The County or the Maid (SomethingSecret x nightsorceress)

[SomethingSecret]

Lord John Harrington was moving quickly down the hall of Mosstower Castle. Through the windows and arrow slits, sunlight peered through to illuminate much of the otherwise dark, stony interior, as well the man himself, a 6'0" tall individual with broad shoulders, a strong chin, and prominent eyebrows that gave even his passing gaze a sort of intensity. He was in such a hurry that he almost ran straight into one of the scullery maids along the way, side stepping her only at the very last second and stumbling past her instead, quickly regaining his balance to continue his quick march to his destination. Time was of the essence: he only had so long to do what he was going to do, and the implications of missing his window of opportunity could be dire indeed.

He still remembered the conversation with the matron of the maids, a crone who resembled more of a crow than a woman in her advanced age, and yet when John approached her to strike a deal, she had been almost too eager to accept, cackling a bit at the promised sum for what she was to do. The request was simple enough: send one maid in particular to his chambers to clean at noon precisely. Nothing more, nothing less. The crone had reason to be suspicious, but having grown quite long in the tooth at this point, she had little reason to suspect any particularly foul intentions from John, especially considering she'd been in charge of the maids here since before he was born, and John often wondered if she would outlast him at this point.

Regardless, John walked towards his room in the castle, his footsteps echoing down the hallway in a furious way, so much so that he wondered if he would be heard on the approach. Lillian was her name, or, at least the name she had given when only a week ago the two had spoken while he found her in the main hall of the castle, sweeping and dusting. There was a particular melancholy about her, he thought, one that evoked a deep curiosity from him as he watched her perform her duties, diligently, and yet slowly and with a method he could only describe as sorrowful. She had seemed so vulnerable to him in the simple smock she had worn at the time, her shoulders and neck as inviting as the curves of her hips and breasts. Yet the former were much more exposed than the latter given the modest nature of her garb at the time, and had his attention fully as the two of them spoke of what he remembered as the most mundane things he could imagine, and yet, speaking of them with her was undoubtedly pleasant. Yet nothing was quite so alluring as her tone of voice, and the simple sadness in her eyes that to him carried a longing that weighed down his own heart. What, he wondered, was causing her to feel so sad, beneath the simpleness of their conversation, and the laissez way she carried on with her chores while she spoke, as if he were a phantom simply passing through, and she were speaking to it?

He had to have her. That much he knew. Only one possessed of such a sadness could understand why he himself felt an emptiness in all that which he did as the lord of this estate, why every meeting with every bickering noble left him wanting to throw himself off the top of the highest tower, silent until the very end. And so he rounded that last corner, found the open door to his own room, and at last entered, wondering to the last second where she would be, what she was doing, and, most of all, if she was thinking of him in a moment she had likely assumed to be private, no longer...

 

[nightsorceress]

Lily couldnt believe it when she was stopped of her duties cleaning the main hall and sent to the masters chambers to clean. She did not argue though she found it sort of odd. Duties for the day already assigned, but she collected her things moved through the hallways to the master’s bed chamber. She knocked on the door at first making sure he was not in the room and would not be bothered. When no call came she entered the room leaving the door open so if he was to return he would know she was there and not be startled.

Lily was a stunning girl. She had long dark black hair, that seemed to shimmer in the light, though she was forced to keep it tied and covered during the day While she worked. Her skin pale as Snow. Her eyes the most icey that seemed to peer into a man’s soul. On top of that she was such a delicate creature. Slender, and standing only 5’2. She looked as though she could break at any moment. And perhaps she could. Lily was not born for this life. Her father was a retired knight for the king, however at the end of his day had a very large debt so upon his death his items were sold. And that included Lily. She was young with no husband to cover the debt so she was sold and purchased into the Lords household.

She had only been there a short while still mourning the death of her father and life she knew. She never expected this. But she had no choices and had to push through each day and that was what the young girl was doing now. Pushing through the day. She was in the masters bedroom, humming to herself, she leaned over his very large bed making it. She had no idea the man himself was about to enter

 

[SomethingSecret]

John entered into the room, heralded by the echoing steps of his boots. He was quick to shut the door behind him, and lock the latch. As he had requested, Lillian was here, and until he had interrupted her, had been in the middle of making his bed. He felt a slight amount of trepidation as he looked at her now, realizing what he had done by forcing her to be here, and perhaps feeling slightly worse for what he was about to do. But she had to be made to see, to understand what he did, and there was only one way of getting that across to her.

"Lily," he said aloud, taking a step forward. His tone sounded as though he had remembered something of great importance. "I see you have been given the task of cleaning my room around this time..."

He took another step forward, not wanting to frighten her.

"In truth, that was my doing..." he said. "You see, I wanted you here, but as you know, it is improper for a lord to speak so openly to his maids, so I made an arrangement for us to speak in private. You see, I saw something in your eyes yesterday that I am most curious to investigate, and..."

