My last evening at home went by in a blur. My mother helped me pack a small suitcase of some personal things, a few of my favorite books, pictures, things like that. But no clothes. That felt so strange. The next morning, at the train station, they were both so cheerful. My mother was a bit teary, but it was happy tears. They acted like, I don’t know, like something good was happening to me. It didn’t feel good. It didn’t particularly feel bad either, I suppose. I was just numb. I was scared, but I was also hopeless, and I was just going through the motions at that point in time. I kissed my parents goodbye, and got on the train.
The train broke me out of my funk a bit. It was magnificent, this giant machine speeding along. The fastest I had ever gone was as fast as a horse could run. Most of my travel was done with my feet. I stared out the window at everything flying by, places I had never seen, people on the train I hadn’t known since birth. It was new, frightening, and exciting. I wanted that train ride to last forever. Unfortunately, it ended far too soon. As the station I had told I would be going to was announced, I sat there for a moment, feeling like a feral cat backed into a corner, surrounded by rabid dogs. I wanted to run. I wanted to hide on this train and keep going- to what? It wasn’t as if, in this our year 1900, there were a lot of options for a small town girl with no education and no money. Hell, even the women who did have money still seemed to be at the mercy of the men in their lives. I had nowhere to go, and outside those doors was a man waiting for me, a man that promised a roof over my head- if I did what I was told. The tears welled up in my eyes, but I took a deep, shaky breath and pushed them back down. You don’t have a choice, Elle. There is nowhere else to go, I told myself. But, I still could not force my feet to move. Ok, I promise myself if it is unbearably horrible, if he is overly cruel or I just can’t take it, I will run. I would rather be a woman adrift than to wake up every day wanting to die, to have the look in my eyes I had seen so many women in my town have. I stood up, squared my shoulders, picked up my tiny suitcase, and exited the train.
I stepped onto the platform. I didn’t even know what I was looking for. Old man? Young man? Fat? Tall? Short? My eyes scanned the crowd, and when I saw him, I knew. Amongst the bustling crowd bumping into each other, there stood an unmoving iceberg that the sea of people flowed around. He looked like a cowboy in his attire, but not really. The cowboys I knew were dusty, clothes worn, shoes scuffed and caked with mud- at least I hoped it was mud. This man was different- he was clean. The clothes looked new, his boots were shiny, his skin tanned, but clean. A man and a woman stood by his side, what appeared to be a butler and a maid. The maid was more well-dressed than I was, even though mama had picked out my “best dress”. As I stood taking in the scene, the man locked eyes with me. We stared at each other for a moment. Just a moment, but it seemed that we both knew who the other was. The man’s stoic face broke out into a huge grin and he headed towards me. As he neared, I was surprised that he was actually…well…handsome. He had beautiful green eyes, and sandy blond hair. He didn’t look too old, but not too young either. Just the right age to be taken seriously and still be quite attractive. He had wide shoulders, and he stood almost a full foot taller than me. Not that I am all that tall, I’m rather petite, maybe 5’3 and 100 pounds soaking wet. I could understand why he was considered a lady’s man, and it wasn’t just the money and the power he possessed. He also had a certain confident swagger about him.
“Hello, ma’am. You must be Elle, pleasure to make your acquaintance,” he said as he bowed slightly and took my hand, kissing it. I was a little shocked. Based on the letter, I didn’t expect him to be a man to show any romance. I curtsied politely. “Yes, sir. And you must be Mr. Hudson.” His smile grew a bit wider.
“Sir, huh? I see you’ve been raised right. That’s good, very good.” He took me by the crook of my arm and began leading me away from the platform. “I expect your trip went well?”
“Oh, yes, sir, I’ve never been on a train before. It was quite pleasant.”
“Never been on a train before? Little lady, have you never even been outside your god forsaken town?”
