by Celia Strapp
‘Girls,’ he boomed, walking to the end of the line, and looking down at us. ‘I am now going to perform a brief inspection of each of you, in the Lord’s name. If I ask you to step forward, you must do as I say. I will then ask Mrs. Mallory to comment upon the manners and obedience of the girls I have selected to stand forwards, and I will pick one of you to be my own, and to enter the service of the Abbey, and by extension, the Lord above.’
The way he said to be my own really made it sound like we were his possessions. Which, I suppose we were to be. It was just a shock to hear it said aloud like that!
At that point, the Prior took a step towards the girl at the end of the line, and his inspection began.
Chapter 7
‘Too tall,’ said the Prior, looking at the first girl. ‘Too short,’ he said, walking past the next. ‘Too fat,’ he said to the third. ‘Too thin,’ he said to the fourth.’ At the fifth girl, he stopped. ‘You look pliant enough. Nice and docile. Step forwards, girl.’ The girl did as she was told, and the Prior grabbed hold of her face. ‘You have all your teeth, I take it?’ The girl nodded as well as she could, given that her head was in a vice of the Prior’s clutches. ‘A little on the thin side, though, bless her…’
‘I can fatten up!’ squeaked the girl. The Prior looked at her in astonishment.
‘How dare you answer me back, wench!’ he shouted. ‘Step back in line.’
The girl, sniffing, trying to hide her tears, returned to the line, and the Prior moved on.
After ten minutes or so he had inspected every one of us except me, who was standing awkwardly at the end of the queue. He had only bade three girls to step forwards, and not one of them had dared answer the Prior back, having already witnessed the first girl’s mistake.
Finally, the Prior stepped up to me. ‘Interesting,’ he said, looking close at my face. ‘Her facial features are a little large, but I daresay she might grow into them. She may even become quite attractive, in a year or two…’
I held my breath, afraid that even the slightest sound of breathing might turn him against me, and I stood as straight as I could, looking up at him but without impolitely staring. I was almost ashamed by the way he was ogling me, the way that he was sinfully staring at my form. ‘You have a comely figure,’ he said, his eyes trailing down my chest. I could hear Mrs. Mallory tutting angrily behind him, no doubt jealous of the fact that I had breasts already, and she had never had them at all!
‘Step forwards, girl,’ he said, and I did as I was told. ‘Now turn around for me.’ Again, I did as I was instructed, and my ears burned as I felt his eyes boring into my backside. ‘Face the front again,’ he commanded. I felt dizzy with all these demands, but I have to say, I rather enjoyed them too. It felt rather marvellous to be under such firm control, to know exactly what my boundaries were, and that it was imperative I must cross them.
‘Yes,’ said the Prior. ‘You can stay standing forwards. Are you an obedient girl? Do you say your prayers each day?’
Terrified of answering back, I humbly nodded slightly and then, not knowing what to do, I curtsied slightly. I heard the other girls stifling giggles around me. No doubt I looked like a fawning idiot, but I didn’t care. I wanted the Prior to know how holy I was, and how well I’d serve him and the other monks. Finally, I allowed myself to take a breath, but tried to make it as light and dainty as possible. For a moment, I wondered if I might faint. The Prior smiled suddenly.
‘So, Mrs. Mallory,’ said the Prior, turning back to the simpering old woman. ‘Which of these four girls who I have asked to step forwards is the most obedient, would you say?’
Mrs. Mallory narrowed her eyes, looking across the line of us with disdain, fully aware of the gravity of the decision she was about to make, and how much it would change our lives no end. When Mrs. Mallory’s eyes rested upon me, she scowled even further, no doubt still upset about the Prior’s complimenting my figure, when he had not complimented her own. ‘That one,’ said Mrs. Mallory, pointing at Lucinda, who stood beside me, and who was far from obedient. In fact, she was one of the greatest rebels among us, and it was clear Mrs. Mallory had said it out of spite.
Lucinda squealed and jumped up and down, then turned to me and stuck out her tongue. The Prior snapped around sharp to look at her, and he stared down at her for a full minute, in silence, before speaking. ‘I will not have a squealing little piglet coming to stay with me, Mrs. Mallory. Clearly, I misjudged your ability to make a sound decision. I shall pick this one.’
On the words this one, he grabbed my forearm tightly, encircling it with his almighty hand, and he marched me out of the room, towards his waiting carriage, where I was swept away to my new life, and would begin to become the person I am now.
Chapter 8
For the first year or so at the Abbey, I worked very hard. I did exactly as I was asked, and I barely spoke a word, unless I was asked to. I curtseyed, spoke politely, and was quite the model servant. The old building at the top of the hill was cold and austere, but I never wanted for anything, and I became more and more holy as time went on. I attended every service I could and even took in the end to wearing a nun’s habit, veil and wimple. I truly believe I blended so well into the background that the Prior even forgot I was in his employment. It was as if a ghost brought him his pipe ever morning, and brought his newspaper to him in the evening. I do not even know, had he been asked my name, if he would have remembered it.
