Several times he availed himself of the paddle, so that by the time they reached the door of a vast room on the lower floor, her bu**ocks were burning a little.

But what concerned her much more was that there were people here.

She had seen no one in the passage above. And she felt torturously shy as she realized that there were many people in this hall moving about and talking to one another.

Now she was told to sit up and back on her heels, with her hands clasped to the back of her neck.

"This will always be your position when you are told to rest," Lord Gregory said, "and keep your eyes down."

Yet even as she obeyed this command, she could see what the room was. There were deep shelves cut into the walls all along three sides of it, and on these shelves on pallets, slept the many slaves, both male and female.

But she could not see Prince Alexi.

She did see a beautiful black-haired girl with very plump little bu**ocks who appeared quite deep asleep, and a blond-haired young man who appeared to be strapped on his back, though she could not tell, and others, all of whom were in a drowsy state, if not dozing.

And before her were many tables in a row, and among them pots of steaming water from which came a delicious fragrance.

"This is where you will be bathed and groomed always," said Lord Gregory in that same cold voice, "and when the Prince has had quite enough of sleeping with you as though you were his love, you shall sleep here too, and at any time when the Prince has no specific orders for you. Your groom is named Leon. He will care for you in all details, and to him you shall show the same respect and obedience you show to everyone."

Beauty saw before her the slender figure of a young man, directly beside Lord Gregory. And as he drew nearer, Lord Gregory snapped his fingers and told her to show her respect.

At once Beauty kissed his boots.

"To the lowest scullery maid you owe this respect," Lord Gregory said, "and should I ever detect the slightest haughtiness in you, I shall punish you severely. I am not as...shall we say, impressed with you as is your Prince."

"Yes, my Lord," Beauty answered respectfully, but she was angry. She felt she had shown no haughtiness.

But Leon's voice calmed her immediately. "Come, my dear," he said, gesturing with a pat of his hand against his thigh for her to follow him, and it seemed Lord Gregory disappeared as Leon led her into a brick-lined alcove where a large wooden tub stood steaming. The scent of the herbs was very strong.

Leon gestured for her to rise up again, and taking her hands, he lifted them over her head and told her to kneel in the tub.

She climbed into it at once and felt the delicious warm water come almost up to her sex. Leon wrapped her hair in a circle on the back of her head and fixed it with several pins. She could see him clearly now. He was older than the Page boys, but just as fair, and his hazel eyes were very appealing in their gentleness. He told her to keep her hands behind her neck and that he was going to give her a thorough cleansing and that she must enjoy it.

"Are you very tired?" he asked her.

"Not so tired, my..."

"My Lord will do," he said with a smile. "Even the lowliest stable boy is your Lord, Beauty," he said, "and you must always answer respectfully."

"Yes, my Lord," she whispered.

He was already bathing her, and the warm water washing down her did fell very good to her. He lathered her neck and arms.

"Have you just awakened?"

"Yes, my Lord," she said.

"I see, but you must be tired from your long journey. The first few days slaves are always overexcited. They don't feel their exhaustion, and then after that they begin to sleep for many hours. You'll feel it soon, and there will be an aching in your arms and legs, too. I don't mean from your punishment. I mean only from your fatigue. When that happens I'll massage you and soothe you."

His voice was so gentle that Beauty warmed to him at once. His sleeves were rolled to the elbows and there was golden hair on his arms, and his fingers were very sure as he washed her ears and her face, careful not to get the soap in her eyes.

"And you have been punished very severely, haven't you?"

Beauty blushed.

He laughed softly.

"Very good, my dear, you are learning already. Never answer such a question as that. It could be taken as a complaint if you did. Any time you are asked if you have been punished too much or suffered too much, or anything of that sort, be clever enough to blush."

But even as he spoke almost affectionately, he began washing her br**sts just as calmly as he had washed the rest of her, and Beauty's blushes became more painful. She could feel her ni**les harden, and she was certain though she could see nothing but the soapy water before her, that he was noticing this, as his hands slowed slightly, and then he pushed at her inner thigh gently. "Spread your legs, dearest," he said.

She obeyed, kneeling with her legs farther apart, and then farther as he pushed her. He had become still, and now drying his hand on the towel at his waist, he touched her sex and she felt herself shudder.

Her sex was moist and swollen with her desire, and to her horror, his had touched a small hard knot in which much of her craving was accumulated. She drew back involuntarily.

"Ah." He withdrew his fingers, and turning called to Lord Gregory.

"A very lovely flower, this," he said. "Have you observed?"

Beauty was crimson. Her eyes overflowed with tears. It took all her control not to drop her hands to cover her sex as she felt Leon part her legs even wider now and gently touch the moisture there.

Lord Gregory gave a soft laugh.

"Yes, a truly remarkable Princess," he said. "I should have watched her more carefully."

Beauty gave a little muffled sob of shame and yet the driving desire between her legs would not stop, and her face was stinging as Lord Gregory spoke to her.

"Most of our little Princesses are too frightened in the first few days to show such willingness to serve, Beauty," he said in the same cold voice. "They must be awakened and educated. But I see you are very passionate and much enamored of your new masters and all they wish to teach you."

Beauty struggled against her tears. This was more humiliating surely than anything that had happened to her.

And now Lord Gregory was taking her chin as the Prince had taken Prince Alexi's chin and forcing her to look at him.

"Beauty, this is a great virtue in you. You have no cause to be ashamed. It only means that you must learn yet another form of discipline. You are awakened to the desires of your master as you should be, but you must learn to control that desire just as you see the male slaves control it."