From the Top Shelf - Heatherton Hall, chapter 2b

Today we continue with Rollin Hand's takeoff on Downton Abbey. You may wish to refresh your memory by reading here how the two young cousins got themselves into a whole heap of trouble at the local pub. It's now the following morningand Josh must deal with them.

“You have a barn?” asked Josh the next morning. His head still hurt, but the swelling around his nose had subsided. Maybe it wasn’t broken after all.

“Yes,” said Gwyneth.

“With some tools and a workspace?”

“Of course.”

“Then let’s take a walk.” Josh took Gwyneth by the arm and escorted her out. They crossed the courtyard and made their way toward several outbuildings.

“The barn is this way,” said Gwyneth, leading. “But what are you going to do?”

“You’ll see,” said Josh. By this time, they had reached the barn. Gwyneth led him through a side door into a tack room. Behind the tack room there was a work space with tools hung on the walls. There were power tools as well, which was exactly what Josh was looking for. It was, in fact, a well-equipped work room with a jig saw and a band saw.

“We have men on staff who do repairs when needed, so we have,this work room with tools. It was something my father built. He enjoyed working with his hands,” explained Gwyneth.

“So do I,” said Josh, looking around. He spied a pile of lumber inba corner, just odds and ends. Sifting through it, he found a likely piece. It was a slat, about four inches wide and nearly an inch thick.

Josh took it over to the jig saw and cut it down to fifteen inches. Then he formed one end into a narrow handle. Finding a sander, he smoothed and rounded all the edges. Gwyneth watched with interest. When he was done, Josh held it up. “See?” he said. “Just what I need, the ol’ schoolhouse paddle.”

“I see,” said Gwyneth, beginning to feel positively squirmy at the sight.

Josh tapped it in his palm. “Just the thing for a pair of underage troublemakers. We’re going to do this Texas-style. I made a few trips to the assistant principal’s office myself, so I know what this feels like. This is a lighter version, but it will do, especially since your cousins will not have much in the way of protection.”

Gwyneth listened with interest, and an image of Josh bent over for a paddling popped into her head. Then an image of herself bent over for a paddling from Josh replaced it and she flushed.

Josh noticed. “Is something wrong?”

She waved her hand. “No, no—just a thought.”

“Mmm. Well, let’s go find your cousins.”

Josh strode back to the main house, paddle in hand, Gwyneth following in his wake. A definite itchy excitement was forming in her lower regions at the prospect of what was coming. In the main foyer they were greeted by the butler. “Griggs, will you inform the misses Amanda and Felicity that I’d like to see them in the library?”

“At once, sir. Shall I inform Lady Heatherton as well?”

“Absolutely. She will want to be present. And Griggs ...,” he added.

“Yes, sir.”

“We are not to be disturbed.”

Griggs eyed the paddle in Josh’s hand. “Quite right, sir.”

Lydia entered first. She nodded to Josh and sat in a high-backed chair that Josh thought resembled a throne. Amanda and Felicity came in next. “Shut the door behind you,” said Josh.

They both wore fashionable knee-length dresses, as if about to go shopping, but by now Josh understood that dressing up was part of the culture at the hall. They dressed for meals, for tea— and now for punishment, it seemed.

“Amanda and Felicity,” began Lydia Heatherton, “we invoked tradition on your behalf to keep you from being hauled off to jail and to what would have been, no doubt, a painful and humiliating interlude that would have brought shame and scandal upon the family. But, as with most things in life, ladies, such intercession comes at a price. There is a compact on this island, and that is that Heatherton Hall imposes its own discipline when our rank and privilege are invoked. Mr. Fairchild is now the earl, as you both know. You will obey him, and you will accept whatever correction he chooses to mete out with as much grace and fortitude as you can muster. If not, the constable can be summoned. Do I make myself clear?”

