He was surprised at how demure she sounded. “I insist, and you showed me today that you do need it.”
“But it will make me hate you,” she tried to reason with him.
“It will make you respect me.”
“No, it won't. You don't understand. Hitting someone because you can, doesn't make them respect you. It breeds hate. I realize that you are bigger than me, and stronger, too, but that would be abusing the trust I put in you to take care of me and protect me.” Tears fell from her eyes as she spoke.
He didn't feel as mad anymore. He wanted to get this over with. “Emily, I won't punish you for all the things that you did this afternoon, if you come to me now.” He held out his hand to her again.
“You want me to hate you?” she asked confused but she had explained it so well, she thought.
“Of course not. I want you to know that you can depend on me in every way. I will protect you from everything and in this case even from yourself.” He tried to reach for her, but as he stepped forward she pushed the chair at him. She was clever, he had to admit that.
Nathaniel tried to go around the chair, but she was always faster than him. He grabbed the chair and ripped it away from her. He pushed it behind himself and turned it around, while she tried to open the locked door.
Nathaniel sat down on the chair and took a deep breath. He reached out and grabbed her over his lap.
She kicked and hit at him. He pinned one arm in between them and the other he held tightly behind her back. She drove her fingernails into his skin. He held her hand so she couldn't anymore. Her legs were still kicking but she wasn't hurting him with them.
Nathaniel took another deep breath. He couldn't believe all the time it took to get this far. He hoped that it would never be this difficult again. Hopefully she had learned that it was futile to fight him.
“Every Wednesday, all the women in this house get spanked. We do it to remind them of their place and to help them.”
“Help them?” She fussed on his lap trying to get away from him.
“Yes, to help them,” he sassed back at her. “At first my brothers only did it as a punishment, but then after a bit the same problems returned. Katie and Bessie would argue with each other and bicker. They would start out doing little things that bothered everyone until it escalated. After their punishments they were the sweetest girls again, but it was a constant circle.
“This is how my brothers solved that problem. Now they are nothing but a pleasure to be around all the time. If they break one of the rules they still get punished and much more severely than the light Wednesday spankings. This will work for you too. You are supposed to hate it so much that you always behave yourself.” That said he pulled her dress up and laid it over her back.
She started in kicking again. He opened the drawstring on her knickers. She went perfectly still. He was really going to hit her, But she hadn't done anything. He bared her bottom and she could feel the cool air from the room pressing on her backside.
“No, please no. Don't, please, don't.” She tried to look back at him but she couldn't, because he held her head down low.
He stared at her bottom. It was so cute and nicely rounded. It was a little bigger than he had thought it would be. The white creamy cheeks were a little fleshy. She must have sat a lot in her old life. A bit of fat had settled there, proving that she had had an easy life before she came here. She had probably sat around all day sewing and the such. Did she decide to marry him as an adventure?
Well, this was her new life. She would have to adjust to things here.
Nathaniel felt a stirring in him as he looked at her bottom. He was letting his mind drift. Nathaniel brought his attention back to here and now. He thought about the game she played downstairs, running around the table. He started smacking her bottom as he remembered how she had smiled when tricked into running to the door.
The first spank had knocked the air out of her. Tears were dripping from her eyes and onto the floor. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of hearing her cry out, but her body had a mind of its own and it was tensing and jumping around, trying to avoid his hand. She couldn't take much more of this.
Then he thought about her jumping over the chair and once again grinning at him. Then he thought about the water she threw at him and he spanked her even harder.
Her bottom was already red, but he was using it as a target now. He hoped his sister-in-laws could hear the thrashing that she was getting. He was the one making a fool out of her now.
Nathaniel would have to change his clothes before he went out to his brothers again. They would notice and ask. He didn't need them poking fun at him, but he would have to take it because of her. He spanked even harder as he thought about that. His sister-in-laws would probably tell their husbands everything that they had heard today. He would look like a laughingstock.
Emily was twisting and trying to turn away from him. He pushed her back down even further. Her bottom came up as he did that. He decided to smack a little lower then. That got a reaction out of her right away. Her legs started in kicking again.
His brothers had told him to continue until there was no more fight in her, but he had already spanked her so long. He was a little unsure.
Then it happened. All at once she was laying limp over his knees. She hadn't made a sound, other then several gasps.
He gave her a few more swats and then turned her to him.
Her face looked terrible, streaked with tears and all red. It broke his heart to see her this way. Everything had been forgotten as he pulled her close to him, and embraced her. He kissed her head,telling her how much he loved her.
She sobbed on his chest with her hands covering her face. He had broken her will. He wanted to do this to her every week. She sobbed as quietly as she could. He carried her to the bed and pulled back the covers before he laid her down in bed. Gently he removed her shoes.
She still refused to look at him. She had her hands folded together and her head buried in her wrists.
He took off his boots and then his wet clothes. He cuddled up close to her in bed and pet her hair. “You took it very bravely. Next week let's forget the games and just get it over with?” He hoped she would agree, or nod, or something.
