However, as the wooden paddle struck her rear cheeks time and again, the mighty sting turned to burning pain, and she was crying out more passionately.
"Ah, ah, noooooo!" she wailed.
The determined Mr. Terrill just kept going on. He was no doubt judging the punishment by the effect, making certain that this offensive young woman was properly chastised.
Oh! her bottom would be sore this night! So Juliet knew.
"Ah, ouch, no, ow, oh please! She tried hard to wiggle about, though the bonds held her fast and there was no way she could mount any mutiny.
"Pleeese! Oh, please . . ." she went on, as the smack of wood continued.
As was often Mr. Terrill's custom, he paused when he could see that the pain was excruciating, when he sensed from sight and sound that his subject was near her limit. He waited for nearly minute, while Juliet's passionate begging ceased, as she relaxed just enough to suit him.
Then, with a determination more grim than before, he laid the final strokes against Juliet's bottom, an even dozen, hard, fast and all in the very same place, so that spot on her posterior was flaming with a brutal fire.
"Good gawd! Noooooooooooo!" she wailed vehemently, as she struggled without success to get away.
There were several minutes of quiet, quiet except for Juliet's faint sobs. What Mr. Terrill was doing, she couldn't be sure, then again, she wasn't really paying attention, her mind still experiencing the pain that lingered, and the pain that fell away from her as the rousing warmth replaced it.
Oh! For Joshua to be there then, to have his wide palms on her rear cheeks! To have his caress, his tender admonishments that were like love charms! Oh, how she wished for him now, more than she wished for him in the lonely nights. He would have been as ruthless with her for her crime, she was certain of that, But he would also give her the gift of his affections thereafter, and his tender comfort. Such was the accommodation they made.
"You do taunt me," Mr. Terrill said, observing her.
Only then, did Juliet wake to the fact that the man was still in the room, and that her punished bottom was likely swaying quite lewdly before his eyes, just as it might if Joshua was there. She stopped her fantasy and her gyrations instantly.
"You'll remain so posed until I've taken care of Emily. Indeed it may be an hour before I release you. I would leave you for longer, but I think that will have to suffice, since you are indeed only part my responsibility."
Juliet heard him leave, the way he turned brusquely on his heel as was his habit. Exiting, the door closed firmly behind him.
The next half hour Juliet remained suspended in her awkward pose, finding the longer she waited, the more the warmth was fleeing from her bottom, and the aching in her limbs commenced. Stretched out so, and tied down, there was nothing that she could do, but pray that her ruthless administrator would have some mercy on her and release her earlier than the hour he suggested.
During the time, she was not completely without something to occupy her thoughts. Some ten minutes after Mr. Terrill left, she heard the distinctive sound of another punishment being meted out down the hall. Emily was likely going through the same treatment she was, all submissively, so Juliet suspected. The sound of the paddle against the woman's flesh was not hard to miss, as well the sounds of her friend's terribly anguished cries. What was worse was knowing that the paddle changed to a strap, and if Juliet was correct, Mr. Terrill finished off his wife's punishment with several cuts of the cane. The howl was ghastly.
It made Juliet miserable thinking of it, knowing full well that it was her reckless stunt that caused this woe on Emily. Would her hostess ever forgive her? What kind gifts she'd received from her new friend, but at what price to have this wreaked on her again! She wished that Joshua had never left her here.
After excruciating minutes witnessing Emily's punishment from afar, there was absolute quiet in the house. Nothing stirred for sometime, Juliet thinking she might soon hear moans of pleasure coming from the other end of hall. She dearly hoped she would, but instead, she heard a door close. Moments later, hers opened.
"I see you've followed my orders," Mr. Terrill said returning to Juliet's dim lit room.
"I see no other choice, you have me tied thus," she replied. She was aware again of how her limbs ached from the bonds.
"You are quite a sight, my dear," he said. He was approaching her, Juliet waiting anxiously for him to release her. "I remember your fine ass well."
