The year passed quickly for Adeline, seated in front of her spinning wheel. She was not sure if it was the sedentary nature of her work, the additional food which the sisters heaped upon her, or just her body's natural development, but by the time eleven months had passed, her hips had widened, her behind become much more prominent and her breasts, as Etienne had put it, stood "out to there." Her waist, though, she though with some vanity, had remained small and slim, making her breasts and buttocks all the more noticeable.
Of course, her treatment drew some jealousy from the other wards of the convent. In addition to spinning, she was asked to perform other tasks, such as drawing water from the well late at night when one of the other girls thirsted. A bit guilty over her fortune, Adeline complied, preferring to bend to the will of the crowd rather than risk the sort of mob justice that the girls visited upon a transgressor. She remembered one girl by the name of Madeleine, the daughter of a wealthy merchant who had lost his wife and preferred his daughter to be raised in the simplicity of the convent. Madeleine had had a bad attitude from the beginning, refusing to do her part in even the simplest of tasks, leaving the other girls to shoulder the burden of her laziness. All twenty of them had cornered her one winter night and pelted her with pebbles. At first, Madeleine had laughed, asking if they really thought a child's game would do anything to her. But they were relentless, Adeline among them, and after fifteen minutes or so, Madeleine was cut up, blue with cold, and begging for mercy. The last thing Adeline wanted was to be subjected to the same cruel justice, and so, one night, about three weeks before her fiancé was due to return, she crept out in nothing but her cotton shift with her hair undone, a water jug balanced on one shoulder. Bernadette, a loudmouthed orphan from the village, had become the girls' de facto leader, and had demanded a jug of water to wash her face with. Never mind that it was two in the morning, Adeline thought, and went about her task.
The path to the well took her by the gate to the convent, where there were always two sentries standing guard. Sometimes, late at night especially, they would be young and boorish boys, not knowing better than to shout rude things at the abbey's residents going by. If they tried that sort of behavior during the day, they would be promptly sent from their posts in disgrace. But at night, there was nobody to hear her complaints.
She walked quickly by the guard post. The two nights prior, the guards had been two men -- boys really, neither could have been much older than nineteen or twenty -- who had shouted at her to lift her skirts and let them have a peek in the moonlight. She imagined the same two would be standing watch that night, and hunched her shoulders and tucked her head down, hoping they might leave her alone.
She had no such luck. She heard the shrill whistle as she bent over to lower the bucket down into the well.
"Look at that, Julien," she heard one of the guards, a swarthy, black-haired lad call, "You ever see an ass like that through a novitiate's dress?"
"I never seen an ass like that on a girl with tits like that," his friend, who was pale and freckled with sandy brown hair, replied, "I bet her mother was the best whore in town!"
"Hey! You, with the ass!" the dark-haired boy called, "Come over her and let us see it closer!"
Adeline ignored them, drawing the water from the well and filling Bernadette's jug. She started along the path back towards safety, nearly running. Unfortunately for her, a combination of her haste and the sheer blackness of the night caused her not to notice the uneven cobblestone, until her foot struck it, and she went sprawling, the pewter jug clattering against walk. She picked herself up. She had caught the full force of the fall on her hands, and was not hurt. But, looking around for the jug, she saw with horror that it had gone spinning towards the gate, and that one of the guards had reached through the bars, each about a foot apart from the next, and picked it up.
"Got something of yours," Julien said, leering at her, "You ought to come over here and get it."
They must have seen in the dim lamplight the distress on her face. She could go back to Bernadette empty-handed and face the wrath of the other girls. Or, she could take her chances with the guards.
"Just throw it here," she said, "Please!"
"No, you come here!" the dark-haired one said.
"Well, Gabriel," Julien said, "Looks like she doesn't want it back that badly... maybe we should just keep it."
"No," she said, sighing, and stepped forward to retrieve it.
"Put your hand through the gate," said Gabriel, grinning, his teeth showing very white against his dark skin.
"Please," she said, her voice catching. In a single fluid motion, Julien had thrust his hand between the bars and seized her forearm, pulling her viciously against the cold iron.
"You're older than the other girls," he said, examining her face, "What's your story?"
"I'm to be married in a month," she said.
The two exchanged a knowing glance which she did not quite understand.
"All right, listen, girl," said Julien, "You have been walking that path from the cloister to the well every night for a week, wearing nothing but that shift you're in right now. You can imagine the distress this has caused Gabriel and me, we being two young bachelors denied a woman's company."
"Why don't you buy a whore like every other young man?" Adeline hissed, suddenly defiant. She twisted and strained, but Julien's grasp on her arm was firm.
"Why would we buy whores when here you come, every night?" he asked, "Back and forth, just within sight of our posts, just begging for it..."
She struggled but, only succeeded in putting her other arm within reach of Gabriel, who grabbed and pulled it through another bar, leaving her pinned, her breasts thrust lewdly in front of her, against the gate. Finally, she went limp, "Fine," she said, "What will it take for you to let me go, and give me my jug?"
"You're going to provide a little relief for us," Gabriel said, "After the cruel way you've teased us."
"Just... just don't take my virginity," she said.
"I think we can work around that," Julien said, "Get on your knees."
