THACKERAY MANOR

by Alex B.

Edmund Thackeray stepped from his carriage and motioned for the horseman to move along to the stable. He was pleased to see the front door of his London residence on Woodbury Street.

It had been a madhouse in Parliament that day and he was glad to

be home. It was a bad year to serve in the House of Lords. 1775 was coming to a miserable close and 1776 didn't seem to hold much promise either.

Colleen, one of the Thackeray's servants, was there to take Edmund's hat and coat as he came in the front door. He walked down the hallway to find his wife, Lady Madeline Thackeray waiting for him in the sitting room.

"Hello, my sweet." Edmund said with a tired smile.

"Oh dear, you look exhausted!" Mrs. Thackeray said, turning to Jennifer, a servant waiting nearby. "Some sherry." she ordered.

The girl nodded and quickly left the room.

"It's been a devil of a day!" Edmund moaned as he sat down in his chair near the fireplace. "A devil of a day!"

Jennifer came back with a glass of sherry on a silver tray. Mrs. Thackeray took the glass from the tray and waved the girl away.

"Trouble in the colonies?" she asked.

Edmund gave his wife an annoyed look.

"You know I never discuss matters of state at home!"

"Of course, dear. I do apologize." she said, handing him

the glass.

He took a gulp of the sherry and sighed.

"Yes, trouble in the colonies." he continued. "A damnable insurrection, that's what it is!"

"Oh my!"

"Oh, I can sympathize with their situation, the tax burden and all, but you can't just break off from the empire!"

"Certainly not!"

"The upstarts! They all need a good thrashing!" he said.

Madeline grasped the opportunity to change the subject.

"Speaking of thrashing, we need to deal with the servants.

This is Friday."

Friday was the established day of the week to punish the servants for various misdeeds in the house. Not all punishment took place on Friday. Occasionally a maid would displease

Mrs. Thackeray and quickly find herself bent over the nearest

chair with her dress tossed over her head, having a dose of the Lady's oak hairbrush briskly applied to her bottom. Or perhaps a serving girl would spill something during supper which would result in an immediate spanking over Mr. Thackeray's knee.

Edmund had no compunction about baring a servant girl's buttocks and spanking them soundly, even in front of guests. In fact, it was when others were present at the table that he was most prone to wallop one of his girls. The impromptu spanking or strapping

of a servant was not uncommon at Thackeray manor. For the

most part however, a record of misdeeds and unfinished duties

were kept in Mrs. Thackeray's ledger and the corresponding punishments were meted out on Friday afternoon, before dinner.

"Very well." Edmund said. "Let's get on with it."

Lady Thackeray took a small silver bell from the mantelpiece

and rang it vigorously. Within moments, four servants, all young women, had entered the room and were waiting at attention in front

of the lord and lady.

"Are they prepared?" he asked.

"Yes, they are." she said. As always, the girls had been

instructed to leave their aprons and undergarments in their rooms in preparation of punishment in order to make their bottoms

easily accessible.

"Where are Katherine and Rebecca?"

"Katherine is not in the ledger this week." Mrs. Thackeray told her husband. "She has performed without flaw. As for Rebecca, she had to leave for a few days- some family matter. But I did settle accounts with her this morning, before she left."

"Did she require the hairbrush?" he asked.

"One of your belts, actually."

"Really?"

"Yes." Lady Thackeray explained. "Insufferable girl!

Always dawdling- always up to mischief! I caught her taking

a nip at our dinner wine yesterday!

"Good lord! I hope you laid it on well!"

"She won't sitting for a few days, I can promise you that."

Sitting down across from her husband, she opened the ledger

and chose a name from the list. "Emily, you will be the first."

Emily Wicklund was a small, brown-haired, buxom youth of twenty who's behavior on the whole was quite good. She had done very well for herself as a chamber maid, with the exception of some nervous clumsiness on her part. Emily stepped forward

and stood quietly with her head bowed as the complaints against her were read.

"On Monday, Emily forgot to bring fresh water to the bedroom basin and on Wednesday she dropped one of my Aunt Margaret's antique flower vases, causing it to be chipped."

"Can it be restored?" Lord Thackeray inquired.

"I believe so." she replied.

"Well then, nothing too serious. Still, we must be more careful in the future mustn't we?"

"Yes, sir." Emily quietly agreed with a curtsy. Mr. Thackeray hooked his arm around Emily's waist and bent her over his lap. Without ceremony, he lifted the young woman's dress, revealing her pale, round buttocks.

"I think a good hand spanking should suffice, don't you?"

"I might have used the brush." said Lady Thackeray. "But I'm certain you know best. "Right." the gentleman replied and with that, he lifted his large powerful hand and brought it down,

landing a sound, solid swat across Emily's fair cheeks.

Emily flinched and grimaced, but she did not cry aloud.

She knew better. She had witnessed many a spanking at the manor and had taken note that the girls who kicked and cried only received more swats in return. As the volley of painful slaps rained

down on her naked, vulnerable bottom, Emily simply gritted her teeth and tried to remain still, resisting as much as she could the impulse to cry out. Of course, after a while over Lord Thackeray's knee, it was impossible not to show some signs of distress.