"And I should think you've seen enough for one night," Juliet replied.
"I'm not so sure," he countered. His hand grazed her once burning flesh. It was now just sore, and she could tell the gesture was more than affectionate. He'd never touched her like this before. "I should like to have more of this," he said. His hand kneaded her bottom tenderly.
"Let me up, sir," Juliet demanded, shocked by what the man implied.
He was in fact letting loose the scarves, but ever so slowly, and not until after he played with her bottom for a few moments.
"Sir!" She was indignant.
"I should think a woman in your position would find it difficult not to respond," he said. "I know from my own Emily how women feel after being punished."
"Then go to her, you just punished her."
"I did, that's a fact. But, it's you I'd prefer tonight. And I'd think after our past, you owe me this much consideration."
By then, Juliet was untied. "I think not!" she said, standing up and moving away from him to the other side of the room as fast as she could go. She grabbed her robe and quickly hid her womanly assets from his view. His eyes were quite unlike him. Better in some ways since they were much softer than she'd ever seen them, but they frightened her. "What would Emily say, you're behaving like a scoundrel in your own home!"
"She would say nothing," Mr. Terrill replied.
"Yes. You've turned her into weak-kneed little servant in your own house."
He smiled slyly. "Ah! But she would tell you otherwise."
"I know she would," Juliet agreed. "But I won't be part of this."
"You think your sea captain is faithful to you?" he asked, turning the queer conversation around.
"I wouldn't know," she admitted. "But he'd certainly have regard enough for me not to assault another woman, and a friend of mine under my own roof."
Mr. Terrill smirked.
"As much of a bitch as you are and have always been," he caressed his words nastily as he spoke, "you are naive. And I feel sorry for you for that."
"Don't feel sorry for me," Juliet replied. "Go to your wife, and leave me be. And you can be certain that by morning, I will not be in your home to bother you, or tempt you."
"You cannot leave," he said, startled by her declaration.
"Try to make me stay," she said defiantly. She had no idea where she'd go in a city she didn't know. But she'd endured a great deal in her young life, and she would endure this too—some place, any place, away from Mr. Terrill's leering eyes and powerless wife.
***
Juliet took a room in a boarding house. The neighborhood was working class and a bit shabby, but fair enough. Certainly Joshua wouldn't be alarmed that she'd made this move. All things considered, she didn't feel as if she had much choice. Oh! Defending herself against Mr. Terrill's lust wasn't difficult, but she had no desire to share his home or the comfort of his wife, knowing how indecent his private thoughts had become. She certainly had no desire to submit to punishment from that man again. He would find some reason, she was sure of that.
There was just a week to wait for Joshua, by all reports he was due home shortly, and she had plenty of money to get her through this time. Once brushing off the incident with Mr. Terrill, she thought of this week as a special holiday, and an opportunity to enjoy the sights of a city she might never see again.
Finding how easy it was to move about London in the private cabs, she visited lovely churches and museums, and ate in respectable restaurants. She held her head high, like she knew exactl
y what she was doing and where she was going all the time—even if she wasn't certain. She fended off those that looked at the unescorted upper class woman as an oddity.
For days London had been gripped by a blanket of fog, the cold and dampness seeming to chill Juliet to the bone. One day she remained inside all day long by the fire in her room, drinking tea and reading a book.
However, Juliet woke one morning some five days after she'd left the Terrill's, with the sun shining brightly across her bedcovers. She jumped up from bed knowing that she wouldn't be staying inside this day. It was much too glorious, the sun making everything in the vast city sparkle, even the dreary buildings that she thought were so ugly the days before. If nothing else she'd find a beautiful garden somewhere, and sit for a while and let the heat of the that golden orb warm her pale skin.
It took only minutes for Juliet to run a comb through her auburn hair and fix it back behind her head. Donning the best dress that she had, the young woman couldn't wait for her long stroll through the sparkling city streets.
