Chapter 1

Lady Carolyn

 

The driver brought the carriage to a halt in a cloud of dust and drew his passenger's attention to the sight from the right hand window.

'I always stop here, sir!' he shouted. 'You get the best view of the Hall.'

His passenger, a powerfully built man in his thirties with thin lips and unyielding features, looked across acres of farmland and saw an imposing stately home with features of a castle, turrets and battlements; it was grand but a little austere. The season was late autumn and the trees were bare; the clouds dark and threatening.

The driver prattled on about the Hall, speaking with the sort of pride servants often show for their adopted home. Albert Coulsdon imagined Lady Carolyn Woodham herself would be more restrained.

As the driver clicked his tongue to set the horses moving, Albert's thoughts turned again to the strange employment he'd been offered...

 

At the Hall, Albert was greeted by Mrs. Green, the housekeeper, along with a young female servant with a pretty face and two male servants in livery who took his bags. When one of the men picked up his leather valise, Albert smiled to himself at how surprised they would all be if the case spilled open on the steps. He would have liked to select a cane or martinet from it at that moment to use on the pert posterior (as he imagined) of the young maid who bobbed along before him. He saw her naked or with her skirts pulled up, bending over, the best view of womanhood, he told himself, in a parody of the driver's enthusiasm for Mellstone Hall.

Mrs. Green showed Albert his bedroom, sitting room, dining room, nursery and the schoolroom. She explained Lady Woodham's son, Miles, was now at Eton and the rooms had been empty for some time. The self-contained accommodation was spacious and Albert's first impressions were favourable; there was a bedroom in the attic for his own maid. From the windows, the views of the estate and the forests beyond were magnificent because, as Mrs. Green explained, their vantage point was high up in one of the towers.

Mary, Albert's maid, duly appeared and gave a little bob to both Mrs. Green and Albert. She was a fresh-faced girl of about sixteen with fair hair and plumpish figure.

'I must consider carefully the offer Lady Woodham has made,' Albert said cautiously in answer to Mrs. Green's observation that she hoped he would like living at the Hall.

 

At the very moment Albert arrived at Mellstone Hall, a carriage was leaving another large country house some seventy miles away. When the gentleman about to board looked back at an upstairs window, he saw a girl of about eighteen gesticulating in a frantic manner. The girl, Jayne, was protesting wildly at the action he'd taken, locking her in an attic room. It was an image that stayed in the man's mind for the duration of his journey, though he tried to reassure himself he had done all he could...

 

Lady Woodham was not at the Hall to meet Albert. She was watching a rather plump woman being soundly thrashed by a man holding a bunch of nettles in his gloved hand. The naked whore was raised up on a wooden platform with her wrists cuffed to a steel rod that ran under her thighs. Her sweaty forehead was pressed against the wooden slats and a gag filled her mouth. Her large backside was up-turned with cheeks parted and her pussy revealed, thus offering an ample target to the client who was beating her. The man was stripped to the waist and Lady Woodham enjoyed watching the muscles ripple in his back as he worked. His skin was shiny with sweat from his efforts over the last twenty minutes. He'd already birched the woman thoroughly and was trying to enliven her with the bunch of nettles for they often brought new sensation, especially when applied to the vulva, after the woman had become inured to the pain of the birch.

Harriet Travers, keeper of the Soho brothel, had an arrangement with Lady Woodham whereby she allowed her Ladyship to watch her girls being flogged by clients - for a very substantial payment.

It was Harriet's opinion, which she kept to herself, that Lady Woodham not only enjoyed being a voyeur at these proceedings but that she herself longed to be flagellated. Her social standing probably made that impossible. Harriet watched Lady Woodham's expression becoming more and more rapturous and ecstatic as the prostitute's already calloused flesh took more and more punishment. Again, it was obvious to Harriet that Lady Woodham wanted to submit to a man; she showed no interest in being a spectator at floggings carried out by her girls; these days more men seemed to prefer being flogged than doing the flogging. The man who was using the nettles was not of that ilk, he liked to lay it on. None of her girls wanted him, not even when they were numbed by copious amounts of gin.

