Our story began here.

Even the chair with the pillow on did not look inviting so Sylvia dropped onto a bean bag nestled in the corner in the light where she could kneel to read. But first she had something very important to do. She smiled. The traditional English apple was a polished russet red on one side and a rich green on the other. She bit into it with a relish that Eve might have felt that first day. It tasted sweet. How appropriate, she thought, as she looked down on the red curve of the fruit that reminded her something, two analogies in one, aren’t I lucky. She flicked her eyes at Tatiana’s exposed red bare bottom which had a colour and shape that echoed the fruit in her hand.

Tatiana had been soundly spanked that morning and had been in the corner ever since. The exact cause of Sylvia’s displeasure escaped her now, but what did it matter, with Mary gone, she was the true mistress of this house now.

She almost resented the doorbell that broke into her contemplation of both the apple and Tatiana’s sore rounds. For a moment she considered releasing the girl for the duty, but that wouldn’t do at all. I have to do it sometime, she sighed.

Balancing the bite invested apple and the book on the bean bag; she smoothed down the front of her skirt and walked slowly to the door. Maybe they will have gone by the time I get there; cold callers are so impatient these days.

From the front that she was about to present to the callers at the door she appeared to be a respectable housewife, but had Tatiana dared to turn around as her mistress left the room she would have seen the back of Sylvia’s skirt neatly tucked and pinned into the small of her back exposing a bare bottom that was every bit as red and sore as her own.

Well here goes nothing, Sylvia thought with a nervous gulp. Then with her best face on she opened the front door.

Mary looked like she would explode with joy where she stood next to Drake on the doorstep.

“Is the lady of the house at home?” Drake asked in a teasing voice.

Sylvia squealed in delight. “How was it? I have never been to Thailand and… Mary how was your… we never got to talk…? Oh where are my manners? Come in, come in.” She gushed like a teen as she backed away from the door to usher the newly married Mr and Mrs Drake into the house. “Gerald will be so glad to see you.”

“Tatiana, where is that girl? Oh…” Sylvia giggled as she remembered, “I had better make the tea myself.” And then to the maid she called out, “Never you mind girl, you can stay there.”

Mary gave her a quizzical look, but the smirk on Drake’s face suggested that he already suspected.

“Go in, I’ll fetch some tea and biscuits directly,” Sylvia told them with another smile.

Then with a deep breath and a sigh, she steeled herself and turned towards the kitchen. They had to know sometime, she decided with a blush.

“Oh my,” Mary giggled as she clapped a hand to her mouth.

As both the newlyweds admired Sylvia’s bare bottom as she walked away Drake chuckled, “It looks as though Gerald is keeping you up to the mark.”

Sylvia shot him a ruefully glance over her shoulder as she continued on to the kitchen.

*

Sylvia found out that she and Tatiana weren’t the only girls in the room who had recently been spanked. With her coat off Mary revealed that she too was wearing a backless skirt under it. This served to expose two cherry red bottom cheeks of the kind where the mottled rash of spank-spore persisted for a day or two.

“Ouch, it looks as if your tail end has been in the wars too,” Sylvia giggled, “What did you do?”

“Oh, no I have been a good girl this week. It is just that Drake believes in regular maintenance spankings and he doesn’t go in for half-measures as you can see. Isn’t that thoughtful of him?”

“If it is half as sore as it looks then we had better take our tea off the mantle while the men talk,” Sylvia suggested.

“Oh and won’t they just love that,” Mary said ruefully, but she made no complaint.

Gerald had broken off from his work in his study to join them.

“Here, here,” he chuckled.

“Well I can’t say that I mind at all,” Drake grinned. Then turning back to Drake he said, “Now tell me about this new project of yours.”

“Boring conversation anyway,” Sylvia said to Mary under her breath, “Tell me about Thailand, no better still, you still have told me about that training you did before you got married. We didn’t have a chance at the wedding and anyway I sensed that some of your family were not entirely in the loop.”

Mary rolled her eyes up in acknowledgement.

“Tell me about it,” she groaned.

“Never mind about that, what about this… camp was it?”

Mary’s hands strayed to her bottom and she pulled a face.

“Are you sure you want to know?” Mary asked. “I can tell you I thought I would never sit down again.”

“What was the deal there? Were you a prisoner?” Sylvia urged in a conspiratorial whisper.

“No, not a prisoner exactly, but Drake would have killed me if I had given up on it. They had this bell and if you rang it you could leave no questions asked. It was like one of those military boot camps in that regard. But if you stayed… ooh, it was somewhat trying.” Although her eyes flashed with awe and wonder, Mary’s mouth affected rueful disdain as she spoke.

“Details, come on spill the beans,” Sylvia said excitedly.

Mary blushed and lowered her voice still more.

“On the first day we all stripped down in the yard, which wasn’t difficult for some of the girls, their various sponsors had taken care of that before they left home. Then we had to shower and were… eh…” Mary coughed, “Thoroughly cleansed, if you know what I mean.”

Sylvia blushed.

“Not once, not twice, but three times, all in front of each other,” Mary rolled her eyes. “My head was buzzing.”

“Not just your head by the sound of it,” Sylvia said in an awed voice.

“Oh don’t, my tail bud was raw for a week,” Mary groaned.

Sylvia giggled.

“It was good for me though,” Mary admitted. “Oh I don’t mean the enemas. But they had hard and fast rules and if you broke them, they broke your bottom. I found that it was a cathartic and motivating experience.”

“How… I mean what did they…?”

“Routinely they used a paddle strap with the culprit stretched bottom up over a frame. But they had paddles of every description, switches, canes and if I never see a birch rod again I might just get religion,” Mary said ruefully.

“That bad…?” Sylvia’s eyes were like saucers.

“No,” Mary scoffed, “Not really, but when it came to the birch… well I am talking the full judicial rod, one to make grandmother and a Manchester constable proud.”

Gerald noticed the women in a huddle at the mantle and broke off mid-sentence with Drake to admire their reddened curves.

“What are you two whispering about?” he said in good humour.

“Oh nothing darling;” Sylvia looked suddenly demure and as if butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth.

*

Later that night Sylvia sidled up to Gerald in bed and kissed him.

“Sir,” she lisped, “Sir I was wondering.”

Gerald looked at her indulgently over the edge of the book he was reading and smiled.

“Are you happy with me? With my level of submission I mean?” she took on the gaze of an earnest school girl now.

“You do all right,” he chuckled. The he added more seriously, “Are you?”

“Well, I was thinking that if you thought I needed it, you could send me for training like Drake did Mary.”

Gerald frowned and put down the book.

“Oh is that right, well I’ll give you some training,” he growled and pulled her down across his knee.

She squealed as in short order he pulled away the bed clothes and began to spank her with the flat of his hand.

“Ooh, ow, that hurts,” she yelped, “I am still sore from this morning remember.”

Gerald ignored her and gleefully and firmly spanked her sore bottom with a will of his own until she kicked and yelped for all she was worth.

“How is this for training,” he teased.

“I’m trained, I’m trained,” she frantically begged him.

“I am glad to hear it. Here is some more training,” he chuckled, but although his words were jokey, his hands seriously stung her.

To be concluded.