Juliet ate her breakfast at a small pub, looking out on the bustling traffic. She noted how just a little sun made everything brighter. And after all, she had lots to be excited about. Joshua would be home in a day or two, and for that her heart instantly beat faster and her unfulfilled loins began to burn.
On the street again, Juliet was bound to find the shipping office again looking for news of Joshua's ship. Passing through the same district where she and Emily had been assaulted, she played her trick of looking important and formidable as she walked down the street. It seemed safe enough. After all, it was broad daylight, and there were plenty of people about.
Almost to her destination, Juliet was thinking about her welcome back for her husband, when quite out of the blue, she felt someone behind her, much closer than they should be. A second later, there was an arm going around her waist, and smell of foul breath as a man's mouth came close to her ear.
"Don't scream, don't say a word, or I'll kill ya!" the man whispered.
"No!" she whispered.
"Not a word," he said. Feeling something sharp at her side, she obeyed, fearing it was a knife.
Dragged at knife point, at least that's what it seemed, the frightened young woman was hustled into a back door, pushed up a flight of rickety stairs, and shoved into a room. Hearing the sound of the key locking the door from the other side, she knew she was captured.
Her attacker's nasty words rang in her ears. "I'll return for you, lass." The implication in his voice was unmistakable. What Mr. Terrill was too much of a gentleman to do, she'd experience at the hands of this gruff man. Oh! What a terrible fate, all for her needless pride.
***
The room where Juliet remained kidnapped was small, just a bed, and a chair, and a chamber pot, and a window that was almost too high to see from. Rising at least three stories from the ground, escape from the room was impossible.
Without a lamp or candle, Juliet clocked the diminishing light of day in her mind, knowing that in a few hours she would be in totally darkness, when she suspected that the foul mouthed man would return. No food, no water, her mouth was parched and her stomach began to ache.
Just as the light was nearly gone from the room, she heard the door lock jiggle she feared the worst. Though to Juliet's relief, a mug of water and a crust of bread appeared, nothing more. Her attacker bearing the gift, did nothing but smile contemptuously, a horrid leering look in his eye, as he made the delivery. "I'll be back for that treasure beneath your skirt, better be ready," he warned.
She shuddered, every part of her body quaking horribly from the awful dread. And though she tried munching on the meager repast, her stomach was hollow and aching, nearly rejecting her attempts to quell the hunger.
When it was completely dark, all the light having faded from away, Juliet lay down on the bed. Though she was so scared, she couldn't imagine sleeping, she tried anyway, her poor mind so exhausted, she required some relief from the constant fear. Drifting into a mindless state, she was soon sleeping soundly.
Long into the night, Juliet woke to the sound of the key turning in the lock. Jerking up in bed, she stared in anticipation at the opening door. The light from the man's candle, held face-high, made it impossible for her to see the scowl and sneer in his expression. That was likely good, the less she saw of him when he assaulted her the better. Better in the dark, where she couldn't see a thing.
The man entered the room slowly, a small step at a time. For an instant, Juliet thought he seemed different than the man that kidnapped her from the street: taller, broader and ever more foreboding in his silence. Was it the same man at all? Inside the room, he closed the door quietly and didn't lock it. The candle still in front of his face was not as blinding as it had first been, when the light from the hallway blinded her sight too.
Staring into the face she would tremble to see again, she began to make out the features. Little by little, it dawned on her who it was standing before her. The hair, the beard, the dark discerning eyes . . .
"Joshua!" she screamed, recognizing him fully. Instantly tears poured from her eyes, and she made a swift journey to his awaiting arm.
"Careful there," he warned her of the candle still in his hand.
"Oh, my god it's really you! I'm so scared! How did you know I was here? Oh! Joshua, am I dreaming, or is it really you?"
She would have rambled on forever, but Joshua quieted her with a simple, "Hush." His tender hand stroked her auburn hair, as she buried her face in his chest and sobbed. Then pushing her away long enough to place the candle on the chair, Joshua resumed the affectionate reunion with both arms taking his still distraught wife into their comfort.
