The New Nobility Ch 01

Copyright Otto26, 2007

*

Evelyn took a deep breath as Evard rolled off her. She instinctively reached down and took hold of his plastic covered cock, checking the condom to make certain it was still on and unruptured. It was, in her opinion, one of the better inventions the new nobility had brought to Wells. But it was still far from perfect and Evelyn didn't want to end up pregnant and married off. She had plans or, at least, she'd had plans.

"Tell us then," Evard said. His eyes were closed and he was laying back in the straw and breathing heavily.

"Tell you what?" Evelyn snapped.

"What's bothering you," Evard replied. "I'm a dullard, sure, but even I can tell you're upset. Go ahead and talk, you always do."

She squeezed his cock once, hard, and then wiped her hand on his belly. "Career selections were announced today," she said in a tight voice.

"Didn't get what you wanted, then?"

She shook her head. She'd applied for training in the health field; women could prosper there. The advent of the new nobility had done a great deal to empower women and open new opportunities to them, but those changes were still fresh and women could only advance so far. The health field was a notable exception, one where women had already enjoyed considerable privileges. Some of the most powerful women on Wells had begun their career as physicians, but that made it a very desirable career choice for many women.

The educational system the new nobility had implemented gave Evelyn access to opportunities that her mother couldn't have dreamed of, but it came at a price, and that price was a strict meritocracy which rationed access to higher education. The new nobility needed educated laborers to build the infrastructure for the improved society they were building, the teachers all said. In two generations Wells would be prosperous, but in the here and now Evelyn Jones was condemned to the life of a drudge.

"Factory laborer," she whispered.

Evard whistled in commiseration. "Had that option, myself. That or going for a soldier. Fooled them, I did, and joined a household."

Evelyn's eyes darted to where their clothing lay in a pile. Evard's livery clothing was easy to distinguish, far finer than the fabrics available to her working class family and brighter with the new dyes.

"What's it like?" she asked pensively.

"The household? Oh, better than drudging. I've a space in the dormitory and three meals a day. I work at whatever task I'm given and it usually only takes half my day. The perks are great: leftover food from fine feasts, tips from guests, travel sometimes, and I get to see the nobility up close. I've seen the Baron! When he came on his visit I was a doorman because Lews was sick. Hungover really, but it got me out of the pantry."

Evard, never shy to boast about his cleverness or his connections to the rich and powerful, meager though both were, continued talking, oblivious to the fact that Evelyn was no longer listening to him.

'Better than drudging,' she mulled. And it might be the case. She'd seen Sir Arun's household about the town and the servants all looked well fed and well cared for. It couldn't be any harder than working a ten hour shift in one of the factories and it looked to have better benefits and opportunities for advancement.

"Is it true about the oath?" she asked, unaware that she was interrupting him.

"The oath?" he repeated. "True enough, I suppose. You're giving yourself over to the authority of the household. Civil authorities can't touch you. That time I got into a fight with Myles? Magistrate had to turn me over to the chamberlain. Mind you, I still got a flogging out of it and if they'd been of the mind they could have executed me. More likely they'd turn me out of service though. Why do you care?" he asked, suddenly catching the thread of her interest.

Evelyn smiled at him and rolled over on top of him. "Better than drudging," she repeated. She lowered her mouth to his neck and kissed him for several moments. "I'd like that," she said, "and if you could get me into your household then we'd be closer." She eeled her way slowly down his body, kissing at his chest, licking his nipples and taut belly. She could feel his breath coming faster and a wicked glance cast in his direction showed that his attention was entirely focused on her.

She went lower still and gently peeled the condom from his rigid cock. She brought her mouth close to the tip, close enough that he could feel her breath on him, but didn't touch him. "I'd like that," she repeated. "You can do that, can't you? Get me an interview?" She extended her tongue, pulling her head back as she did so that it never actually touched him.

"God yes," he gasped. "I can do that." Some deeply buried virtue forced him to add, "But I can't promise they'll take you."

"Promise me the interview, then," she said with a smile.

"I promise," he said fervently.

Evelyn grasped his cock with one hand, wrapping it around the base of him, and slowly took his glans into her mouth. He groaned as the bitter taste of his residual cum hit her tongue. She sucked him gently, letting her lips and tongue do the bulk of the work, as she gathered her knees up under her. Evard, she knew, liked to see her. If he saw her breasts jiggling back and forth he'd be done quicker. To that end, her free hand toyed with his balls and she moaned softly and a little regretfully. Evard would be done for the night after this and she'd only had a little orgasm from his earlier efforts. She could feel the warmth building in her belly and knew that she'd have to go without or be satisfied with her hand.

'Worth it, though,' she thought as Evard erupted into her mouth to the accompaniment of ecstatic shouts. 'Anything is better than drudging in a factory until I'm old and withered.'

