‘Yes, I see that face, madam,’ said Allyson, turning her attention to the younger girl. ‘You don’t want to be in this position, do you? So make sure you’re careful in future because, believe me, I wouldn’t think twice about pulling down your knickers and giving you the hiding of a lifetime. In fact, it would be a pleasure. So think on that. Right. What am I going for today?’
Allyson stepped back, chin in hand, contemplating Emma’s vulnerable backside.
‘Got to make it hurt, of course. And I know this girl, Poppy, I know what she can take. She loves to be whipped, so I’ve got to take her past that and make it count. What would you recommend, love? Hmm?’
‘Me? You’re asking me?’
‘That’s right, sweetheart. You heard me. So?’
Allyson folded her arms, waiting.
Poppy could not, for the life of her, imagine how she would punish somebody. The thought had never even occurred to her. And when it was somebody who was taking the rap for her own silly mistake?
‘I don’t know.’
‘Tell you what, I’ll get a few bits and pieces out and you can choose.’
Allyson opened the drawer for a third time, grabbed a handful of items and dropped them with a clatter over the desk in front of Emma’s head.
Stealing forward, Poppy inspected a multi-stranded flogger, a spoon-shaped wooden paddle, a heavy strap with a handle and a purple fibreglass cane.
‘While you’re making up your mind …’ said Allyson, and Poppy almost jumped out of her skin, as a loud crack reverberated around the room, closely followed by a volley of repeats. Allyson had begun smacking Emma’s thighs with her hand, and Poppy jumped back as Emma began to twitch and breathe heavily through the gag.
Poppy saw that she had better hurry up if she was not going to prolong Emma’s suffering unnecessarily. Without thinking more, she snatched up the paddle and held it out to Allyson, who stopped smacking and smiled.
‘Ooh, you little bitch,’ she said. ‘This one really hurts.’
‘Look,’ blurted Poppy, ‘this isn’t fair. I wish you’d punish me instead. It was my fault.’
Allyson put down the paddle and laughed, long and low. She reached out and stroked Poppy’s hair from her face, making Poppy tremble.
‘What a little sweetie,’ she said. ‘What a brave girl. So you think you deserve a paddling too, do you?’
‘It wasn’t Emma’s fault,’ whispered Poppy, electrified by the situation. Her head was light with fear, and yet a huge exhilaration welled inside her. She had stepped off the edge of a cliff.
‘Was it your fault, Poppy?’
Poppy nodded.
‘Do you want Auntie Allyson to punish you for it?’
She didn’t know how to answer. She knew she didn’t want Emma taking what was hers by right but, on the other hand, she was hardly desperate to give Allyson license to do what she wanted with her. God knew what that might involve.
‘I don’t think it’s fair on Emma,’ she quavered. ‘If she takes all the blame.’
‘You’re a good girl,’ said Allyson. ‘What a good girl you are. Now just sit back down, sweetie, and watch. I know you don’t want Emma taking all the blame, but she’s the experienced one here and she must be punished, long and hard. That’s it. Sit tight. And learn.’
Allyson gripped the paddle by its rubber-coated handle and tapped it a few times against Emma’s bottom. Emma moaned in a kind of pre-emptive despair, as if knowing how she was going to feel. She probably did, thought Poppy.
‘Now then, Emma, you’re going to get properly paddled on your bare bum, and Poppy is going to watch every single second of it. So make sure you behave yourself and keep nice and still, or you’ll get extras with the lexan cane.’
Poppy cried out at the first stroke, even though Emma did not.
Allyson glanced over at her. ‘Sympathetic, eh? What are you like when they actually touch you? Don’t answer that. I’d like to find out for myself.’
Poppy pressed her lips together then, determined to draw no more attention to herself. She watched dully as Allyson plied the paddle, over and over, with hard, fast splats, to Emma’s already punished bottom. She saw how Emma screwed up her face and chewed on the rubber gag, how she clenched her fists and stiffened her back and tried not to react. She was so strong. Poppy was sure she couldn’t have taken half of what Emma did without leaping up and clutching her buttocks.
‘Plenty of hard swats: got to drive the lesson home,’ muttered Allyson, single-minded at her work. ‘Come here, Poppy, and look at how red her arse is now.?