New Girl Ch. 01

Mayet was stunned. To read and write? Could such a thing be even possible? Even if it was a foreign tongue, she had never dared to dream of such a thing! She took his hand and kissed it, pressing it to her forehead, overcome with gratitude. "Thank you, Lord! Oh, thank you. I will study hard. I will! I will be the best servant you could hope for. I promise!"

Miri slowly turned over, her face still flushed from her orgasms. As her breathing slowed to normal, her mind reeled, appalled at what she'd just done. Lady Susan was her liege and her friend! And she'd not only given herself to her husband, she'd begged for it! Miri knew he had Lady's Susan's permission to have other lovers as long as he was discreet about it. As she sat up, she looked around. Her panties were wadded up on the floor, the crotch soaked. Sitting up, she listened to them speak that western tongue. Lifting up a bit, she snagged a small towel from a shelf and wiped herself thoroughly before sitting back down. She stuffed her underwear into her apron. What was she going to do? she wondered.

Royce patted the free space on his other side, holding out his free hand to Miri.

Surprised, she moved beside him.

He put his arm around her. "Miri Tanner, have things have changed between us?"

She slowly nodded. She was stunned further by how much she enjoyed the feel of his arm around her.

"What do you want to do about it? Would you take it back?"

"Oh, no, my Lord," Miri quickly assured him. She dared another glance at his cock. Even flaccid, it was large. Miri could still feel the echoes of his presence. "It was incredible. You are most handsomely made."

"Indeed?" he replied, amused.

"Uh, my Lord? I do not have any protection. In the heat of the moment, all thought of that went away."

Royce did have protection. The silver band he wore beside his wedding rings made sure all his sperm was ineffective. But curiosity drove him. "Would it be a problem if you conceived?"

Miri's eyes grew wide. After a long pause, she realized a truth. "No, my Lord. I find it is not. If you wanted me to have your child, I would." Anything, she caught herself thinking, to feel him thundering inside her again. Once with him would not be enough. Closing her eyes, she knew she was lost.

"Even if I could not acknowledge my paternity?" he countered. "You know, of course, Susan would never stand for it. And I have no idea what Charlotte Ann would do."

Pursing her lips, she nodded. "I am aware, my Lord, of what this does to you and to me. If my Mistress learned of this, it might even sunder your marriage to one and probably both sisters."

He was surprised that Miri didn't even mention herself. Susan often mentioned how much she depended on Miri. Royce privately agreed Susan would be devastated by what she would see as her servant's betrayal, and it was likely she would banish Miri from their lands forever.

Looking directly into his eyes, Miri felt completely bare, yet she felt the need to make him understand how she felt. "Please, my Lord. Please know that I would never test or betray you that way. And, except for this, I hope that you will never ask me to choose between you and your wife. You are my Duke, ruler of our people. I serve your House, my Lord, but I am Lady Susan's woman. To answer you, my Lord, yes, I still would bear your child. I have seen how you care for your people and for your wives. For that you have not only my loyalty but also my affection. As for what has happened, if you thought it too dangerous, I would understand if you chose to never be with me that way again." Taking a long breath, she looked into his eyes. "But my heart would despair."

Royce had not truly sought either of them out. He could have said no to Mayet. But then he would have been ignorant of the girl's past. And because of Mayet, there was now Miri, too. Odd how the women in his life seemed to come in pairs. Susan and Charlotte Ann. Miri and Mayet. Miri's frank admission startled him, but also shamed him. It was unfair to keep her in the dark about the chances of pregnancy.

"I do have protection. You won't get pregnant. Either of you."

She surprised him yet again by the flicker of disappointment in her eyes. "Of course, my Lord."

