by Ryan, Maggie
She suddenly understood what he was thinking about. “Oh,” she said quietly.
Her tone caused Charles to glance down at her and he saw her discomfort. He was immediately ashamed of himself and his indecent thoughts. “You are right, Miss Furniss. We should return and continue your studies. I want you to do very well on your last practice exam. I don’t want you to have to repeat your discomfort of yesterday’s failure.” Lucy knew what he meant and knew he must have been able to hear her cries when Edward had paddled her yesterday. Her face was quite flushed and she didn’t speak though her stomach was churning. What must he think of her; of Lord Wintercrest? Feeling her tremble, Charles placed his hand over hers.
“Please, Lucille, don’t…don’t be embarrassed. I assure you that I have nothing but the highest regard for you despite your…um, your…” He knew he was simply making the poor girl feel worse and had no idea how to continue his thoughts. Instead, he patted her hand and turned back towards the house. Lucy was highly embarrassed and Anna noticed both seemed flushed after they entered the house. The table had been cleared and they sat down to lunch. They were quiet as they ate, neither sure of what to speak about. Mrs. Bremmer watched the two and shook her head. Goodness, this man had no idea how to handle a special little one. He was most obviously interested in Lucy but just as obviously unable to assert his authority. She shook her head, knowing that he would never find Edward giving him permission to wed their little one. He was far too weak, and whether or not Lucy agreed, she needed a strong, strict man to lead her down life’s many paths.
The two continued their lessons after luncheon. Lucy was busy working down a column of problems when they heard the front door open. Lucy looked up and Charles began to stand when he froze in place. The sight before him astonished him. Instead of seeing a replica of his student, he saw a very pretty little girl. She stood beside her husband who was removing the cloak from her shoulders. Lucy saw her face flush as she realized they had a guest, but Louisa didn’t try to move or turn away. Edward handed both his coat and Louisa’s cloak to the waiting Molly who made a small curtsey before taking them away. He gave his wife a small push and she seemed to come awake.
She dropped her own small curtsy and greeted their guest, “Good afternoon, Professor Lloyds.”
Charles finally managed to reach his full height and found his voice. “Ummmm, good afternoon, Lady Wintercrest, Lord Wintercrest.”
Edward grinned knowing the sight of his wife surprised the professor. Edward certainly didn’t feel the need to explain anything to this man. Instead, he looked down at his small wife and spoke quietly but clearly as her eyes met his. “Go to your room, Louisa. I’ll be up in a moment to tuck you into bed and we will discuss how important it is to pay attention during services. Mrs. Bremmer will escort you while I check on Lucy’s progress.” Louisa’s earlier smile disappeared, but she nodded and hurried out of the room; Lucy watched as she was followed up the stairs by Mrs. Bremmer.
Her attention was returned to Edward when he spoke, “And how is our little student progressing, Charles?”
Charles shook his head as if to clear it and said, “She is doing very well, Sir. I believe she will pass her exam; both today and tomorrow. She has worked extremely hard today.” Edward nodded and smiled. “I’m glad to hear that. I’m glad to know our girl is quick to learn her lessons. I’ll allow you to continue. I need to attend to my wife, but I will return shortly and Lucy may take her test.” Charles simply nodded, not knowing how to respond. Both he and Lucy watched him climb the stairs before they turned to each other.