He took another step forward. The distance between the two was rapidly closing.

"Aren't you curious as to what I might have seen?"

 

[nightsorceress]

Lily was wrapped up in her work. She just didn’t wand to be sold to a crueler master someday so she wanted make sure there was never a problem with her work here. Since she was so alone she hummed. And with the humming it help to drown out the world around her, but it also caused her to get lost in own mind. She was remembering her father, and missing him terribly. A tear slipped from her eyes just a mans voice entered the room.

She spun around her eyes eyes locking on his. The tear falling down her delicate cheek “sir” she said softly and then hung her head in respect. She let him speak her head remaining down until he said he requested her there. She looked up suddenly “You wanted me here sir?” Her voice was so soft and delicate like the rest of her.

He went on to say he saw something in her eyes. She looked confused. “Sir?” She questioned “what did you see?” She managed to ask now.

 

[SomethingSecret]

The tear that slipped down Lily's face only confirmed his suspicions. She did suffer from the same sadness. Invariably, she must have wanted what he wanted, whether or not she knew it. For to be as lonely as he was, and as lonely as she must have been, there would be no way she could deny what was now unspoken between them, that had to be made real.

"Sadness," John said. He was perilously close to her now, looking down at her. The smock and chemise she was wearing obscured her finer features; then again, she could hardly afford the more revealing and dazzling clothes of the upper court being a maid, so he hardly blamed her. He was half as surprised to be here as she was. "And loneliness..."

He reached his hand up to her face and cupped her cheek, eyeing the tear stain that had just marked her skin. He ran his thumb back and forth gently; she would surely understand his intentions now. He was direct now:

"Take off your smock," he said, looking into her eyes. "I know what you have wondered as you've walked the halls. You know I have no wife, no heir. And I know you are without child, or a husband of your own... and I intend to find out why..."

 

[nightsorceress]

She looked at him now as he moved so much closer to him. She made a little gasp as he mentioned he saw saddness in her, and loneliness. She looked down and nodded a little bit “My father died three months ago.” She said softly. “Our home was sold to pay debts and I to was sold” she admitted now. Letting him know that this was not the life she had choice in. That there was more going on with this girl than just needing a job.

His hand came up and touched her cheek. His hand was so warm, her cheek was colder. She was so delicate and petit that it was no wonder cold, the girl hardly had any fat on her. Her skin soft and smooth. Almost like silk.

Then he told her to take off her smock and the looked puzzled. “Sir….?” Her cheeks red. “I….” She tried to not yell at him. “Sir I can’t take off my smock” she whimpered gently. “You sir a kind handsome man surely will find a wife and mother to your children”

 

[SomethingSecret]

Wife and mother? he thought. He supposed what he was feeling was tangentially related to that, but most of all he had led Lily here for one reason: to quell the loneliness in his heart once and for all with the gentle touch that only a soul like hers could: that is, a soul which bore the same weight, carried the same burdens. The loss of her father explained the melancholy, the loss of her status and liberty her downcast spirits. He would make her understand the unseen bond they shared.

"I may be in need, but not of those things," he said, his mind wracked with that familiar pain, especially after the mention of her father. "What I need, Lillian, is you. Do you understand? You surely must," he said.

It occurred to him that she might need a gentle bit of persuasion. So, he moved the hand that was on her cheek after scanning her eyes to the back of her neck, holding her still as he leaned in and kissed her, as one would a long-lost lover: passionate, yet inviting, and full of the sorrow which suffused his every moment without her...

 

[nightsorceress]

She blinked now at his words. She looked stunned in that moment like what he was saying couldnt be true could they? She shook her head. “Sir…I am sure you are use to bedding and having many women. But i am not the type to just be used. Sir I want it my purity to a given to the man that will be my husband. The man who will give me his children and we will raise them together” her longing for that clear in her eyes. “Though I dont know who would want a maid as a wife and mother“ she was rambling a bit.

Her rambling stopped however when he suddenly kissed. There was so much in that kiss. If he wasn’t holding her she would have surely been overwhelmed by it. But she could feel the passion and then so much more. She whimpered a little. “Sir“ she said now but the way she said it was different. If she permitted to say his name surely he would shudder at her words

 

[SomethingSecret]

In many ways, Lillian's objections were quite reasonable: he was a noble, and she was a maid. The difference between them was mountains; in fact, if his only intention was to bed her to satisfy himself and then leave, then that would be the end of it, and no one would say a thing. What she apparently suspected, however, was the real issue: for a maid to become his wife and a mother to his children was an insult to many of the other noble families who would have used John's hand to forge a worthy alliance. Simultaneously, John gained nothing from marrying her on a strategic level. But his heart had no room for such strategy when it was full of the bitter emptiness that had driven him to corner the maid here in the first place, that he had so long carried since his days as a teenager.