Both girls murmured an affirmative of sorts and shuffled their feet. They avoided eye contact with anyone, least of all Josh. It was a different pair of young women who stood now before the earl and the Heatherton’s. Gone was the sassy devil-may-care attitude. In its place was embarrassment and remorse.

Josh picked up the paddle and tapped it in his palm. “This is an American school paddle, girls. I expect you’ve not seen one of these over here. But I’m pretty familiar with it, so I know what it feels like. This won’t be easy, but, as I understand it, we are all honor-bound to go through with this. So here’s what will happen. Both of you will come up here to the desk,” Josh tapped the paddle on a broad, flat desk that stood in the center of the room, “and bend over, resting your forearms flat on the desk. You will reach back and lift your skirts above your waist. You will hold that position. I’m going to do this in threes. You will each get three swats at a time, alternating. I’ll do this four times, so you are each getting twelve. I understand that twelve is what they would have given you at the police station, so that’s what you get here. When it’s done, you can get up and rub or whatever, but not before. If you do, we’ll have to repeat. Understand?”

Both girls just nodded nervously.

“Okay, let’s get started.” Josh pointed to the desk with the paddle. “As we say back home, assume the position.”

Amanda and Felicity minced forward and bent over the desk, side by side.

“Spread out a little,” said Josh. “I need to stand between you two.” They shuffled sideways. “Okay, ladies, skirts up.” Josh watched with interest as each girl reached back and gingerly tugged her skirt up. Both wore fashionable lace panties under garter belt and hose combinations. Amanda’s panties were like silky step-ins, while Felicity’s were a patterned nylon type with lace borders.Amanda’s bottom was heart-shaped, high set, and prominent; Felicity, who was shorter and more voluptuous boasted a bubble-shaped derriere, a pair of pertly rounded globes that appeared quite capable of absorbing a good paddling.

Josh stepped to Felicity’s side first. He tapped her buttocks with the paddle as if assessing their resiliency. “First three, Felicity. Do not move.” He drew back his arm.

The arm descended with a blur. A loud crack resounded throughout the room. Felicity squealed and rose halfway up, the sting from the paddle being nexpectedly intense.

Crack! “Yow... ahh!” Felicity stamped her feet as the second swat struck.

Crack! “Ah... ah... yah! Shit!” Felicity bobbed up and down. Gwyneth watched in amazement. The three swats had been delivered rapidly, one after another. The paddle had sounded like a gunshot. Felicity’s bottom cheeks had quivered with the impact.

“I’ll not have swearing, Felicity,” said Lydia. “One more outburst, young lady, and you’ll repeat that stroke. Do I make myself clear?”

“Owww! Y-yes, ma’am,” wailed Felicity.

Josh moved over to Amanda, who looked at him over her shoulder, eyes wide, a fearful expression on her face. “Best to look straight ahead, Amanda. I don’t want you to move. Do it—- spot on the wall. Look there.” Amanda turned her head and tensed up. Josh stepped back.

Crack! Whack! Smack! The paddle spanked Amanda’s clenched bottom cheeks three times in swift succession. She howled at each swat, the cries steadily increasing in volume.

“My God! That hurts!” she wailed. It was practically a shout.

“I’ll warn you too, Amanda,” said Lydia. “No swearing.”

Amanda writhed over the desk while Felicity tensed up. Josh was coming back to her side with the paddle. “Three more, Felicity. Hold still.” She gripped the far edge of the desk so hard her knuckles were white.

Josh reared back and delivered three more crisp swats, one right after another.

Felicity flinched and howled at each smack. She stamped her feet and bobbed up and down, making her nether globes jiggle lewdly. Back over to Amanda. The next three had her humping up and down, too, her feet flying up off the floor. The sound of the paddle smacking flesh echoed off the library walls. Gwyneth winced each time the paddle struck. Watching her cousins get it was satisfying, but still, it looked like it stung like blazes.

Both girls stood up, rubbing. They turned around. Tears were flowing.

“It hurts too much,” wailed Amanda.