I shook my head and blushed, staring at the ground. He chuckled. “Well, then, I suppose you’re in for a few surprises. Here we go, go ahead and hop in the passenger side. I looked up at a contraption I had rarely seen in my life, let alone ridden in one. An honest to goodness automobile. Well, I sure felt like royalty. My mouth must have dropped open, because he was laughing at me again. “Let me guess, you’re not sure which the passenger side is?” I lowered my eyes again, embarrassed, and feeling every bit the backwoods country girl I was. He helped me up into the thing that looked like a horse and buggy- minus the horse. I held on for dear life as we drove away, sure I would fall out at every bump. The sun was beginning to set, but I took in everything I could in the muted light. The beautiful buildings, the bustling streets. As we drove by one building I saw that it was a university, and my heart leapt for joy. I would actually be living near a school! I pictured all the amazing books they must have.
We drove for a ways before we reached a beautiful house set upon a hill. It had a big wrap-around porch with huge, ornate white pillars. I placed my hand on his arm. “Is this where I’ll be living?” He placed his arm around my shoulders casually, as if we were old friends. “Sure is, darlin’. Welcome home.” I found that I wasn’t even scared anymore, I was more in awe. This place was amazing. We pulled to the front of the house, and I ran my hand along the seat of the automobile. “How far are we from the train station?”
“Oh, I’d say about 8 miles or so.”
“8 miles,” I murmured. “It feels like we got here in minutes. That walk would have taken me hours back home.”
“You don’t have to worry about walking no more. You’re going to be Mrs. Jack Hudson, I can’t have you galloping all over town like some kind of commoner. Now, you get on inside, Mary here, she’s the maid, she’ll run you a bath. When you’re done, come on in my room, and we’ll discuss a few things.”
I nodded and followed Mary inside. The house was as beautiful inside as it was out, and I took it all in as I followed her up the stairs. “Do you need help carrying in the water, Mary?” She looked at me with a funny look as she led me into the bathroom. I had never seen anything like it- There was a tub, a sink, a toilet- all with running water! I had only read about these things. The room was huge, with a beautiful free standing room divider between the tub and the rest of the room. Mary turned on the bath and showed me the soap and the towels, and the nightgown hung on the door. I stepped behind the screen and removed my clothes, handing them to her to put in the laundry, as she asked me to do. I was a little embarrassed that I would have to speak to him in my nightgown, and asked if I could put my dress back on when I finished. She told me no, this is what he had instructed. “Clean yourself well, but don’t keep him waiting long,” she said as she left the room. I kind of listened. The bath was luxurious, hot water straight from a tap. Clean water. The soap smelled heavenly, and I worked up a huge lather and scrubbed until my skin was tingling. I regretfully climbed out, drying myself and putting on the nightgown. But, she had left no undergarments for me. I went to get mine out of the laundry basket, but they, and my dress, were gone. The maid must have removed them while I was busy scrubbing. I felt embarrassed and almost naked, even though the nightgown covered me. I had never been without undergarments before. I opened the door of the bathroom and jumped a bit when I saw the maid standing directly outside the door. “This way, miss,” she said, turned on her heel, and began walking down the hallway. At the end stood a large double door, which she rapped on twice, then ushered me through. Mr. Hudson sat in a chair of leather and some highly polished wood, part of a pair that sat in the middle of the room facing the fireplace. I walked in slowly, taking in the room that appeared to be bigger than my entire house. Mary shut the door behind me. “Did you enjoy your bath?” Jack asked, leg crossed lazily across his knee as he puffed on a cigar. He was gazing at t
he fire rather than me, but I crossed my arms unconsciously across my breasts, bare under the nightgown. “Yes, I did, thank you.”
He turned to look me in the eye. I expected him to look me over, as naked as I felt, but he didn’t. His green eyes bore into mine and stayed put. “This must all be very strange to you. New house, new town, new man. I’m only going to ask you this once-are you comfortable with this arrangement, or are your parents forcing you to marry me?”
I took a deep breath, remembering that my only alternative was to go back to the hopeless town I had just come from. And, he didn’t seem so bad. Besides, the bath, oh, my, the bath. “Yes, sir, I am. No one is forcing me to do this.”
