“Fred,” Gloria said, making her voice as low as she could, but not having much success at it.
While Dottie laughed outright, the blonde woman just smiled and stepped forward to take her cap off, while Dottie wrestled the coat off her. “Well, I have to say that you’ve got the nicest breasts of any young man I’ve ever seen. Would you like to try again?”
Gloria wasn’t sure if she should take that as a compliment or not, so she remained quiet.
“Honey, if you’re into women, we can accommodate you here. There’s no need for you to feel the need to disguise yourself as a boy,” Dottie informed her, breaking into giggles when Gloria just gasped, feeling her face heating.
“Dottie, that’s quite enough,” Jewel admonished softly. “All right, so you didn’t come here for that, but why did you come here?” Jewel stood in front of Gloria, hands clasped in front of her. “Do you need my help? Are you running from someone?” When Gloria shook her head, Jewel continued. “Perhaps you are interested in working here? Is that it?”
This time when she shook her head, she also managed to speak. “I already have a job, thank you.”
“Too bad, you’ve got the body for it. And your skin is flawless!” Dottie said and then gasped. “Wait, I know who you are! You’re the new teacher! I’ve seen you in the mercantile sometimes.”
Horrified at having been discovered, Gloria began to back away from them, towards the door she’d come in, but before she could open it, Jewel took her hand and pulled her further into the room, to a little sitting area by the fire.
“Please don’t be afraid, Miss—”
“Owens,” Dottie supplied helpfully.
“Miss Owens. I am Madam Jewel and this is Dottie. We are both pleased to make your acquaintance. And we don’t mean you any harm, but I do have to admit that I’m very curious as to what drove you to visit us this evening, at, what I would guess would be the risk of your position and your life here, if anyone found out.”
Gloria’s mouth remained firmly closed.
“Not talking? All right. Dottie, would you get our visitor some tea while I find Gabe? Perhaps he can get it out of her.”
“He’s with Mack in the office.”
That information stopped Jewel in her tracks and had Gloria nearly choking in surprise. Jewel turned and came back to sit across from Gloria, again taking the younger woman’s hand in hers, her voice soft and quiet. “Is that why you’re here? Because you found out that Mr. McIntyre was visiting us? You can tell us. Nothing you say here will go any further than this room.” She gave Dottie a pointed stare. “Right, Peridot?”
Dot nodded her head in emphatic agreement.
“We’re all women here, and we all know men have certain appetites…”
“Yes,” Gloria yelled, suddenly unable to contain herself, “and he has one for her! I saw them kissing in the window from just in front of the hotel!”
Jewel patted Gloria’s hand. “Well, what you saw was an unfortunate result of a lapse in decorum that will be addressed swiftly and firmly, I promise you. The curtains should have been drawn at dusk.”
“But we weren’t kissing, either,” Dottie supplied. “He gave me a peck on the cheek and put a gold coin down my—” When she realized how what she had begun saying sounded, she adjusted it to, “he gave me a gold coin, and left me standing there to go find Gabe.”
Gloria put her face in her hands. “Oh, I don’t know why I bothered to humiliate myself like this. I just couldn’t help myself. It isn’t as if I could ever be pretty enough for him anyway when he has someone like you—like either—all—of you. And I’m not supposed to want to get married!”
The two other women looked at each other at that strange pronouncement, but Jewel decided to ignore that last part because it didn’t seem relevant at the moment.
Instead, she stood, taking Gloria with her to stand in front of the ornate full length, three panel mirror that was tucked into one corner of the room.
“Miss Owens—”
“Please call me Gloria,” she corrected through sobs.
“Gloria, you are more than pretty enough to get any man you’d like,” Jewel affirmed strongly, handing her a lace hankie to dry her tears.
“No, I’m not. I have no illusions about my looks. I’m plain and boring and that’s perfect for a schoolteacher. But I could never compete with—” She waved her hand at the two other women. “I’ve never wanted to compete in the looks department, because I knew I’d fall short.”
