Page 1 of Her Lord's Law

Prologue

Louisa had always shared a great deal of her life with her sister. After all, Lucille Rose Furniss was an exact replica of her identical twin sister. At no time during their eighteen years had they kept secrets from one another. Not, that is, until the day that Louisa wed. Her husband wasn’t the secret that Louisa was terrified would be revealed. It was obvious to all who knew the couple that their marriage was one of a deep abiding love for one another. Edward’s ancestral home, Wintercrest Manor, had sheltered generations of his family as well as concealed many a secret behind its stone walls. With the arrival of Lucy, those walls were beginning to crack. Glimpses of the truth began to appear behind thick doors as echoes of pleas for mercy and promises of better behavior were sung to the accompaniment of sharp cracks of a thick paddle or supple strap being used on a naughty bare bottom.

Louisa moaned softly in her sleep as her dreams were troubled with her fears. Her mouth worked around her thumb in an attempt to give the small woman comfort. From deep within her soul the knowledge that her life was changing gradually made its way into her consciousness. Even as she fought the truth that the secret she had harbored for many months was revealing itself, she was slowly being drawn out of the security of sleep.

* * *

Climbingthe narrow flight of stairs, Edward approached the room of his precious child bride. His thoughts were filled with the two beautiful young women who shared his home.

Lucille, his ward of the past few weeks was discovering that her guardian was a stern man who would no longer grant leniency when she chose to misbehave. She had been shocked to discover that Wintercrest Manor ran under his sole authority, under his rules and under his laws. That fact became her new reality the evening before when she, alongside her sister, had presented their bare bottoms for a well-deserved birching. The young woman had a very difficult journey to make, but Edward was more than willing to help guide her along the way. But for now, he had another little miscreant on his mind.

As he reached the door of his wife’s nursery, he smiled softly. He thought about the woman upon which society bestowed the proper title of Lady Wintercrest the moment she’d spoke the vows to become his wife. Society could think what they wished as he knew the truth. Louisa would never be burdened with the responsibility of such a lofty title. Instead, his precious bride would always be considered as his own beloved ‘little lady’. As her husband he was responsible for loving her, for providing for her and for protecting her from all harm. Just as importantly, as her papa, he was also responsible for her continued training and guiding her to become the woman he knew she had yet to truly discover residing deep inside her soul. He would never shirk either of his roles. As he reached for the latch to open the door, he was looking forward to reminding his little lady that her sole duty was to obey and please the Lord of Wintercrest Manor.

Chapter 1

Opening the door, Edward entered the room. Sunlight splashed against the buttery yellow walls and danced over the floorboards with every flutter of the soft breezes coming through the lacy curtains at the windows. Bright white shelves were filled with the colorful spines of books whose pages had been turned a thousand times. Soft stuffed animals and beloved dolls patiently waited to be chosen for play. It was a room that never failed to fill him with a sense of calm, the feeling that all was right in the world every time he stepped over the threshold. Though all the books, the toys, the beautiful furnishings of the nursery weren’t what made his life worth living. That gift was lying in the crib against the wall.

He stood quietly gazing down at his little bride. She was sound asleep, her thumb tucked into her mouth. He smiled, knowing he shouldn’t allow her to continue the practice, but finding it so precious and delightful to watch. He slid his hand up underneath her short gown to rub tiny circles against her back. Louisa stirred at the contact, but it took several more moments before her eyes fluttered open. She began to smile and then her eyes widened as if only now discovering she had been sucking her thumb—a horrid habit she had most likely thought she’d outgrown.

Edward saw her shock. “I’ll have to buy you a pacifier, Louisa. I don’t want your thumb to get all red and raw when you need to suckle for comfort. A red and raw bottom is enough for my little lady.” Instantly color bloomed to paint her face a pretty shade of rose at his words and he chuckled. Perhaps it wasn’t only her thumb she was thinking of having suckled.

“Don’t fret, little one. You look precious with your mouth wrapped around either your sweet little thumb or my shaft, my dear. Now, am I going to be able to dress my sweet girl and take her to tea or is that same girl going to find herself on her knees practicing her suckling even more today?”

