by Susan Thomas
Ruth's bottom was still marked from her dose of the strap the day before, and her caning went much the same as Hannah's, except her bottom wasn't quite so bad after it was over. She kissed her father's cheek and also sat down wriggling uncomfortably. I wondered if I had to kiss his cheek afterwards. Rachel had only had a hand spanking the day before and I couldn't see any mark on her when she bared herself and bent over the chest. The creaminess of her bottom showed each red line of the cane wonderfully. It was like painting stripes on a canvas with the musical accompaniment of Rachel's yelps and cries. Rachel kissed her father and now it was me.
I felt like this was a public spanking: I was going to be caned by a man I barely knew while watched by four women. This was far worse than the spankings I had from Bill. Lifting my nightdress was embarrassing... I am a grown woman but there was no modesty in this. I knelt down and stretched out over the chest as I had seen the others do. I gripped the far side and waited tensely. The cane struck and I yelped out because it stung more than I expected. I now understood the reaction of the girls. To just kneel there with my bare bottom stuck out for Mr Foster to cane me was far more humiliating than being spanked by Bill. Each stroke of the cane made me yelp and jerk for its sting was sharp and gradually the strokes began to land on earlier welts. The sting became horribly intense and it was hard to stay still as he continued my punishment. Finally, my bottom felt as if part of it was burning fiercely. I stood, my nightdress fell back down, and clutched my bottom to try and ease the feelings. They were all looking at me and I realised I was expected to kiss Mr Foster. I gave him the quickest kiss to his cheek imaginable and sat down carefully.
Back in my bedroom I took off my nightdress and examined my bottom. Can you imagine a three-inch-deep bar running right across both cheeks? It was angry red in colour and like corrugated card to feel and was very sore. I hadn't cried downstairs but took my caning with no more than the inevitable yelps and wriggles. Now though, tears began to flow, I couldn't help it and I longed for Bill. I wanted to sit on his lap and feel his strong arms around me telling me how it was alright to cry and I'd done well and now it was all over. Bill seemed to make spanking me seem reasonable. It was the correct thing to do, he was only doing it in love, and once he'd spanked me all was right again. This caning had seemed cold and undeserved.
I went to sleep that night cuddling my pillow and wishing it were Bill.
Chapter 11
I woke early the next morning, my pillow still damp with the tears I'd shed for Bill. I had no time to think about what that meant, when I felt sick again. I spent an unpleasant half an hour heaving in the bathroom and knowing that there really was no doubt... I was pregnant with Bill's child. I recovered just as quickly as the sickness had come over me. Since I had never been pregnant before I had no idea whether this was normal or not. I could ask Mrs Foster of course because she had six children, but the very idea made me laugh. At that point I heard a soft knock on my door. When I opened it Rachel slipped in almost without sound.
She wasted no time at all. "Do you like the regime here on Earth Zero?"
My heart beat faster. This was quietly rebellious Rachel. I had a sudden premonition she was a member of Yellow Sash and this would help the Theocracy (and my reward of Earth Eight) if I could get in.
"No, Rachel, I must be honest, I found last night's caning utterly humiliating as well as unjust. I really did nothing wrong but I was caned in front of you all. I tell you in my world I had degrees, a career, money, a nice flat and my own car. I could wear what I wanted, eat what I wanted, go where I wanted and absolutely no one had any right to spank or cane me."
"That's what I thought. Tonight I am allowed to go to what my parents think is a charity meeting. I will ask if you can come with me. Come and you may get a big surprise."
That conversation pushed my tears about Bill out of my mind and then as I set out to go to work Mr Foster surprised me again. "I'll drive you this morning. I won't do every morning but I am going that way." He wasted no words at all in the car. "I expect that you were late last night because you had a meeting with that 'Mr Jones'. Am I right?"
"Close. It's not exactly a meeting, but yes, that is why I went to the café." Well there was no point in denying it, he was far too intelligent for that.