Nathaniel was really worried that she did hate him. He didn't want that, he just wanted to be happy with her.
She didn't answer him. He had gotten what he wanted anyway. It didn't make sense for her to try to fight him, but she wasn't in the mood to guess what her temperament would be next week.
“Emily, I love you so much and I don't want you to hate me, but I need you to follow the rules. I want you to know that I will enforce them.” He pulled her tight to him.
Why was he being such a monster to her? He even said it himself, she hadn't done anything. This had been so unnecessary. She cried as he spoke to her. She felt like she had been punished for something she didn't even do.
“If I ever need to really punish you then I won't tolerate any games. I will tell you to come up here and if you fight me, for whatever reason, you will pay for it dearly. This is how your new life is now. I was clear what I expect from you. If you ever cause problems like that again I will use my belt on you, like my brothers do with their wives. Have I made myself clear?”
She was so shocked. “But they are so much stronger. Why would they need a weapon, too?”
He tried not to laugh. She was really so precious. “That's their business. I decided my hand should be enough for the Wednesday spankings but if you push me I will have to use the belt and if I have to use it once I will use it every time. Have I made myself clear now?”
She nodded, and a new wave of tears rocked her.
“No games next week?” he asked.
She nodded again.
“I'm glad to hear that. I have some things to do. You are to stay in bed and take a nap now. You can wake up when you're ready.” He got out of bed and put on some fresh clothes and left.
Emily couldn'
t really believe that that had just happened. She didn't understand what the purpose was. She had never been anything but nice to him, and she had been so brave coming here. Braver than what she truly was.
She had forced herself to stand up to her beloved aunt and uncle. She had insisted on marrying him, and only him. Emily had been so totally obsessed with getting away from Victor, that she never considered that he could be the same way. She should have turned around and left as soon as she saw him. A good looking man could always find a wife, unless there was something wrong with him.
She had jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire. Nathaniel had hit her so relentlessly. He didn't care for her. He was probably even disappointed that she had come, and not someone else.
Her husband didn't cherish her. She needed protection from him. She had done everything wrong.
Her aunt and uncle had warned her and she didn't listen. She had been such an idiot. She sobbed into her arms. Her face still hidden.
“Emily? Look at me please. Katie, she's burning up. What should I do?”
Emily felt a hand on her face. “Emily, we want to wash your face. Please sit up and come with us.” Katie tried to pull her hands away from her face but Emily held fast. “Emily, you are scaring us. Please, Emily.”
Bessie grabbed her around her shoulder and pushed her up to sitting. Still Emily left her arms over her face. Her wrists were firming planted into her eye sockets. Her heart was broken. She had trusted him not to hurt her and he had. “Get a cloth. We will wash her face here. She is cooking. She is really sick.” Bessie was laying her back down when Emily jumped out of the bed and was sick in the chamber pot.
“Katie what should we do? The men will be back soon.”
“The only thing we can do. We'll pack her back into bed. She's sick. That's all there is to it.” Katie held a wet cloth to Emily's forehead. She carefully undressed her and dug a nightgown out of her trunk. They changed her and laid her back in bed.
Bessie was already very worried. “I'm so sorry you are sick, Emily. Don't worry we will take care of you.” Bessie sat down on the chair next to her friend and watched her while Katie got dressed. Bessie only left when she heard the men coming home on their horses. Emily had just fallen asleep. Bessie changed and checked on her friend before she, too, went downstairs. Emily was still asleep.
Bessie saw that the table had been set for five. She wondered how they were going to explain this to Nathaniel.
The men all came in and looked at the table. Edward and Charles sat down and looked at their plates. Nathaniel looked up the stairs and then at the women. Bessie turned away so he wouldn't meet her eye.
Katie met his eye. “Emily is sick. She won't be joining us this evening.” She laid her hands on her hips.
Nathaniel took a big breath again. What game was she playing at now? Maybe she needed another talking to like this afternoon. He wouldn't put up with her pouting like this.
“What is wrong with her? Should I take a look at her?” Charles asked.
Katie turned to him. “She has a high fever and she was sick, which surprises me because she never eats anything. She finally fell asleep about a half hour ago.”
Nathaniel ran up the stairs. She was sleeping in their bed. He quietly stepped forward and laid his hand on her forehead. She was burning up.
She was really sick.
He undressed and laid down next to her. He slid his arm under her and pulled her close. She was so warm. What had he done to her? She was fine this morning. This could only be his fault. She had been nothing but good and nice since she arrived.
He had been worrying about this all morning. First he decided not to. Then he thought it was only fair to the women that they all be spanked weekly. What worked for his brothers wasn't working for them.
Emily didn't wake up, not even as he moved her. She didn't know that he was holding her. She was really sick. Nathaniel was very worried. His Emily was a fine delicate lady.
Katie was right, she never really ate anything. She was probably even weak because of that. But she hadn't appeared at all weak while he was trying to get her up here and then over his knee. He didn't want her to be sick once a week like she was now.