***

The hallway in the servant's quarters was stark. The wooden floor was bare and gleamed from polishing, the walls were a bright white and undecorated in any way, and it was narrow. Sitting on the bench outside the door to the butler's room Evelyn had time to reflect that even that stark simplicity was more opulent than anything she'd ever seen. The floor was bare, but the wood was curly-knot, which she'd only ever seen in expensive furniture. The hallway was lit by electronics, the new LEDs, she guessed, where she'd grown up with oil lamps and tallow candles. 'And this is just the servant's quarters,' she thought nervously.

"You're to go in," a young man in household livery said curtly as he left the room. Evelyn swallowed once and then walked in, closing the door behind her.

The room, like the hallway, was stark but it reflected a level of wealth far above Evelyn's experience. A large man sat behind a desk tapping at the keyboard of the first computer Evelyn had ever seen outside of books or the flickers. He did not invite her to sit, so she did not. After several long minutes he looked up from his work.

"You know how to wait," he remarked. "That's good. Can you read?"

"Yes, sir," she replied.

"Come to find your fortune, have you?"

"No, sir. That is... I don't want to be a factory drudge, sir. Well fed, well clothed, a little respect... seems a better option than what I was given."

He nodded. "You sucked young Evard's dick to get the interview. Is that how you intend to advance yourself in the world?"

Evelyn flushed, but stood her ground. She'd had this argument before. "It's not illegal, nor a sin, for a woman to enjoy sex, sir. I've come to work, and not on my back, though I'll take my pleasure where I find it. So long as I'm not breaking the rules, sir."

He grunted. "Plainly spoken. Do you understand the oath?"

Evelyn grimaced. "I'm not sure, sir. I have to swear to obey, I know that."

"That's part of it. The oath is a contract which binds you to the house. In return for your loyal service the house will see to your care. While you will no longer be subject to civil law, the penalties which the house can assess are far more severe."

Evelyn nodded, despite her apprehension. "I will be true, sir."

"Well enough, then. We've a place for a chambermaid. If Mrs. Elati approves then we'll take you on. You'll find her in the laundry at this time of day. Go speak to her."

Mrs. Elati, an elderly woman unlike any Evelyn had ever seen, had approved and Evelyn had found herself swept up in a whirlwind of tasks, passed from one servant to another as she was given a medical examination, issued clothing, assigned a bunk space in a room shared by three other chambermaids, and given more instructions than she could remember. This was followed by a meal that was terrifyingly formal and then she found herself lying awake in her bed while the sleeping sighs and snores of her roommates filled the room.

***

She woke late in the morning and had to hurry through a quick wash, no more than passing a wet rag between her thighs and under her breasts and arms. Lining up with the other maids her unfamiliar clothing was found to be insufficiently neat which merited a slap to the face and stern directions to fix herself whilst the others ate breakfast. Hungry and nervous she found herself assigned to a team of maids working in a portion of the house that was unoccupied.

"The young master's portion of the house," Sondra explained as they painstakingly dusted every object in the room. "He's away at school so these rooms aren't really used."

"They're a test, then?" Evelyn asked.

Sondra nodded. "Mrs. Elati will be through later to check our work. When she thinks we're ready we'll be permitted to work in the occupied rooms."

Evelyn focused on her work, paying attention to the most minor details with such ferocious focus that she failed to hear the head chambermaid enter the room. A sharp pinch to her bottom brought her back to the moment and, blushing, she looked down at the carpet beneath her feet.

"Are you deaf, girl?" the acerbic voice demanded.

"No, ma'am," Evelyn said. "I... when I work I shut everything out except the task at hand. It won't happen again, ma'am."

"It will not, or you'll discover if your talent fits in better at one of the factories," Mrs. Elati declared. She stared at Evelyn for a long moment and then began inspecting the room. It was a thorough inspection.

"Who told the new girl about cleaning the insides of the pots?" she demanded.

The chambermaids darted glances at each other, but none spoke up.

"Did someone tell you to clean the insides of the pots?" she asked Evelyn.

"No, ma'am. Was that wrong? I was told you had very high standards and it seemed to me that a noble household would expect such attention to detail."

The sniff that Mrs. Elati delivered might have been approving, or disappointed, or both. Her only comment, however, was that she would return when they were finished.

"Who told you, then?" Sondra asked as they went back to work.

Evelyn shrugged. "No one. Don't they expect us to do our best?"

"A week scrubbing floors in the kitchen I had when she inspected my work the first day," Sondra told her. "Never heard of a new girl not missing something. You might be worth having around," she allowed.

The rest of the day was about the same. The women worked as a team to clean the unoccupied suite and the rooms around it. The work wasn't particularly hard and they were able to work fairly slowly and talk while they were about it. After another formal meal for lunch, they were sent to assist with the laundry, folding clothing and delivering it to the chambermaids and footmen about the house. Evelyn was introduced to the servants at dinner that night and then found she had the evening to herself. Two of her roommates were engrossed in reading aloud from one of the popular romance comic books while the third had vanished with a pair of friends to find one of the footmen. Evelyn wandered the servant's quarters, learning the layout and sort of not-looking for Evard. She was successful in not finding him and eventually settled for a bathe and then climbed into bed.

