by Maggie Ryan
Alexandria screeched as she was dragged across the woman's lap after Juliette had taken a seat on the bed. She was kicking and clawing at the bedcovers from the first stroke of Juliette's hand across her backside. "Stop! Ow, please, please stop! You can't spank me!"
Evidently the woman not only could, she did a thorough job. Her hand didn't stop falling until the entirety of Alexandria's squirming bottom was on fire. Without a word, she was then pulled up and marched to a corner of the room.
Alexandria sobbed as she was turned to face the wall, her head pushed forward. "You will press your nose and your little titties against the wall. Put your hands on top of your head and push your bottom out towards me. You were warned, little one. Now, you will stand in the corner and think about your behavior. Do not move a single muscle or speak unless asked a question. I'd have no problem giving you another dose. Do you understand me?"
"Y-yes," Alexandria managed, wishing she could step through the wall and disappear. She yelped when the hand swatted her bottom again.
"The proper response is, 'Yes, Nanny Jenkins.' Try again."
"Yes, Na-Nanny Jenkins."
"That's correct. Remember, you are to use this time to reflect on your choices. I'll be back and we can begin again."
Alexandria nodded, her hands aching to lower and rub her bottom. Though the woman hadn't spanked her quite as hard or as long as Lord Hollister, the fact that the spanking had been given on a still tender bottom had her sobs renewing. At least he'd allowed her to rub some of the pain away, then held her and given her a hug. Remembering that he had been the one to bring her to this place, she began once again to visualize him squirming in agony as flames licked at his bloody arse!
Several minutes passed as she gradually calmed. When she was only giving an occasional sniffle, she began to realize that not only was her body protesting the awkward position, her bladder was announcing a desperate need. She was also shivering. The only part of her that was even slightly warm was her backside. Her fingers unlinked and she began to lower her arms to rub her chilled skin when the sound of soft voices as well as what sounded like water being poured had her moving her hands to her head again and squeezing her legs together. She was too terrified to turn her head to see what was the source of the commotion, and was very glad she hadn't when the woman spoke again.
"Have you considered your actions and ways to improve your behavior, Alexandria?"
Visions of flames had her praying the woman wouldn't know how she'd really spent her time. Not wishing to spend any more time properly reflecting, she decided that surely God would forgive a little fib. "Yes… yes, Ma'am."
"Then you may come out of the naughty corner."
Turning slowly, she began to lower her arms again.
"No, keep your hands on top of your head. You'll make your apology just as you are."
Alexandria looked at her feet, forcing herself to walk across the room to where the woman stood. Stopping a few feet from her, she mumbled that she was sorry.
"No, little one. You must look at Nanny Jenkins and make a proper apology and thank her for the lesson."
Alexandria's head whipped up and she turned to find another woman in the room. Her arms instantly moved to cover her nakedness from yet another stranger. The new woman shook her head even as Juliette once more pulled Alexandria's arms to her side.
"We've already discussed this, Alexandria," Juliette said. "You were just spanked for your disobedience. You are never to attempt to cover yourself. Make your apology and then we can get you into the bath.
"I'm sorry I threw a tantrum."
"The correct phrase is, 'I'm sorry I was a naughty little girl.' You may try again, and remember to thank me for the lesson by saying, 'Thank you for my spanking.'"
Her face flushing, Alexandria managed to speak, though her throat felt tight. "I'm sorry I was-was naugh—"
"A naughty little girl," Juliette corrected, one hand moving to tuck a strand of hair behind Alexandria's ear, before stroking lightly against a tear-stained cheek. "Try again."
Not understanding how the simple gesture could make her wish the woman would hug her instead, Alexandria's bottom lip trembled. "I'm sorry I was a naughty little girl. Thank you for... for, oh, please, I-I can't."
"You can and you will, or I will redden your bottom again."
Alexandria's lip trembled as she managed to say, "Thank you for my… my spanking."
