Scold's House

by Marie Hall

  "Io." Xavier reached for her but she avoided him.

  "It is my failure the women who were told, by your mother, to spin the wool are the women I told to dye it and so now there are bolts of un-dyed fabric because no one did the task I asked to be done because everyone was only concerned with doing Lady Charlotte's bidding." She stopped pacing and turned to glare at him. "But yes, it is my failure. My failure when you told her she could have the house but still somehow expect I should still have some place in it. You do not ever consider the impossible position you place me in."

  "Io." Xavier swung his legs off the bed and sat on the edge. He tried to grab her and missed. "I only mean—"

  "You only mean what? That you did not know everyone heard her criticism and heard nothing from you? That everyone watched you give her duties that were mine because she does them better?"

  "Io, no." He reached for her again and again he missed. "I did not give her anything." Io actually stopped and glared at him. She glared so hard he forgot to take advantage and grab her. "That is not what I intended or what I meant."

  "What did you intend? If not to show everyone that I am a disappointment? That I am a failure as mistress in your home? That you think another will do better than I? How can you have meant anything else?" her voice cracked.

  "No, Io." He came to his feet only to have Io avoid his grasp and cross to the door.

  "Do you plan to replace me then? With Lady Sabrina? Is that why you have her training under your mother? Is that why she already controls more in this house than I do? Why you seek to spend time with her in every capacity save but the only one I am useful for?" Io words became choked. He watched her slap her hand over her mouth, knew she resisted crying.

  Xavier stared. How she could perceive the situation so wrongly he didn't know. He didn't give his mother the house when he allowed her to write menus. If the younger lady was training under his mother it was not to take this house. And he completely supported his wife. He made it across the room as Io pulled open the door. His hands slapped down and his weight caused the door to slam shut before Io could slip out. He stepped in close giving her no chance to twist away.

  "No Io." He took her arm and forced her back to the bed. "You are not avoiding this. You will not accuse me, falsely, and not allow me a chance to defend myself." When she wouldn't get back in the bed, he lifted her, kicking and struggling and tossed her in the center. She was stunned and off balance enough he was able to climb in and pin her there. "Every time I think this matter settled, you again accuse me of being dishonorable. I will have my say."

  Io struggled beneath him. "Get off of me."

  "We are going to have this out Io." Xavier straddled her waist sitting back to still her churning legs and captured her wrists so he could hold her arms still. Normally she'd become still if he'd the upper hand. This time she changed tactics and began to buck and twist. "Io, settle." When his command went unheeded, he let go her arms and moved off. Before she could sit up he flipped her face down, captured her hands and put his right leg over both of hers. He adjusted his hold to free his right hand and then cracked it down, with considerable force, on her naked arse. Io screamed into the bed, muffling the sound. She turned her head and what came out of her mouth next was anything but muffled.

  "Get off me, you sorry, fucking son of a whoring bitch," she panted out as she struggled to get free.

  It took a moment before her words penetrated his mind. She'd a sharp tongue as long as he'd known her but never, in all the time they were together, had she directed the vileness straight at him. Xavier's jaw clenched and his face heated. His right hand must have struck half a dozen times before he became aware she was completely unaffected. Once aware, through, he took control putting more force behind each strike and purposely targeting where each landed.

  Io's screams were again muffled, but her struggles continued. Xavier could see, even in the dim light, the flesh on her arse was turning a deep red. He might have stopped if she'd stop fighting. But she went on and his hand continued to land in rapid succession, covering the entire area of her bottom. Xavier delivered several more deliberate blows to the back of her thighs. It was enough to make her still and sag into the bed. He let go, sat back and flipped her over again, straddling her waist again.

  Io's wails echoed off the walls and she struggled to breathe. When a fit of coughing threatened to choke her, Xavier sat back and pulled her up. She continued to cry, cough and choke. Again, Xavier shifted on the bed, sitting to her side. Wrapping his left arm around her front he set his right hand on her back patting and rubbing. The coughing subsided leaving Io to sob and moan out her misery. He waited until she calmed a bit then he leaned in and spoke in a quiet, threatening tone.