"I've a few more questions of Mayet. But I've some tasks for you regarding her. You may undertake it yourself or assign others to complete it, but understand I want it done. I'm sure you are aware Mayet is still struggling to learn our language. She is also illiterate. Miri, I want you to survey all our household staff, and have them join Mayet if they need it, but I want everyone in this household to know how to read and write our language. If it means hiring a few extra to help cover the lost time as well as the teachers -- do it. Order whatever supplies you need, and if you need to hire others, make it happen. Come to me later with the costs. I will provide the funds from my personal account. I also want Mayet to learn our main laws. Come to think of it, have her instructed in the Tenth Year curriculum."

"My Lord?"

When a child reached the age of ten, they went to the church for classes. For three months, children learned religion, health, first aid, child care, preliminary survival skills, and a selection of several other subjects. For some, the lessons were so basic, it was an excuse to goof off while away from one's parents. A few even started looking at prospective future partners.

"It's a child's education, Miri, but in many ways, she missed that. See this?" Royce lifted the hem of Mayet's dress, baring her hip. Miri leaned over him to look. She saw the long lines of writing tattooed on Mayet.

The Caloreni girl didn't understand the words, but she was reassured by her lord's tone. So what if he showed her slave marks? It also showed that she was free.

Miri was puzzled. "What are those, my Lord?"

"Until last year, when she arrived at the capital, she was a slave. She's from Ameroë, a city in the Caloren States. From the age of five, her master used her as a prostitute."

Miri gasped.

Royce dropped the dress. "Mayet believes a woman's only purpose is to provide sex for men."

Mayet heard her name spoken. She was concerned about this woman's reaction. She seemed repulsed. Horrified even. Had she done something wrong? Now she wished she understood what they spoke of.

"Miri, I want you to make sure Mayet understands not just that she's free, but her rights, too. And she really wants to learn to read and write. They probably fed her nonsense about how literacy, too, was not for women or even worse tripe that they are incapable. Will you do that for me?"

Miri looked at the dark-skinned girl with new eyes. She had grown up knowing about the horrors of 2037, when slavers had come to their homeland, kidnapped hundreds of young people, and subjected them to slavery and rape. Too young herself to have experienced it, she knew that all three -- the Duke and his two wives -- had suffered cruelly at the hands of the slavers. The Duke and his sister managed to get a message to their people and the slavers soon died. Many of those who settled here in Ramez were survivors from that black summer. Miri had to steel her breathing, to focus on calm. By law, Mayet was obviously an adult now, even so young as she was. She forced herself to not imagine or dwell on the horror of Mayet's childhood. "Of course, my Lord. I will do as you ask."

Royce turned to Mayet, speaking to the Caloreni girl in her native Kemetic. "Miri has agreed to see that you are taught our language. She will also oversee your learning to read and write, and about our ways. I told her what you shared with me. Tell me, just how did you get your freedom?"

"My Lord, my previous master was a merchant. He brought me along to clean and to warm his bed while he was away from his wife. After some trading, he went to a gambling house. He became drunk and began to lose. He offered me as part of a bet, saying how I would be like a virgin as I hadn't even spilt my first menarche yet. The next thing I know, he was arrested. I was examined by priests, taken to a judge, and then given my freedom. I worked for a time at my people's temple in your big city, then I heard hard workers were wanted in this place. So I came here."

He shook his head, marveling. No bitterness, no guile, just an earnest desire to please. Curious about her age, he muttered the simple orison magic to reveal that to him. Eighteen. Barely. Poverty would be one excuse, but a limited diet, especially one that is shy on protein often delayed puberty for the young. In places where women were second- or even third-class citizens, if the children got meat at all, it went to the boys. By Ba'lorian church law, a girl could not become a woman until at least a year and no more than three years after her first menses. Mayet wasn't Ba'lorian, but someone on the King's Bench at the capital had used church law to declare her a child. And child slavery was forbidden throughout the entire nation. Mayet's owner must have been pissed not only to lose her but to have the fine the court had no doubt levied as well.

Now he had two women who wanted him for their lover. Things could get interesting, he thought.

Both watched him intently.

"Indeed, here you are," he said, pulling her close and kissing the top of her head. Then he pulled Miri close and kissed her as well. "Here you both are."

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