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But you could tell it was Elder Eli’s wife Generosity who was in control of all the women in the settlement, both Helpmeets and Whores.

I remembered her very well, a tall, beautiful woman a few years older than I was, thick brunette hair, lustrous dark eyes, and a bold red mouth. Her headscarf looked new and finely-made, a silky scarlet red that showed off the fine natural color of her mouth to perfection.

Back in the cities, my friends would have fucking killed to look like Generosity did without any makeup.

I remembered, too, very well, that she had always had a crush on my brother.

For as long as I could remember.

Her lustrous eyes always lingering on him as he came back from hunting or toiled in the heat, his T-shirt stuck to his powerful body.

But Rhyder never looked to the right or left.

Only at me.

“You smell like whore,” she said when she saw me, raking her eyes in disgust across my face, her nose wrinkled in disgust.

I said nothing. Generosity had all the power and I had none.

She suddenly reached forward, and yanked my gray shift down in front of the other Helpmeets, exposing one of my breasts to the chill.

“Tiny,” she said dismissively, giving my nipple a hard and painful pinch. “How would you ever expect to feed babies? These are sad.”

She gave the underside of my breast a quick, sharp slap.

I sucked in my breath to swallow the pain.

“Yes, Mistress,” I replied.

“You were always a little slut, weren’t you?” she hissed. “Just dying for your brother to notice you.”

I bit back a bitter reply. On the contrary, I had tried everything to turn Rhyder’s improper attention away from me. None of it worked.

“Yes, Mistress,” I said again, one of my hands clutching my plain gray garb.

“You’ll wash the soiled clothes free of shit and blood,” Generosity said, pointing at several heavy baskets full. “Don’t be lazy either. Laziness is not tolerated in whores.”

Norah and I were sent over to do the heavy washing down at the stream, the frigid waters ice-cold.

There seemed like an endless amount of laundry, many of the items heavily soiled and needing to be washed repeatedly with the lye soap.

“What would you do if you could get out of here?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” she said. “I know I’d finally admit how I feel to William.”

My arms ached from the laundry when we all gathered in the center of camp for the Body and Blood ceremony.

Eli passed by me without a glance.

“Open your mouth to receive the Body and Blood, Holy Warrior.”

I felt Rhyder’s anger like a slow-rolling fire.

No Body for me

No Blood for me

None of the savory bread, none of the soursweet wine. I was only a whore now.