Looking for a short story about a man quartering a cruel nobleman

I have been searching for a short story I read years ago about a man who quarters a cruel person of authority (general? king? dictator?). The cruel person forces the man quartering him to serve him every minute of the day. Everything he demanded had to be done. It went this way for years. As the cruel man was dying (of an illness?), he demanded the peasant pledge him his loyalty. When the cruel man died, the peasant simply uttered, "never" (or something similar).

I'm thinking the story was by Orwell, Heinlein, or Wells, because I was reading their work at the time, but no search I do turns anything up. Can anyone help?