A troublesome encounter.

The work has gotten somewhat harder ever since the guests had arrived. That was a good thing. So far Lili felt nearly ashamed of getting paid so much for doing so little. Right now she had enough tasks to keep her occupied the whole day and, although it was mostly because of the other maids who were getting used to making the kind-hearted girl do their work, it suited her just fine.

Most of her work involved cleaning the rooms in the guest quarters when the invitees where away for whatever reason. Sometimes she would have to work under the scrutinizing gaze of some highborn. She usually got very nervous then; sometimes she tripped or dropped whatever she was carrying. It didn’t happen often, fortunately, and she has never broken anything or otherwise got in trouble. What she really didn’t like was the older men and the way they were watching her whenever she had the misfortune of being in the same room with one of them. They paid her compliments occasionally but those were often of the kind Christian girls should never listen to, so Lili was usually doing her job in complete silence, too embarrassed to utter a word, trying not to think about some old lord staring at her bust.

She was just dusting the desk in one of the more spacious apartments (another favor she agreed upon) when its owner entered the room. He could have been a bit shorter than the red-haired maid but she would still insist on calling him a big person. For a second she wondered how it was possible that this man managed to squeeze his huge belly through the door. His reclining hair had silver strands in them but he didn’t look particularly old; he was probably in his mid thirties or early forties. One could easily tell, by the Roman collar and the garish ruby crucifix dangling from him thick neck on a golden chain, that he was a clergyman.

When the man turned to face the unexpected visitor to his room, his double chin wobbled comically and a bright smile crossed his chubby-cheeked face, making crow’s feet appear in the corners of his eyes.

“Why, hello there my pretty” he exclaimed in a voice that sounded overly friendly and intimate for Lili’s liking. “What brings you to this humble man’s doorstep?”

Lili blushed and gave a quick, if not exactly proper, curtsy.

“Um, your… majesty…” She had no idea how to address the man.

“Bishop… but, please dear child, just call me father De Luca” he interrupted.

The naïve girl whole-heartedly believed that all priests were saints or at least something very similar. She was happy that De Luca could see the small wooden crucifix which her dad made for her and which hung just above the crevice of her full bosom; he could see she’s a Christian too. She took a deep breath, trying to calm down. “Such an important figure. I’d better not embarrass myself.”

“I’m just, um,” she stammered noticing that De Luca was moving closer to her. “I was just dusting this desk and…”

“Oh…” sighed the priest as he stopped only inches away from the beauty, still smiling in that disturbing way – as if he had known her since she was a baby.

In a way, she felt like a little girl during her first mass in a real church.

“I thought you came to confess" he continued "but then again I’m sure you are a good girl, aren’t you? You wouldn't do anything... sinful.”

Suddenly, the bishop placed his hand on Lili’s hip. She could not tell what his intentions were but she knew she’d prefer if he just stepped away and let her leave. “But Mom said I should always listen to priests and treat them well” she recalled. And yet, De Luca’s touch felt… slimy somehow; metaphorically, of course. She made an effort not to make a run for the door. “Oh, what should I do?”