Chapter XII

Punishment

With each step she took, Bess's heart pounded harder against her chest cavity. She was nearing the end of the corridor. Nearing the Hertford apartments, nearing her master. Each time she swallowed the feeling caught in her throat like a piece of sticky, half-chewed food. Her master awaited her. The girl wasn't sure if he was angry at witnessing her indiscretion with Richard and it made her stomach churn with nervousness. There was a prickling of desire spreading out across her skin.

I will deal with you later, girl…

Deal with you…

Bess understood the implication beneath his words. Tonight could be the night that he demanded the use of her body. Tonight could be the night that all her deepest, most secret, most disturbing thoughts became a reality. Just imaging Lord Hertford's hands on her skin, the husk of his voice in her ear, the taste of his lips on hers, made her squirm. In truth the thought of lying with Edward Seymour frightened Bess. She didn't imagine he would be gentle. He was cold to be sure but there was a wildness hiding beneath the stone-like mask of his features. Perhaps he would use her to release all the stress his courtly position inflicted on him. Bess's breathing quickened and she stopped to lean against the wall, thinking.

What if Lord Hertford simply forced her down on the bed with his hand clamped over her mouth? What if he held her face-first to a wall and rutted her like an animal? In the past his roughness had excited and aroused her but now that Bess was faced with the prospect becoming reality, she was afraid. Edward Seymour would be nothing like the warm softness of Richard's embrace. Richard… God she felt guilty. He had asked to marry her. Bess recalled the look in his eyes as he had forced out the words; soft, nervous and entirely endearing. But she felt no spark. Whispers of desire didn't lick across her flesh when he touched her. He was familiar and safe yet she wanted nothing from him. Bess knew that she wanted the unfamiliar; she wanted to gaze up into her master's eyes and know she was completely at his mercy.

Finally the girl pushed herself from the cool stone of the wall and took the final steps towards the apartment door. The leaden feeling in her limbs was how she imagined convicts felt walking to the executioners block. Curling her fingers around the door handle carefully Bess took a deep breath and then entered. She knew that the apartment would be empty. Lady Anne had mentioned an invitation to drinks with other ladies of court after the festivities ended. They would undoubtedly be meeting only to gossip and speculate over the Queen's pregnancy. Even Bess had noticed how badly the Queen carried her pregnancy weight. When she had glimpsed the woman in the great hall, her face had seemed puffy and flushed. Isabel would most likely still be in the main hall enjoying the dancing. That left only her master, Lord Hertford.

Bess stood silently with her spine pressed against the door. Her eyes scanned the room carefully. There was a fire flickering in the grate but she couldn't pick out his slender figure slouched in any of the chairs. There was no sound except her breathing. Perhaps he had changed his mind. There was a sudden and unexplained flicker of disappointment in her stomach. Bess crossed the room slowly, chewing on her bottom lip so violently that she pulled a strip of skin from it. As she reached the edge of the dining table in the reception lounge, her fingers brushing the polished wood, Bess noticed a wine glass resting there. It was full, almost to the brim, of rich, velvety red. She pondered for a moment how strange it was for a goblet to be just sitting there. Unless it was waiting for her. Before she could stop herself, Bess was lifting it to her lips and drinking deeply. Soon the cup was empty and Bess's mind was ever so slightly hazy from the alcohol.

"You defied my orders." The girl spun suddenly, nearly dropping the metal cup to the floorboards in surprise. She shoved it down onto the table. It was him. Edward was slouched elegantly in the doorway, a cup cradled in one slender hand. His eyes were serious. "You let that boy put his hands on you. You let him touch what doesn't belong to him. After I told you not to." Lord Hertford took three stealthy steps towards her. Bess flinched, almost expecting him to slap her, but he didn't. He lifted a cask and refilled her cup with a smirk playing on his mouth. He soaked her in and in his mind admitted to himself how badly he wanted her. Her eyes reminded him of a rabbit finding itself caught in a snare. A fragile baby bird he could murder with too tight a grip. "I have been contemplating all the possible ways in which I could punish you."

The girl drank her second cup immediately. She was frightened and he knew it. He thrived on it. After setting it down again she choked out the words. "What do you intend to do?"

"Follow me."