"Oh, Joshua, please explain this," Juliet finally said, backing up enough in his embrace to look into this shadowy face.
He smiled, and leaned down and kissed her.
"I missed you," he said.
"And I, you," she answered with a smile, feeling relief flood her everywhere as the reality set in. "But how? How did you find me, how did you know I was kidnapped?"
"You weren't kidnapped at all, my naughty brat, you were rescued."
"Rescued?"
"My man, Aubrey, took you off the street to ensure your safety."
"Your man?"
"He's a seaman, a bit rough perhaps, but perfectly safe. Has a wife and three children downstairs having their supper."
"What!" Juliet's eyes were widening in horror.
"But . . ."
"You have much to answer for, Juliet Crow, and much to atone for."
"I can't believe you'd do this. You scared me nearly crazy." Juliet tried pulling away from him, her indignation rising fast.
"Oh, no you don't, brat!" Joshua answered her sternly, making certain by this firm grasp that she was going nowhere, even if there was no where to escape to in the room. "I arranged this plot to scare you deliberately. I can't remember when I've been so furious with you." Indeed, his fury was rising fast by the look on his fearsome face.
"Furious with me!" she shot back.
"Yes, furious."
"I don't understand. How would you even know?"
"I sent word to Mr. Terrill a week ago that I was back in England and would travel overland in a few days. He sent word back directly, telling me of your outrageous behavior. He said you'd left his home and were living in a rooming house in an indigent neighborhood of the city."
"It is not indigent," Juliet declared.
Joshua ignored her comment. "I had Aubrey check up on you to make certain you were okay. And then when I returned to London yesterday, I thought this plot might teach you a proper lesson."
Juliet was seething. "What a ruthless, cunning bastard you are, Joshua Crow!"
"What a shamelessly brazen wench you are!" he shot back.
Juliet pulled away from her husband enough to have her right arm free and with a vicious daring, her hand went back and slapped his unsuspecting face.
The war was se
t. Joshua's hopes for a sane and reasonable reunion with his wife were completely dashed. His resolve now clear, he upended his wife in his arms, planted one foot firmly on the side of the bed, and flung her fighting body over his knee. Holding her in a steely grasp with his left arm, his right hand stripped her of her skirt in an instant, and baring flesh, he pelted her bottom cheeks with a fiery tempest of sharp strikes.
"You let go of me!" she blared. Using every bit of strength she had, she tried wrenching away from him. But she wasn't going anywhere. "I hate you!" she tried again, but again to no avail. "You bloody, friggin' bastard, stop!" she screamed.
"Enough!" Joshua's roar ripped through her vile speech, just as his hand ripped passionate red lines across her jiggling buttocks. "You swear at me again, you won't know what hit you!" His mighty hand punctuated his charge with as brisk and firm a stroke as he could muster.
The warning did enough to quiet her angry tongue, though nothing to stop the incessant squirming and the hot-fired temper.
Figuring that there was a long night ahead of him, Joshua shifted the foray to the bed itself; though sitting down in the hard pallet and keeping Juliet bent over his lap, he hardly missed a beat of the rhythmic battle. One after another, his smacks rained down on her bottom. Even in the dim light, he could see the cheeks glow scarlet, a nasty smattering of red scorching her backside from thigh to waist.
Another pause, he was removing his belt, hearing as he did the anguished cries of his wife turn from angry to pleading.
"Please, nooooooo!" she wailed.
"Oh no, you're getting everything you deserve, and you're getting it now!"
Doubling the leather in his hand, he replaced the smacks of his hand with even sterner ones from the vile black belt.
Now all her cries were cries of anguish not anger, cries of pain, as the fiercely stinging application of the leather on her already sore behind was becoming more than she could stand. Taking her just a bit further, relishing the sight, the feel, and even his wife's ardent cries, Joshua delivered the spanking to the last. He ended with a fine flourish of heated strokes that left her sobbing when he finally stopped.
A Wild Night On the Island & Other Stories Page 11