Authors: Maggie Ryan
“Of course you did, Missy.
You and that naughty sister of yours
have been turning this household around for weeks now.
It is high time for this foolery to come
to an end.
Now, what are you
waiting for?
Didn’t his Lordship
give you instructions about what you were to do?”
Louisa blushed again but her voice seemed to
have deserted her, and she simply nodded.
Her eyes were huge as they roamed around the room.
The last time she had been in the room
it had looked nothing like it did now.
Instead of a room holding only a few pieces of furniture, it now looked
exactly like a small child’s nursery.
The walls were a soft yellow with white trim.
White lace curtains covered the small
window, and several additional pieces of furniture had been added.
There was a large rocking chair, an
ottoman, a rather large and high table and, not believing her eyes, a crib was
pushed against one wall.
It was the
largest crib Louisa had ever seen, and her face flamed at the possibilities it
presented.
Mrs. Bremmer watched as
the young woman took in her surroundings. A large armoire stood against one
wall and Louisa’s eyes widened at the sight of it.
Mrs. Bremmer watched the color heighten
on the young woman’s face and knew she must be considering what was concealed
behind the closed doors.
As if unable to think of the hidden contents
another moment, Louisa’s gaze turned to a low bookcase that ran underneath the
window.
Her small mouth opened and
her hand unconsciously reached out to the bookcase.
“When… when did he do this?
Why… how… what… that’s my doll!”
Confusion was obvious in words spoken so quietly that they barely
registered.
Mrs. Bremmer shook her head in disgust, as it
was quite obvious that the naughty little thing had no earthly idea of what her
husband intended, despite her very short period of training when she had first
come to Wintercrest.
“Never you
mind, Missy.
I don’t believe you
have been sent to your nursery to play, Louisa.
What did your Papa tell you to do?”
Louisa wasn’t paying attention to the
woman.
Her eyes continued to roam
about the room.
She saw her
childhood toys lining the shelves.
She saw clothing hanging in the closet.
Her eyes took in a chamber pot sitting
next to the tall table and then she moaned as she recognized a stack of what
appeared to be but couldn’t possibly be nappies.
“Nooo,” she moaned, and unconsciously took
several steps away from the table, her hands reaching back to cup her
bottom.
The housekeeper shook her
head, and stepped to take Louisa’s upper arm again.
Louisa wailed louder, pulling away from
the woman that, in the proper scheme of things, should have been deferring to
the mistress of the house, but was instead pulling that same mistress towards
her, turning her slightly and reaching down to swat Lady Wintercrest’s
bottom.
Louisa was jolted back to
reality when she felt the several sharp slaps against her already tender
bottom.
She raised her face to see
the housekeeper glaring down at her with obvious disapproval.
Louisa rubbed her bottom where it had
just been spanked, her eyes tearing from shame.
She had not considered that anyone other
than her husband would dare to lay such a hand upon the mistress of the
house.
She opened her mouth to
demand an explanation, but wasn’t quick enough.
“Louisa!” Mrs. Bremmer thundered, “Pay
attention.
What were you told to do
when your Papa sent you to your nursery?
If you don’t answer me right this moment, I promise I’ll take you over
my own lap and spank the answer out of you!”
Louisa jumped at the threat, and instinctively
knew it would be carried out without hesitation.
She closed her eyes tightly, and
stammered, “To… to wa…wait for him.”
Mrs. Bremmer sighed and said, “And how are you
to wait, young lady?
Standing here
gaping at your toys, or perhaps standing elsewhere?”
Again Louisa’s face flamed as she answered, “In…
in the cor… corner.”
“Then I suggest you get yourself in your naughty
corner immediately, unless you wish to be found being disobedient yet
again.”
Louisa shook her head and
practically knocked the woman over as she pushed passed her.
She felt so incredibly embarrassed and confused.
Mrs. Bremmer smiled as she watched the
girl launch herself toward the corner and press her nose hard into the
wall.
She watched as Louisa raised
her arms and linked her fingers before placing her hands on the top of her
head.
The girl might not have
immediately done as instructed, but it was obvious she had at least received
the rudimentary training necessary to place herself for punishment.
Mrs. Bremmer heard footsteps approach,
and wasn’t surprised when the door opened and Edward entered.
His eyes immediately found his wife
standing as required and he smiled.
“Thank you Mrs. Bremmer, I see you managed to
get our little one in position,” Edward said, as he nodded to the woman who had
served him so faithfully for so many years.
Both she and Henri not only worked in
his employ, they both agreed that his word was law and thoroughly approved of
his way of life.
“I must confess, it was only after having a swat
applied to her backside, your Lord, as well as the promise of a more thorough
spanking if she didn’t remember her duties.”
Edward heard his wife’s soft gasp from
the corner.
“I’m sorry to hear that, Mrs. Bremmer, and I
certainly appreciate your help.
As
I told Louisa, I must accept part of the blame for the discord of our
household.
Everything shall be
explained and problems remedied quickly.
Until then, know that I shall turn to you when necessary to help with
our little lady.”
Louisa’s face burned and her heart pounded.
She was mortified that her husband stood
discussing her as if she weren’t in the room, and especially with a paid
servant.
Never in her life had she
felt such embarrassment – not even being bent over, receiving a caning
from the headmaster.