“Do you need a break, Miss Furniss?” Charles asked quietly. Her face was flushed with embarrassment for her sister, but she shook her head and they were soon going over another set of equations. As she worked through the problems she found herself listening for any sounds of distress from upstairs, but other than the sounds of servants moving about the house attending to their duties, she heard nothing. Charles watched as she finished the list of problems, finding that he was thinking about how Lady Wintercrest had appeared. Louisa Wintercrest appeared even younger than she had when he was her professor. While still extremely beautiful, he found that he would describe her more as fetching or even sweet. She had looked years younger than her twin sister. Charles considered himself an educated man, but he was discovering there obviously were some things he knew nothing about. He glanced over at his student and smiled seeing her concentrating on her paper, her tiny teeth nibbling on the end of her pencil. Her feet were crossed at the ankles and swinging slightly back and forth, a few inches above the floor. The women were both very tiny things weren’t they? While his student was an adult young woman, he suddenly found himself wondering how he would feel seeing Miss Furniss dressed identically to her sister. His face heated and a part of his anatomy twitched. He looked up the stairs as if he wished he could follow the Lord and Lady of the house and discover what was truly happening inside Wintercrest Manor. He was a man of the world and his earlier suspicions about Lord Wintercrest were growing. His musings were interrupted when Lucy spoke.
“I’m done, Sir,” he heard Lucy say and he shook his head as his attention returned to the reason why he was at Wintercrest. He was happy to see that she hadn’t missed a problem and praised her.
“Very well done, Lucy…I mean, Miss Furniss. I believe you have nothing to fear.” He watched her relax and quickly made sure he had everything ready for her next quiz. He felt momentarily guilty when he found himself half hoping she’d miss at least a few problems. He berated himself for his thoughts, knowing that if she did, her bottom was likely to pay a harsh price. Thinking of her bottom caused his face to flush and it was still red when Edward rejoined them. Seeing how flustered the tutor was, Edward grinned wondering exactly what the poor man must be thinking. However, his concern was for his ward and he turned his attention to her. He asked Charles to give her the test exactly as he would at the school the next day. Charles agreed and soon had Lucy seated; her pencil flat on her desk, her hands folded in her lap.
“You will have exactly one hour to take the exam. You will not be allowed to leave the room until the exam is over. I will remind you of the time remaining to you during the test. Remember to do the easy ones first and then tackle the harder ones. Remember to check your answer and, Lu…umm, Miss Furniss, remember to relax. You can do this. You know this material. Don’t panic, simply work out each problem bit by bit.” Lucy nodded, his encouragement giving her strength. She watched him place several sheets of paper face down on her desk.
He moved to a chair across the room and pulled his watch from his pocket. He waited until the second hand moved to the twelve o’clock position and then said, “You may begin and good luck.” Lucy turned her test over and began to scan down the list of problems. She began to fill in her answers as she went through the pages. She found several easy to answer and relaxed a little. She continued to relax until she began to run into harder questions. She heard Professor Lloyds tell her that she had half an hour left but still didn’t panic. Most of the problems had been answered, but several remained. She began to panic a bit when she heard she only had ten minutes left.
She scrawled her answer to the last question just seconds before she heard, “Time is up. Put down your pencil and turn your test face-down on your desk.” Lucy obeyed and then sat back, her fingers suddenly aching from clenching her pencil. She watched as her test was removed. “You may stand and stretch your legs, Lucy. I’m sure you must be exhausted.” Edward heard him address his student without the proper title and saw his charge smile and rise from her chair. She thanked him quietly and then walked around the room. When she became aware Edward was watching her, she halted. He smiled at her and she relaxed a bit.
“I’m sure you did well, Lucy. You studied hard and I’m sure I will be pleased. Go now and refresh yourself while your professor grades your test. I shall send for you when I am ready.”
“Yes, Sir.” She gave him a small smile and then wal
ked up the stairs and into her room. She sagged against the door and, after doing her necessary, allowed herself to lie on her bed. She found herself praying that she had done well and, in praying, remembered the service earlier in the day. She wondered why she had never truly thought about the many secret lives that must exist all around her. She had never suspected that her sister’s marriage was anything other than what society accepted. Suddenly, she sat up and had a new thought. Who decided what society accepted or what they condemned? If her own sister lived a secret life, but one that was obviously shared by others, then who was she to judge? Smiling, she lay down again. Her fear of hurting her sister lessened a little. While she would probably never understand her sister’s choice of this type of life, she would make sure Louisa knew she still was very much loved by her twin. She was almost asleep when a knock sounded on her door. She rose and went to the door, opening it to find Molly.
