Read Online Marketplace by Laura Antoniou - Free Book Online Page A

shirt,
please?”
    “No,” Alexandra answered.
“I want to see your chest. Be thankful you still have your
pants.”
    “Oh!” Robert gasped,
horrified. It was so difficult to be naked, even half-naked! He
blushed, and lowered his head.
    “Any other questions?
Claudia?” Alexandra turned her sharp blue eyes toward the little
slave, who shook her head. “Well, then that’s it for now. Did you
want to say anything else, Gren?”
    “No, I think they have
enough to consider for a little while.” He turned to the three and
said, “Go back into the house and wait in the main hallway. Chris
will join you momentarily and explain the rest of the house rules
to you, and we will have some private interviews later on today,
after you get acquainted with the house and the staff.” He waved,
and kept his foot firmly on Sharon’s back. The three looked
slightly confused, but then walked toward the house.
    Alexandra was taking
notes.
    “Your two are quiet,”
Grendel said.
    “They have some
manners.”
    He nodded, drained the last
of his coffee. “I seem to have the losers.”
    “Think of them as
challenges. Besides,” Alexandra smiled and winked, “this one can at
least make a good ottoman.”
    Grendel looked down and
sighed. “No she can’t. Too bony.” He lifted his foot and nudged
her. “Follow the others. Quickly.”
    She got up, her hand
reaching up to caress her jaw, and then turned and fled. She looked
quite graceful as she jogged past a silent Chris, who never moved
from his stationed spot by the pathway. Grendel beckoned to him,
and he approached, to stand about a foot away. Chris put his hands
behind his back expectantly.
    “Don’t sulk, Chris. It
makes you look cross,” Alexandra said, pausing in her
writing.
    “No, Ma’am. Forgive
me.”
    “What’s the matter, boy,
upset over their bad behavior this morning? Think it reflects badly
on you? Or are you just jealous of the attention pretty Sharon was
getting?” Grendel’s voice was light, but his eyes seemed to get
harder. Alexandra looked up to watch the exchange.
    Chris’s face remained
impassive. He didn’t answer, but cast his eyes down respectfully.
Grendel pushed his foot out across the stone, making a light
scraping sound. Chris remained still.
    “You’d like it if I let you
get down there, wouldn’t you, boy? Wouldn’t you like to feel your
back under my boot?”
    “Would it please you,
Sir?”
    Alexandra smiled. “Give it
up and let him get back to work, Gren.”
    Grendel glanced at her and
sighed. “Right. Get on with you, Chris. You have a lot of work
ahead of you this week.”
    “Yes, Sir. Thank you,
Ma’am.” Chris turned to leave and unhooked the strap from his
belt.
    “Look what you’ve done,”
Alexandra said, pointing. “Now he’s going to take it out on
them.”
    Grendel shrugged and then
got up to stretch. “That was the point.”
     
    * * * *
     
    “Here comes the bad girl,”
Brian announced softly to the other two. “Aww, did the little girl
have her mouf washed out wif soap?” He snickered.
    They were waiting in a
high-ceilinged hallway, near the main stairs. When Sharon
approached, they all looked up. She glared back at them.
    “Why... um, why don’t you
leave her alone?” Robert asked. “Shouldn’t we be trying to get
along?”
    “Why should I be nice to
her?” Brian hissed, glancing back down the hallway. “We’re already
going to suffer for her dumb-ass bad manners, right? And you,
sister, just don’t fucking get it, do you?”
    “Get off my case, asshole,”
Sharon snapped back.
    Brian lifted his hands in
mock surrender and turned away. The reason for his capitulation was
clear. Chris entered the hallway several seconds later, the strap
in his hand.
    “Let’s begin the tour of
the house, shall we?” he said. His voice seemed a little scratchy.
“Your interviews start in one hour, and you will not be
late.”
     
    * * * *
     
    Brian got his beating in
the main dining hall, the sharp