Sinful Seduction Read Online Free PDF Page A

nodded again. An iron bedstead with a thin mattress and an equally thin coverlet took up most of the room. A framed embroidery reading God Bless this House hung above it, the only spot of brightness on the bare whitewashed walls. There was a chair on each side of the bed and a rickety chest-of-drawers beneath the window, with a few cheap gee-gaws lying on it. Maggie gasped; compared with a cellar, shared by three people, it was a palace.
    â€˜Not bad, is it?’ said Mary condescendingly. ‘And once yer gets yer pay, we can go down the market on our ‘alf day and yer can get a few things of yer own.
    Make it more homelike.’ She grinned. ‘Seen enough yet? It’s dinnertime and I’m starving!’
    Maggie stared at her. It was barely two hours since she’d had the slice of pie and they were going to eat again? She grinned back. Talk about a cushy life!
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    By the end of the day she wasn’t quite so sure. There had been dishes to wash after the midday meal in the servants’ hall, and more vegetables to prepare for dinner at eight. Coal and hot water to carry up three flights of stairs, and the fires to sort while the master and mistress were eating. There were more dishes to wash after that, the porridge to put on to soak overnight, and the table to set in the hall for breakfast. Finally, there was the range to clean out and the fire to bank in readiness for next morning.
    Maggie smiled despite her exhaustion; at least she hadn’t let ma down. Even the cook, Mrs McAlister back from her afternoon off and confronted with the new arrival, had finally given her grudging approval.
    â€˜Better blow out the candle and get some sleep,’ advised Mary with a jaw-breaking yawn. ‘We’ll be up again at five to clean out them hearths and light the fires. Then there’s the hot water to fetch... and the... the...’ her voice trailed off into sleep.
    Lying in a strange bed, wrapped in one of Mrs Hardcastle’s voluminous cast-off nightdresses, with a warm body beside her and more food in her belly than she normally saw in a week, Maggie stared wide-eyed into the darkness. So much had happened in the last twenty-four hours, she could hardly believe it. A whole new life, and what a life too! There were so many things to think about, she’d never get to sleep in a month of Sundays!
    Five minutes later she was sound asleep and, despite her promise to Mary, snoring like a small contented pig.
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Chapter 2
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    Eighteen! Maggie could scarcely believe it. The time seemed to have passed in the blink of an eye. She stared at her reflection in the cracked mirror. The bright-eyed girl who looked back was a far cry from the scrawny lice-ridden waif who’d had to be scrubbed down in front of the kitchen fire two years ago. And she was a young lady to be reckoned with now - head kitchen maid, if you pleased!
    No more peeling mounds of spuds and scouring pots. She was the one who gave the orders now. She smiled ruefully. Or at least, passed on Mrs McAlister’s.
    Hard work and good food had worked wonders. She eyed herself critically. Perhaps her bottom wasn’t quite as voluptuous as fashion demanded, but her bosom and hips curved softly and she could almost span her waist with two hands. Her hair was neatly coiled and pinned just now, but when she let it down at night it fell almost to her waist in a dark, shining cascade.
    She winked at her reflection. Mrs H had said she’d grow up to be a beauty. Well, that might be pushing it a bit, but she wasn’t half bad. Not if Thomas the footman’s reaction was anything to go by. He’d been after her for months now, waylaying her in the corridor, his mouth eagerly seeking hers.
    â€˜Come on, Maggie,’ he moaned, his hands fumbling at her breasts beneath the heavy serge of her uniform, his excitement obvious by the bulge in his tight breeches. ‘Yer know I wants yer.’
    For a few moments