“His Lordship asks you to join him in his study Miss Lucy.” Lucy’s heart stuttered at the request, which she felt was surely a sentence. Her bottom clenched even as she tried to appear calm. Evidently she wasn’t quite able to pull off the act, because as soon as she entered Edward’s study, she felt she was going to collapse. She wasn’t aware that her professor was seated on one of the side chairs that faced Edward’s desk. Her attention was caught and held by her guardian. She tried to discern how many problems she must have missed, but his face gave her no clue. She found her eyes flick to the cabinet that held his choice of implements to use on naughty girls but, as the doors were closed, she saw nothing.
Edward watched all her thoughts flow across her face. She was almost as easy to read as his own little wife. He knew she was hoping that whatever problems she had missed would be very few, to make any coming discipline as light as possible. He knew she was clenching her little bottom tight under all her clothing and knew her knees her shaking.
“Lucille, you did very well,” Edward informed her, his voice soft and pleasing. He saw her breath exhale and wondered if she had been aware that she had been holding it. He allowed her to relax for a moment and then said, “You did miss a few, my dear.” She gasped and he saw her hands twist in her dress.
“Ho…how many, Sir?” Her voice was so quiet that it was an effort to hear her. Edward smiled and held out his hand. Without thinking, Lucy walked forward and took it, as he pulled her a bit closer.
“Only two.” She smiled for a second and then it slipped away.
“I’m…I’m sorry, Sir. I…I tried really hard. Are…are you going to pun…punish me?” Edward was immensely pleased with her words. He had known she was already slipping into submission without realizing it, but hearing her actually expect to be punished for failing to complete her test without error told him many things.
He looked down at her upturned face and said, “Your score would be a passing one, Lucy if this had been your true test. Missing two is a remarkable improvement over yesterday’s score. I know how hard you have been applying yourself.” He watched her begin to relax and pushed her just a bit further. “However, it is interesting that you feel the need to question my duty to punish you. Don’t you think you need to be punished, little one?”
Charles, seated in the shadows actually gasped at Edward’s question. He had been so proud of his student and yet had felt a small worry that her guardian would not accept her score. He had heard her being paddled for missing questions the day before. When he had to admit that Lucy had missed two of the hardest equations, he had felt awful. His guilt over his earlier brief hope that she might miss a few so he might be able to relive hearing her sweet cries if she were to be paddled again made him think about lying about the results of the quiz. However, Lord Wintercrest had kept his eyes on Charles’ when the professor lowered his pencil and his stare had made lying impossible. Hearing the two now speak of punishment reminded him of how he had thought about this beautiful young woman as they walked earlier in the garden. He strained to hear Lucy’s answer.
“I…I don’t know, Sir. I…I tried…I’m sorry.” Edward watched her struggle with herself knowing she was feeling things she never considered before. He pulled her to him and gave her a quick hug.
“I know you did, my dear. However, I do believe that you will feel better over your errors if you pay for them. The lesson learned might help you remember your lessons when it really counts tomorrow.” He felt her tremble, and saw her nod slowly in acceptance. He placed a kiss on the top of her head before setting her away from him. “Go bend over the arm of the chair, little one, exactly like yesterday.” Lucille shuddered but some part of her felt as if she was only getting what she deserved. She had failed to answer two questions correctly and had been warned that any mistakes would be dealt with in a corporal manner. She was almost to the chair when she suddenly realized that her professor was seated and had been present this entire time. Her face flushed and she halted. Edward had walked to the cabinet and was using his key to open it. He turned at the sharp gasp he heard and saw her standing about a foot from the chair.