By the time it got to my seventeenth birthday, however, I began to grow a little rebellious. Like all adolescents, I grew tired of authority, and longed to be able to change the system. Why should it be that some people get to have everything, I wondered, while others have nothing? I stopped curtseying for the Prior when I presented him with his newspaper, and began speaking up a little more, even striking up a conversation with the Prior himself when I was feeling particularly brave. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t angry with the Prior and the other monks, but I did feel rather… agitated whenever I was in his presence. It was as if I wanted something from my Master, but I did not know what. I did not know, at that point, why he made my lips tremble, and my stomach churn whenever I spoke to him. The feelings had been getting so strong they were almost unbearable. None of the other monks had this sort of effect on me, I should add. Even the Abbot, a more senior man than the Prior, didn’t turn my legs to jelly.
The Prior certainly must have noticed a change in me. I’d feel his eyes upon me whenever I entered a room, and I noticed that he started to move around the Abbey a little more freely, popping his head into the servant quarters to watch me now and then, as if trying to catch me out at something. To be honest, I assumed that he was angry with me, that he was waiting to catch me in the act of stealing, or something similar, so that he might have fair grounds to dismiss me, and never lay eyes on me again.
How wrong I was.
On my eighteenth birthday, another servant, a sixteen-year-old friar named Rory, brought me a package. I was down in the cellars, peeling and chipping potatoes and onions for the head cook, and was surprised at the sight of the parcel with my name on it. I had never received a package in all my life. Let alone a birthday present.
‘The Prior wants you to have this,’ said Rory. ‘He has given me strict instructions that you are to open it in private, in your chamber, and read the note accompanying it.’
‘What is it?’ I asked, immediately aware of how silly the question was.
‘How d’you expect me to know, sister?’ said Rory, and walked off whistling. I used to love how the monks called me sister. Even though I’d never taken my vows, I always felt as though the Lord above was watching over me as closely as if I had.
I took the parcel, amazed, looking at the beautifully written calligraphy spelling out my full name, Verity Taylor, on the front. I shivered to think the Prior had written those words, and I hurried to my bleak bedchamber, desperate to see what was inside.
Chapter 9
Carefully, I undid the brown paper encircling my package and removed a lacy white handkerchief. As I did so, a sheet of paper fluttered to the floor. I stooped quickly to pick it up, my heart racing, and read the following:
Verity,
It is your eighteenth birthday, but you are not yet a woman. Having been your Master for some two years or so now, it is my duty to reveal my plans for you at last. I have been watching you closely, ever since you entered my service, and have been astonished by the growing change in you.
When you first joined my service, you were a quiet, obedient little mouse, who did exactly as she was told, like a good girl. For the past few months, however, you have grown more courageous, your mind blazing with rebellious thoughts. Although you rarely voice these thoughts, I can tell that they are there, and I can feel the fire within you. At first, I was shocked by your insolence, but I have found myself more and more closely drawn to it… In fact, lately I have become quite bewitched…
I believe that under firm tutelage you might yet blossom into a fine, Godly young woman, but you must learn some respect and manners for your elders, in particular for your future Lord.
You must have guessed my intentions, my dear, for you know I cannot take my eyes off you. And I can tell, beneath the blazing fire in your bosom, there is a deep desire for me too. Although it is sinful, I can no longer mask my feelings from you.
Wear the garment contained within this parcel. Consider it your birthday present. I shall be along to your chamber in one hour’s time to see that you have obeyed me.
Yours,
The Prior of Tintern Abbey
Well, what a curious letter! I read it another time, to be sure I had taken it in correctly. There was so much in it that surprised me. Phrases echoed around my head. I have become bewitched… your future Lord… wear the garment contained within this parcel…. I shall be along in one hour’s time…
Was the Prior implying that he intended to marry me? Surely not! Monks were forbidden from matrimony, and forbidden utterly from the sins of the flesh. I almost hated myself for allowing the thought to enter my mind. And yet… it was really rather difficult to read the letter in any other way, and I must confess, I felt my heart beating faster in my chest as I thought about the sinful implications.
As for the garment contained within the parcel, all I had was this handkerchief… I sat down on my bed and opened out the fabric, a terrible realisation dawning upon me. This was not a handkerchief. It was a white lace nightdress. I held one of the tiny, delicate straps between my fingertips, my hands shaking, having never touched a material as fine and fragile as this before. I looked closely at the intricate lace pattern, seeing that it bore a pattern of white lilies, a symbol of innocence, and I swallowed hard to think he wanted me to wear such a thing.
Suddenly, a great anger coming upon me, I scowled and threw the nightgown onto the floor. I stamped on it with my dirty shoe and let out a wild growl. How dare the Prior instruct me to wear such a thing? I was not his object, to be used however he wished. I was a woman of God, a virgin, an innocent woman! He had not bought me to be his cheap courtesan, existing only to pleasure him until he lost interest and bought someone else’s favours. I was a living, breathing human being. I was not some… some harlot. I served only one Lord, and that was God, up on high, not some lusting man.