"You're welcome and are forgiven," Juliette said, pulling the girl to her. "Now that you understand what happens to naughty little girls, I know you'll be a good girl for me, won't you?"
Alexandria quivered as the woman's arms wrapped around her. She would think about the feelings she had later; for now she accepted the comfort.
"Bring her to my office after you've seen that she has something to eat. The poor child is skinny as a rail. Send the others to me. I'll tend to them while Alexandria eats."
"Yes, Ma'am," Juliette said.
When she was released, Alexandria spoke softly to address her most urgent need. "Um, I need... need the necessary."
"Do you mean you need to go potty?"
Alexandria flushed again. She began to fear she'd not be able to dress and run outside quickly enough, and found herself hoping the woman could lead her to the nearest chamber pot. Surely the woman knew exactly what she had meant. "Um, I need the chamber pot, please."
"Little ones do not use chamber pots. When you need to potty, you must ask for someone to escort you to the potty chair."
Alexandria had never heard any privy seat being referred to as a chair. More importantly, she'd not been escorted to relieve herself since she was a small child. Staring up at the woman, she wanted to ask if she were crazy. However, Juliette's look showed she was not only calm, she appeared not concerned in the slightest that Alexandria's bladder was about to burst.
"Um, where is the-the chair?" Seeing the patient look quickly disappearing from the woman's face and her head shaking as if exasperated with dealing with her naughty charge, Alexandria's tone changed. "I-I mean, where is the pot... potty chair?"
Juliette turned and opened a door, reappearing a moment later holding a normal looking chamber pot. Just the sight of it had Alexandria's legs clenching together as tightly as they could. Her hands fluttered at her sides as the pot remained suspended in the air.
"Um... um, that's not a chair."
"No, this is a potty pot. Rude little ones do not get to use the potty chair. You'll learn that snootiness is not only a very unattractive trait, but also one that will earn you a hot bottom. You will have many choices to make, Alexandria, and it would be my advice to think carefully before you speak."
The words were heard but might as well have gone unuttered. All Alexandria cared about was her fear that the difference in vernacular would become a moot point as she wet herself while the woman droned on and on!
She capitulated. "I'm sorry. Will you please take me to the potty chair?"
"Perhaps the next time you need to potty. For now, you will use the potty pot." Juliette placed the pot at her feet and held out her hand.
Though it was embarrassing, Alexandria took the woman's hand and allowed her to guide her into position. Closing her eyes, she managed not to fuss when a cloth was run between her legs once her stream ended. At the woman's instruction to stand, she did so, and allowed Juliette to lead her through the door. She didn't know what to think. Why had the woman made such a fuss when a wonderfully appointed water-closet was mere steps away?
Beside a copper tub that had wisps of steam rising above it, there was a small sink with a shelf beneath it that held towels. To her left, Alexandria discovered that there was indeed a chair in the room. A chair whose apparent use qualified it as a privy, and yet whose design was far more elaborate. The back was carved with pretty vines and flowers, the arms high and a lid covered what must be the opening used when a person attended to their necessary.
"Come, Alexandria, into the tub now."
Juliette held her hand as Alexandria stepped onto a small stool and then into the tub. Sinking into the warm water, she hissed as her bottom made contact with yet more heat, but then sighed as the warmth began to seep into her skin. Her eyes closed in bliss for a moment before opening to see Juliette sitting on the same stool, a cloth and a bar of soap in her hands.
"Who was that woman?" she asked, sinking a bit lower as if afraid to find the woman appearing again.
"That was Miss Summers," Juliette answered, wetting the cloth in the water and rubbing the bar of soap across it until suds appeared. "She owns this school, and you'll do well to remember your manners when you meet her properly later."
Any further questions were stifled as the cloth was placed against her face and Alexandria was given her first bath. By the time she was lifted from the tub and wrapped in a large towel, she had learned another lesson—well, really two lessons. The first was that 'little ones', as she was constantly being referred to as, were evidently not trusted to be able to bathe themselves.