Harriet speculated that Lady Woodham, however much she desired it, would find it difficult to attract a man to dominate her because her manner was so haughty and superior.

It was evening before Lady Woodham returned from London and was able to see Albert She waved in the direction of a comfortable-looking armchair in her late husband's book lined study and Albert sat down, feeling the warmth from the fire, realising he'd grown cold in the children's quarters.

'Did you have a comfortable journey?' she enquired.

'Yes, thank you, your Ladyship. It was good of you to send your carriage.'

'Not at all. I hope you will settle in quickly, Mr. Coulsdon.'

'If I take the post.'

'Indeed. I told you something of the responsibilities you would be taking on in my letter but perhaps I should tell you the full story.'

'I would be grateful, your Ladyship.'

Lady Woodham took a drink from her glass and Alfred wondered what it contained.

The matter concerned Lady Woodham's niece, a young lady of eighteen who'd run wild following the death of her mother and father in a tragic boating accident. Lady Woodham had not been informed of the terrible event and by the time she called at Kirkham Hall, her niece, Jayne, was out of control. Fortunately another relative had stepped in as guardian for a time and he was the one who had sent Lady Woodham a message. However, he was due to take up a civil service position in India and, in any case, he found controlling the girl quite beyond him. Lady Woodham had put two strong men in charge of her niece until she could make arrangements for her proper care and education at Mellstone Hall. 'This is where you come in, Mr. Coulsdon. At least that is my hope and my desire.'

'I have never had charge of a girl,' Albert pointed out. 'All my experience has been with boys both as a tutor and as a schoolmaster.'

'The reason I turned to you was that your previous employer, Lord Shipley, spoke so highly of your influence on his son, Matthew, who was ill-disciplined and headstrong before you became his tutor.'

'But Matthew was eleven when I took charge of him.'

'I understand from Shipley that you are a very strict disciplinarian?'

'I believe young people need rules and need to know the consequences of breaking them.'

'Indeed, Mr. Coulsdon. And that will apply particularly to Jayne. I understand her manners are non-existent, her behaviour entirely selfish and she is practically illiterate. Her attitude to the male sex is particularly disrespectful.'

'But she is a young woman of noble birth, your Ladyship. How would I maintain authority if I was challenged?'

'In the same way you did with Shipley's son.'

'Your niece would not take kindly to being whipped on her bare bottom. She would think it very demeaning.'

'Whether she takes kindly to it, as you say, is not the point. I care not a fig for her views on the subject. I believe in corporal punishment for girls as well as boys. You will have my full authority to chastise her in any way you wish. Unless I'm much mistaken, she will need to be treated as an unwilling guest in the early stages and if you agree to become her tutor, I will see that you are supplied with all the equipment needed to control her. Moreover, I will see that one of my strongest men is always close by should you need to summon help.'

'I can see that you have given careful consideration to what will be required.'

'My intention is to make alterations to the nursery so that we can keep her secure. It is regrettable that these precautions are necessary but your safety must be guaranteed. The girl will thank us later in life, I'm sure.'

'Is there any chance I might see your niece before I give you an answer?'

'We could travel to Kirkham Hall to see her. I would not wish her to come here until everything is ready.'

'I am grateful your Ladyship. I apologise if I seem demanding.'

Lady Woodham left the room to order a carriage for their journey the following day and Albert got up to look round. Her large desk - he assumed it had been her husband's - was strewn with papers and books and he came upon a magazine entitled The Pearl.

Flicking through the pages, he discovered the publication was full of stories and drawings on the theme of flagellation. One story was about novitiate nuns enduring punishment at the hands of their Mother Superior. Such was the reputation she gained, she was asked to discipline girls at a nearby school and the drawings which accompanied the lurid text showed the Mother Superior mortifying their flesh for the good of their souls.

Lady Woodham returned to her study suddenly before Albert could put the magazine back on the desk. Lady Woodham caught his eye and smiled slightly but said nothing other than assuring Albert that all was ready for their journey. Albert supposed the magazine had belonged to her husband but why had she not put it away out of sight?