She had
intended to complain to her husband about the liberties Mrs. Bremmer had taken,
but hearing his words, wondered if he truly intended to allow the woman to not
only touch, but to spank, his wife.
Suddenly terrified that she already knew the answer, she pushed herself
further into the wall wishing she had the power to step through the plaster and
remove herself from this awful room.
Edward saw his wife tremble and her hands now hanging at her sides,
twisting into the fabric of her skirts.
She had broken position, which he would soon address as well.
Mrs. Bremmer surprised him by immediately
stepping past to the corner, and without a word, slapped her hand down hard on
the twisting fingers of Louisa’s right hand.
Louisa yelped loudly and flapped her
hand, even as Mrs. Bremmer scolded.
“You know better than that, Missy.
Get your hands where they belong, unless
you want me to take a tawse to them?”
Louisa sobbed, but immediately put her hands
back on the top of her head; both Edward and Anna heard her small voice, “I’m
sorry, ummm, Mrs. Bremmer.”
“You may address me as ma’am when you are being
tended to, and I daresay, it appears you will be requiring a great deal of
attention in your training.
Do you
understand me, Louisa?”
Louisa didn’t
understand at all, but did know the woman seemed to have no problem in slapping
at her.
Mrs. Bremmer was speaking
as if she had no doubt or hesitancy in ordering Louisa about and, to Louisa’s
shame, her own husband was not rushing to chastise the woman for her liberties.
Louisa felt her eyes well up, even as
she forced herself to answer, “Yes… yes ma’am.”
“That’s a good girl.
Yes, that’s much better.” Mrs. Bremmer
turned back to face her employer.
“Is there anything else, Sir?
I would be happy to stay and assist you with your young lady.”
Edward knew the woman was sincere.
He also knew that while she would
certainly be called to assist him in the future, today he needed to speak with
his wife about that very future.
He
knew Louisa would feel more receptive if she didn’t have to worry about the
stern older woman listening to the intimate conversation.
“I will take it from here Mrs. Bremmer.
I will definitely need your help this
evening as both the girls will be attending to me in the study after
dinner.
Perhaps you could make sure
that there are two strong and sturdy birches, well-brined, ready for this
evening?”
Mrs. Bremmer gave him a curt nod, and with a
glance towards the corner said, “Certainly my Lord.
I shall cut and bind them myself.
There is plenty of time for them to have
a good soaking before you have need of them.”
Edward nodded, and without another word
she left the nursery, pulling the door closed behind her.
Edward looked around the room and was
pleased with the sight.
His wishes
had been carried out and the nursery was bright, airy and full of pieces of his
wife’s childhood.
He grinned as his
glance again fell on Louisa.
She
was crying softly, and he knew she was aware of what would transpire later that
day.
However, the promised
punishment was still hours away, and he had several things to attend to before
then.
Knowing he had but a
few hours before Lucille returned home, he called to his wife, “Come here
Louisa.”
This time, when she turned from the corner it
was to find her husband standing before her but no longer with his arms
open.
She shuffled forward until
she stood only a foot from him.
Edward nodded and then turned to walk around her.
Louisa stood still as a statue, knowing
her discipline had begun.
Tears
continued to slide down her cheeks but she knew better than to brush them
away.
She tried not to shake as he
paused behind her, and she blushed, knowing where his gaze was falling.
Her bottom clenched under her skirt as
if it knew it was being scrutinized.
Edward continued his circle until he stood before her again.
“You’ve been a very naughty little girl haven’t
you Louisa?”
She gulped but managed to whisper, “Ye… yes, sir.”
Edward nodded and said,
“Remove your clothing.”
Louisa’s face burned at the order.
She desperately wanted to talk to her
husband, to ask questions, to beg him to fire the horrid housekeeper.
Her eyes again roamed the room –
the nursery.
She had so many
questions, and her mind was racing with what all this could possibly mean.
“Please Edward… what… ”
She cried out loudly as his hand
connected with her bottom.
Even
through her clothing, she felt the burn as he landed several swats.
He had one hand on her arm and even as
she began to twist and turn, trying to avoid the horrible hand, he continued to
spank her until her feet were dancing in place.
After he felt he’d gotten her attention, Edward
used his free hand to raise her chin, forcing her tearstained face to his.
“I will not tolerate your disobedience
any longer.
You are mine and you
will do as you are told – immediately when you are told.
Now, remove your clothing!”
Louisa was sobbing as he released both
her chin and her arm.
She continued
to cry as he stood still, watching as she lifted her hands and slowly tugged
the hem of her blouse from the waistband of her heavy uniform skirt.
He could see her fingers tremble as she
worked on the tiny buttons on the cuffs of her blouse.
She unbuttoned her skirt and pushed it
down to the floor and stepped out of it.
He watched as she untied her petticoat and watched as it joined the
skirt on the floor.
He twirled his
finger in the air, indicating that she was to turn around.
She did, and felt his fingers working on
the row of tiny buttons at the back of her blouse.
When the last had been unfastened, he
pushed it open.
She shivered as she
pulled it down her arms and then worked her wrists out of the cuffs.
The blouse joined the other discarded
clothing.
She stood; her arms
aching to wrap themselves around her waist as she shivered dressed in only her
corset, chemise, stockings, boots and bloomers.