She stood sniffling as she was briskly rubbed with the towel, and it only took a stern look from the nanny to have her obediently opening her legs wide enough for her private parts to be dried. Alexandria winced as her bottom was treated to the same brisk and thorough rubbing, but squealed when her buttocks were pulled apart and her bottom-hole received its own pat of the towel. Her face flamed as she remembered the awful bath, where she had been scrubbed in places she'd never imagined another person would ever see—much less touch. Nanny Jenkins had slapped her hands away whenever she'd tried to push the washcloth aside. When Alexandria returned the slap as the woman attempted to pull her buttocks apart to wash her there, she'd learned her second lesson. The only thing worse than getting a spanking on a bare bottom was getting spanked on a wet bare bottom.
The woman was very strong, and had Alexandria out of the tub and over her knees in a heartbeat. Alexandria fought to keep her balance; her palms flat on the floor, her legs splashing into the water and then back out in an attempt to cover her bottom as wet splat after splat landed, water droplets flying everywhere. Her thrashing about had quite soaked the floor—as well as the nanny—but the woman hadn't batted an eye. She'd just quite calmly lectured about the rules of bathing as her hand punctuated each of her statements with a crisp slap against a bottom that hadn't yet lost all of its color from her previous ministrations.
Before the spanking ended, Alexandria was begging to be bathed, and promising to keep her hands away from the cloth, and vowing never ever to strike Nanny Jenkins again. As if to make sure the girl meant her promise, she was plopped back into the tub; her entire bath beginning anew, and she was scrubbed even more thoroughly than before.
Grateful when it was finally over, Alexandria stood, naked but still, as Nanny Jenkins opened the wardrobe and brought some clothing to the bed. She lifted her arms when instructed and was grateful that her breasts were finally concealed by a thin chemise. It was unlike any she'd worn before, closing in the front with a single ribbon, which Juliette tied into a bow. Though she was covered, for some reason, Alexandria felt even more exposed, her plump mounds threatening to bounce out of the opening if the flimsy ribbon slipped free of its bow. Her face heated yet again as she was instructed to lift her feet and a pair of drawers were drawn up her legs.
"But they're ripped," Alexandria protested, the truth of her statement evident in the gaping opening between her legs.
"No, these are drawers especially made for our little ones." Juliette tightened the ribbon at the waist and tied another bow. "The opening allows your bottom to be bared for a spanking or allows you to use your potty pot more easily without removing your drawers. The design is really quite efficient." She went on to explain that the loops sewn onto the back side of the petticoat that Alexandria stepped into next would allow her clothing to be rolled up and fastened to buttons that were on the shoulders of the blouse. "When you're standing in your naughty corner or sitting on a naughty stool after having your backside attended to, your clothes won't become wrinkled. Isn't that clever?"
Alexandria closed her eyes as she tried to absorb all that was happening. She could easily visualize her dress and petticoats hanging from her shoulders, her drawers parted to display her red bottom. She could only nod her agreement that it was clever, her stomach fluttering as she thought of the image she would make as she stood nose to the wall, never knowing for certain who would witness that she'd been naughty.
After slipping into a white blouse, she was turned around so that the nanny could button it up the back before pulling a navy jumper over her head. "It doesn't fit," Alexandria stated, looking down and seeing that the hem barely went to the middle of her calves.
Stepping back a bit, Juliette nodded. "Yes, it's too long but we can fix that."
"Too long? No, I meant it's too short. I-I can see my legs."
"Don't fret, your stockings are right here." Thick black stockings were then pulled up her legs and tied above her knees with blue ribbons, and though they did cover her bare legs, she still felt exposed. "This is the proper uniform, Alexandria. All your sisters wear the same one." Once she slipped her feet into a pair of black flats, she was considered dressed.
Chapter Five
Juliette picked up the hairbrush that had been left beside the letters and led her charge to the chair, guiding her to sit on the ottoman. Taking a seat, she began to work the snarls from Alexandria's hair. When she gave a soft cry, Juliette spoke softly. "I'm sorry; your hair is just so tangled. The next time you're in the bath, I'll apply a mixture that will help with the tangles. It needs to stay on for several minutes. I'm afraid I didn't have the time just now, as you were quite a naughty girl."
