That was until she heard Mrs. Beale’s soft voice say, “Am I interrupting something?”
“I don’t care what she says, it’s a bad idea,” Mr. Cummings said.
Maisie took a sip from her teacup. They were in Mrs. Beale’s study, and Maisie was once again looking out at the garden. Right now she wished she was out there instead of sitting here, listening to the two of them argue about whether or not Maisie would accompany him to Morton-on-Mare.
Funnily enough, Mrs. Beale agreed with Maisie.
“If you go without female companionship it will look odd,” Mrs. Beale said. She took a sip from her own cup. Maisie cast a glance in her direction, only to see that the matron was smiling at her. “I think she did quite well this morning, at least from what you told me. She took a spanking, and she sucked your cock.”
Maisie flushed. Maybe going with him wasn’t a good idea. These people talked about sex so casually. Maisie wasn’t sure she could do the same thing.
“You sucked his cock easily enough,” a voice inside her head said. “And you liked it.”
I did not!
“You did,” the voice countered. “You loved it.”
I did not! Well, maybe I liked it a little, but that’s because it’s been so long.
“What are you thinking, dear?”
Maisie turned her attention to Mrs. Beale. She felt as if she were on trial, and if the verdict went against her, she would be here while Mr. Cummings—no, Aldis, it was better to call a man by his given name if you’d sucked his cock—went to Morton-on-Mare.
“I think my very existence is at stake,” Maisie said. “I don’t think Aldis understands that. I was pulled into this, and just yesterday a man threatened me with Newgate. Why should I be forced to stay here and wait to see what will happen to me? Why can’t I take part in the events to see that I’m vindicated for something I haven’t done wrong?”
Mrs. Beale nodded before she said, “Aldis?” She turned her head in his direction, and Maisie followed her gaze. He stared at Maisie, but she couldn’t quite decipher his look.
Finally he said, “I understand your concern, Mrs. Glover, but these events are not your typical house party. I’ve tried to tell you that, but I don’t think you understand.”
“I… I did what I did, didn’t I?” Maisie said.
“You can’t even say the words,” he said with a laugh. “I, I, I, I, that’s what I heard. You’ll simper and cower and they’ll figure out we’re not there for the fun, but for other purposes.”
“Can’t you tell them I’m new?” she asked. “Can’t you say you want me to experience things before we make a final decision on—” She wasn’t even sure what the decision would be about.
“A final decision on whether you would be my sexual submissive?” he asked. “The spanking I gave you was nothing. You saw what happened to Vanessa the other evening. If you go to this party I cannot guarantee that we won’t be forced to take part in some sort of the same activity, in front of people. Can you do that?”
“If I have to,” she said. “I am worried about my future.”
“And you don’t trust me,” he said.
“You lied to me about my position here,” she said. “It doesn’t set a good precedent for the future.”
He licked his lips and then looked out the window. Maisie knew this was a turning point. He was considering his position.
“You have to see things my way,” she said. “I can understand your reluctance. We don’t really know each other. But that would bolster the claim that we just met, that we’re attracted to each other, that I’m interested in the lifestyle that you train here. Please, Aldis—Mr. Cummings—I want to help. I want that ticket to America.”
His Adam’s apple moved as he swallowed. “Very well,” he said. “But before we leave you and I are going to have to become better acquainted, Mrs. Glover. I am going to have to whip you a few more times, and, I’m going to fuck you, more than once. Are you willing to let that happen?”
“Yes,” she said, without any hesitation. It wasn’t as if she were innocent. She and Elvin had enjoyed a healthy sex life.
“Then your duties as a seamstress are suspended,” Mrs. Beale said. “You and Mr. Cummings should spend time getting to know each other, both emotionally and physically. Aldis, isn’t there a weekend party at the Leslie house?”
“Yes, but I have already sent my regrets,” Aldis said.
“I will write him and tell him you’re bringing a new student, as sort of an indoctrination,” Mrs. Beale said. “I believe a mask would be in order. You can tell them she wants to hide her identity because she hasn’t made a full decision on her relationship with you.”
“Which is the truth,” Maisie said.
“Yes, it is best to stick to the truth as much as possible,” Mrs. Beale said. “Now, I think the two of you should sit and talk about your lives, and I’ll have lunch sent for you.”
She left after they’d all exchanged nods.
“Well, you’re getting what you want,” he said.
“I want to be able to go to America,” she said. “You’ll forgive me if I don’t trust you.”
“Trust is an important part of the submissive relationship,” Mr. Cummings said.
“Very well, Aldis,” Maisie said.
“You will continue to call me Mr. Cummings, as a sign of respect and servitude,” he said.
“I don’t like the idea of being a servant,” she said.
“But that is basically what you are,” he said, “a sexual servant.”
“Tell me, Maisie, did you enjoy having my cock in your mouth?”
Oh, how she wanted to tell him no, so that she could wipe that smirk off his face. He stared at her as if he’d seen all of her naked, not just the bottom half.
“Yes,” she said.
