was nobility? How? None of this made any sense. “I don’t understand Mistress. How?” “My brother Lord Dunmoor, placed her there before you arrived, she was having a love affair with a servant openly, in front of others. This is not permitted. She is being punished. Amelia my darling I need you to win her heart. You must do this. I am not asking.” She had called Amelia by name. “Mistress I…I, how can I do this?” “You will find a way Little Bird. You are the most beautiful thing any of us have ever seen.” With this the Duchessa took Amelia’s small face into her hands and kissed her gently, parting her lips, and making love to her mouth once again. The girl was skilled, and the tension enflamed Amelia’s loins in holy fire, bringing them both into a fever again. Amelia realized in that moment she would do anything to have her mistress again, to devour her as she herself had been devoured. Their naked flesh pressed tightly against one another as they kissed, and for a moment the Duchessa seemed as though she would have her nubile young servant once again, but then she pushed the girl away suddenly, growing cold. “Go now girl. And make me pleased.” Amelia opened the door of the carriage to see the stars peering down at her. Night had fallen on the moors once again, and she shivered against the crisp air. With a single glance back at her mistress, Amelia stepped down and began the long walk toward the stables.