The Treatment of the Lower Orders

The Treatment of the Lower Orders 4

The heat of midday was persistent and unforgiving; it slowed the body’s action with a lethargy that demanded either sleep or cooling. Sleep was not possible for much work need be done in preparation of the Midsummer feasting. Elias decided that she should walk to the woods and collect the wild mint for her sacs de parfum, as it was necessary to replace these every month, if the sheets were to smell as sweet as the sheriff favoured them.

The walk out through the town was dusty. Horses threw up chips of the dirt so hard they could have been gravel. There had been no rain for three weeks, all about her was dry and cracked. The daub on the poorer houses was crumbling, and holes left un-mended, as cool air might seep through and ease the sleep of those within.

But in the wood, shaded by the overhanging Birch, it was pleasantly warm. She drew off the kerchief that covered her hair and shook out the sweat-tangled curls. More comfortable now she set about her task. It took no time at all to gather sufficient of the profusely growing herb. It disappointed her that now she had no excuse for not returning to the oven of the castle.

Then she thought of the pool.

It was deeper in the wood, and ‘t would take her further from the town, but the water was like shaded crystal, and clear, fed by a small higher, stream. Few visited here; Bonmere was the next hamlet, but they now had a well of their own and this ceased to be the community’s source of water.

She turned her feet in the direction of the promised cooling, almost light hearted. A visit to her brother a week before had gladdened her. He was growing strong and sure, attending to his studies and well liked by the monks. He seemed happy. In this at least, she was content. If only her own life had such stability. It would never be her fate to marry, have children, a home such as her parents had. She sighed for it, but it was pointless to lament.

The pool was as she remembered it, larger mayhap, but pretty, fresh looking. Making sure she was alone, she undressed to her shift and stepped into the sparkling promised coolness. The cold water stung at her legs deliciously. Taking a deep breath, she plunged under the surface. Immediately, what air was held in her lungs expelled with the shock of the icy water. She sprung back up gasping for air desperately. Laughing aloud, she shook her hair, spraying water all about her. She stretched her arms upward to the sky, to the dappled sun, to the God or gods who held her life so cheap, then dived back into the water.

Guy pulled up the reins and Judas pranced backward.

“Fan out, circle around behind the houses, he shouted. “You, take three men and scour up behind the trees. I want him found before tonight. The sheriff is offering him his hospitality.”

The sheriff’s idea of hospitality for the lower orders was the dungeon. And the punishment for not declaring your ownership of a fine Arab mare, especially one that Vaisey ardently desired, was a lot of the afore mentioned hospitality. All they had to do was find the man.

He directed Judas out through the trees keen to be about this and done. Visitors were expected at the castle, Guy needed to be there if Vaisey was plotting.

He vaguely knew of the pool, it was not a place he was familiar with. But Judas was drawn by the smell of the water. He dismounted and let the stallion drink.

The sound of splashing water startled him.

And there she was, on the far side, dipping and diving in the glistening, inviting water. He could not help but watch her movements of childlike elegance. They captivated him, the sinuous twisting and turning, her shift clinging to her skin. He forgot why he was there. And hidden as he was, he chose to indulge himself, to witness her play.

But close by another saw her. He too found himself in thrall to the spirit and lushness of her body.

Robin leant heavily on the overhanging branch, his arms stretched above him, the tensing of his belly at the almost magical scene, causing him to regret his recent abstinence. He closed his eyes and chuckled softly, oh how his poor cock ached for release.