Jewel took both of her hands in hers. “I guess, then, the question is, do you want to try to compete now? Is Seth worth making that effort?”
Gloria stared at her feet while fidgeting with the hankie. “Why bother when the end result is just going to be me?”
“Gloria, there’s a paddle in this room, and if you keep talking like that, you’re going to force me to use it. And worse than that, Gabe is going to want to use it, and I’m sure Mack would join in, too.”
Gloria’s head snapped up at that, instantly feeling that it wasn’t a threat… it was more like a promise given with absolute calm and unerring certainty.
Dottie giggled. “And, I promise any of those options isn’t a great deal of fun. But, if we hurry, we can get you all gussied up and I can promise you, by the time Miss Jewel and the other gems get through with you, you’ll be gorgeous.”
Gloria shook her head and sniffed. “You can’t promise me that, and I don’t want to waste your time, but thank you.”
Ignoring her for the moment, Jewel commanded, “You just stand still and let us do all the work.” Then she turned to Dottie. “Jeb’s working late so Ruby should still be here. Check the kitchen and tell her to get her sewing kit and come to me, along with anyone else who’s lolling around the place. Then knock on the office door and somehow communicate to Gabe that he’s to stall and try to keep Seth around for as long as he possibly can.”
While Dottie ran to the door to do as she was bid, Jewel surveyed her expansive closet and came up with a beautiful brocade and lace gown that would suit Gloria’s complexion and figure perfectly. They were just about the same size, although Jewel was a bit taller, so when Ruby arrived, she set her to quickly—temporarily—altering the length of the dress.
All of the available girls helped, chiming in with suggestions, working on Gloria’s hair and washing the dirt off her face, then applying makeup, supplying lotions and perfumes and, finally, when Ruby was done, helping her don the beautiful gown.
It had taken quite a bit of time, and Jewel had been biting her lip throughout, wondering just how long Gabe was going to be able to keep Seth from leaving.
She got her answer just as they were finished, finally. Gloria turned around to show the girls their handiwork, and Gabe came in the door—with Seth in tow—at exactly the same time.
And Jewel had been absolutely right.
***
Gloria was breathtaking. Her hair had been brushed till it shone and done up in an artful style that left softening tendrils around her face and curls draped down her shoulders to frame her breasts. Her make-up was light but played up her eyes and reddened bow lips perfectly, with just a bit of rouge on each cheek to lend color.
The dress was off the shoulder, with a black lace panel inset at the bosom that was echoed in the front skirt panel, picking up the autumn colors of the gown itself to the best advantage.
She looked stunning, and Seth looked suitably stunned at the sight of her.
He didn’t even bother asking Gabe if this was why he’d kept him here so long, but rather crossed immediately to Gloria, bringing her hands to his mouth to kiss the backs of them.
“You have always been lovely to me, Gloria, but now your beauty is almost too much for me to bear.” He laid a finger beneath her chin to tip it up and kissed her then and there, in front of everyone, not hearing the sighs that surrounded them as he drew her against him to deepen the kiss. When he took a step away, he growled—a little too loudly—into her ear,
“But you have a lot of explaining to do about why you’re here, little miss.”
There were knowing titters from their audience, who had obviously overheard him, as he kissed the back of her hand again and turned to his friend. “We have some matters to discuss. I know it’s a kind of unusual request, to bring one’s own woman here, but might I impose upon you to find us a room, my friend?”
“Gladly,” Gabe smiled. “There’s one just down the hall that we’ve recently renovated. We’re experimenting with methods of containing the various sounds that are the inevitable result of the gems’ endeavors, and thus far, it has yet to be used. Please. Be our guests. Try it out.” Then he winked at the both of them. “We’ll be sure to tell you how well it works.”
