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Wait what? I didn’t know what kind of reaction I was expecting out of Gray, but it certainly hadn’t been that. Suddenly being the center of attention was no longer what I wanted.
“But—”
“Now, Ms. Carrington. You already had one demerit for being late, and speaking out of turn when you know the rules is the second. I refuse to allow a third. Stand up and bend over my desk to receive your penalty so we can get back to class without your interruptions and outbursts.”
As he spoke, he walked over to a large armoire and swung the doors wide open. My breath caught in my throat when I saw what was inside. An array of implements hung from hooks with a few full shelves that were hard to see from my vantage point. He pulled out a paddle and swiped it through the air a couple of times before pointing it at me, and then at the desk in the front of the room.
“If you continue to dawdle, I’m happy to change my count from the customary ten to twenty. You are wasting mine and everyone else’s time.”
My cheeks were burning with shame. He meant to spank me in front of the entire class to teach me a lesson. This wasn’t what I wanted at all, and I was sure it had to be against the rules. I didn’t remember anything about public spankings, and even though I had witnessed one with my own eyes, I had figured it was planned by the participants in some way. I didn’t think it could happen to me.
Panic consumed me at the idea of bending over and taking a spanking in front of all of these people. So, I did the only thing I could think to do; I bolted. Leaving my belongings behind, I raced out of the room and straight to Master Derek’s office.
I didn’t stop until I got to his door, and then I collapsed, my knees hitting the floor hard. My cardio was not very impressive, it seemed, and embarrassingly enough, my panic turned into tears as I struggled to catch my breath. Erika ran over and dropped down next to me.
“Oh my goodness? Are you okay?” She was close to me but didn’t touch me.
I alternated between nodding and shaking my head until I gave up and covered my face with my hands.
I could not just break down and cry in front of all these people. I needed to get it together.
“How about I help you into the office and get you a drink?”
I nodded and allowed her to help me up, but as soon as I was confident I could stand on my own two feet, I put a little bit of distance between us. I didn’t need to hang all over anyone; I could handle myself. I remembered the indignation that sent me sprinting from Gray’s classroom and took a deep, fortifying breath.
Erika brought me a bottle of water just as Derek entered the office.
“Miss Carrington? Is everything all right, darlin’?”
His tone was deep and comforting, but I squirmed when I thought about what I was about to tell him. In order to rat on Gray, I had to disclose my own behavior, and I really didn’t want to do that. Especially when I had been acting up purposefully to get his attention, like I had back in New York.
“I came to report one of your teachers for being inappropriate.” I faked a confidence and poise I was not feeling at all.
“Oh my, that sounds serious. Let’s sit down and discuss this, shall we?” He gestured to the large chairs in front of his desk.
I marched ahead but did not sit. I wanted to make sure he knew I meant business, so I stood with my arms crossed in front of me. Unperturbed by my choice, Derek took a seat and relaxed against the backrest.
“Okay, darlin’, you have my full attention. Tell me what’s going on.”
“What’s going on is…” I took a deep breath as I gathered my thoughts, and something hit me. There was a cabinet in the classroom full of implements. It wasn’t in a hidden closet or office; it was right there for everyone to see. And when I really thought about it, no one other than me actually looked surprised at Gray’s edict. I looked around, searching for something, anything to grasp onto to give me hope, but the only thing I saw was the exact same armoire, and I knew no matter what I said in that moment, no matter how I spun it in my favor, I was going to lose. Did that stop me, though? It should have, but it didn’t.
“Mr. Gray Remington threatened me.”
“He did, did he? How so?” The twitch of Derek’s lips was a telltale sign that he was trying not to smile.
“All I did was make a simple comment in his class and he threatened to beat me.”
“Did he use that term? Because we do not beat our students, but we will not hesitate to give a well-deserved spanking for naughty behavior, and you know that. It was in the contract you signed, and I know full well that Jacob informed you of the way things run around here.”
His speech was calm and even, but there was no disguising the fact that I was being scolded. Or maybe it just felt like that because of the guilt sitting so heavily in my gut.
“He may not have said those exact words, but he shouldn’t be allowed to treat people like that. He can’t just order me over a desk and spank me in front of all of those strangers.”
“Those strangers are your new classmates, and Mr. Remington has every right to correct your behavior in front of the whole class if that is where you chose to misbehave. This is not New York, Miss Carrington.”
Gasping, I took a step back. “You know about New York?”
“I do. Gray told me everything in confidence when he got here.”
