“Oh m’lord, I’m so very sorry. Please excuse me.”
She turned towards the hidden servant’s entrance, but he stopped her. “Wait a minute, lass.”
Turning back to him, she eyed him nervously. “Yes sir?”
Looking her up and down again with a smile teasing his full lips, he asked, “What’s your name girl?”
“Suzanna, sir,” she said shyly.
Removing his coat and draping it over a chair, he asked, “How old are you Suzanna?”
“Eighteen,” she answered, her nervousness growing.
“And are you now responsible for cleaning my rooms?” he asked.
“Yes,” she answered, beginning to relax. Perhaps he was only going to give her some instructions.
He approached her and pulled off her cap. Her mahogany curls tumbled down her back. “You are not to wear a cap. I like to see a woman’s hair. Especially when it’s as nice as yours,” he said with a smile, walking behind her. He lifted a handful of soft curls and ran his fingers through them. “I’m also going to change your uniform. The one you have on is so frumpy. I like to see a little skin,” he replied, walking around in front of her again, eyeing her body.
Her nervousness returned. She wasn’t sure she liked where this was going. Meekly, she merely replied, “Yes sir.”
“I think perhaps I’ll also see to having your duties slightly changed. I’ll speak with the head housekeeper and she’ll let you know. You can go now,” he dismissed.
Clutching her cap in her hands, she rushed to the servants entrance. As she hurried down the hallway, she found herself trembling. What was he going to have her do, she wondered.
The next morning, Mrs. Simms, the head housekeeper called Suzanna into her cramped office. “Lord Worthington has requested some changes to your duties,” she said briskly. She picked up a sheet of paper and reading from it said, “Your new duties, effective tomorrow, are as follows: You are to wake Lord Worthington at nine o’clock every morning. You will do this by entering his room with a cheerful salutation of ‘Good Morning Lord Worthington’ and opening his curtains. A comment on the weather is appropriate.” She paused before continuing. “In his dressing room, you should have his itinerary for the day and you will lay out the appropriate clothes.”
“Mrs. Simms?” Suzanna interrupted. “Excuse me, but these sound like the duties a man servant should have, not me.”
“Yes, Miss Brown, I know. But Lord Worthington has expressly asked that you perform these tasks.” She eyed the young woman sympathetically. “Miss Brown, I usually don’t do this, but I must warn you. Lord Worthington has a tendency to get very familiar with his maids. If you keep your wits about you and don’t fall for any flattery, you should be alright. However, if he does make a pass, it is acceptable for you to make a modest refusal but if he insists, you must endure, if you wish to keep your position.”
Suzanna recalled how he had eyed her yesterday, and she nervously whispered, “Yes ma’am, thank you.” She hesitated before asking, “How old is Lord Worthington?”
“He’s twenty-eight, but behaves more like he’s a randy fifteen year old,” she replied with disapproval. She cleared her throat and continued reading the list of Suzanna’s new duties, all tailored to specifically taking care of the Lord.
When she had finished, Suzanna asked, “He also mentioned something about me having a new uniform?”
Mrs. Simms was unable to meet the young woman’s eyes. “Yes, it will be ready for you tomorrow. That is all Miss Brown,” she said, unable to bear having this poor creature in her office another moment.
She didn’t see the Lord that day and the next morning she was presented with her new uniform. She was horrified as she pulled the laces tight. “Oh my, Rosy, look,” she called to her roommate.
“What, is that your new…oh no, Suzy!” she exclaimed.
Suzanna tugged at the low neckline, trying to pull it higher. “I can’t wear this!” she cried. “Lord Worthington said he liked to see a little skin, but this dress is scandalous!”
Unable to suppress a smile, Rosy commented, “It does make you look rather fetching, though.”
“Please Rosy, this is no time for jokes. One false move and I’ll be flashing my nips at him!”
“I would wager that’s what he wants,” she replied.
Knowing her friend was right, she only sighed. “If only there weren’t such a shortage of jobs in this town,” she muttered, again trying to pull the neckline higher.
At 8:59 that morning, she stood before Lord Worthington’s bedroom doors. As the clock struck, she took a deep breath and opened the doors. The night had been a hot one and as she entered the room, she noticed that he had flung off the blankets and his bare torso was exposed. His muscled body stopped her in her tracks and she stood breathless for a few moments before proceeding to the window and calling out ‘good morning’.