There were no fires lit in the children's quarters and Albert shivered on his return to the sitting room; the contrast with Lady Woodham's cosy study was marked. He called for Mary and asked her to fetch a bath and to put kettles of water on to boil. By questioning the girl he discovered that fires were usually allowed in November but he decided not to set Mary to the task as there was so little of the day remaining.

Mary brought towels and soap and left hurriedly, seeing that Albert was beginning to undress.

Once he was warm, Albert felt his spirits rise. His mind drifted back to the stories and pictures he'd seen in the magazine and his cock stiffened. He stood up to soap below his waist and just at that moment Mary walked in with another kettle of water.

She nearly dropped it when her eyes alighted on her master's erection.

'Pour the water in,' he ordered as she tried to retreat.

'But sir...'

'Have you never seen a man naked before?'

'No, sir. Only my young brothers.'

'There is no need to be shy,' Albert told her. 'We are all the same anatomically.'

Trying to avert her eyes, Mary emptied her kettle. 'In a few moments I'd like you to hold the towel open for me when I get out.'

Mary looked away again as she held the towel open and helped to wrap it round Albert's waist...

Chapter 2

Albert Coulsdon's New Charge

 

Looking down from his tower next morning, Albert could see the carriage arrive and the driver making last minute adjustments to the harness of the horses. The lowering clouds of the preceding days had dispersed and the morning was crisp and cold. Albert had conflicting feelings about the day ahead. He was looking forward to the journey itself but knew that at the end of it he was required to make a difficult decision.

Once they were in the carriage and travelling along roads lined with frosted foliage, Albert was soon lost in thought. What would Jayne be like? Naturally he hoped she would be handsome. She certainly sounded spirited and it would be enjoyable bending her to his will. As he imagined how he would approach his task he noticed that Lady Woodham's gaze was upon him. There was no mistaking where she was looking and Albert realised he had developed a hard-on thinking about the power he would have over an eighteen year old girl. Lady Woodham looked up and met his eyes. There was no hint of disapproval or censure in her look, simply a little smile and a slight raising of her eyebrows.

Lady Woodham had left two of her female servants at Kirkham Hall as well as the two men guarding Jayne and they had a meal ready for the arrival of their mistress. Albert discovered he was hungry and enjoyed the game pie he was offered.

After the meal, Lady Woodham took Albert up the staircase to the bedroom Jayne occupied and he found herself trembling a little at the prospect of seeing the girl.

She was lying on the carpet at the foot of a four-poster bed wearing only a white linen chemise and drawers, with her wrists tied to the leg of the bed. The neckline of her chemise was low enough to reveal pleasing cleavage. Her long fair hair was dishevelled and her feet were bare.

'Stand up, girl!' barked Lady Woodham.

There was sufficient rope for her to stand but she made a great show of indifference, raising herself slowly from the carpet with a sulky expression.

Albert could see his face was unusually fair, even pretty, despite the hostile way she looked at them: the two most striking aspects being her full sensuous lips and her blue eyes. Her pale skin looked soft and clear despite her unhealthy living.

'You're a disgrace to our sex,' said Lady Woodham.

'So you're always telling me, Aunt,' Jayne replied.

'This gentleman has come to meet you with a view to acting as your tutor.'

The girl laughed. 'Tutor, at my age! You are jesting, Aunt!'

Jayne took a step closer to Albert and looked in his eyes. 'You would be mad to take on such a task. You would undoubtedly fail. I've never had a taste for learning and don't intend to change now.'

'You are a remarkably rude young lady,' said Albert quietly.

'You are quite right, Mr. Coulsdon. Her manners are appalling,' said her aunt. 'Especially towards the male sex. She has no idea of how to conduct herself in the company of gentlemen.'

'I see no gentlemen present,' said Jayne, looking round the room ostentatiously.

Her aunt raised her hand as if to strike her, but Albert intervened.

'Don't agitate yourself on my account, Lady Woodham. I will bide my time.'