  "You will beg my pardon for the insult, my lady wife. And you will know fully how I disapprove of your language."

  Io's hands came up to grip his left arm. He loosened his hold expecting her to lean into him. Rather she leaned away, falling on her side and curling up like a sow bug. She cried into the bedding, Xavier climbed from the bed and pulled on his robe. He left Io crying while he gathered what thought he'd need to finally stop Io's sharp tongue.

  When he sat back on the bed, Io's sobs quieted a good deal. Hoping she was now in a mind to speak with him, he pulled her up, forcing her to sit. She kept her head down so he took a grip on her chin to make her look up. He smoothed back the hair from her face and noticed the heat. Using the damp cloth he brought, he wiped away the tears and mucus, cooling her skin. He picked up the cup and presented it to her.

  "Take a drink, Io." He ground his teeth when she shook her head but managed to keep his tone clam. "Io, take a drink, it is only water."

  She took the cup, careful to not let their fingers touch, and took a sip, then another. A coughing fit followed and Xavier helped hold the cup until it passed. She took one last drink setting the cup on the table next to the bed.

  "Here," he said, handing her the cloth. "Wipe your face." She complied with a sob and he waited until she finished and tried to shake the hair from her own face. "We could have done this, Io, without the struggle." She lifted the cloth and pressed it to her mouth, but he heard the sobs. "Should we try again? Without the thrashing?"

  She sniffed, shrugged and then whispered, "To what end?"

  "Io, I have repeatedly expressed to you, you are my wife. You are the mistress, the lady, of my holdings. I can only say so many ways that I will not abandon you. And I know you know I will never accept being spoken to in the manner you did this night."

  Io's chin dropped and she folded her hands together then pressed them to her mouth. She cried a long while, Xavier waiting for her to collect herself enough they could work through all her doubts. As the moments passed, Xavier wondered if she'd do it before dawn, if there was anything he might say to give her a willingness to speak.

  "Io," he started softly. "There is nothing you and I cannot get through, if we work together." He set his hand on her shoulder only to have her begin a slow lean away from him until she was again lying on the bed, curled in a ball.

  "To what end if I am still a failure." She covered her head with her hands.

  "I did not say you were a failure. I said you failed to direct the people. You do not command anyone here, Io. You ask politely to have things done. That is no way to run a house." He tried to pull her up but she jerked violently away.

  "You tell me this now?" she muttered. Xavier knew it was an accusation. "And what would you have? Should I start slapping servants and screeching at them over every matter? That is not who I am. That is not who I will to be. If you want that, then you do not want me."

  "Io," he sighed. No, that wasn't his wife. It wasn't who he wanted her to be. "Io," he began again.

  "No. No, I am done. I care not anymore who you want in your house. I am done. Your mother does things so well, you are pleased enough. And soon Lady Sabrina will do thing as your mother does."

  "Io."

  "I am done, do as you wi
ll. You will hear nothing from me."

  "Io, no, we will not end like this." She was going to shut him out. He'd no hope they'd settle this quickly. And as she tried to pull physically away, he could see he needed to consider more how to bring her back.

  "It is ended. I end it. Keep me, replace me. I do not care anymore. You have need of a lady in your house and at your side, let it be them, be her. Every time I try and stand, the lot of you push me down. I would that you forget me, like everyone else does."

  "Io, I am not trying to keep you down. I do not understand how we have come to this point. But you are not going to be allowed to neglect your duties here."

  "They are no longer mine to neglect."

  They spoke in circles. He well might have to start forcing Io to take control of things. He could only do that if she followed his commands. He needed to make sure Io remembered his command was absolute. That she didn't think she could give up and disregard what he already imposed on her.