As she pulled the curtains back, he replied in a clear voice, “I’m already awake.”
She was suddenly aware that he must have heard her footsteps stop by his bed for a few moments before she called her greeting. Her fear was confirmed when he said, “Do you enjoy looking at me Suzanna?”
Without turning, she replied, “I only stopped out of surprise, sir, not admiration.”
“You weren’t admiring me?”
“No, sir. It looks like it’s going to be another lovely day,” she said gaily, hoping he would drop the subject.
Her hopes were in vain, for he requested, “Come over here.”
She nervously approached the bed and saw that he was still laying there, exactly the same. “Does my appearance not please you?” he asked, lazily rubbing his chest.
She merely glanced at him, and then staring out the window, she replied, blushing furiously, “You’re a handsome man, m’lord. Your appearance is always pleasing.”
He grabbed her wrist and pulled her onto the bed. He wrapped one hand around the back of her head and his other arm around her waist. “Your appearance is also very pleasing,” he whispered, his lips very close to hers.
“Please let me go, m’lord,” she said, recalling Mrs. Simms words about a modest resistance to advances.
With a wicked smile, he shook his head slowly, “I don’t want to.” His lips pressed against hers and with his hand on the back of her head, she couldn’t twist away. What else was it Mrs. Simms had said, she wondered vaguely.
Lord Worthington’s mouth moved seductively over Suzanna’s. She had never been kissed like this before and her mind was swept into a whirl. His tongue slipped into her mouth and she feared she would faint from the sensation.
She was hazily aware of being laid back on the bed and of his weight on her. He moved his mouth from hers and the tip of his tongue scorched a trail down her throat. She felt his hands on her breasts, tugging the dress that little bit lower. She could barely think clearly enough to comprehend what he was doing and when she felt the wetness of his mouth on her exposed nipple, she arched her back with a small cry. She writhed on the sheets as he swirled his tongue around the hardened nub and then suckled it with his mouth.
She was suddenly keenly aware of his hand under her skirts, caressing her thigh. “No m’lord, please, no,” she begged, scrambling away from him.
“My, how prettily you beg,” he said, watching her get up from the bed, and turning her back as she pulled up the neckline of her dress.
She suddenly felt him behind her and she stiffened, knowing that he must be naked. His hands reached around in front of her and tugged her neckline back down, exposing her nipples. He tweaked them, causing her breath to catch in her throat. “For today, I want to see them. Keep your dress like this,” he whispered in her ear. “Have you ever seen a naked man, Suzanna?” he asked, his voice low and silky smooth.
Breathing heavily and on the verge of tears, she replied in a shaky voice, “No, m’lord.”
“Would you like to?” he asked, his voice seductively low.
He was pressed against her and his hands on her breasts was making it very difficult to think clearly. A tear spilled down her cheek, as she replied, “No, m’lord.”
He wiped the tear away and releasing her, said, “Off you go to the dressing room.”
She nearly ran from the room, breathing a sigh of relief that he had finally let her go. She looked down at her exposed breasts and the tears threatened to flow again. She had to stay like this all day?
She could hear him moving around in his rooms and shook her head. Keep your wits about you, silly, she admonished herself. Endure it, that’s what Mrs. Simms had said. The dress is only an inch lower than before, not anything to really worry about, she told herself as she laid out her master’s clothes for the day.
He entered the dressing room and gazing at her new neckline, he asked, “So, what am I doing today? Anything I can cancel so I can just stay here and admire you all day?”
Avoiding his gaze, she replied, “I’m afraid not m’lord. You are having breakfast and spending the morning with your father. After that you have a meeting in town. When you return to change for that, you can admire me then.” She was trying to keep the atmosphere light and by acting as though nothing were different, she hoped it would work.
As soon as he had left, she pulled the dress back up and set about her duties of cleaning his rooms. About half an hour before he was due back, she pulled the neckline back down, worried he might come back early. She was bent over, tucking in the sheets of his bed, when he returned. She didn’t hear him come in and was startled when she heard his voice behind her, “This view is almost as pleasing as the one from the front.”