All of Bethany's friends and family told her what a lucky girl she was, getting a position up at the manor. Personal maid to the young mistress, even! What a plum position that was! Bethany only wished she could tell them the truth.
Take tonight, for instance. Lady Anne was desperately curious about a game called "Daring Dice." All she knew about it was that her brother, Lord Matthias, played with some of the servants, and none of them would tell her a thing about it.
Of course, the Lady herself would never be allowed to do anything so common as gambling with servants. Her solution? Bethany would play, and promise to tell her all about it.
And so, here she was, about to play a daring game with Lord Matthias. Tall, dark and drop-dead gorgeous Lord Matthias. Bethany would never admit it, but a tiny, tiny fraction of her nervousness might really have been anticipation.
She recognized most of the other girls. There was short, red-headed Claire, one of the upstairs maids, Rebecca, a long-legged blonde girl who worked in the kitchen, Stephanie, the quiet, brown-haired girl who tended the vegetable garden, and Lucy, a vivacious blonde who delivered milk and eggs from the village. The only one she didn't recognize was a tall, dark-haired girl who stood apart from the others.
"Bethany!" Lucy shrieked joyfully, grabbing her arm. "You've come to play with us?" The other girls nodded their hellos, with the exception of the dark-haired girl. "Oh, don't mind Stacia," said Lucy. "She's kinda shy till she gets to know you."
"I can't believe you're going to play with us," said Rebecca. "I never would have thought you the type." Bethany wasn't sure whether that was meant as a compliment or an insult.
"Let me explain the rules," said Lucy.
"Lord Matthias is the king, of course, and we are the royal court. Each of us is given a number, one through six, just like the numbers on the die. We line up in front of the king, and he rolls the die. Whichever number comes up, that girl takes off a piece of clothing."
"That's it?" said Bethany. "That seems really. . . um. . . simple, I guess."
"Well," Lucy smiled. "The girl who loses all her clothes first gets to play a special game with the king. But that's for later."
Lord Matthias entered the room. The other girls flocked around him, laughing and giggling.
He smiled at Bethany. "So, you're the new player." He took her hand and held it to his lips. "Glad to have you."
Bethany's heart skipped a beat.
"All right, let's start the game. " He looked around the room. "Lucy, you're one. Stephanie, two. Stacia, three. Bethany, you can be four. Rebecca five, and Claire six."
The girls began to line up. "Shoes off!" called Claire, glancing over at Bethany.
Rebecca nodded. "Everyone starts with their dress and their top and bottom underthings. Three pieces each. That way it's fair."
Bethany slipped off her shoes and kicked them away from the line. The stone floor was cold and rough. She shivered.
"Uh-oh," teased Claire, "Bethy's already a scaredy-cat, and all she took off were her shoes!"
The other girls giggled. Bethany laughed too, but it was a nervous laugh. What was she going to do if she had to take off her underthings in front of His Lordship? Silently, she swore never to tell Lady Anne what had happened here.
Lord Matthias rolled the dice. "Two."
Bethany breathed a sigh of relief. At least she hadn't been first.
Stephanie was already unbuttoning her dress. The thin green fabric fell to the floor around her ankles, revealing her perfectly matched white corset top and panties. She stood straight and proud, hands clasped behind her back.
"Good girl, Steph!" said Lord Matthias. "Way to show the new girl how it's done!" He rolled the die again. "Four!"