And yet… looking at the lacy object had aroused my suspicion. What might I look like in a skimpy little outfit like this? The Prior obviously saw something in me, something he desired. Would it hurt to just try the dress on, if only to laugh at his ridiculous dress? He was not to arrive for another half hour or so yet. I would have plenty of time to change into this thing, and then put my habit back on before he arrived.
I made sure my door was closed properly, in case Rory or some other Friar was lurking outside, and I hung an old shawl over the door handle so that nobody might peep through the keyhole. Then, I removed my outfit, looking with dismay at my dirty, rough skin, thinking that even if the Prior was to see me like this, he would no doubt be revolted with such a young commoner. I lifted up the lace off the floor, and was even more dismayed when I saw I had left a dirty mark on it, and had even ripped the lace on part of the bodice.
I pulled the nightdress over my skin, wondering at the beautiful softness of the fabric, feeling like I was wrapping myself in angels’ wings, until the dress was hanging off me delicately, sweeping out slightly at my thighs, but pinched in at the waist, showing off the fullness of my figure. I gasped as I looked at my breasts. They were held firmly and securely in the lace, pert and buxom, and looked almost twice the size they looked normally, without any fancy brassiere like the one sewn into this garment. There was, however, one problem, which was that the hole I had ripped was in fact in the bust of the dress, and my left nipple poked clean out of the fabric, my pink, puckered skin looking like it was breaking out of the dress, straining out as if desperate to be touched by some caressing finger.
Suddenly, I heard a creak behind me, and saw the door opening. Into my chamber walked my Master, the Prior, and his eyes were drawn immediately to my near-naked figure.
‘My my, Verity,’ he said, closing the door behind him, his eyes running down over my bust, then down to my flat stomach, and my long, lean legs.
‘I came here early, as I couldn’t wait, and now I can see I was right to be impatient.’ He licked his lips and took a step towards me, but then, suddenly, his gaze darkened. ‘What’s this?’ he asked, looking at the rip in the fabric, exposing my nipple, which was shivering in the cold and hard as a button.
‘Looks like someone’s been a little ungrateful with their new present.’
He took another step forward, and then reached out to touch the tear in the fabric. ‘What terrible behaviour,’ he said, his fingers running around the edge of the tear now, encircling my nipple, making it stand even further on end, erect and desperate for his touch.
But, suddenly he pulled his hand away. ‘I had hoped you might have grown up a little on your eighteenth birthday, Verity,’ said the Prior, looking down at me like a scolding parent. ‘But it seems you still need to learn some respect.’ He sat on the edge of my bed and patted his knees. ‘Time for your punishment.’
‘Punishment, sir?’ I asked, crossing my arms, trying to hide my naked nipple, but to no avail.
‘Don’t answer me back, girl,’ said the Prior. ‘I’m going to teach you a lesson.’ He grabbed my wrist and pulled me towards him, and I submitted to him as he pulled me across his lap, my rump in the air. ‘Now then, Verity,’ he said, his strong, firm hands stroking the lace stretched across my backside. ‘It’s time for your Lord-to-be to spank some manners into you.’
Chapter 10
The Prior began lifting the lacy fabric up over my backside, until my plain white knickers were on display. I say they were white, but they were so old and poorly washed that they were more like a horrible shade of grey by now, and I felt embarrassed for him to see me like this. The embarrassment distracted me from my anger for a moment, but when I felt him pulling back my undergarments, revealing my bare buttocks to the air, my anger returned.
‘How dare you…’ I began. ‘This is a sin!’
Swiftly, the Prior removed my knickers and pulled them down over my ankles, letting them drop to the floor.
‘That’s better,’ he said. ‘That’s much better.’ He gently stroked the bare skin of my buttocks, while making a strange, low noise at the back of his throat, and I became aware of the sensation of something hard, pressing up into me from his lap.
‘Now I’m going to punish you,’ he said, in a strange, throaty voice, and peeled back the lace dress further, revealing my naked buttocks to him in their entirety, like an enormous split peach lying down on top of his strong thighs. With a final squeeze of my buttock, I felt the Prior lift his hand away from my flesh, and then, after what felt like an eternity of waiting, I felt his heavy hand come smacking down onto me.
My mouth o
pened soundlessly and my eyes widened with the pain of the strike. Little needles of red hot sensation spread out from his fingers across my flesh. I had not expected him to hit me so hard. Then, without any warning, he lifted his hand again and brought it down with a hard, snapping thwack sound on my bottom, even harder than before. I felt my flesh pucker underneath him, as my body struggled to react to the pain it was experiencing.
‘Oh my…’ I stuttered. I did not know whether I was angry or grateful.
‘It seems perhaps I am spanking some sense into you,’ said the Prior, and on the word spanking I felt that strange, hard object, pressing up from between his thighs, prodding me in the stomach again. It felt as though he had a wooden rod down there!
My thoughts were broken by another slap.
‘Oh, sir!’ I cried, as my whole body shifted forward with the power of the smack. I closed my eyes and took the pain, as it radiated around my buttocks, and through my core, all the way round to my little quim which shivered underneath me, so close to his rough hands.