He stared at me for a moment longer as if he was deciding whether to believe me. “Very good. I don’t want an unhappy wife. As long as you keep me happy, I will do the same for you. You did read the agreement, correct?”
I nodded.
“Do you feel that you can do all the things asked of you? It is important to me that you understand you are to do as you are told.”
I nodded again.
“Very well. We will be married in the morning. While I do not yet know your particular tastes, I employed wedding planners that assured me the wedding would be one any girl would dream of. No expense was spared, especially on your dress. Golly, that thing sure did cost a pretty penny. But, I’ve been told you girls dream of this all your life, it’s your truly special day, and I want you to enjoy it. I won’t be able to see you in the morning, tradition and all that, so staff will be waking you up and getting you ready. Someone will be here to do your hair, help you with your dress, you don’t have to worry about a thing.”
“Yes, sir. Thank you.”
“Well, alrighty then, now that we’ve gotten all the formalities out of the way, stand up, please.”
I assumed he was dismissing me, so I headed towards the door.
“I didn’t tell you to leave. I said stand up. Now, take your nightgown off.”
I balked. “What? We’re not even married yet, I can’t have sex with you! I’m still a virgin, I can’t ruin everything by-”
He stood up and cut me off. “Young lady, you seem to have already forgotten our conversation. When I tell you to do something, the only thing that needs to come out of that pretty mouth of yours is yes, sir. You are to be my wife, you need to trust me. I’m not going to compromise your purity, so you will continue to be a virgin until our wedding night. But you will under no circumstances question or disobey me. Now, do as you were told, right now.”
The fear was beginning to return. What was he going to do to me? But, at the same time, I felt a curiosity and intrigue that I hadn’t experienced before. When my father had spoken to me like that, telling me what to do and demanding obedience, it was frustrating, and I would huff off feeling oppressed. This was different. I was a little scared, and I considered rebelling, just to see what would happen, but, to be honest, I wanted to do what he said. What was this strange feeling? We stood, staring each other down. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife, the silence deafening. Our stand-off might have only lasted a few seconds, but it felt much longer. I continued to hold his gaze as I lifted the nightgown over my head. I found it rather curious that I felt less naked now, under his control, than I had when I entered the room in my nightgown. I didn’t know what was going to happen, but it was ok. It was an odd feeling, submitting willingly, almost eagerly.
He sat back down. “That’s a good girl. Come here.” I didn’t hesitate this time, but walked right over to him. I stood in front of him, completely naked, feeling the heat from the fire on my freshly scrubbed skin. Now was his time to look me over. I stood there, exposed, while his eyes explored every inch of my body. I started to feel slightly uncomfortable, like I was under a microscope. His eyes lingered on my breasts, and I suddenly found that my nipples were slowly hardening. What was happening? Suddenly he grabbed me, and before I knew it, I was over his knee.
“You are beautiful, Elle. I could just stare at you all night. But, you still tried to disobey me, and you must be punished, do you understand?”
My breath caught in my throat and my heart was pounding, but I quickly said “Yes, sir.”
“You’re catching on quick,” he said, words followed by a swift and hard smack to my butt. I cried out and forced myself to be still, to not try to wiggle off his lap. He didn’t let up, he smacked my backside-hard- a good 9 or 10 times. By the time he was halfway done, the shock of the blows on my sensitive skin began to resonate to other parts- parts I had never explored before. By the 8th smack, I moaned. My moans got a little louder and I felt an unfamiliar dampness between my legs.
“Oh, well now, isn’t this a surprise?” he said, stopping the assault and rubbing my butt in circles. “You take your punishment quite well, don’t you? Stand up.” I struggled to my feet, breathing hard, flushed and unsure what was happening with my body. “Turn around and place one hand on the mantle.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Now, take your other hand and touch yourself between your legs.”
“But-”
I didn’t even get the whole word out before I felt the smack of hard wood across my ass cheeks. I gasped, knees almost bucking and looked back to see him standing there with a paddle.