Seth began to lead Gloria away, but then Gabe caught up with them, extending something to Seth. “I have a feeling you might be needing this, and I don’t think anything like it is yet available in that room,” he said, pressing the handle end of the paddle that Jewel had mentioned was in the room into his friend’s hand.
“Hey!” Gloria protested as she was guided firmly out of the room to the sounds of everyone’s laughter. “You are supposed to be helping me!”
“Oh, I am, pequeña, I am,” Gabe said.
Chapter Ten
Once they were behind closed doors, both were surprised to realize that they couldn’t hear a thing. The room itself was done in colors that sort of matched her gown, with touches of blacks, golds, forest greens and a rusty red.
Seth sat down in one of the occasional chairs that was set before the fire and had her twirl around in front of him.
But then he decided he couldn’t keep his hands off her any longer, so he stood and took her into his arms. “You know, I meant what I said. I’ve always thought you were beautiful, Gloria.”
She blushed prettily, demurring, “But I was not.”
His eyebrow rose. “I can see we’re going to have a discussion about that, too, in the near future.”
“Too?” She repeated indignantly.
“Yes, too. I’m quite sure that you just being here has earned you a paddling, although I would very much like to hear the reason why you voluntarily stepped into such a den of inequity.” He sat again after dancing her around a little, pulling her onto his lap. “Now, young lady, explain your behavior.”
He didn’t think he’d ever seen her blush quite so hard. “I-I finished early. I was so tired I wasn’t getting anything accomplished. But I’d sent you away, so I went looking for you. I went to the hotel, but you weren’t there.” She drew a deep breath, and spilled it all at once. “But where you were was in the window downstairs with Dottie—kissing her passionately—well at least that’s what I thought.” She shrugged. “It didn’t set well with me.”
“Apparently not,” he deliberately understated. “So you stormed in here, ready to fight for your man?”
“Well, I didn’t want to lose my job, so I disguised myself as a young man.”
She couldn’t have surprised him more. “I can’t imagine that you succeeded in dampening your femininity much,” he complimented. “I would have given most of what I own to have seen you that way.”
“Well, luckily, few people did, probably because of the weather.”
Seth frowned. “How’d you manage to find the clothes necessary to make that surreal change?”
“Uhhh… I was able to enlist the aid of someone who remained reluctant throughout, but who rose to the challenge, and also would prefer to remain anonymous.”
“The good doctor, in other words,” he surmised.
Gloria frowned, thinking she had been vague enough that he wouldn’t guess. “How did you know?”
“I just had to think of who you could go to for boys clothing at this hour, and he seemed the likely culprit.”
Testing out her feminine wiles, Gloria wrapped her arms around Seth’s neck, earning his undivided attention, which she nearly always had anyway. “Don’t be cross with him for helping me, Seth, please. He was very gentlemanly and generous.”
Suddenly, he rose, taking her with him to deposit her in the corner of the room, although deliberately not putting into it, saying sternly, “You know what to do.”
With a put upon sigh that was probably pushing it further than she should, Gloria pressed her nose into the corner and folded her hands across her back. It only took a single swat to have her yelping.
“Wh… what?” she stuttered.
“You know what, Miss Owens. Either properly prepare yourself for your corner time or I shall prepare you myself. Remember, if that happens, your spanking will be prolonged and much harder.”
There was absolutely nothing in his tone that indicated wavering. But, how could he expect her to… to do all he’d said? To practically strip naked? She would die from the mortification of it! However, the moment she heard his sigh and felt a hand on her waist, she jerked away. “Wait!”
“I do not have an infinite amount of patience, Miss Owens.”
Nodding her head, unable to speak due to the fact that her bottom lip was caught between her teeth, she fumbled beneath her skirts to untie her bloomers. Whimpering, she pushed them down, her face burning once the fabric puddled at her feet.
“Good girl, now your skirts. Well up if you please.”