“Lucille, do as you were told. Over the chair, skirts up and bloomers down please.” Lucy felt tears fill her eyes. Surely he wasn’t about to humiliate her like this. Surely he didn’t expect her to obey him with her professor in the room? Though it had become clear to her that her tutor had born witness to her cries yesterday, surely Edward would tend to her punishment in a private manner. Her eyes flew to him in time to see him remove a leather strap from the cabinet. His promise of a strapping if she should fail the test last evening rang through her mind. She had expected and had been prepared to have a paddling. However, seeing that strap hanging from his hand brought back the memories of her strapping the evening before. She knew if she disobeyed, it would cause her even greater pain.
Forgetting her tutor’s presence she began sobbing and begging, “No…please, Sir…Please don’t strap me…I…I am so sorry I failed you.” Her voice was broken as she remained frozen in place. Edward slowly walked towards her, the strap swinging against his leg.
“You haven’t failed me yet, my dear. You will only fail me if you disobey my order to prepare yourself. You will only have four strokes; two for each missed equation. Four, if you do what you were told immediately. If I have to tell you again, that count will double. If I need to call for assistance in preparing you, the count will double yet again. Now, tell me, little one, how many strokes would that require you to take?” Charles was glued in his seat, his heart pounding even as he knew he wouldn’t be able to leave if his life depended upon it. He had never felt this way before. It was if he were standing on the edge of a cliff where the smallest movement would send him hurtling over.
He looked at Lucille to see her standing, her entire body trembling and was shocked to hear her answer, “Six…sixteen, Sir.”
“Correct, Lucille. Your lessons have done you well. What shall it be then? Four or sixteen?” He kept his eyes locked on his ward’s though he was well aware of Charles’ presence. He was testing not only Lucille; he was giving his own test to her professor. He knew exactly the moment his ward had become an object of interest to the man. He had seen his eyes when he had returned a very well-paddled student back into his care. He had seen both Charles and Louisa standing outside the open windows of his study knowing they could easily hear Lucy as she sobbed from her chastisement. He knew Charles was beginning to question his own desires and this test would allow Edward to learn even more about him as a possible suitor for his lovely young ward. He wasn’t surprised at all when, at last, Lucy turned to face the chair that would hold her for her strapping. He watched as she reached under her dress and untied her bloomers. He heard Charles’ gasp as the white silk fell into a puddle at her ankles. The men watched as Lucy gathered up the hem of her dress and petticoats and slowly pulled them up to bare her bottom even as she leaned over to place herself over the padded arm of the chair. She finished baring herself and shuffled her feet slightly apart. Edward waited but she became still. He smiled, kn
owing how extremely hard this was for her, but also knowing she was testing him and his authority, even if she wasn’t aware of that fact.
“Present yourself correctly, Lucille and you haven’t yet answered my question. Shall it be four or sixteen?” Lucy sobbed and buried her face in her hands even as her legs parted a bit more and she raised herself up onto her toes.
“Fo…..four...four please, Sir.”
“Good girl, four it shall be if you can raise your bottom up properly.” Hearing his words, she lifted her bottom high and pushed it out. Edward smiled and knew that Charles was having a very difficult time remaining both still and silent. “Very good, Lucy, you are indeed learning that it is far better to behave than to fight the punishment you earned. Are you ready for your strapping, little one?”
Lucy’s heart was pounding and her stomach was churning. She was so embarrassed, but for some reason, understood being put into this position was her own doing. She took a deep breath and whispered her answer though her heart was pounding, “Yes…yes, Sir. I’m…I’m ready, Sir. May…may I have my strapping, Sir?” Edward’s opinion of her rose even higher. She was doing exceptionally well. He stepped to the side of the chair that allowed him to keep his eyes on Charles as well as Lucy’s upraised bottom. She still bore some bruising from her caning and birching but the skin was no longer red or swollen. He knew it would soon bear four distinct wheals from the strap. He raised his arm and gave her the first stroke on the underside of her bottom. The force of the stroke lifted her up and almost off her feet. She cried out but remained in position. The second stroke landed but an inch above the first and again she wailed and her hand reached back to flutter behind her.