So he lied to her, a little lie to ease her into it and gain her gentle surrender.

"If you must speak of philosophy," he started to say, catching his breath after their kiss. "It is a noble's choice whom he marries and beds. Would you object to that? You seem to have no objection to my lips..." he said.

Her back was already against the bed. He resisted the temptation to tip her onto it, at least for now.

"I'll say again: take off your smock. You are beautiful beyond what the chroniclers can record, and I wish to make that beauty mine and mine alone..."

 

[nightsorceress]

She looks so nervous before him now. Like she did not know what to do in this moment. Her heart beating so hard in her tiny chest. Her eyes locking on his. “Sir” she whimpered again. She bit her lip. “I beg you dont push forward with this. I hope for a good marriage, and love some day, if you take me now you will ruin and no good man will want me please sir” she said now. She did not think the option would be really this man could want her as a wife. But the fact this maid was so concerned about her virginity showed she also did not come from a lower class family Who wouldnt be so worried about such things.

Lily put a hand on her smock and locked eyes with him shaking her head. “Sir” she whispered again. He was so close to him. She wished there could be something between them, but she feared once he taken what he wanted from her he would discard her.

 

[SomethingSecret]

John watched her eyes for a moment, scanning them to ascertain her intent as she continued to deny him, not on grounds of her purity or some such, but rather that she worried of her future prospects. She was clearly a good woman in that regard to be so worried about her reputation in a moment such as this even when faced with the myriad of threats he posed to her. She could be made to understand, he thought, with just the little bit of persuasion.

"You are not in a position to be making requests," he said, unflinching. "Do as I say and remove your clothes. I will decide what is best for you from here on. You will obey my every word, or you will regret so much more than your low status. I grow impatient with your every objection; I must have you. there is no other way. In refusing me, you only deny yourself the rewards of your obedience. Do you understand? Now strip. Your Lord wills it."

 

[nightsorceress]

She looked him now. She was trembling a bit. Her eyes looked so nervous. Like he was hunter and she was a doe. She looked up at him and then swallowed hard. “Please…..” she said softly. “Please you do not understand. I do not want to be ruined. I want for a good marriage. Please dont make me a whore, dont ruin me” she begged again now. She was so desperate now.

“I do not mean to anger you, I have become fond of you seem like a good caring man. But please understand, I dont want to be a maid, I want love and life once the debt my father owes is repaid. I can not have those things if you ruin me now.” she reached for his hand now holding it in hers. “Please dont use me for your needs and ruin a future for me” she her small hand clutching his. Her hand was so soft, smooth, clearing no years of hard labor. Her hand was even a bit cold, she was so delicate.

Lily need a mans love, not harshness. She would say no but if he showed her his heart that he cared for her, she wouldnt fight him if he were to remove her clothes. She so desperately wanted to be loved and cared for.

 

[SomethingSecret]

John was beginning to grow impatient with the maid. She spoke of wanting a good marriage, of not being ruined, as though such a thing as this would do anything of the sort to her. Did she not know what he could do to her? Was she not aware of what she was resisting?

"Lily, you ruin your future by resisting," he said. "Do you know what traits a man looks for in his wife? Let me recount them to you: beauty, of which you are possessed a great deal of; compassion, which I have no doubt you share based on the loneliness in your eyes; fertility, which I shall see to soon enough; and finally, obedience, of which you continue to display a stunning lack of. A wife who cannot listen to me, will be of no use to me. Do you understand?"

He folded his arms, his brows narrowed as he looked up and down the maid.

"I care little about my 'needs'. I seek a woman who can be so much more than simple pleasure for me. If you cannot obey me, then you are no good to me. The fact that I even need explain it... has soured my mood considerably. Perhaps if you were to beg for my mercy, I might be more amenable to your transgression..."

 

[nightsorceress]

Lily let out a little whimper. “I dont want to be like some pet dog.” She finally said. “You talk about what a man expects of a wife what does a woman expect of her husband” she was trembling a bit “I want a man with a good heart above anything else, one that can love me completely and a man Who i can love completely and raise a family with.” Her heart was beating so hard her chest felt like it could beat Right out of her chest.

“Perhaps you can be a good man a loving man. but I can not be a obedient dog” she had tears slip from her eyes. “Excuse” she finally said and pushed past him rushing from the room. she escaped the room as quickly as she could and went back down to her other duties.

Lily spent the day trying to hide herself in her job trying to stop anyone from seeing her tears but it was hard she was such a mess of emotions. She did care about the lord however she didn’t want to live her life as his maid. And that in many ways is what he made it sound like a maid who he would just have sex with.

As the day came to end she was ordered to bring a tray of food to the lords room. She was shocked and tried to get out of it but she couldnt. Lily carefully took the tray and made her way back to his room knocking on the door so softly.