  He crossed the room and dragged a hard little stool to the side of the bed. He took hold and lifted her from the bed and held her, feet dangling. "When you are of mind, we will revisit this, Io. It is not settled." He lined her up with the stool and then plopped her down on it. She howled and tried to stand but he kept her sitting on her very tender backside. "For now, we will settle the matter of your vile tongue. I believe you need some time to think of the words you might say when you beg my pardon for the insult." His hand went into the pocket of his robe. Withdrawing a small cake of soap, he showed it to her. Io's eyes went wide. "Open your mouth."

  Her expression crumpled and she dropped her head, crying. "My lord," she whined, "do not I…will apologize."

  "Yes." He lifted her chin and pressed the soap to her lips. "You will."

  She whimpered. Slowly her lips parted and opened a little. Her eyes were pleading and he almost reconsidered. He'd given her quite the thrashing but he'd already thrashed her several times for her habit of cursing. A sore arse wasn't deterrent enough.

  "Open or we can give your seat more…" Her jaw dropped and he put the soap in her mouth. She gagged the second it touched her tongue. "Close," he ordered, she complied. "Now sit there and think awhile how you might choose better words to express yourself."

  Xavier left her sitting there as he moved around the room, straitening this and that. He took the cup he'd given Io and refilled it. He fixed the bed clothes and folded them back. Finally, he took up a basin and a fresh cloth and came back to his wife.

  He could see she was straining under the punishment. She shook with it. Her grip on the edge of the stool was likely to remain seated. Tears, snot, saliva and even a few bubbles dripped down her face. He didn't prolong her suffering, thrusting the basin towards her. "Spit," he commanded.

  Io spit out the soap without hesitation. She continued to try and spit out the taste. He handed her the cup. She took a mouth full, swishing it and spitting again. When she gave up trying to rid her tongue of the taste, he handed her the cloth.

  "Wipe your face." While she did, he returned the basin to the table and filled her cup again. "Stand up," he told her. She complied. He handed her the cup. "Drink it all." She looked doubtful, but she drank, handing him back an empty cup. He set the cup on the table then pulled Io into his embrace. She was stiff, unyielding, but he held her and waited. Eventually her stance relaxed, and he felt her leaning into him. "You have something to say, Io?"

  She sniffed loudly, her hand coming up and she used the back of it to wipe her eyes. After one deep shuddering breath, she said, "I beg pardon, my lord. I…"

  "That is enough, Io. That is all you need to say." As long as she still complied with commands he could get them back to where they needed to be. He set her away from him picking up the stool and carrying it back to the wall. "Get in bed." She complied again as he went around to the other side and climbed in. Blowing out the candles, while Io settled in, Xavier pulled the blankets up and over them and then laid back. He lay awake listening to his wife cry until dawn. As the chamber began to lighten with the rising sun he reached over, pulled Io into his arms and held her against him.

  "We will get past this, Io. We are strongest together. We have seen worse. We will get through this," he whispered over and over until Io finally slept. They'd get through this. It was nothing more than some terrible misunderstanding. They could get through this once he figured out what to do to correct Io's understanding of the situation. Xavier closed his eyes against the brightening room and sleep claimed him too.

  * * *

  Io's eyes were sticky and she couldn't account for the taste in her mouth as she struggled to push off sleep. She almost gave in and let it claim her until the raised voices started again. With a yawn, she tried to roll to her back. Only her lower half moved and the painful reminder of last eve's events jolted her fully awake. The voices on the other side of the door grew in volume.

  "Settle Io." Xavier's voice rumbled around her. "Go back to sleep. They will go away."

  Io took a moment to gain her bearings. On her right side, half sitting up, held against her husband's chest, Io lay at the top of the bed from side to side rather than from top to bottom. The covers twisted in an awkward fashion, covered little and the room was bright with full sunlight coming through the windows. The voices were now very loud and right outside the door.

  "Madame, his grace is not about. You cannot go inside." Io heard Thomas say in a harsh tone he might have thought to be a whisper.

  "Do not be absurd." Io groaned at the sound of Lady Charlotte's cold tone. Xavier's arms tightened. "If he is not about why have you brought up a meal. I demand you move aside. I will see my son."

