by Rachel Burns
As a rule, Nanny was always right, and she was predicting a disaster.
I was really starting to worry about my behind. My behind would suffer if he spanked me. If he whipped me, then my back would suffer, too.
The doorbell rang, and Daddy jumped up with a smile. He beckoned me to come closer.
I wasn’t as quick as he’d have liked me to be.
The butler had let them in. He was the one who brought us our food on the days we stayed in bed. He’d probably heard my screams, both in pain and in pleasure.
I looked at Daddy’s friend and his little girl. Daddy was shaking his friend’s hand. They were both smiling at each other.
“It’s been a long time, Brian. It’s so great seeing you again. I still have to think about the last time we saw each other. Remember that? You were pretty wasted,” his friend questioned him.
“I remember.” He wanted his friend to stop talking like that. “Amelia, this is a good friend of mine. Travis, this is my little Amelia.”
I held my hand out to him. “How do you do, sir?” Nanny had whispered in my ear to call him that before they’d come.
“I’m fine, thank you, Amelia.” His eyes danced with delight. “Your little girl has very good manners. Did you hear that, Brat? Come here and say hello like a good girl. Pretend if you have to.”
She moved to his side, but she didn’t say hello. She just folded her arms over her chest and huffed.
Her daddy sighed and shrugged.
Nanny was standing behind me so I couldn’t see her face, but I’d have loved to. I’d bet her paddle hand was twitching.
Daddy took her behavior in stride, like he hadn’t noticed it. If he hadn’t said anything last night, then I’d have believed that he didn’t care.
He sure would care if I’d done that.
“Let’s go outside where the servants have set up for us. Amelia, show Cindy the way.”
“Yes, Daddy.”
The two men went on ahead, and I stepped closer to Cindy. She was still pouting. I wasn’t sure if she was just mad at her daddy or if she just didn’t want to be here.
She looked me up and down and then huffed again. “Daddy, how long did you want to stay here today? I’m bored.” She ran after her daddy.
I hadn’t done anything to her, but already she hated me.
There must be something wrong with me, some kind of nerd vibe that I was giving off.
Nanny laid an arm around me and pulled me out to the others.
I was so disappointed. Cindy wouldn’t be my friend.
We caught up quickly. Nanny held me tight, feeling my pain. I wanted to pretend that I was sick so I could go to bed but Daddy, being a doctor, would quickly see through that farce.
That would probably get me spanked the fastest.
I could see Cindy pumping on her Daddy’s arm. She wanted to go home now. She was begging him in a very annoying way.
“You have to remain gracious. The worst thing you could do, would be to stoop to her level. Your Daddy won’t put up with something like that. That man is a fool letting her get away with that. That, my dear, Amelia, is why we discipline you. To get that way she must have been neglected for years. Do you understand the importance of a sound spanking now?” Nanny asked me.
I nodded.
“That girl is just embarrassing herself, and she doesn’t even know it,” Nanny said in disgust.
They all sat down at the table. Cindy sat on her daddy’s lap.
Daddy jumped up as I approached and pulled a chair out for me.
“Thank you, Daddy.” I gave him a bright smile.
Nanny hovered nearby on a bench. She got her sewing out and pretended to be completely enthralled with it.
I knew better.
“Your little girl is a little lady. Did you see that, Brat? You could learn a lot from her.” He smiled lovingly at his brat who looked liked she was going to rip a button off of his shirt.
“So Brian, what are you doing for your birthday this year. Are you going to have a party here and show off your cute little wife?”
“No, not this year. Amelia and I are going to be on our honeymoon.” He smiled at me and reached out for my hand. I smiled back.
“I want a honeymoon, too.” Cindy was acting like a terrible two-year-old.
Travis hushed her. “Where are you two going?”
“Europe. I’ve got a bit of business that needs to be seen to.”
“She’s going to let you work on your honeymoon? That’s very generous of her. My little brat would throw a fit, wouldn’t you?” he asked her.
