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“I seem to recall you were quite the willing pupil in your own time,” Eleanor said.
Charles found that little tidbit quite interesting and was about to question Lucas, when Eleanor suggested, “Tell Edward about your first experience with the cane.”
Charles felt his face flush just a bit at the memory. He had spent every day from breakfast until bedtime at Eleanor’s school. He had been astonished that not only such a school truly did exist, but that Eleanor’s students were all beautiful young women who were being taught how to be obedient and absolutely submissive to their future husbands. He had seen paddlings, strappings, switchings and even a birching during his time there. He considered Eleanor a highly refined woman, but had quickly realized she was absolutely wicked when it came to dishing out discipline. She had one simple rule and enforced it every moment of every day. Naughty little girls were not coddled. Naughty little girls were bent over, divested of their drawers and had their bottoms roasted until there was no doubt of the sincerity of their contrition.
What had amazed Charles the most, though, was that after causing such discomfort to what he’d learned was addressed as alittle one’sderrière, Eleanor was just as quick to offer words of encouragement, as she gently wiped tears off the flushed cheeks of her charges’ sorrowful faces. Charles had witnessed each punished girl wrapping her arms around Eleanor and begging for her forgiveness, making promises to be better behaved. Though the air often rang with the sounds of cries or pleas for mercy not given as naughty bottoms were strictly corrected, the school also echoed with the delightful peals of laughter and giggles. It had all led to his being advised that it was time he demonstrated what he had learned. Clearing his throat, he looked at his audience and told his story.
* * *
“Our little Willamenawas warned earlier this week that if she didn’t improve her attitude, she’d end the week with a sound caning. If you are accepted for the position of headmaster, Charles, administering the cane will be your responsibility. Do you feel properly prepared?” Eleanor asked, as they discussed it in her office. Charles felt his heart beat faster, but realized he was no longer nervous at the thought.
“I shall do my best,” he said, and smiled. “Of course, I would appreciate any instructions you deem necessary, so that the poor child will feel properly chastised.”
“Believe me, Charles, a caning makes a fine impression on a small bottom, regardless of who wields the rod. Give her twelve of your best strokes just as you practiced earlier. I’m sure that by the time you release Willamena, she will have learned a lesson, regardless of your expertise,” Eleanor assured him as she smiled.
Charles nodded and stood when she did. In his youth, the count of a half-dozen strokes was used to correct a young man’s misbehavior. Eleanor, he had learned, did not follow normal standards. Any girl under her authority who earned correction deserved to be completely and very thoroughly disciplined whether it be by a hand or, as this moment demanded, a cane. As she walked to the door to usher her student inside, Charles remembered how it had felt to use the cane against a pillow Eleanor had placed upon a chair for him to use for practice. He looked at a large urn where several canes stood ready for use.
“Willamena, you may come in now,” Charles heard Eleanor say. He turned to watch as a young woman entered the room, her steps slow and hesitant. He was surprised to see that this woman was older than most of Eleanor’s students. He knew most of her girls came to her at just a few months before or after reaching their majority. While most of the girls were betrothed upon their enrollment, Charles was informed that a select few actually chose the school for themselves. He was learning that, for some inexplicable reason, those women simply understood that they wished to live their lives in submission and obedience to dominant men. They trusted Miss Summers to place them in homes where their wishes could be fulfilled by men she had carefully selected.
As for the woman before him, Willamena appeared to be at least five or six years older than her sister students. Eleanor took the young woman’s arm and guided her to stand in front of Charles. The girl would not look up, her eyes remaining glued to the tips of her boots.
“Professor Lloyds,” Eleanor said using his title to evoke his authority over the poor girl. “This is Willamena Johansson. She comes to us already wed for two years. Her husband has enrolled her with us as he attends to business matters out of the country. It seems that Willamena was quick to forget her place without his presence in the past. She was often seen in the most expensive shops as she recklessly spent her papa’s hard-earned money. Isn’t that correct, Willamena?”
“Yes, ma’am,” the girl said softly, as Charles watched her face turn pink and her hands twist together.
“Though I’m sure her papa taught her the error of her ways once he received the bills, Baron Johansson decided the best place for her in his absence is under my care. He left strict instructions as to her discipline. I fear Willamena needs a very sound lesson to remind her that, married or not, accompanied by her husband or on her own, her behavior is always to reflect her station as a proper young lady,” Eleanor explained.