“I’m sorry, what was that?” He asked.
“Yes- yes, sir,” I said, hand slowly touching the area I had only touched to clean myself. I felt the wetness on my fingers and my face flushed, hesitating.
WHACK!
I cried out, the pain radiating though my lower body and my hand began to move involuntarily. He watched me, smacking me whenever it slowed. I began to feel a pressure building, my whole body began to come alive, every nerve ending singing. Suddenly, I wanted him to hit me, harder, more. I lost all of my inhibitions, and I gripped to mantle hard, heat from the fire warming my body from the outside while the climax warmed in from the inside. As I exploded, I cried out and collapsed, Jack catching me just before I hit the floor. He scooped me up in his arms and kissed my forehead. I snuggled my head into his chest, still moaning and whining, completely drained from what I had just experienced. He carried me through a doorway into an adjoining bedroom. He laid me on the soft bed and gently pulled my nightgown over my head. I could barely keep my eyes open, and my limbs felt useless. He slid me under the covers, tucked them in around me, and kissed my forehead once more. “Sleep well, my bride. I will see you tomorrow.” I remember smiling, even though my bottom burned hot against the sheets, red and sore from the punishment. But, for some reason, I didn’t feel punished, which was strange, but my brain was too woozy to sort it out. I snuggled deep into the plush bedding and fell into the best sleep I had ever experienced.
I awoke to the curtains being drawn aside, and sunlight hitting my face. I was confused at first, looking around at the strange room I had not even glanced at last night when he’d carried me in. “Here is your breakfast, ma’am.” Mary said, placing a tray of delicious looking food in my lap. It looked like the type of plate I had seen in restaurant ads in the newspapers, complete with a garnish. I caught a whiff, and I realized I was absolutely starving. I scooted into a sitting position, wincing slightly at my still sore backside, but ignoring it because the food was beckoning me. Apparently I had worked up quite an appetite last night. “Eat quickly, please, the wedding begins in 2 hours, and the staff will arrive shortly to prepare you.” I nodded and thanked her, and as soon as she shut the door, I dug into the plate like a rabid transient who hadn’t eaten in weeks. I would never eat this way in front of anyone, ever, and I relished the chance to pig out in privacy. I scraped every scrap off that plate and sighed, wishing there were more. Probably for the best, though, I didn’t want my stomach protruding through the wedding dress like it was a shotgun wedding. I laughed at myself. Then, I laughed because I was laughing. Here I was, ass sore from a paddling by a man who had all but forced me to masturbate, a man who I knew precious little about, but w
ould have his last name today, and, in spite of it all, I was positively giddy. I couldn’t put a finger on why, exactly, but I was perpetually smiling. A knock came at my door, and I pulled up the covers around myself and told them to enter. Two women came in, hauling large cases. “Come, come, my dear, we have lots of work to do!”
I felt like a celebrity with all of the primping and curling and powdering and squeezing me into a corset. When I was finally deemed ready, one of the women opened a wardrobe door and removed a gown hanging inside.it was, indeed, exquisite. Made entirely of lace, it looked like it came straight from Queen Victoria, but it was sparkling white. “My, he was right. I’m sure that definitely cost a pretty penny.”
“You have no idea, dear,” the woman said to me. They helped me into it, then went about fastening the complicated series of buttons. When I was all buckled in, I turned and looked at myself in the full length mirror.
“Wow,” I said. It felt like I was looking at a stranger. I felt beautiful. As I stood admiring myself, I heard music begin to play outside my window. I peeked outside and saw what looked like hundreds of people seated in white chairs on a massive lawn. A walkway down the middle was lined in all sorts of white flowers, ending in a delicate archway, under which my soon-to-be husband stood, decked out in full tuxedo.
“That’s your cue, dear.”
“Right now?” I stuttered.
“Yes ma’am, right now. Are you ready?”
I looked at myself in the mirror again, taking a deep shaky breath. I turned and faced the women. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
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