He handed me a card. "You have a telephone at your office. If you will be delayed telephone my secretary and simply say, 'Sarah Watson will be delayed'. I will sort that out with Mrs Foster."
I realised then he had caned me so that no real inquisition could take place. My caning had been part of my undercover work. Thinking about it in that way made it seem much better. When I got to work I was told simply to spend more time familiarising myself with the computers. Now they were more advanced than the ones I had found on a lower floor but I tell you they were so slow and clunky it was beyond belief. I didn't need any more time, as I had sorted all that out the day before, so I now tried tracking money. I don't think they quite knew what to do with me and I was left alone. As I worked I began to be suspicious and developed a theory. I'd need to do quite a bit of checking to be sure, but I felt it was a fairly simple scam.
I thought that some fake companies had been set up. They'd have real addresses but would simply be an empty room in a cheap office building. Someone was authorising orders for these companies. Then invoices would appear which would be paid and in fact nothing had been purchased or any service provided. It shouldn't be possible to get away with that or at least for very long. However, if someone senior was organising it then it became possible and only a major audit would show it up.
---oOo---
The head of the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) was drinking a cup of the industrial strength tea he enjoyed so much when his secretary buzzed through. "Sir, its Agent Carter to see you again."
"Send him in."
"Sit down, Carter. How is she getting on?"
"Very well, Sir. She's been moved straight to the top floor and has had coffee and a chat with Anton Field."
"Mmm, odd chap that one."
"Yes Sir. That was yesterday's report. Last night she got caned by Foster for being late back. His wife was apparently on the warpath with her daughters and she got caught up in it. Anyway he's given her a telephone contact to warn him if she will be late. It seems he has worked out I am not who I say."
"I don't like that, Carter."
"The caning or Foster having suspicions about me?"
"You bloody idiot. I couldn't care less how many times her backside gets caned. That bloody man is too clever to be her guardian. I don't like him having doubts about you."
"No Sir. Anyway she thinks she has an idea how money is being syphoned off but needs to check it out. In the meanwhile, she may have an invitation to attend a Yellow Sash meeting."
"Really! Now that is good work. Who is her contact?"
"Foster's eldest daughter. Quietly subversive it turns out. A lot of women are very fed up with some of the silly religious rules Sir."
"I don't blame them. Still, they have to know their place. Well done Carter. This is going well."
Agent Carter left his chief's office and went to catch up on his paperwork. His mind kept returning to Sarah Watson. He couldn't recall ever meeting a young woman he found more attractive. She had a beautiful figure, a charming, lively face and was bright... very bright. Agent Carter liked intelligent women. Mark you she was a bit too spirited for the Theocracy. If she was his he'd have to discipline her quite a bit. The thought of having her over his knee while spanking her bottom was one that appealed. Still that was not to be. She was going to Earth Eight and even if he wangled a passage to go with her it wouldn't be the same. He doubted she'd look at him once there and he'd not be able to discipline her in the way he should in that society. They seemed to think women were equal. A very strange notion in his view. Even if she decided to stay here on Earth Zero it would be for William Cole and not him. Poor William, he thought, she was not coming back.
---o
Oo---
My day at work was bizarre. Really they didn't work very hard: there were lots of tea breaks and lunch breaks and I still hadn't been given a job to do. I was basically left to explore the systems. Of course I didn't. I spent time trying to find evidence that false companies were being used to pay bills for non-existent goods or services. It meant searching records in other departments and making telephone calls to outside companies. Now you'd think someone would ask just what the hell I was doing but no, they just let me get on with it without any query. If I asked someone a question they just answered as if I had a perfect right to ask. However, my day was not unproductive. I found two companies that simply didn't seem to exist but nevertheless had been paid for fixing roofs and other large maintenance projects. One had an address not far from my building so I decided to skip lunch and track it down.