The young woman stiffened slightly. “Please, ma’am… you can’t—” the young woman began but was cut off immediately by Eleanor.
“You’ll discover that I most certainly can, Willamena,” Eleanor said firmly. “Did you not promise your husband you’d behave under our care?” The girl gave a slight nod of her head. “Correct,” Eleanor said. “Do you believe your husband would approve of your behavior, young lady? You have been manipulative and argumentative all week. You have also received several warnings as well as spankings and yet have chosen to remain stubborn and arrogant. What would the baron do if you behaved like this under his roof?” Eleanor asked.
Willamena shuffled her feet, her hands now twisting in the fabric of her skirt, which Charles noticed was of the proper length for married women. If she were not standing in front of him, her eyes lowered and her hands fidgeting in her guilt, he would have assumed she was a guest of Eleanor’s, not a student subject to her authority and discipline.
“I asked you a question,” Eleanor said, and Charles heard the woman give a soft sob before she finally lifted her eyes and met Eleanor’s.
“Please, Miss Summers, I… I’m sorry. I just feel so silly among your students. I mean, I am a baroness!” Willamena said, her voice showing her shock at her situation. Eleanor smiled and reached out to trace her finger down the woman’s cheek where the first tear had finally fallen.
“Ah, little one, you are not the only titled student I’ve had in my school. Many a lady, duchess, and other women of your station have benefitted from being under my roof. Your title does not matter here. It gains you no special treatment nor does it exempt you from necessary punishment. All men expect their little ones to behave, most especially those who have had years of lessons at their husband’s feet. If you choose not to do so, you give me no choice but to follow your papa’s instructions. As a baroness, Willamena, you should set a proper example for your sisters. They look to you for guidance and having a childish tantrum during class is not the sort of lesson they need to learn, is it?” Eleanor said softly.
“No, ma’am,” Willamena admitted, her eyes moving to glance at Charles. Charles saw Eleanor nod at him from where she stood next to the woman.
“Willamena,” Charles said making his voice firm. “I believe Miss Summers asked what your husband would do if he found you to be so naughty. And, though she’s repeated it twice over, you’ve yet to answer her. Do so immediately, if you please,” Charles instructed.
The woman flushed hotly at the command. “He would puni… punish me, sir,” she said very softly.
Charles nodded as if expecting nothing less. “How would he punish you, Willamena? What would he do if he discovered you continuing to do the same naughty things even after you’ve received several warnings?” Charles asked as he removed his jacket and placed it across the back of his chair.
“He… he would sp… spank me, sir,” she confessed, stammering a bit as she continued to watch him, her eyes going wide as he began to roll up the sleeves of his shirt. It was quite clear she understood he was preparing to do exactly that. “No, please… I… I won’t do it again, please don’t do this,” Willamena said, turning back to beg Eleanor for leniency.
“You made the choice to misbehave, Willamena,” Eleanor said firmly as she shook her head. “Naughty girls need to have their bare bottoms punished, don’t they, little one?” Eleanor asked using words that she’d explained to Charles would put either her students or his future ones into the proper attitude for a sound spanking. “Naughty little girls, be they eighteen, twenty-five or even fifty, need to bare their bottoms and submit to discipline to help them learn to be good little girls for their husbands or papas.”
“Please!” the young woman begged again as Charles moved toward the large urn. As he selected the cane he would use, she began to sob harder.
“I… I won’t be naughty again! I promise I will be a good little girl. Please, please, ma’am, please won’t you just paddle me? Please, oh God, please don’t let him cane me!” Willamena begged.
Charles was struck by how quickly the woman had changed. She was no longer the dignified Baroness Johansson, she was simply Willamena, a little girl who had been very naughty and knew she would be punished for her choices. He watched as Eleanor guided her errant pupil to the settee and turned her to face it.
“You’ve already been spanked and paddled to no avail, little one. I’m afraid we both know you’ve earned a good, sound caning, Willamena. Now, little one, remove your drawers and lift your skirts for Professor Lloyds. You need to show us how sorry you truly are by submitting yourself to your punishment. You will feel far better after you’ve paid the price for your naughtiness,” Eleanor said.
