AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Lucy wanted to push away from the table but saw Mrs. Bremmer staring at her and pointing at her full glass of milk. Blushing, Lucy reached for the glass and brought it to her lips, though her hands were shaking. She despised milk and knew that Mrs. Bremmer was aware of that fact. Regardless, she forced herself to take a swallow though she had to close her eyes to choke it down. When she opened them again, it was to see her teacher sitting next to Louisa and accepting a cup of fragrant tea from Mrs. Bremmer. Lucy dropped her eyes to her plate trying to refrain from crying. She continued pushing her food about her plate and heard Louisa asking to be excused.
“Yes, my dear. You may either sew or read in the library. Lucille will be with you shortly, after she finishes her breakfast.” Lucy immediately pushed back her chair and stood almost knocking the chair over in her haste to get away from the table. She had taken the first step toward her sister when Edward stopped her flight.
“Lucille, sit down. You have not been excused and, young lady, you will remain seated until your breakfast has been completed.”
“I’m done, Ed… um, sir. I’m not hungry. May I be excused, please?” Edward shook his head and pointed at her chair.
“You are not finished, Lucille. Sit down immediately, and finish both your orange juice and your milk.”
She felt Professor Lloyds’ eyes on her as she slid back into her chair, unable to hide a wince as her bottom took her weight again. She quickly drained her glass of orange juice and then picked up her glass of milk, discovering the beverage tasted even worse after the acid in the juice. The glass seemed to have gotten larger and contained twice the volume of the smaller glass of orange juice. Looking up to see Mrs. Bremmer standing behind her teacher, Lucy sloshed some milk from the glass in her haste to bring it to her lips. She swallowed again and again, forcing herself to drink the horrid beverage. She saw Professor Thorne watching her with confusion, his cup lifted halfway to his mouth as if unsure what exactly it was that was going on around him. Lucy no longer cared. She simply wanted to get away from the table without a spanking that she feared would be given despite the presence of a virtual stranger.
After the last swallow had slid down her throat, she gasped, “I’ve finished, sir. May I be excused?”
Edward smiled over at her as if he’d enjoyed the entire episode. He nodded and said, “Yes, you may.” As she pushed from the table and moved to slide past him, Edward reached out and caught her arm. She yelped as she skidded to a stop, and then blushed hotly as he lifted his napkin to wipe her mouth. “You have a milk mustache, little one.” She fought back tears of embarrassment and yet forced herself to thank him when he lowered the napkin. “You are welcome. Now, run along and play with your sister until Professor Lloyds is ready for your lessons.”
Chapter 17
Lucy stumbled from the room, losing the battle and by the time she burst into the library, tears were flowing down her cheeks. She found herself immediately enfolded in her sister’s arms and sagged against her, crying harshly.
“Shhh, oh, Lucy, shhh. It will be okay, shhh, honey,” Louisa continued to try to calm her sister and Lucy gradually quieted. As her sobbing stopped, she found her face once again being wiped by a cloth. She tore the kerchief from her sister’s hand and stepped back.
“I can do it myself!”
Louisa looked shocked at the sudden change, but nodded. “Of course you can, Lucy. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
Lucy wiped her face and turned to look back over her shoulder. “Oh, Louisa, what is happening to us? What are we to do?” Louisa didn’t answer immediately, but guided her sister to the settee, where they both settled softly onto it. The girls hugged each other, Lucy grateful for the comfort in being alone for the first time since their joint appointment of the evening before. Lucy had a hundred questions and yet she also knew Louisa could not answer them all, though her sister did the best she could.
“We are going to try to behave, Lucy. We need to be good so that Ed… I mean, sir, won’t have any reason to punish us. I know it is frightening, but if we are good then he will be happy.”
Lucy moved back from her sister’s arms and said, “Happy? Why should I care if he is happy? What about you? What about me? God, Louisa, my bottom feels awful, and I have never been so ashamed. Even being caned by Thorne was better than this. Edward is a monster, and I will not stay here and allow him to birch me ever again!”