When I arrived it was a large warehouse with a sign emblazoned across the front, 'Arthur Campbell and Sons, Wholesale Ironmongers'. Not the 'JS Builders' that was invoiced, but it was a real address. Perhaps they sublet but there was no sign at all. I walked around the back but there was just an untidy cobbled courtyard and a rear door but no sign of a building firm. That gave me pause for a lot of thought. Cheques for bills presented were being sent here and that could only be with the knowledge of the owners of Arthur Campbell and Sons. Now either they were running the scam themselves, or it was being done for Yellow Sash, and they were up to their eyes in the resistance. I needed to tread carefully.
That evening Rachel managed to get permission for us to go her 'charity' meeting. She worked hard for various charities and her parents seemed to have no suspicion at all. We were given a time limit or curfew. Once when I was at school I truanted for a whole day in response to a dare. This sneaking off under false pretences felt strangely the same.
We went to a quiet alley and then Rachel said, "I am going to put a hood over your head now. Don't be frightened, but they must check you out."
A motor vehicle, a van, pulled up and I was helped into the back by Rachel and we drove for a good fifteen minutes or more. I guessed we probably didn't go very far but just went in a circle. When we stopped I was led through a building and into a room. I could sense there were many people in there. They sat me down and I was interrogated about Earth Nine and my life until arriving at Earth Zero.
Every now and then some detail of my former life brought gasps from an audience. Finally, I was asked, "Is it true that you could wear short skirts and as much make-up as you wanted?"
"Yes, but when I was working I wore mostly trouser suits as they are more practical and I always went easy on make-up."
There were gasps at that answer and someone shouted from another part of the room, "Weren't you punished for wearing trousers?"
"No of course not. I've seen our Prime Minister wearing trousers." I could feel the bewilderment in the room so added, "Our Prime minister is a woman."
Well, the hubbub that arose from that was long and loud and somewhere near the end someone whipped off my hood saying, "The Theocracy would never think to equip a spy with that knowledge."
It was almost disappointing seeing all these revolutionaries. They were so ordinary, so earnest and clearly just fed up with silly rules. The meeting, however, was far from ordinary. I was given a yellow sash and those present were being briefed on their role when the 'Day of the Yellow Sash' arrived. Clearly it was expected soon and we were told to await the signal that would send us hurrying to our posts. Now I believed my own briefing that Mr Brown was a real danger and two-faced. Of course I might be wrong but I didn't think so. The Theocracy was terrified of instability but it was strangely honest and well intentioned.
The meeting ended and several of the local leadership assured me that my swift entrance into Yellow Sash was not usual. An earnest man, who seemed to be in charge locally, told me that the time to overturn the Theocracy was imminent, and I was so clearly who I said I was, that they had made admission immediate. We finished off with steaming cups of tea and biscuits and I was the centre of attention. They were fascinated that in my world professionals such as doctors and lawyers could be women. They found it hard to believe that my father had no right to use corporal punishment. As the questions flowed I felt guilty. They seemed to think my world, Earth Nine, was some sort of idyllic society, but of course it isn't. However, I felt I couldn't disillusion them. I also worried about what would happen to them when the Theocracy broke up Yellow Sash. I couldn't believe that they would be executed, and exiling so many would be hard, so what would they do?
All those concerns were forgotten when we got back. We were late! It was my fault, not that Rachel could explain that. I had been the centre of attention after the Yellow Sash meeting and we had overshot our curfew! Yes, just think how ridiculous that is. Two grown women but we were on a curfew. Why? Because we were unmarried (or they thought I was) and our 'virtue' had to be protected. That was laughable given I hadn't even been a virgin when I arrived on Earth Zero and now was pregnant by Bill.
So, once again, we 'girls' were in our nightdresses for a very late Bible reading and prayer session which would end with only two penances... one for Rachel and another for me. All the way through the Bible reading and prayers I was wondering just what we were going to get. I dreaded a long caning because my bottom was still sore from my previous caning. I was almost relieved when Rachel, who went first, hoisted her nightdress and went over her father's knee to have her bottom spanked. Only a hand spanking! I nearly laughed when I thought how ridiculous it was for me to think that. Only a hand spanking indeed! Then I thought how humiliating it was to have to bare myself and go over Mr Foster's knee to be spanked. I wished Bill was doing it. It was part of my relationship with Bill and he would comfort and love me afterwards.
