner, temporarily out of earshot of the rest. It had to be the worst task of all, Lia thought, and having not been back long from fetching the eggs, she was beginning to understand there would never be a second’s peace for the most junior members of the kitchen staff.
‘I was beginning to think Jarold might have something on his mind other than egg collecting,’ Tilda added, glancing at her suspiciously.
Lia gave a guilty start, and felt heat rise to her cheeks. Tilda smiled knowingly. ‘Thought so,’ she said. ‘He wanted a special treat, didn’t he? For not telling Holmann about Durwin getting in bed with you.’ Lia’s mouth fell open and Tilda giggled. ‘What, it was supposed to be a secret or something? The way you were moaning last night I should think the whole palace heard. You need to be a lot quieter than that, or toads like Jarold will make your life here a misery.’
Lia hung her head. There wasn’t anything else she could have done in the hencoop, but still she felt ashamed.
‘What was it?’ Tilda asked, seeing her shame. ‘A wank?’
Lia nodded