“That’s a start,’ he said. “Tell me about your relationship with your husband.”
“It’s none of your business,” Maisie said.
He signed heavily. “You’re proving yourself to be a brat already. Maisie, the main point of the submissive relationship is that the female submits to the male.”
“Does the male ever submit to the female?” she asked.
“Not in our world,” he said. “Now, since you refuse to obey, you will face your first punishment.”
‘How long will you strike my bottom this time?” she asked.
“You will stand in the corner until lunch arrives,” he said. “After lunch I will ask you the same question and we will see if you’ve learned your first lesson.”
Maisie almost laughed. Standing in the corner wouldn’t be too hard.
Maisie stiffened. “You can’t be serious?”
“I am deadly serious,” he said. “You will stand in the corner with your nose against the wall, your legs spread and your hands holding up your skirts so that your backside is bare.”
“I won’t do that,” she said. “I’m not a child.”
“Don’t talk back to me, Mrs. Glover,” he said. “I am your superior in this event, and if you refuse such a simple request such as this, you’ve already lost your trip to Morton-on-Mare.”
She didn’t respond. She tried to tell herself it wasn’t that bad, but the idea of baring her bottom in a public room wasn’t to her liking.
“If you can’t do this, how are you going to attend the party?” said a voice inside her head.
“Mrs. Glover, go to the corner and take your punishment.”
For a moment, Maisie thought about stomping out of the room. She had to do it, she knew. It was a lesson, a test.
She got up and went to the wall he’d indicated. Embarrassment rushed through her as her nose touched the wall. Her face heated, but so did her temper. How had things come to this?”
“Lift your skirts,” he said. “And I believe you’re wearing pantalets, too. Drop them to your ankles.”
It was on the tip of her tongue to beg him to wait on this, that it was too soon. Then she remembered
She adjusted her clothing slowly, not because she wanted to drag the event out but because she hoped, at least a little part of her did, that he would change his mind.
“I’m ready to talk,” she said.
“After your punishment, and luncheon,” he said “Do as I say.”
This was worse than a spanking. The physical pain was nothing next to the humiliation she felt right now. He must know that. She had to do as he said. There was no way she was going to let him win at this. She could withstand the punishment. The minutes passed in silence. She wasn’t sure how long it was before her legs stated to wobble. She shifted and moved her face away from the wall.
“Nose in the corner!”
He was obviously watching her very closely.
“My legs and back ache,” she said.
“You can move when I say so.”
“You are a cad!” Tears stung her eyes. Just talk to him! Her inner voice boomed inside her head so loudly she wondered if he could hear it.
She settled herself back into place, her nose in the corner. But it wasn’t long before her back again complained about the position. The ache became too much and she swirled in his direction.
“I am not a child,” she said.
“No you are not,” he said. “But if you want to play this game, you need to learn how. Now, get your nose back in that corner, I will give you ten cuts from my riding crop, and then you will stand in the corner. If that happens your backside will show the welts from the crop for anyone to see.”
“Ten?” She knew Vanessa had taken more from a cane, but ten seemed very harsh, for a first time offense.
Now she really was shaking. “Ten?”
“On your bare bottom,” he said.
Maisie fought back tears. She thought about putting her nose back in the corner, but she wasn’t sure she had the strength to take that position for much longer. But she’d already taken a spanking this morning. Her bottom hurt too much to take another one so soon.
“The punishment is your choice, Mrs. Glover. Either face the wall, or take the cuts and then stand in the corner.”
Maisie turned back around. She touched her nose to the wall, and fought back tears. How had this happened? She could blame it all on Jack. If he hadn’t taken it in his mind to sell her body she would still be working at the Poke and Bear, happy with her life, even if she didn’t have Elvin anymore.
She wasn’t sure how long she’d been there when she said, “Please, this is so uncomfortable.”
“That’s the idea,” he said. “If you don’t want to take the punishment, you obey your Master.”
First he’d used the word servant, and now master, and he’d said it in such a way that it was meant as a title, such as queen or king.
“Please, no more,” she whispered.
“If you want to be ready to party, we need to be prepared for this sort of thing,” he said. “I’m sure there will be a test of some sort when we arrive, and this could very well be part of it. You will keep your nose in that corner until I give you permission.”
She hated that thought, but it also gave her the strength to stay where she was. She needed to attend with him. Being left behind was not an option. Her back and knees were crying out for relief when she heard Mr. Cummings say, “Ah, lunch, thank you, Megan. I was getting a bit peaked. And I’m sure Mrs. Glover feels the same way.”
Maisie knew he’d done that on purpose, to make it so that Megan saw Maisie standing there, half-naked with her nose pressed against the wall. Was she imagining things, or did she hear Megan laugh?
“You may go, Megan,” he said. “Shut the door behind you.”
Maisie stayed where she was, mindful that she was not supposed to move until he said so.
“Mrs. Glover, you may come here, but keep your skirts up so your bum is bare,” he said.