"I'm sorry," Alexandria whispered. She had no desire to be draped across the woman's knees again for yet another spanking.
"No need to apologize again, sweetie. You'll discover that once the punishment has been administered and the apology given, forgiveness is received," Juliette said, working the brush through another snarl.
Alexandria was a little surprised that the woman she had given so much trouble was being so gentle and careful, taking the time to separate the strands of her hair and brush it free of knots. A thousand questions were swirling in her mind. Where was Lord Hollister? Had he simply left her in a strange place? Did he think informing her that she'd be enrolled in a special school had been all the information she needed? Was he off somewhere, trying to decide the best way to inform her that any mention of marriage or reference to her as his wife had been nothing but a fantasy?
She remembered the feeling of comfort she'd felt in his presence, and the way he had defended her to the Muellers. The feel of his arms around her as he'd carried her to the carriage had been wonderful. Being cradled on his lap had felt like the safest place in the world. He hadn't belittled her for crying at the loss of a necklace that probably wasn't worth even as much as the handkerchief he'd pulled from his pocket to wipe her cheeks. Of course, he'd also caused her to cry when he'd spanked her. He'd made her feel like a naughty child when he'd lectured her on her behavior. Instead of wondering why she felt saddened that he hadn't even said goodbye, she should be demanding he answer her questions! The nanny's voice broke her thoughts.
"Your hair is beautiful," Juliette said, after plaiting it into two braids and tying ribbons on the ends. "It reminds me of burning embers."
"Thank you," Alexandria said with a wistful smile. "That's what my father always said. He said that his girls' hair always made him think of light and warmth even if the coals were cold."
"That's a lovely thought," Juliette said, bending forward to give Alexandria a hug. "You're a very lucky little girl to have a Papa who has enough love for two little ones. Now you have even more sisters to share your life with."
Alexandria turned, her face showing her confusion. "No, I-I don't have sisters. I meant my mother. I have her hair."
"Ah, I see. Then it will be even more special having new sisters."
> Alexandria didn't get a chance to ask what she meant as she was guided up from the ottoman and her hand taken. They walked down the hall and turned so many corners she feared she'd never find her way back to the room. Her head swiveled as she attempted to take in all she saw in the rooms they passed. Hearing a voice, she swore she could see the girl who had been standing over her, now standing beside a desk and reading from a book. Before she could take a better look, they were already turning another corner.
The small rooms were left behind as they stepped into a much wider foyer and across it into what must be some sort of sitting room. Several very large chairs were arranged around the walls, each covered in fabric of jewel-toned colors, and each having very thickly padded arms. A Davenport sofa upholstered in a deep forest-green velvet was positioned in front of a huge fireplace. Pillows were piled in a large trunk.
Another few steps had them entering what was obviously the dining room. The largest table Alexandria had ever seen ran down the center, with at least twenty chairs arranged around it. Hanging from the back of several were pillows. One caught her eye as they passed. Colorful flowers had been embroidered around the word 'Penny,' which was done in a pretty script. As they moved across the room towards another door, her head twisted back and thoughts of pillows disappeared. Were those high-chairs? Surely there were no young toddlers in this school, and hadn't the chairs appeared to be unusually large? Again, the room was behind her before she could process what she'd seen.
Pushing through another door, they finally stopped walking. Panting a bit, Alexandria felt as if she'd run a mile. The kitchen was huge! Pots were bubbling on a large black stove. A slab of meat was being rotated on a spit by a girl sitting on a stool on the hearth of the largest fireplace she'd ever seen. Another girl looked up from where she was working at a large, tall table and gave Alexandria a smile and a little wave.
An older woman, as round as she was tall, walked towards them, wiping her hands on her apron. "Keep your eyes on your task, Janey. Those potatoes won't peel themselves."
