Chapter Nineteen
Q. What was it like, Tammy?
A. Twenty four? Horrendous, but so thrilling it wasn’t true. I almost melted on the spot, I certainly had an orgasm as Annie said it! And she knew, of course. Anyway, I leaned over his chair and waited, knowing he was flexing the cane knowing it would strike at any moment, knowing too that Annie was sliding one hand down inside her own pants behind the loose coat she wore, and fingering herself. My quim was twitching like a mad thing - and then the first one landed. I never remember how much it hurts and jump every time, my head comes up as the band of pain sears across me - he does it right across the middle first time! and I’m sure I’ll never take them all. Never! No way! But I stay there getting lower and lower, pressing myself harder and harder to the chair, longing to roll over, to throw myself at his feet and beg for mercy and yet -
Q. Why don’t you?
A. Because deep down it’s what I want. I know I’m basically bad and need punishment. So, I get it where I can. And Mr. Wrayland, for all his Headmasterly nonsense, is a man prepared to give it and give it good and hard. Twenty four. Oh my! The thought of it! They overlaid once and then twice and then again, I was screeching into the cushion by the time he was done, flooding the uphosltery with dark stains from my eyes, and burning everywhere - but I’d come again. Oh Yes, I’d come again, as Annie had, we both had wet knickers. And we walked out of there leaving Mr. Wrayland with an uncomfortable bulge to take care of.
“He had a strong right hand,” Annie commented as we walked down the path, me carefully, she bouncing down the flagstones. “He’ll get rid of that when we’re gone,” but he was standing at the window, looking out. I looked back, just once.
Q. How did you hide the beating from your parents?
A. Mother and Father are easy to hide things from! They don’t ask questions, they don’t demand your presence every evening in front to the TV, they’re busy with their lives, watching their videos of nature programmes and comparing notes from the natural history encyclopaedias they buy, they don’t worry about us. We put our heads round the door and say -
“We’re going out now,” and Mother says, “all right darling, have a good time be good and don’t be late,” and Father grins stupidly and says - “Have a good time, girls,” and we’re gone. They don’t know where and I don’t think they realise they don’t know where. Unless we never came home, of course, as it happened that time. Then they panicked. But that was the first and only time.
Q. But twenty four! You must have walked a little stiffly for a few days!
A. No. I’m used to being punished, the muscles are well used to it, I walked around as if nothing had happened. And after a day or so it was as if nothing had happened. Oh, winced a bit when I sat down. Mother noticed once and I said, “lower back strain,” and she nodded and ignored it.
Q. What happened next?
A. Christmas happened next. Yes, I’m sure it did. Danny Giblings had got the message, he hadn’t asked Annie out for ages, just ogled her from across the floor in MacDonalds when we went in there, or if we met in the street in town, when shopping, that kind of thing. He started dating someone from our street, a long thin streak of - well water, called Gloria. Fancy name not so fancy person. But they seemed all right together. Mark and Niall were our escorts still, Niall and I made a good pair, submissive to both Mark and Annie. They had a lot of fun at our expense, ordering us about. Niall had to remove his trousers while we were in the cinema once, even when the lights went up. They didn’t say anything about not covering himself up though so he sat with his jeans trailed over his legs and no one noticed.
Q. What about the family vendetta?
A. Our family? Gran Webster was very ill, depression they said. Phil went around looking as if the cares of the world had ended up on his shoulders, and even Mother commented on how he didn’t come round so much anymore. Trouble was, Phil had got used to it, the sessions with us, he missed it terribly, which was part of Annie’s plan, of course. I didn’t see it then, I only saw it later. He was in torment, it was in his eyes when he looked at us, longing to get his hands on me and couldn’t. Because he was too damn scared of what else Annie might ask him to do. I think he worked out Annie = sex with me = keeping quiet about the whole business to Aunt Phyl and also - getting Gran Webster into a home for whatever reason Annie wanted her in the home. And he didn’t like it one bit. He cornered me in the hall one time, when he did come round to see Father about something, and whispered ever so fast “God I miss you,” and walked off before I could answer.
Q. Did you miss him?
A Not while I had Mr. Wrayland. And that’s something else. I found out Annie was making sly visits to Mr. Wrayland on her own. It was some time before I found out why.