There was a knock on the door. Nathaniel gently laid his wife down and went to the door. His brother Charles was standing there. “Is she really sick?” He gave Nathaniel a look that said he didn't think that she was.
Nathaniel stepped aside and let his brother in. “She's really sick.”
Charles went right to work. He had been a doctor back home but he and Edward had wanted a simpler life life after the war. They had moved out here for a bit of peace. Nathaniel had gone with them. He didn't want to be alone. He was the type of person, who needed others around him.
Charles laid a hand on her head. “She's burning up. Why didn't you call for me?” He listened to her heart. “Her heart is fine even a little slow. I want to listen to her stomach. Could you free it up for me?” He stood and turned away. Nathaniel quickly lifted her pajamas up and pulled the blanket up so just her stomach was visible. Nathaniel stepped aside so Charles could help her. Charles listened to her stomach. “This is where the problem is. We need to wake her up.”
“But the women said she didn't sleep all day,” Nathaniel protested.
“She needs water and something to eat.”
Nathaniel picked up the wet cloth and rubbed her forehead with it. “Emily, Emily, time to wake up.”
She was slowly coming around. She gave a shocked gasp when she saw him. “Please, don't hurt me. Please don't.”
“I won't hurt you. I just want to make you feel better.”
“I don't believe you. You lied about everything.” She feebly tried to get away from him.
“No. I didn't. Emily you can't say things like that.” Here she was so sick she couldn't even sit up without help, but her mouth could shoot off.
“You promised to cherish me and protect me and then you said if I followed the rules we would get along. You even said that I didn't do anything wrong.” She broke into heart wrenching sobs.
Charles left so they could be alone. He had a feeling that punishment spankings would have been enough for her. She was so upset.
Bessie brought up water and a plate of food.
Emily had been sick again and Nathaniel was at his wits end. She just wouldn't stop crying and when she spoke it didn't make much sense. She spoke a lot about frying pans and fire when she was half asleep and half awake. He held her and didn't let go of her. Once she said very clearly while she slept, 'if this is week one, what happens in week two?'
That was when he realized that she was worried out of her mind. She had worried herself sick. He thought that that was kind of sweet of her. He loved her so much.
Nathaniel kissed her and told her that. He told her he wouldn't spank her weekly anymore. He told her that he did, indeed, cherish her, and that he didn't want her to be afraid of him. She trembled and sobbed on his chest.
He fed her and gave her water. Her fever broke in the middle of the night still he held her in his arms. He felt so guilty. He was all she had and he had lost her trust.
Nathaniel felt it, she was awake. Her breathing had become deeper. She didn't want him to know that she was awake. He could tell that. What would she say when she finally said something. Today had been so confusing. Usually he did what his brothers did and he had rode well by following that path. They had been good examples for him in his life.
But Emily was his wife and he had to make the decisions for the two of them. Maybe she didn't need a maintenance spanking, like the other two did? He couldn't put her through this once a week. He would only punish her when she needed it. If, in time, she got bratty then he could add weekly lighter spankings.
Emily could tell by his breathing that he was awake. She wasn't sure what she should say to him. Her life seem to stretch out in front of her. He would hit her and she would be afraid of him. She tried not to but she couldn't stop herself.
She was crying again. He pulled her in tight and he repeated his promises.
“Why did you hurt me? I never did anything wrong. You even said so.” Her voice was soft and high pitched, like a puzzled child's would be in the same situation.
He pulled her close and answered her as honestly as he could. “I told you that my brothers had this system and it works for them. I was worried that if I didn't spank you too, that the other two would resent that and take it out on you. I think we need to talk about things, how we should continue.”
She nodded her head slightly. She wanted to hear how the rest of her life would be.
“I think we can quit the weekly spankings. Nothing is worth upsetting you this much.” He gave her a squeeze. “But if you ever break a rule then you have to promise to take your punishment with no fussing. Can you promise me that?”
She nodded. “I'll be really very good. You don't ever have to worry about me. I'm very good by nature. I swear I am.”
“I know you are, darling. I didn't want to scare you. You are just a lot more sensitive and gentle then the others. I'll take that into account. But if you ever do pull something I'll give it to you good. You now know that I will. You are warned. I'm trusting you to be good. If you aren't than we will also have weekly spankings. Do you understand?”
“Yes, thank you.” She was so relieved. “It means a lot to me, that you think of me as being good.”
“Emily, you are the sweetest little thing I have ever seen.” I reached out and touched her face. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. His body was once again reacting to their closeness. “Emily, I need you.”
She trembled in fear at those words.
“Shh darling. We'll do it in a way that won't hurt you. I won't hurt you.” He moved her so she was on top of him. “This is important. You need to see that we still love each other. I love you so much.” She was afraid that he would punish her if she didn't stay where she was. He sensed that and shh her again. He kissed her and pet her, lovingly, slowly rubbing her between her legs until she was whimpering in pleasure, and then in frustration.
Southern Discomfort Page 5