Louisa sighed, keeping one eye on the library door, as if afraid they would be interrupted at any moment. “Shhh, listen to me, Lucy. I know you are upset and I-I can’t blame you. But I also can’t allow you to say such dangerous words. Where would you go? I’m all that’s left of our family since Mother and Father died. You are his ward and, without his consent, you will remain here. Isn’t it better to try to be good and—”
“And what? Am I to live in constant fear of your husband? What about that horrible housekeeper? Do you know she threatened to birch Molly if I refused to allow her to bathe me this morning? I know she did it only so that I’d be forced to bare my bottom to a servant. Do you realize how ashamed I was, knowing that my servant, my maid, saw my bottom and actually felt sorry for me at its condition? I thought I would die of shame.”
“But you didn’t die, Lucy. And I know you don’t want to hear this, but you wouldn’t have a welted bottom if we hadn’t hatched that awful plan yesterday. It was dishonest and wrong. We deserved to be punished.
Lucy’s mouth dropped open and she struggled away even as Louisa reached for her hands. “Punished? We weren’t simply punished, Louisa. We were caned and then birched! Father never would have condoned such action. He’d be appalled that your husband punishes you. And I know the truth.”
Louisa’s own mouth dropped open, and she suddenly stood and turned away from her sister. Lucy watched her and saw her shoulder’s shaking. Suddenly she was unsure of her words. “Louisa?” she asked quietly, but her sister refused to turn around. “What’s wrong, Louisa? I only meant I know he spanked you as well. Your bottom and the backs of your thighs were blotchy when he made us bare ourselves for our birching.”
Reaching out, it was Lucy’s turn to wrap her arms around her sister. The two young women cried on each other’s shoulders until they were cried out. Giving a small hesitant laugh, they each wiped their tears on their sleeves and settled themselves on the settee. “I know we need to talk, Lucy. I have so much to tell you, but it will have to wait. Please, just promise me you’ll try to behave. I don’t know about you, but my bottom is so sore I can’t take another spanking for a while, though I know Pa—sir won’t hesitate to give me one if he feels I deserve it.”
Lucy shook her head, thinking it ridiculous to hear her sister so upset she’d almost addressed her husband as she had their father when they were young and still hadn’t used Edward’s Christian name. She opened her mouth but Louisa rushed ahead. “And, so you know, both Father and Mother were aware that he spanked me. Father actually approved, and told him that if he didn’t have the strength to take me in hand and keep me in line, then he would not be pleased with our union.” Lucy did her best to hide the disbelief she felt at that statement, but Louisa just gave her a soft smile.
“Oh, Lucy, surely you remember hearing Mother crying at times? You know Father often spanked her. She was over his lap far more often than either of us.” Lucy shuddered, the carriage accident had caused her mind to be a bit fuzzy at times, but with Louisa’s words, memories of soft cries filled her head, and she realized her sister was correct. She blushed, and felt Louisa draw her into another hug. “I know it is hard to understand, but it is the truth. Their love for each other was so incredibly strong… perhaps made that way because she always knew who was in control, who would both protect her and punish her. You can’t deny they adored one another and were truly happy.”
Lucy squeezed her sister hard and a thought that hadn’t occurred to her presented itself. Pulling back, she asked, “But are you happy, Louisa? Doesn’t he frighten you? You truly aren’t saying that you enjoy his punishments. I saw the condition of your bottom. Isn’t it horrible living like this?”
Louisa blushed, causing Lucy to begin to question everything she’d ever known about her twin. When her sister didn’t seem able to answer, Lucy shook her head in disbelief. “Oh! You-you…”
Louisa saved her further embarrassment by reaching out to squeeze her sister’s hand. “I am very happy, Lucy, and he’s not a monster. I love him and he loves me. I-I can’t explain it all, and I know it won’t make sense to you, especially right now, but please know that I simply can’t imagine life without him.”
Lucy wasn’t sure that she truly believed her twin, but had heard Louisa speak with a surety that gave her pause. Could there be something more about Edward that she simply wasn’t privy to? She was about to speak when Louisa quickly stood and said, “We were just talking, sir.” Lucy started when she realized Edward had entered the room silently.
Edward smiled and nodded. “I see, my dear. I know you have much to discuss, but Lucille has lessons to attend.”
“Yes, sir,” Louisa answered, and stepped further away from her sister. Edward stepped into the library, followed by Professor Lloyds.
