Faith - By Deneane Clark Page 0,1

spider?” she asked.

Milton looked triumphantly at Grace. “He must be hiding,” he said, giving a meaningful look to Grace. “Wait here and I’ll go find him.” He took the older girl’s hand and they started off.

“Wait!” cried Faith. “I’ll come, too.” She started after them.

“No, you wait here in case he comes back,” replied Milton. He glanced sideways at Grace and added, “Just don’t move if he does. You might startle him, and then he would wrap you up in his silk, take you to his web, and eat you.”

“But…,” Faith began.

“You’re not scared, are you?” Grace suggested.

Faith knew then that she had to stay, or her sister would tell all their friends at home what a fraidycat she was. So she lifted her little chin and looked at them as disdainfully as she could. “Of course not,” she answered, in a voice that only trembled a tiny bit.

“Good,” said Milton. He and Grace turned and disappeared.

For the first ten minutes after she was left alone in the maze, Faith was fine. She prowled restlessly around the small space until she realized that the only sound she could hear was that of birds chirping in the nearby trees. Ten minutes stretched into twenty. Still Faith said nothing, certain Grace and Milton were hiding just around the first corner, waiting for her to be scared so they could pounce and make fun of her.

Finally, a few minutes later, she heard voices, whispering voices, and then the musical sound of a young woman’s laughter. Faith stood and looked toward the nearest opening in the hedgerow, her head tilted inquisitively to the side.

“No, Duncan, we mustn’t!” the girl’s voice said, then fell silent for a long moment. Faith frowned at the curious wet smacking sounds and crept closer to the opening. She stopped as the girl sighed. “Mmmmmmm, Duncan.”

Duncan. Milton’s oldest brother. He was seventeen years old and, to the young Ackerly girls, seemed nearly grown. They viewed him with an almost fearful sort of awe during family visits, which only occurred a couple times a year. He mostly ignored the smaller children, so Faith didn’t really know him, and would not under other circumstances have initiated a conversation with him. Now, however, he presented an opportunity for rescue.

Relieved, Faith walked forward into the maze, following the noises. At the first turn she rounded the corner, then drew up short. Her mouth fell open and her eyes grew round. Lying on the ground not five feet away was Duncan. Underneath him was one of the chambermaids. This, although in itself a rather unusual sight, was made even more shocking by the fact that the chambermaid’s rather ample breasts had spilled from her bodice…and Duncan had one of them in his mouth.

Rendered speechless for the moment, Faith stood rooted in place, unable to tear her eyes from the scene. While she watched, Duncan released the girl’s nipple from his mouth with a popping sound. The maid closed her eyes and smiled when his fingers caught at the hardened morsel and squeezed. With his other hand, he pushed up her skirts until Faith could see the tops of her stockings and then, of all things, lifted the layers of material and dipped his head beneath them!

Faith gasped and clapped a hand over her mouth. Startled, the chambermaid’s eyes flew open and landed on Faith, standing in shock at the end of the row.

“Duncan,” the servant hissed, pushing at his head. “Stop! There’s a little girl here!”

Duncan’s head popped up. He looked over his shoulder, saw Faith, and scowled. Beneath him, the young servant was scrambling to a sitting position, pulling at the bodice of her uniform. “My God,” she breathed. “I’ll be turned out without wages for certain.” She tried to stand.

Duncan put a restraining hand on her shoulder. “Stay here.” He fixed Faith with a glare, his eyes narrowing. “The brat won’t tell a soul. Will you, brat?”

Her heart pounding, Faith shook her head.

“Oh, leave the poor child alone.” The chambermaid retrieved her mobcap from the hedge where it had snagged and pulled it over her hair. “I’m going back to the house before I’m missed.” She pulled herself from Duncan’s grasp, stood, and almost ran down the hedgerow toward the exit.

Duncan watched, then turned back to Faith. He knelt so that his face was even with hers. “How decidedly inconvenient, brat. What are you doing here alone?”

“W-waiting for M-Milton and Grace,” she stammered. “They w-went to find Milton’s big spider.”

Duncan’s dark eyes gleamed