His ability to find the softest area on a bottom and to set that patch

ablaze with pain was uncanny. His punishments were rarely unfair, but never forgotten. He was a quiet-spoken man except

when angered. And if he was angry enough to raise his voice, someone's bottom would soon be throbbing.

Lord Thackeray laid swat after stinging swat onto Emily's reddening cheeks until even that well-controlled girl was

weeping openly. Her buttocks were spanked until they were

red and raw. She was about to start begging for mercy when her master gave her one last resounding slap and then put her dress back in place.

"You may stand." Mr. Thackeray said. Emily pushed herself up, wiping the tears from her face as she stood up.

"We will try not to be so clumsy won't we, Miss Wicklund?" Lady Thackeray asked her.

"Yes, ma'am." Emily answered, curtsying again.

"Off you go then." said Lord Thackeray.

Emily returned to her place in line with the other girls and began

to rub the soreness from her aching buttocks.

Mrs. Thackeray glanced down at the ledger.

"Colleen will now step forward for punishment."

Colleen Sullivan was a trim, but sturdy young woman of Irish

descent who wore her fine red hair in shoulder-length curls.

Her smooth, porcelain skin and soft emerald eyes made her a vision hard to ignore. The only thing more noticeable than

Colleen's beauty was her quick temper and stubborn will.

Such elements in her personality caused her to be the most often punished girl in the house. During her first year in the Thackeray's

employ, she had been spanked on no less than sixty occasions. Still, her insubordinate behavior continued. If it were not for a promise to Colleen's ailing mother to keep and train her

errant daughter, Madeline would have released the girl long ago.

"Miss Sullivan has been lazy and insolent this week."

Lady Thackeray declared. "On Tuesday, she was given the

simple duty of beating the rugs. Not only did she perform her

duty in a haphazard fashion, but when I informed her that she wasn't beating the rugs hard enough, she answered me with

a sharp tongue!"

"Sir," Colleen interjected. "I only said that, if Lady Thackeray was to use her hairbrush, she'd have those rugs beaten clean in

no time."

The other girls tried not to giggle.

"You impudent little whelp!" Lady Thackeray fumed. "If your

mother had the strength, she'd-"

"There's no cause for anger, my dear." Edmund interrupted.

"We shall simply show Miss Sullivan how to properly whack

a rug." He stood and pointed to Emily. "Fetch the rug beater." Emily nodded and darted out of the room. "Only, I believe

Miss Sullivan should experience this particular whacking from

the rug's point of view." Lord Thackeray took a tall wooden chair from a nearby table and placed it sideways directly in front

of Colleen. "You will lift your dress and assume the position

of a dirty rug." he told her. Blushing as deeply as a rose,

Colleen took hold of the hem of her dress and pulled it up

above her waist as she lowered herself over the seat of the chair.

Emily returned with a long paddle-shaped instrument made from thick, shellacked wicker. Edmund took the rug beater from

Emily and stood to the left of Colleen's upturned bottom.

"Now, I want you all to watch closely as I attempt to whack the filth from this nasty little piece of carpet." he said as he lifted the rug beater on high and brought it whistling through the air onto the young woman's buttocks with a thundering smack that caused the other girl's to flinch. Colleen let loose with a high-pitched wail that

was answered by a second stinging swat. Tears streamed down

Colleen's pale, freckled cheeks as the next few swats found their

round, trembling target. "You see, you must stand clear of the rug and hold the instrument at the far end of the handle using it's full length when you swing. These quick smacks do very little to get the job done." He punctuated each of these words with short,

sharp spanks. Lord Thackeray then took the handle in both hands, lifted the rug beater high above his head and swung it down

across Colleen's bottom with a powerful slap, the hardest one yet. Colleen gasped and began to bawl. "You must use full-armed swats that produce a resounding clap that can be heard all around the house." He gave Colleen's bottom another cracking blow

and then held the instrument out to Emily. "Now you try it."

He noticed that Emily was hesitant. "Come on, now. You both need to learn from this." Edmund said, noting Emily's hesitation. He placed the handle firmly in Emily's hand. Emily blushed a bit as she took her place at Colleen's side. She took a deep breath, brought back the flat end of the instrument and swung it with all her might delivering a loud, solid spank to her workmate's pink, throbbing cheeks. Colleen was crying loudly now and when Emily

landed another equally painful swat, the Irish lass howled with pain and humiliation. Emily continued the thrashing until Edmund

handed the beater to Jennifer Beecham.

Jennifer was a raven-haired beauty fresh out of school and new to the Thackeray's home. Colleen had made things difficult for the new girl with cruel pranks and teasing.

So it was with relish that Jennifer took the rug beater in hand and began smacking Colleen's fanny as though she was whacking a hundred years of dust from a thick carpet. She swung with terrific malice causing Colleen to grip the legs of the chair with both hands as she began to blubber uncontrollably. Again and again, Jennifer joyfully smacked Colleen's bottom, bringing it

to a dark, ruddy hue. Eventually, Edmund took the beater from Jennifer's hand and passed it to Jane.