The next ten days proceeded in much the same fashion and Evelyn began to settle in and feel more at home. She'd discovered they were allowed to borrow readers from the library and was delighted by the sudden wealth of information that was available to her. Better still, the readers connected to the info-ether and gave her access to a world she'd never experienced before. But she also became aware of the politics of the servant's quarters. A few of the chambermaids seemed to resent her, particularly the fact that she hadn't yet been caught out by Mrs. Elati and given the traditional hazing. Evelyn half considered making a mistake just to be punished and get things over with, but she didn't. Part of her knew that the girls would just find something else to dislike about her, and part of her refused to compromise her standards.

So when she overheard one of the malicious maids whispering something about "...when the witch finds it. She'll learn her lesson then." she knew that someone had acted against her. She kept a straight face through dinner and retreated to her room immediately afterwards, trying to think what they might have done. A search of the room, with no explanations offered to her amused roommates, turned up nothing amiss.

'They must have done something in the rooms,' she decided. She tidied up her uniform and slipped out of the servant's area and made her way to the end of the house. She'd been responsible for the bedroom that morning, so she started in there. A quick search turned up nothing obvious but, convinced she was right, she continued searching.

She found what she was looking for under the covers of the huge bed, between the sheets. A dead bug. She grinned in amusement, holding the bug in her hand as she bent over the bed. 'How obvious,' she thought.

"Now this is the way a man should be welcomed home," a drunken voice announced behind her.

She gasped in surprise and tried to stand, but a strong hand pushed her back down onto the bed, pinning her against it.

"No, don't get up, not on my account," the voice said cheerfully and she felt another hand lifting her skirts, tossing them over her head and plunging her into darkness.

"My Lord?" she heard another voice begin to ask a question, but it was cut off.

"That will be all, Lews. I think I'm fine for the evening," the first voice slurred firmly.

"Of course, my Lord."

Evelyn felt her linen drawers rip and the cool air of the room on her bare ass. "M..my Lord?" she managed.

"Indeed I am, my fine wench," the voice replied, slurred and jocular.

Fingers forced their way between her thighs and then between her soft nether lips. She gasped and her fingers clawed at the bed sheet.

"Too... too rough... my Lord," she stammered.

"Ah? But I think you like it rough, wench," the voice asserted.

Evelyn cried out in pain as the fingers thrust into her.

"You do like it," the voice concluded.

Evelyn, thought to correct the man, but his fingers wiggled inside her, roughly stroking her silken walls and making her body react as it had been designed. After a minute his attentions were no longer painful and she began to feel a little pleasure through the dull ache.

"That'll do," the voice announced and the fingers withdrew. Evelyn felt a momentary sense of emptiness before his cock forced its way inside her, stretching and filling her in a way that Evard had never quite done. Her gasp was less about pain and more about pleasant surprise; the man picked up on the difference.

"Yes, it's better for me as well. Put on a show for me now, wench, and show your appreciation."

Evelyn was simply too stunned to say anything, let alone do anything; events were unfolding faster than her brain could make sense of them and the intellectual outrage she felt was warring with the physical pain and pleasure she was enduring. She was confused and felt like she was about burst into tears.

She heard the slap, and was puzzled by it, before the sensation on her ass clarified the source of the sound and focused her attention.

"Ride my cock, wench, or I'll bring the footmen in and line them up until you learn how to do things properly," the voice snarled.

Shaking, Evelyn pushed back against him.

"Better," the voice allowed.

Evelyn understood. She began to push back against him, blending into the rhythm of his thrusts. Subtle twitches of her hips changed the angle of penetration and brought new sensation to her, and to him. The voice approved of her actions with a deep moan that seemed to drag on.

Another slap on her ass stung her and broke her rhythm. "You can do better, wench, I know you can."

Evelyn broadened her motions, lewdly grinding her ass back against him. She moaned, the hesitant sound barely making it past her shaking lips. Once she'd forced herself to do it, though, she found it was easier and moaned again, loudly. The voice approved and Evelyn tried squeezing his cock with her cunt, bearing down on him, tightening herself all around him.

The squeeze turned into an orgasm that completely surprised Evelyn and overwhelmed her control. Tears ran down her cheeks as she panted and collapsed onto the bed, unable to do anything but tremble in the grips of the warm pleasure that rolled through her body. Distantly she felt him withdrawing from her and then the warm droplets of his cum splashing onto her body.

From the same distance she realized that he was climbing past her onto the bed. A hand painfully grasped her upper arm and pulled her onto the bed.

"That was good, wench. Blow me awake when the sun rises," he commanded sleepily and then rolled over. Evelyn, fearful, tentatively glanced upwards, but he was facing away from her and she couldn't see any of the details of his face. Sobbing quietly, she curled into a ball and waited for the dawn.

To Be Continued...