All the time I was thinking Mr Foster was spanking his eldest daughter's bare bottom. I have to be honest he wasn't spanking hard. She was giving soft little gasps and wriggling a bit but I could see this was more a token spanking than a real punishment. The marks of her caning were still there but they were mainly light bruises now overlaid with the pale red of her spanking. He stopped at last and Rachel stood up, apologised and kissed his cheek. Then it was my turn.
I thought to myself I could take this because soon I would be on Earth Eight and never have another spanking. Lifting my nightdress was as embarrassing and humiliating as the night before but now worse because I actually had to go over Mr Foster's lap. I cringed inside at being over his knee with his family watching and then he began spanking me. They were not hard smacks but having his hand land on my bare bottom was mortifying. It was utterly different to when Bill spanked me because we loved each other. I heard myself making the same soft gasp as the sting mounted but truthfully it wasn't that bad a spanking. Mr Foster wasn't as fearsome as his reputation made out. When it was over my bottom was warm and stinging but I had been more embarrassed than hurt. I gave him a dutiful peck on the cheek and then it was our bed time again.
I didn't exactly cry myself to sleep a second time but I did cuddle a pillow and imagine it was Bill. In my imagination it was Bill that had spanked me for breaking the curfew and was now comforting me. Imagining Bill had spanked me made it seem a lot better. In the morning I was sick again. It was worse this time and I began to worry I might not get this spying task done before the pregnancy became obvious. I needn't have worried; the events of that day were momentous and like a dam breaking.
Chapter 12
It was Friday and the weekend loomed. I walked to work that day. My bottom wasn't sore exactly but I could feel the results of a caning and spanking with every movement. I still was given no regular task to do, so simply picked up where I had left off the day before, searching for non-existent companies but was beginning to get a feel for which ones might be suspect. I was bewildered by why no one actually questioned what I was doing but then it dawned. Anton Field was very much in charge. He had been seen taking me into his office for coffee and a chat so they must h
ave assumed I was working on a project for him. Field himself was often out of the office; he probably assumed someone else was giving me work so, one way or another, I was simply left to my own devices.
By mid-afternoon I had compiled a list of twenty highly suspect companies and had begun to add up how much had been paid to them. It was mounting to a staggering total and I hadn't by any means found all the companies and invoices. I had the bit between my teeth now, and really wanted to get on with this, so I used the telephone and dialled the number of Mr Foster's secretary.
"This is Sarah Watson speaking. Please tell Mr Foster I will be delayed for quite some time at work."
"Very good, Miss Watson."
I was working away at my list when something dawned. Oh yes, you maybe have got it already but I hadn't. For such a huge embezzlement to be taking place, Anton Field must be involved. There was no way all this could be set up without his knowledge. I was disappointed. I liked Anton Field. He was such a nice personable man, or so I thought, but he had to be up to his eyes in Yellow Sash. Then I wondered, could he be Mr Brown? He was certainly charismatic and intelligent. It was late afternoon when I noticed Anton Field about to leave unaccompanied by anyone. I looked around, but no one in the whole office was taking any notice of either of us so, on impulse, I got up and followed him.
He walked briskly as if he had not a care in the world and I wondered if I was being foolish. Perhaps he was going to meet a lover or perhaps he had an important meeting in another building. However, that notion soon disappeared as he walked into the warehouse district and when he arrived at 'Arthur Campbell and Sons, Wholesale Ironmongers' I knew he was on Yellow Sash business. Somehow I felt very disappointed in him... let down although quite why I'm not sure. I watched at a safe distance until he went around the back and then cautiously followed. He stood in shadow watching the back entrance of the warehouse and I stood watching him. Three men arrived separately and entered the back door. I recognised one as the tall man that had introduced me to Anton Field.