 

 

For the next few weeks, Albert and Mary had to endure the sound of sawing and hammering in the nursery. The basic construction was a cell which occupied about a third of the space. In the open area, Lady Woodham had the ceiling strengthened and extra beams put in from which pulleys hung down with ropes and hooks attached.

The carpenter was a strange cove. Albert had seen him flitting about the house and garden and knew he was referred to as Giovanni, but he knew little else. His figure was small and bent and he wore a white mask in the manner of the Venetians. Lady Woodham said her husband had returned from one of his many visits to Italy with Giovanni in tow. He'd worked in a little workshop in a building which nudged the Grand Canal in Venice and which flooded periodically. The mask was the face of a young man but the body suggested an old man stunted in growth ... there was something strangely sinister about him.

Giovanni had constructed a horse with a leather padded top and at a lower level, little platforms where the knees and hands would rest. Thick leather straps were incorporated which would hold the rider 'in the saddle' as Giovanni put it in his thick Italian accent. Another item was a stout box made in sections which could be assembled around a seated figure, the top section having a hole for the head to come through.

Lady Woodham also promised Albert what she called 'a few surprises' for the time Jayne was brought from Kirkham Hall and she hoped he would not be offended by her ideas. She trusted Albert would remember that the converted nursery was to be his domain and that he could behave there without inhibition or scruple since his word was law. She promised she herself would always knock and await her invitation before entering.

Meanwhile, Albert tried to prepare Mary for Jayne's arrival, explaining that the young woman would need constant supervision even if her movements were restricted by fetters and chains. She must not feel pity for Jayne because she was no more than an animal at this stage and needed to be taught to behave at a basic human level before she could aspire to be a lady which was her birth right.

Being a woman with such primitive instincts she would have a sexual hunger Mary needed to beware of. There were ways of controlling sexual impulses and he would teach Mary how these could be applied.

The same two men who had guarded Jayne at Kirkham Hall brought their captive up the stairs to the children's quarters, each of them trying desperately to keep hold of an arm. The young woman seemed strong despite being confined to a bedroom for the past weeks. Lady Woodham followed, shouting to her servants to hang on.

Once in the nursery they threw the girl on the floor, one man locking her arm behind and the other kneeling on the small of her back. Lady Woodham unlocked the cell and watched as the men dragged her niece, who was still in chemise and drawers, behind the bars and dumped her unceremoniously on the floor. They barely had time to lock the door before she was on her feet again, snarling and cursing like a mad dog. Albert saw alarm on Mary's young face as she backed away from the bars.

Lady Woodham's two male servants clearly needed to rest after completing their Herculean task. They were huge, well-built men yet they were exhausted.

Lady Woodham and Albert discussed how they could subdue the girl and decided to imprison her in the structure Giovanni had created. Her Ladyship suggested another two burly servants would be needed to hold her fast whilst the cage was built around her.

'She will have to be stripped naked, your Ladyship, unless we are to have soiled clothes. I cannot release her to attend to her bodily functions,' Albert pointed out.

'It does mean your maid will be safe to go inside her cell to feed her. She will be completely immobile.'

'Bread and water to begin with,' said Albert. 'Certainly no meat. We need to cool her blood and her temper.'

The extra servants were duly summoned and Giovanni brought in his cage, clearly keen to see it put to use.

The girl lashed out with her arms and legs until four men held her down and ripped off her underwear - it was impossible to undress her in the normal way. Albert saw her naked body for the first time, very slim, almost boyish but with firm breasts and a curvaceous bottom. She was forced into a sitting position whilst Giovanni assembled the sections and bolted them together. Her legs were lifted and her ankles tied to the tops of the front spars which had the effect of opening her thighs and displaying her pussy, thereby adding to her discomfort and indignity.

Finally a leather ball gag was forced into her mouth to silence her protests and peace and quiet were restored.

'If you need anything else, Mr. Coulsdon, send your maid to me. I will post a man on the stairs so he can assist you if required. I think we should leave Jayne to think things over for a while, don't you?'

'Indeed, your Ladyship. A couple of days getting acquainted with Giovanni's excellent invention should work wonders.'