It was a demand from a master, from her employer, so Bess did as she was told. They crossed the apartment and into his study. Edward leaned against the door watching her as she passed him. The door closed. The lock clicked. Bess was trembling all over. The man took a seat and crossed his legs. The way he moved his body was so graceful. He cocked his head as he looked at her; she was hovering nervously by the edge of his desk a few feet away.

"I have considered many ways." He told her huskily. His voice was like the rushing of waves and rich honey. "Perhaps whipping you bloody or slapping your pretty face until you weep." He watched the way her chest heaved with each nervous breath. The girl turned and refilled her glass. It was a bold move on her part but she didn't care. She was trying to dull her senses. Perhaps it would make the beating easier. She finished the third cup easily. "I considered bending you over that desk and fucking you until you screamed." Bess's hands were shaking as she refilled her cup again. She kept her back to him. "I should not imagine that would take long. You are a virgin."

Bess already didn't know how many cups she had finished. She swallowed. "Yes." Bess confirmed although it hadn't been a question. She could feel his eyes burning into her back. Her skin itched all over.

"Fill my cup." Bess complied dutifully. As she set down the cask Edward's hand flashed out and caught her by the wrist. Bess's heart rattled uneasily. Where Lord Hertford's thumb brushed her wrist he could feel the thundering of her pulse. "I make you nervous. Perhaps it because you are afraid but I imagine it is because I arouse you." He turned her bony wrist in his fingers gently, carefully. "You are so small." He murmured, partly to himself. "Like a little bird." Finally Edward Seymour looked up at her duck egg eyes. "I desire you. Give yourself to me freely and I will be gentle."

"And if I refuse?" Bess whispered haltingly. Edward's lip quirked. He swung from his chair lithely, like a predator. The girl slunk backwards until she hit the edge of his desk. The man grasped her face in one hand turning it slowly from side to side. There were tears beginning to well in Bess's eyes but Edward didn't care. He pressed closer to her.

"You will not. You desire me. I can smell it on your skin." Lord Hertford was correct. There was a warm wetness beginning to pool between her legs despite the fear Bess felt. "Turn around. Lay your hands on the desk."

Bess did as she was told. The wood was cool against her touch. She clamped her eyes shut and waited for the assault to come. Edward ran a finger along the length of her swanlike neck and she shivered. His breath was warm against her skin. His lips drifted up her throat and placed a kiss beneath her ear, as he had done once before. Instinctively Bess leaned towards him slightly, offering as much of her neck as she could. More kisses came. One after another along her smooth white skin. Slowly Edward's nimble fingers began to unravel the laces on the back of her gown. Bess didn't dare turn her face or try to stop him. She wanted him. She couldn't deny it. As the dress was eased apart Edward's kisses edged lower, moving along the indents of her spine. Then the fabric was pulled from the slope of her shoulders, pooling around her feet and plain cotton petticoat followed. Bess Crofter stood naked in her master's study. Her flesh was prickled with goose pimples from the sudden cold. Lord Hertford made a husky noise of appreciation. His hands curled around her waist, slipped lower over her hips and then gripped her buttocks roughly. Bess gasped audibly. His hands turned her, eyes greedily soaking in the sight of her young breasts for the first time. Edward lowered his mouth to a nipple and lapped at it with the tip of his tongue. Bess's teeth fastened down on her bottom lip and her hands gripped the edge of the desk to support her trembling body.

"Mmmm…" Lord Hertford muttered as he broke free and licked his lip. "Your body is just as I had imagined it would be." Then he lifted her suddenly so that was seated on the desk. His hands gripped her thighs and for the first time Lord Hertford kissed her. It was teasingly, playful kiss but before Bess could stop herself she kissed him back. Spurred on by her timid advances Edward Seymour shoved her backwards so that her spine was pressed to the wooden desk. His lips were moving violently. His tongue slipped into her mouth. Then, as softly as a whisper, Edward's fingers touched the wetness between her open legs. Bess mewled beneath his lips but he didn't stop. He eased a finger inside and the girl cried out, her spine arching. Her master clamped a hand over her lips and continued his work. Soon the girl was squirming, her hips moving with him to accommodate his touches. It made her parts feel tender, almost painful but Bess relished in it. She wanted more. She wanted him inside her.