It was awkward to walk with half her skirt lifted behind her, and her drawers around her ankles, and took a bit longer than normally. When she reached him she saw the tray filled with two bowls of stew, a few slices of bread and some cheese.
“You may kneel next to me,’ he said.
“Kneel?” She let go of her skirts and took a step back. When she did her feet became twisted in her drawers and she would have fallen if she hadn’t caught herself on the chair.
“Mrs. Glover, this isn’t going to work if you are determined to question every order I give,” he said. “You need to remember who is in charge. Perhaps it’s time for you to admit that this lifestyle is not for you, even if you are just faking.”
“No,” she said. “I am determined.”
“Are you? I think your actions belie your words. Mrs. Glover, I give you my word that I will not double-cross you in any way. This house party is not for you.”
“It is!” Maisie gathered her skirts so that her backside showed again, then she knelt behind him as quickly as she could.
He was silent for a few, long moments. “Very well,” he said, finally. “Sit in the chair and eat, and then we’ll go back to where we started, which was getting to know each other.”
The food was delicious, as always, but Maisie found she couldn’t eat as much as she thought she would. With each bite she reconsidered her decision to go to the party. Her reasoning was sound, but her reaction to standing in the corner told her he might be right.
“What are you thinking, Mrs. Glover,” he said.
She would not tell him exactly what was on her mind, because she knew he would pounce on it like a cat on a mouse.
“You said you wanted to talk about our lives,” she said. “You want us to know each other.”
“I do,” he said. “You told me your husband was a chimney sweep, but you didn’t tell me how you met.”
“We grew up in the same neighborhood,” she said. “I fell in love with him when I was sixteen. We married not long after.”
“And your life together was happy?”
Maisie smiled. “Except for the lack of children, yes. I wish we had been blessed.” She didn’t want to finish the rest of that sentence, that if they had been she would not be where she was now. Or would she? Even if she’d been a mother she would have still worked at the Poke and Bear, because they would have needed the money to make ends meet. Elvin’s job hadn’t paid that much money.
“I am sorry for your loss,” he said. “I can see by the look on your face that it still pains you.”
Maisie nodded. She ran her spoon through her stew, but didn’t put any more food in her mouth.
“When he first died I was inconsolable,” she said. “My father had died a few years before and my mother had moved to America. I was alone. I didn’t even have very many friends. I thought Jack was one of them.”
She thought back to that time, and a fledgling thought started to build. She’d known Jack for years, but not once had he ever mentioned that he had a sister.
“Vanessa told me she was Jack’s sister,” she blurted out.
“Sister?”
Maisie glanced at Aldis. “He never told me he had a sister.”
He got up and went to the pull. “What are you doing?” she asked after he’d summoned a servant.
“I have an acquaintance who can find things out,” he said. “I’m going to send for him and have him do a little investigating on Jack. How long have you known him?”
“Years,” she said. “He gave me my job because he knew Elvin.”
Oh, why hadn’t she thought of this before? “I was just so shocked at everything that happened,” she said.
“What are you saying?” he asked.
“I’m thinking back to when I heard about the seamstress job,” she said.
“You saw the note we put on the community board,” he said. “We had not expected someone of your skill. We had expected a younger lady we could train, one who would look the other direction about the activities here, like Megan does.”
As if she’d heard her name, Megan appeared.
“Take a note into town, to Mr. Straith,” he said. “Tell him I want to see him as soon as possible.”
“Now, tell me how you found out about the job,” he said.
“From Jack,” she said. “He told me about it, and I wrote you, and then he was horrible to me, saying he planned to make me sell my body. That’s when I ran.”
“It does seem rather suspicious,” Mr. Cummings said. “Tell me, Mrs. Glover, has Jack ever proposed you do anything like that before?”
“No, sir,” she said.
“Well then, I’ll set Straith on it and we’ll find out what’s what,” he said. “Thank you for being truthful with me.”
“He’s used me somehow,” she said. “I don’t quite understand exactly how, but he has. But he couldn’t have known that I would get the position here.”
“He could have hoped,” he said.
“But if he wanted to get information out of me after I was here, why was he so awful to me before I left?”
“To make sure you’d take the position if it was offered,” he said.
“It doesn’t make any sense,” she said.
“Perhaps not, but it needs to be investigated,” he said. “If she’s not his sister there is a reason she lied to you about it. He never mentioned the fact to you, did he?”
“No,” she said.
“Best to find out what’s what and then take advice,” he said. “In the meantime we need to put that aside and get on with your training.”
Her training. The words made her shiver.
“You’ve not changed your mind, have you?”
There seemed to be a sense of hopefulness behind his words. “No, I have not,” she said. “But we were learning about each other, weren’t we? That’s how we got onto the subject of Jack and Vanessa.”
“Yes, we were,” he said.
He didn’t continue so she decided to take the reins, even though it wouldn’t please Mr. Cummings.
“Tell me about your marriage,” she said.
“What does it matter now?” he asked. “It’s over and done with. I have no contact with her.”
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