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The switches were there. She could hardly miss them, soaking in a bucket of cold water which he had positioned beside the circular table in the middle of the room. Katherine eyed them nervously and gulped. The earl himself was seated at the table perusing the map she had glanced at when she explored his chamber the day before. He lifted his gaze to regard her in the doorway.
“You are very prompt, Kat. Do come in.”
She took a few tentative steps forward.
He leaned back, and she wondered if she was mistaken in thinking that he offered her the merest hint of a smile.
“Have you ever been to Italy, Kat?” he enquired.
She shook her head, bemused at the question “I have never been anywhere, not really. London, once…”
“King James wishes me to carry letters from him to Rome. I shall be leaving in a few weeks, first for Holyrood to collect the documents, then on to Italy. I thought you might like to accompany me.”
“Me?” She gaped at him. “You want me to come with you to Rome?”
He inclined his head. “Ye might enjoy the trip. It would widen your horizons. And, given our current problems, I am loath to consider leaving ye here alone.”
She swallowed the pang of disappointment. He was merely being practical. It was not as though he actually desired her company. He just did not trust her to stay out of trouble if she was left behind.
“As you wish, my lord.”
His lips flattened. “Back to that, are we? ’Tis Robbie tae ye, Kat.”
“As you wish, Robbie,” she corrected herself. “I… I would love to come.”
It was true. Katherine loved her home in Northumberland and would come to love Roxburghe, too. But she still harboured a longing to see more of the world, even if it would mean enduring the rigours of a sea voyage.
“Excellent. Rome is a fine city. Quite beautiful. We shall sail tae Calais, then make our way over land from there.”
It was as though he had read her mind. Crossing the English Channel should not be too daunting. “That sounds wonderful.”
“So, now we are in agreement on that, let us deal with today’s matter. Ye may lean over the table an’ raise your skirts.”
“Raise my skirts? But, surely you could—”
“A switch is best applied tae a bare bottom. And, between a man an’ his wife, usually, in private. Though not always.” He paused for a moment as though to let that sink in.
Katherine shuddered at the thought that she might have been enduring this humiliation in the main hall, in full view of the servants, guards, whoever happened to be there.
Robbie rolled up the map, then rose from his chair and crossed the room to close the door which she had left ajar. He rounded the table to stand beside her. “D’ye require my assistance in preparing yourself?”
She shook her head, unable to quite find the words to express herself.
“In that case…” he set the map down on a shelf, then gestured to the now cleared tabletop, “please continue.”
Bereft of any other options, Katherine leaned over the table and rested her upper body on the smooth oak. “Is this as you wish, Robbie?”
“Yes, more or less. Ye may raise the back o’ your skirt tae bare your arse for me, then I suggest ye reach forward an’ grip the other edge.”
This is…awful,” she muttered, at the same time grasping the fabric of her skirts and trying to lift it.
“In that case, we may assume ye will find the experience memorable,” he replied. “With luck, it will not be necessary tae repeat the lesson, at least, not for a while.”
Katherine sincerely hoped that he was right but declined to comment further. It was taking all her resolve to do as he commanded. She managed to raise her voluminous skirts as far as her hips, acutely conscious that her thighs were now exposed and soon her humiliation would be complete. It was of no comfort whatsoever that he had already seen her naked body. This was different.
Very, very different.
“Allow me,” Robbie offered.