Then the pressure on her skin was released.

It was a moment before Bess realised Edward had moved away from her. Her mind was cloudy and confused. Her breathing laboured. When she sat up slowly her master was watching her with an amused smirk. He lifted a wine cup to his mouth.

"Y-you…stopped." She managed to choke out.

"I told you that I would be gentle." Edward told her simply as he placed down his drink. "You have never touched a man before."

"N-no, my Lord."

"You will learn now." His fingers pulled apart the laces of his britches and eased out his manhood. It was hard and large. Bess swallowed nervously. Her blood was still pumping quickly from the excitement and arousal elicited from Edward's touches. He curled her hand around the shaft and began to massage it up and down, up and down. His body leaned forward so that she could feel his hot breath on her throat. "Continue." He told her huskily. Then Edward's hand left hers and returned to the place between her legs. Bess had to concentrate to keep her hand moving the way he had showed her. Her eyes closed as their lips met once more, faster and more wild this time.

"Faster." Edward growled against her mouth. Bess did as she was told. Her body was shaking with pleasure. His fingers were magic. His touches were becoming harder, quicker. Bess's head lolled backwards and she let out a noise that was half moan, half gasp. Lord Hertford's face was resting heavily on the crook of her neck and his breathing restless. The innocence of his young servant's touches stirred something in him that his wife could never quite reach. To touch something that no man had ever touched…it drove him almost rabid with desire. His free hand reached up and gripped her by the throat. Not enough pressure to frighten, just to tease. Then, when he could take no more, Edward pushed her backwards onto the desk once more and spread her legs further apart. The pins in Bess's hair dug into the back of her head but she didn't care.

Without warning he entered the girl.

Bess let out a strangled cry of pain and pleasure. Her hymen fractured under the pressure. She clung to the edge of the desk desperately. He began slowly but soon he could control himself no longer and rutted the girl roughly. The sound of their groans mingled together and Edward's fingers dug into her thighs as he fucked her. It did not take Edward long to finish; the tight, wetness of her body was too delicious, too tortuous. The man slumped forward over her body winded and exhausted. His hot breath puffed against her chest. Bess could not stop trembling, even after her body fell slack. She sucked in breath after shaky breath. Edward pulled free and the girl gasped in pain, his manhood was smeared with her virginal blood. Then he was walking away, re-lacing his britches and drinking deeply from his wine cup. Bess couldn't make herself sit up.

It had happened. She had given her virginity to a man that was not her husband. She could almost feel the scolding of the priest in the village. She almost wished that she felt ashamed. She didn't. She was drunk on the feeling of pleasure sex had given her. She was drunk on Edward Seymour.

Finally Bess eased herself to her feet. Her legs felt like liquid. She dared to raise her eyes to where Lord Hertford was sitting in his chair. She slid her petticoat over her head. The lacings were all undone and it barely covered her cleavage. As Bess moved to cover her wantonness with her gown Edward's voice sounded.

"No." She dropped the fabric to the ground once more. "Come here. Sit." As she complied her master handed her a newly full cup of wine. The girl nearly smiled at the politeness of the act. She had imagined he would simply send her from the room once he had finished with her.

There was a long moment of silence before Bess gained the courage to speak. "Did…did I please you, my Lord?" Lord Hertford glanced over. Her hair had become tousled, wild tendrils coming loose from her coiled bun. Her eyes were glassy and dark in the firelight. Her lips bruised and swollen from his kisses. She looked utterly and unbelievably enticing.

"Yes." He took a satisfied sip of wine. "I will have you again."

"When?"

"Whenever I should choose to. I trust that you understand your position."

"Yes, my Lord."

"You understand that you are a servant not my mistress and that your household duties will continue. You will lay with me whenever and however I should desire it. You will not speak a word of this to anyone."

Bess chewed on her lip confused. "My Lord…is there a-another way to bed a woman?"

For the first time Edward's mouth formed a smile, not a smirk. Her innocence clearly amused him. Dirty, dishonourable images crossed his mind. He pondered all the ways he could have his way with her. "Yes, girl, there are many ways."

"W-will…will you teach me?"

"Yes," He watched her closely over the brim of his wine cup. "Although next time I will not be so gentle."