  There was a scuffle, a crash and then the door to the bed chamber swung open. Io instinctively pushed into Xavier who reached for the covers and pulled them up as his mother stepped into the room.

  "Mother, get out," Xavier ordered.

  "It is nearly midday, why are you lazing in bed?" Charlotte asked, ignoring the order to leave, which made Io's lips curl a bit. It wasn't so easy to have control when this woman was about.

  "Mother, please get out I am not lazing. I will be out when I am ready. Now go."

  "Do not speak to me like that. What would your father say if he heard you?" Charlotte huffed.

  Io felt Xavier's whole body tense and his sharply inhaled breath was loud. With her head resting on his chest she heard the sudden increase in his heartbeat, felt the flush of heat on his skin. His fingers, once resting on her arm, squeezed painfully and Io yelped.

  "Ah, now I see you let this…" Io peeked out of the covers to see the woman pace away and then come back. "You have duties, Xavier. Perhaps if you had a wife who did her part, you—"

  "Mother, get out." Xavier's grip lessened. "Thomas," he called.

  "My lord?" The squire came in with a tray. He crossed the room without a sideways glace. Set down the tray and turned, though he faced the bed his head was discretely turned away.

  "My mother is leaving. See she has what she requires today I will be indisposed."

  "No you will not," Io whispered only to get her arm squeezed.

  "My lord," Thomas said with a bow and then passing through the door his hand hooked Lady Charlotte's arm and she was pulled out behind him. "Madame, his grace will be indisposed today and—"

  "Shut up I heard what he said. That little…" The rest of what she said was lost when Thomas pulled the door closed behind them.

  Xavier took a deep breath, causing Io to rise and fall against him. Again there was a change in his heart rate. It slowed and his body relaxed, cooled. He took another deep breath then slid from beneath her and out of the bed—leaving Io lying at an odd angle. She pushed up and watched him pull on his robe and move to the tray.

  "Io, come eat something. It is almost mid day."

  "I am not hungry." And she didn't want to move. Not only did her arse hurt, but her lower back hurt too. Perhaps the odd way she'd slept.

  "Io." He drew out her nam
e. "It was not a request. You will eat."

  Not ready for a second fight, Io climbed from the bed careful not to let her bottom touch. She pulled her robe around her and stepped beside Xavier. The tray held a nice verity and she took a piece of her favorite cheese. She took a bite and gagged, nearly vomiting, before she spit the food out.

  "Are you all right?" Xavier handed her a napkin and a cup.

  Shaking her head, she took the cup and a sip only to have to spit the sweet liquid back out as well. She set the cup down with more force than she might have intended and dropped the food back to the tray.

  "Io?"

  "I cannot eat. It tastes awful." She turned away from the table and walked to the window.

  "Io if you do not eat something the taste of soap will linger."

  "Let it, I do not care," Io muttered jumping Xavier's arm came over her shoulder to hold a bit of bread at her lips. She pushed his hand away.

  "Io." He almost sounded pleading. She felt him step back. "Io?" He paused, concern in his tone. "What is wrong with your back?"

  Io stilled. She'd not realized she rubbed her back. The discomfort there increased and now she could feel her side cramping.

  "Io?" She heard him brush his hands together and then felt him pulling her robe to the side.

  "Xavier, leave me be." She just wanted to crawl back in the bed. She was uncomfortable and tired. She didn't want to eat, when everything tasted like soap and she found the sun too bright today. Last night was a trial and she could wish to skip today altogether.

  "Io." Xavier took her hand in his, the one she'd been using to rub her temple. "Come." Io took a stumbling first step, Xavier's arm went around her waist and he turned her towards the bed.

  Io sighed, she'd get this. Xavier pushed the covers back and then pulled her robe from her letting it fall on the floor. Io climbed in laying on her front, waiting for him to draw the covers over her. She closed her eyes opening them when Xavier's hand skimmed over the swell of her arse.

  "No," she whined putting her hand back to block him.