Jane Thisby, the Thackeray's short, slightly plump cook's assistant, was timid and easily frightened. She too had been mistreated by Colleen, but was afraid to spank her in earnest for fear of reprisals. Jane took the rug beater and began to give Colleen a few moderate swats, each of which landed with a

dull slap.

"No, no!" Mr. Thackeray shouted. "You have to swing much harder than that, Jane!" Mrs. Thackeray added.

Jane curtsied and then continued to give Colleen a half-hearted spanking with blows only a trifle harder than before.

"No! This won't do!" Lord Thackeray said, grabbing another chair from the table and placing it flush against the chair that Colleen was bent over. "I'll show you how it's done!" He then took Jane by the shoulders, forced her over the empty seat and flung her dress up. The two girl's bare bottoms were snug against each other, Colleen's red and swollen one next to Jane's which

was pale and unmarred. Lord Thackeray hauled back and swung the beater catching Jane's bottom with a powerful blow that had her wincing. This was followed by several harder spanks that swiftly brought tears to Jane's eyes. Then there was a surprisingly hard swat for Colleen who had begun to think her punishment

had ended. Jane got another stinging spank followed by one

for Colleen.

For the next few minutes the two took their spankings simultaneously. Mr. Thackeray alternated swats, from one bottom to the other until both young women were kicking and crying

for mercy.

"Stand up, Jane." Edmund commanded.

"Yes sir." Jane sobbed as she stood, gripping her sore backside.

"Do you feel that Jane has been sufficiently punished?"

Mrs. Thackeray checked the ledger.

"Hmm. She only forgot to mop the kitchen floor one night.

Yes, I think that should do. Get back in line, Jane."

Jane curtsied and took her place next to Emily and Jennifer.

"You! Stand up!" Lord Thackeray told Colleen who stood, weeping and rubbing her bottom furiously as she hopped gingerly from one foot to the other. "Miss Sullivan, you have talked back

to my wife! This will not be permitted! You will have no dinner

tonight and no breakfast tomorrow! You are to be spanked

by Lady Thackeray every morning this week and by me

every evening. Any other transgressions on your part will be settled most harshly with my belt, do you understand?!"

"Yes sir!" Colleen gulped. Mr. Thackeray waved her away.

Still sobbing, Colleen dashed back to her place in line.

"Jennifer shall be last one." Lady Thackeray said, closing

the ledger. "I would like to take charge of this myself. You see,

she neglected to dust the foyer on Wednesday and while that

in itself may not be a grave transgression, it is something I have

personally reminded her about again and again. I cannot help but think that she is ignoring me." She glared at Jennifer. "And I will not have that."

"Very well." Edmund agreed. "Jennifer, bring Lady Thackeray her hairbrush."

Jennifer bowed her head and left the room returning a few moments later with a large oak hairbrush which she handed to

her lady. Mrs. Thackeray wasted no time, hauling Jennifer over

her lap, lifting her dress and landing the first swat of the brush

in what seemed to be one smooth continual motion.

Lady Thackeray was an expert spanker. Every servant in the house knew the sting of that hairbrush and none of them took the subject lightly. It wasn't just the harshness of the swats, but the blinding speed with which they were delivered. A spanking from Lady Thackeray took far less time than one from her husband, but it was debatable which was more feared.

She dispensed an array of sharp stinging swats that had

Jennifer's bottom bright pink within a minute. The fierce staccato

of spanks continued and soon those pink cheeks were crimson. Lady Thackeray swung the brush like a woman possessed, peppering the girl's burning cheeks with blistering smacks,

each one seemingly harder than the last. Jennifer was a mass

of tears and apologies before her mistress was through with her.

Then just as quickly as she had taken the girl over her knee,

Lady Thackeray grabbed Jennifer by the arms and yanked her to her feet. She stood and stared coldly into Jennifer's watery eyes.

"From now on, you will attend to all the duties you are given!"

"Oh- yes, ma'am!" Jennifer tearfully replied.

"Very well. Back to work- all of you!"

Lady Thackeray clapped her hands and the girls all scurried

out of the room.

Edmund sat down in his chair by the fire. Madeline stood behind

him with her hands on his shoulders.

"That seemed fair enough." she stated.

Lord Thackeray stared into the flames for a few moments

before answering.

You did seem a bit rough on Jennifer, though."

"Do you think so?" Madeline asked. Edmund smiled.

"Never mind." he said, patting his wife's hand. "You and I

will soon settle that account."

Later that night, all four servant girls were gathered around the door of the master bedroom, giggling quietly as they took turns

peering through the keyhole. One at a time, they watched with delight as Lord Edmund Thackeray, in his nightgown, held the naked Lady Madeline Thackeray over his lap, spanking her mercilessly with her own hairbrush.

"Look at her face." Jennifer commented as she moved aside, giving Emily a chance at the keyhole. "She almost seems to be enjoying it!"

Young Emily took a closer look.

"I think you may be right!" she replied.

"Imagine that!" Jane said, with amazement. Colleen rubbed her own bottom to feel the wickedly delicious sting. "Imagine that."

THE END