“You can’t expect us to hold still for that,” said Felicity. She flexed her knees as she rubbed her bottom. “No more.”

“Me either,” said Amanda.

Josh stood there, grimly tapping the paddle in his palm. He looked at Lydia. She said nothing. Gwyneth was silent as well. They are waiting for me to take charge and finish this, he thought. All right, we’ll do this the old fashioned way. There was an armless chair to the side of the desk. It looked sturdy. Josh put the paddle down and dragged the chair over in front of the desk. He sat down and folded his arms.

“Okay, who’s first?” he said.

The two girls stared at him, not comprehending.

“We are going to finish this. You are both getting twelve swats, and since you won’t hold still and take it, you are going over my knee where I will hold you in place. Now who’s first?”

Both Amanda and Felicity started to back up, but Josh shot up and grabbed Amanda’s wrist. He pulled her around to his right and sat back down. She squealed as he unceremoniously dumped her across his knee. Felicity’s hands flew to her face as she looked on in horror. Up came Amanda’s skirt. Josh tucked it under his arm, well up out of the way. He grabbed the paddle from the desk top behind him.

“Wait a minute,” said Lydia. Josh thought that she was going to stop him. Instead she said, “Her drawers should come down. That should be the penalty for not taking her punishment and forcing you to spank her like a child.”

Amanda shrieked, “No-o-o!” But it was too late. Josh whisked her panties down to her knee hollows in one swift movement. She squirmed across his knee, panicked now, her bare bottom on display. Josh calmly informed her that she was getting six more good hard swats.

The smacks were delivered at an even tempo, spaced two or three seconds apart. The steady splat! splat! splat! was accompanied by Amanda’s squeals of distress and her thrashing and bucking across Josh’s lap. When all six had been duly meted out, Josh stood Amanda on her feet and sent her off to the corner with a swat from his hand.

“All right, Felicity. Your turn.” Josh sat back down and gestured for her to approach.

“Please,” she implored. “Not like this.”

“You had your chance to take it like a big girl. Now we do it naughty girl style. Come on.” Josh slapped his thighs.

Timidly, she approached. She looked around. There was no way out. Her bottom was burning already. As soon as she was in range, Josh took her by the waist and guided her across his knee. He adjusted her so that her bottom was angled upward, right at the ceiling. Her skirt came up, revealing her rather prominent fully-fleshed bottom, encased in frilly panties and framed by her garter belt. She groaned with shame as Josh slipped the panties down, baring her. The twin cheeks, now shamefully displayed, were already quite red. That didn’t deter Josh. He picked up the paddle, tapped her once or twice, and then, smack! He delivered the first of six hearty swats that fell with metronomic regularity.

Felicity thrashed around. She squirmed and wriggled as the paddle meted out its stinging message of justice, one carefully administered smack at a time.

Gwyneth’s hand was at her throat as she watched. Felicity writhed and wriggled in uncontrollable reaction to the paddling. Josh’s brow was knit with concentration as he raised the paddle and, with a smooth motion, whipped it down through an arc to impact Felicity’s quivering buttocks with a loud crack! The sound seemed to bounce off the library walls. Felicity shrieked and arched her back. Josh just pushed her back down and lined up for the next smack.

This was definitely a new Josh, and watching him take control and discipline her naughty cousins was sending little quivers of excitement and desire through the young woman’s lower regions. She imagined herself across the husky American’s lap, bottom bared to his gaze, and her knees felt like they might buckle. She caught herself. Whatever am I thinking?

The paddling concluded, Josh helped Felicity up and sent her to an opposite corner. Lady Lydia looked satisfied. “I trust, girls, that there will be no more wild shenanigans in pubs while you are here.” She looked at Josh. “And I have no reservation at all in informing the constable that justice has been duly carried out by our new earl.”

I think Gwyneth is about to leap across Josh's lap. Will she get her turn soon? Come back next week and find out.