Her Inspection
Then I saw him. I indicated my interest by pointing at the young man. "Bring that one here," I said.
"Right away, m'lady," the workmaster said, bowing his head slightly. He turned to his underlings. "You heard the lady," he barked.
I watched as the two men climbed down the steps of the pier and went to fetch me the object of my interest. The young man I had been eyeing was wading hip-deep in the water. He carried a small net and his attention was fixed at some point in the water beneath him. The two men startled him as they approached. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I knew they were shouting because several of the other men also looked up from the water with a start.
They made him get out of the water, pulling him up onto the pier. One of the men pushed him down onto his front before he had caught his balance. I wondered if they were annoyed with my request to fetch him or if they routinely treated their slaves so harshly. It was no matter in the end, I thought. I would make this slave mine soon.
As he stood, I couldn't help but let a slight smile cross my lips. He was slender, which was not as evident when he was in the water as it was when he was walking towards me on the pier. He was also tall, but not too tall and still shorter than both of the men at his heels.
His eyes were downcast as he approached us.
"Kneel, boy!" I heard the workmaster shout at the slave from behind me.
"No, it's all right," I interrupted before the slave begin finished dropping to his knees. "He's been in the water and I want to see all of him, including his legs." I noticed him shift his weight as I said this, clearly nervous at my spontaneous appraisal but doing a decent job of not showing his anxiousness outright, I thought.