I’d have been offended if Daddy talked to me like that.
She was giving me the impression that she was somehow slow. That would be especially low of him.
Doing this to a normal woman was cruel, but to do it to a handicapped one was despicable.
“Cindy, would you like me to show you the garden?” I asked her as nicely and as clearly as I could.
I could feel Nanny’s eyes on my back.
Cindy gave me another once over. “I’d rather stay on my Daddy’s lap, but you can run off and play if you want.” Her tone was so condescending.
Okay, she wasn’t mentally handicapped, she just hated me.
Our daddies talked about this and that. I could tell Daddy wanted to get rid of us.
I’d tried. I just didn’t know what to do. Cindy wasn’t interested in getting to know another little girl.
Daddy motioned Nanny over after a bit. “Take the girls inside. Too much sun isn’t good for Amelia. She can show Cindy her room.”
“I don’t want to go in. I want to stay here with you,” Cindy pleaded, actually making a turkey lip.
Nanny was right she was embarrassing herself.
I rose from the table. My Daddy had been clear enough. I waited as she begged to get out of it.
“Now, no back talk. Off you go.” Her daddy set her on her feet and gave her a mild swat on the behind.
“Hey,” she said, hitting him back on his shoulder.
Nanny stepped forward and grabbed both of us by our hands. “Come along, girls.” She pulled us along.
I could hear Cindy’s daddy laughing at us. “Maybe a nanny would be a good idea. Yours is perfectly behaved.”
I couldn’t hear the rest, because we were in the house by then. Nanny let go of my hand, but not of Cindy’s. I was afraid that she’d pull her into my bathroom and give her a sound spanking, but according to Nanny it wouldn’t work anyway, because I was pretty sure that Nanny didn’t love Cindy.
Nanny claimed that a spanking could only be truly effective if there was love there.
I followed them up to Nanny’s room. Cindy was complaining away. Nanny opened the door to my bedroom. She let go of Cindy then.
“How dare you? Who do you think you are?” Cindy was all the sudden capable of adult sounding sentences.
“I could ask you the same thing. You’ve been nothing but rude since you entered the door.” Nanny wasn’t about to start taking back talk not even from a guest.
“My man likes me the way I am.” Cindy stood up straighter. She was a lot taller than Nanny was. Nanny and I were about the same height, but I didn’t have Nanny’s bulk.
“Is that what you think? He’s complemented Amelia’s behavior every time she’s opened her mouth to say something. Amelia’s daddy hasn’t spoken to you at all. He’s obviously practicing the motto: if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”
Cindy looked offended. “I don’t have to put up with this.” She wanted to storm passed Nanny and go back to her daddy, but Nanny blocked the way.
“Amelia, show her your room. Your daddies will be asking.” Nanny gave me a meaningful look.
I nodded. My Daddy had said I had to do something, so I had to do it.
I opened the door to my bathroom. “This is my bathroom,” I said very timidly.
Cindy folded her arms over her chest. Her body language said, let’s get thi
s over with.
“My closet,” I said as I walked through it.
This had her attention, but she moved on not wanting to admit it.
“My bedroom.” I stepped to the side.
“Why it’s tiny. What was supposed to be so great about this that he had you show me this?” Cindy was mean and spiteful.
I was kind of proud of my room. It was so much bigger than what I’d had at my father’s. There I’d just had a small room in the basement with no heat.
“What kind of music do you have?” She was looking on my bookshelves.
“I’m not allowed to listen to music,” I admitted.
“But you’re allowed to read I take it. What is the point?” She turned on me and stared me down.
“The point of what?” I asked.
“The point of pretending to be a little girl if you don’t get what you want?”
My mouth fell open, and I looked at Nanny.
“That’s what I thought. I’m putting ideas in her head, Nanny, aren’t I? What’s behind that door?”
“That’s the door to Daddy’s bedroom.”
