bed, raising her nightgown around her waist, and then waiting until I selected an appropriate implement; on this occasion, my leather carpet slipper. To the accompaniment of much crying and protesting, I administered thirty strokes of medium force, which rendered my dear wife's bottom a charming shade of flushed and regal pink, and her nature far more biddable, both in public and in our private dealings.
Alice glanced at the photo of Mrs. Grayson. There was nothing unhappy or penitent about her, nothing to suggest she resented her husband's stern treatment. In fact the very reverse was true. Mrs. Grayson looked a picture of contented fulfillment, and even allowing for the age of the photograph it was clear that her eyes were sparkling and merry.
She loves it, the sexy minx.
Alice turned the pages eagerly, and in the space of a few minutes she'd been drawn into the world of Mr. and Mrs. Grayson, and she longed to share it. Nostalgia overwhelmed her, a yearning for a time and a place and a society she had never experienced, but which she knew that she -- and Julian -- would relish.
She paused at the page for Miss Sutherland, my son's governess and read another long and detailed entry.
Today, I considered Miss Sutherland to be very lax in her guidance of Geoffrey. He came in from the garden covered in mud, and later I found several of my prize petunia bushes to be somewhat battered, due to the playing of a boisterous game of cricket in their vicinity. The punishment of Geoffrey is in the hands of his governess, but it falls to me to remind that young lady of her responsibilities. To that effect, she reported to me in my office at five o'clock, and there I bade her bend over the back of a hard chair while I lifted her skirt and petticoat, and then slid down her drawers to her ankles. [I always feel a punishment to be most efficacious on a woman's naked posterior] She pleaded with me for clemency, and complained about the lack of dignity afforded her, but these remarks soon ceased as I laid about her exposed part with my belt. After a good twenty strokes, and many tears, Miss Sutherland proclaimed herself well reminded of her duties, and I feel she is right in this. For the next day or so at least, a sore and heated bottom should serve as an excellent 'aide memoire' both for her and for me. I shall have cause to reflect upon its condition from time to time with much satisfaction.
How many more women had fallen under Mr. Grayson's regime of dire chastisement? Alice flicked through the pages with scant respect for the ledger's great age. She wasn't in the least surprised to find several miscreants listed.
Mrs. Potter, the cook, spanked with her own wooden spoon for over-salting the soup, but noted as a fine woman , and a true stoic, no tears .
Not so Maisie, the parlor maid, who was reported as bellowing like a heifer when corrected with the back of a wooden clothes brush before an audience in the servants' hall. It really serves little practical purpose to punish Maisie, as this is the fourth dish she has broken inside a fortnight. She should be dismissed, because she will never be a good or efficient servant, but her large, white rear makes such a satisfying target and the way she wriggles is most delightful.
Alice smirked broadly, she couldn't help herself.
You only spanked them because you liked it, you dirty old goat.
Thumbing through the book, she devoured the outrageous entries. It wasn't until she heard a church clock chime that she realized how long she'd spent in the Grayson household. Time had flown by. With a pang of guilt for the total price she had to hand over to the stall-holder, Alice gathered her purchases into a large carrier bag, and moved on.
Even if there had been more time to explore, the rest of the market seemed to have lost its charm now. There was no allure in old vinyl records, home made jam, and baskets of potpourri, no excitement in embroidery or second hand books. All she could think about