God, she so didn’t please but what recourse did she have? Why had she ever thought this was a good idea? Why hadn’t she made her escape when he was still with Mr. Vasquez? Why had she allowed Jewel to transform her? Why had she been so very naughty? Naughty. Yes, she had been naughty and it was that acknowledgement that gave her the courage to lift her clothing, inch by inch until she felt the fabric brush against the globes of her bare bottom. Turning her head slightly, she found his eyes not on her clothing’s progress as she expected, but locked onto her gaze. Heat flooded through her at the look she saw in the depths of his dark eyes. Her tummy flipped and her core moistened. With a final tug, she pulled her clothing to her waist, trembling as she felt cool air waft across her now exposed derriere.
“Very good,” he said and then knelt, placing one hand on her ankle. “Go ahead and step out,” he instructed. With a face turning scarlet, she lifted her feet as he knelt to guide each one free.
“I’m not angry with the doctor, Gloria. No, the responsibility for your reckless actions--no matter how well they might have turned out—is solely your own, and you are the only one who is going to pay for them. You put yourself in danger. There was no telling what kind of man you might have encountered, as you apparently weren’t as disguised as well as you thought you were. As safe as Gabe and Jewel try to make this place, you could have found yourself being hurt very badly or worse. And I wouldn’t even have known where you were to come looking for you, even though you were right under my nose.”
“But—”
Her right cheek received a tremendous whack, and then the left got the same attention. “There’s no talking in the corner, little girl. There’s certainly no talking back in the corner, either, nor should there ever be any such behavior, regardless of where you are.”
“Yes, sir,” she whimpered, knowing she was really, really, really going to hate what was to come—especially since it would apparently involve a paddle. Gloria wouldn’t have said there could be anything worse than his hand, but she thought she was probably going to be proven very wrong about that in the near future.
And she was right.
Seth knew he should have left her in the corner longer, considering that she had—again—put herself in danger for no good reason, but the longer he watched her, trying so hard to be good and not fidget, her beautiful, creamy white bottom on display like that, the more he ached for her—not just because he wanted to make her his, but because of what he was dying to say to her.
“Come to me, Gloria, and bring the paddle and the chair that’s next to the fireplace,” he commanded, surprisingly gently.
She was perfectly behaved, almost eerily so, and stood in front of him just the
way he’d told her she should, her head up, her eyes forward, the chair placed between them after she’d handed him the paddle.
Only this time he didn’t sit down in it.
Instead, he stood, turning it so that the back faced her, leaving the paddle on the bed for the moment before propelling her forward and helping her bend over the chair, placing her hands on the seat and warning softly, “You’re going to be gripping that before long—might as well start now.”
She followed his advice and wrapped her fingers around the edges of the seat, although the back was so tall that it wasn’t an easy thing to do.
“Just like your feet shouldn’t leave the floor, your hands shouldn’t leave that seat, baby girl.”
“Y-yes, sir.”
“Good girl.”
First she felt her skirts being lifted and then pushed to lay against her back. Then she felt his hand at the small of her back, not really trying to hold her there or even hold her in place, but just there, just over the intimate territory that his right hand was soon going to claim.
“Tell me why you find yourself here, Gloria.”
“Be-because I put myself in danger.”
“How?”
“By coming here alone.”
“And it’s not just your personal safety that you might well have compromised, is it?”
“No—if someone had recognized me, I might have lost my job.”
“Yes, exactly.” He began to spank with measured, crisp smacks as he spoke. “And although I think I understand why you ended up here, I am very surprised and disappointed at your misbehavior, young lady. Where’s the prim and proper Miss Owens, now, hmm? She’s bent over a chair, in a brothel she fought about even eating food in a few weeks ago, about to get her bottom paddled for being very, very naughty.”
It didn’t take him long at all to set her to weeping and moaning, her head rising with each painful swat, which he placed up and down the backs of each thigh as well as on her well padded behind.
Grading Garnet: The Red Petticoat Saloon Page 13