She tried to open it, but it was locked at the moment. “It’s locked.” She thought for a second before the light bulb went on in her head.
“You can’t get out of here, can you? He’s blocking the way here, and she’s blocking you in on the other side. You’re locked in here. No wonder you’re so well behaved. Today is probably a big day for you. You got to go outside and everything. I’m right, aren’t I? He wanted you out of the sun because you aren’t used to it. So sad.” She clucked her tongue at me.
I looked at Nanny who looked like she was getting a major headache.
“What’s this?” She pointed to my study corner.
“This is where I study with Nanny.”
“How old are you?” Her words cut like a knife.
“I’m eighteen and you?”
“I’m twenty-three.” She said that like she was a lot better than me, because of her advanced years. “So you sit in here at your desk and learn about – ” She fished around on my shelves and pulled out a game about the parts of speech and their places in a sentence. “This crap,” she laughed.
Our daddies came in, joining us.
Cindy went right back to her daddy. “Her nanny scolded me.”
“I can imagine that.” He set her aside and walked up to Nanny. “Nanny Prim, is it?”
Nanny nodded with her head held high.
“If Cindy were in your charge, how would you handle this situation?”
“First, I wouldn’t let it get this far. I’d have given her a sound spanking in the hallway the first time she insulted Amelia.” Nanny looked at him waiting for his next question.
He smiled, and his eyebrow went up. He’d taken the news of her insulting me as if he’d expected no less. “What would a sound spanking look like? You know, when professionally done?”
Cindy tried to twist away from him. She didn’t seem to like the direction of this conversation.
“Every nanny has her own technic.” Nanny turned and left the room.
“Do you believe that Cindy could profit from an experienced nanny?” he called out behind her.
“Yes, I do.” Nanny came back.
“Travis, stop it. This isn’t funny anymore. Let me go.” Her daddy was holding on to her tight.
“No, not quite yet. I have some more questions.”
Cindy tried to get her arm free from his hold. “You want to ask them questions? They’re keeping her here against her will. She’s all locked in.”
I hung my head. I could feel Daddy’s eyes on me. I hoped he didn’t think that I’d told her anything.
“We were at the door listening to you babble on. Amelia was too polite to stop you, but I’m not. Amelia,” he called to me.
I looked up to see what he wanted. “You have lessons with your Nanny every day, don’t you?”
I nodded not sure if I was capable of speech at the moment. I figured that I was in trouble. I hadn’t done anything, but with the way she acted someone had to be punished. I was the obvious choice.
Cindy’s daddy pulled her over to my desk. “Sit down Brat. Amelia.” He motioned for me to come forward.
I looked at my Daddy who nodded but came to stand next to me.
“Amelia dear, I have a small problem. Cindy seems to think that she’s smarter than you are,” he explained to me.
Nanny snorted.
“I’d like to show her that a little eighteen-year-old married girl could put her to shame. Will you please sit down next to her? I’m a trained college professor. Shall we start at college level?” he asked.
“I just got out of high school, not two months ago.” I tried to explain to him.
“Oh yes, let’s play school. Amelia, come sit next to me?” Cindy piped right up. She even patted the seat next to her.
My Daddy gave me a little shove.
I sat down next to Cindy. She was playing the game again. She sat up really straight and smiled at him.
“Let’s begin, shall we?” He was smiling, but he looked mad under his smile. Cindy didn’t seem to notice it. “Shall we start with History, ladies?”
I nodded again, and Cindy winked at him. She had no idea that he was mad. I had to wonder how long they’d been together.
“Which U.S. Navy base was bombed, thus starting World War II?”
I looked over at Cindy who didn’t know the answer. She was biting her lip and thinking.
I raised my hand.
Should I stand up when I answered? Nanny didn’t make me do it, but they did at school, and he was a college professor.
“Yes, Amelia.”
I stood. “Pearl Harbor, sir.”
“Very good, sit down, please. 44 + 67 -3 is what?”
My hand shot up again.
“Yes, Amelia.”
I stood up again. “One hundred and eight, sir.”
“Good, Amelia. Feel free to jump in at any time Brat. 66 + 4 x 8 – 7 is.”
I raised my hand again.
He smiled and nodded at me. I could tell Daddy was still doing the math in his head.
I stood next to the desk and answered. “Ninety-one, sir.” I sat back down.
Daddy looked confused, but it was Cindy who spoke up. “That wasn’t right.”
“What’s your answer, we’ll wait for it.”
She thought for a bit, and we all waited. Daddy was still chewing on that one too. “Five hundred and fifty-three.” Cindy looked proud of herself. I could tell that’s what Daddy had come up with too.
“Cindy, stand up please.” He was smiling at her like he was proud of her. “Cindy, do you think that we should punish for a wrong answer. I don’t know, maybe, with the yardstick, a tap on the hand.” He picked it up as he spoke.
The beast smiled over at me. “Yes, I’m okay with that.”
I saw Nanny smiling; she was standing in my closet watching the game that was being played in here.
I looked at Daddy. He wasn’t so sure, but Cindy’s daddy spoke before he could. “Amelia, please stand and explain to Cindy why she’s wrong.” He didn’t take his eyes off of her as he spoke.
I stood. “As a rule, mathematical equations are always solved by doing the times and division equations first and then the plus and minus unless – ”
“Thank you, Amelia. You can sit down now.” He stared at Cindy. “Hold out your hand.”
“No,” she pouted and crossed her arms over her chest again.
“You’d have expected Amelia to do it. You said you were okay with punishing for a wrong answer. I don’t understand what the problem is now.”
“I changed my mind.” She avoided his eye. I looked up at Daddy. I didn’t really want to see him hit her.
Daddy was redoing his math. I could see the moment when he came up with ninety-one.
“Nanny Prim, how should I proceed when she refuses to listen? Even after promising.” He was scaring me the way he was st
aring her down.
“Grab her by her ear and pull.” Nanny gave him a look that said 'I’m waiting.'
My own hand flew to my ear wear she’d grabbed me a couple of times in the past.
Cindy’s daddy quickly got the idea. He had her on her feet in seconds. “Hold your hand out!”
She tried to shake her head no, but she hurt herself all the more.
“I can hold this position for a long time, can you?”
“Daddy, please, I’ll be good and stop bugging you so you can talk to your friend.”
“And?” he prompted.
“I’ll be nice to Amelia.”
He tugged on her ear.
“And apologize to her and her nanny as well as her daddy.”
“Good, now that everything is settled hold out your hand.”
She reluctantly did.
He raised the yardstick and brought down, but she’d pulled her hand away in the meantime.
Nanny grabbed her from behind and held her arm in place.
He brought the stick down again, but this time she’d rolled her hand up. She whined from the pain, and she was already crying.
I went to Daddy and hid my head in his chest.
“We’ll continue until you can learn to leave your hand open,” Nanny said.
I recognized her tone. I was very glad that she wasn’t using it on me.
“Please stop, both of you. Why are you being so cruel to me?” Cindy begged of them.
“You’ve been cruel since you stepped into this house.” Nanny wasn’t in the mood to forgive and forget. She never was without punishment.
I heard them try a couple more times before she was finally brave enough to leave her hand open. She was bawling by then.
Her daddy took her in his arms and praised her.
She apologized to him over and over again.
I stayed in my Daddy’s arms. He held me tightly. I hated this sick side of him that let things like that happen. I was really too young for things like this. I sobbed and held on to him tight.
I could still hear Cindy crying behind me.
Daddy pushed me away from him and held me at arms length. “There is a net built up outside. Do you want to play badminton with Cindy?”
I looked at him confused. Cindy was in no condition to play any game where she’d have to hold a racket in her right hand. Plus she was still crying. “Yes, Daddy, I’ll take her out to play.”