He hadn’t raised his voice or hardened his tone. Indeed, his hand kept its gentle circling on her bare back as he continued to look down at her, and yet the blush that had colored Louisa’s face grew to suffuse her entire body. When his eyes drifted from hers, she gave a soft whimper even before his gaze reached its destination. With no answer coming from what he was beginning to suspect was his naughty little one, he moved his hand from her back to lie against her upturned bottom.

“Were you my good little girl during your nap, Louisa? Did you do what Papa told you to do? Is your nappy wet from going potty as you were instructed to do?” Louisa shrank away from his touch and he simply pressed harder. “Or did you learn nothing from your lesson yesterday?”

* * *

Noises hadLouisa’s eyelids fluttering open to see Mrs. Bremmer entering the room. The woman moved about while Louisa yawned sleepily, closing her eyes for another few moments of restful bliss. The next time her eyes opened, she saw the housekeeper leaning over her to unbuckle the strap around Louisa’s waist.

“Good afternoon, Louisa. Did you have a good nap?”

Louisa flushed hotly, her shame at being seen in a crib bad enough, but the fact that she was restrained and naked from the waist down and lying on what her husband called her naughty mat made it so much worse. The mat was made of scratchy hemp with hundreds of prickly bristles and dozens of hard knots covering its entire surface. Its purpose was to cause a girl’s naked bottom a great deal of irritation whenever the naughty one sat or was forced to lie upon it. Louisa had discovered the mat did its job exceptionally well when that bare bottom had received a harsh spanking prior to its use. Her bottom ached with the pricks her naughty mat had added to her already tender bum.

Knowing a response was required despite her shame, she managed to nod her head and answer softly, “Yes, thank… thank you.”

“That’s wonderful, now let’s get you up, shall we?” Mrs. Bremmer said with a smile.

Louisa’s hopes of relief were dashed when instead of undoing the straps at Louisa’s wrists, Anna had simply loosened them in order to turn her facedown. Louisa shuddered as her breasts pressed into the mattress, her mons and thighs now feeling the bite of the awful punishment mat. Her hips lifted to remove them from the irritation only to freeze with the touch of the older woman’s fingers running across the surface of her buttocks.

“Poor little thing, you’ve got quite the red bottom now don’t you?”

It wasn’t a question Louisa considered worth answering. Not when the evidence had to be completely obvious by the lack of any covering to assure her modesty. All she could do was lie there and quiver as the housekeeper’s fingers traced along ridges and bumps covering Louisa’s arse.

“Lift up for me, sweetie,” the housekeeper instructed, giving a final pat to her young charge’s bottom before beginning to work the pad out from beneath her.

Louisa sighed, very grateful to have it gone. However, her relief didn’t last long. Anna had stepped away from the crib only long enough to pick up another pad. Recognizing its purpose, Louisa’s soft whimper turned into a loud cry. “Nooo, please,” she begged, her small head arching back as if she were about to be thrashed again.

Anna simply clucked her tongue. “Hush now, little one, you’re only getting what your naughty behavior has earned you. You are well aware of what happens to little girls who tell lies to their papas. Your papa has already washed out your mouth and now it’s time for a more thorough cleansing. Lift up and let me put your mat down. No need to ruin your pretty sheets if you have an accident.”

Louisa continued to fuss, silent tears running down her face to soak the sheet beneath her as the woman easily moved her small body until she was able to slip the thick rubber mat under her. Once the mat was secure, Louisa’s knees were guided up toward her shoulders and restraints were placed around them to assure they remained well splayed and secured to the sides of the crib rails. A firm round pillow was pushed beneath her tummy to tilt her torso further forward, leaving her head and shoulders flat against the mattress and her little bottom pointing straight up into the air.

“You look like a small frog, but don’t you fret. You aren’t going to be doing any jumping about,” Anna said, her words painting a picture that had Louisa easily able to visualize a small green creature unable to escape its fate.

Louisa shut her eyes tightly, unable to bear watching as Anna stepped away from the crib to finish her preparations. However, she could not close out the sounds. She heard water being poured into the pitcher and heard the whisking sound as what had to be a great deal of soap was added and mixed into the warm water. The gurgling sound of the mixture being transferred seemed to last forever and Louisa knew the woman had chosen the largest bag to fill for her naughty charge’s cleansing. Louisa shuddered as she thought about where all that water was meant to go. She felt the housekeeper moving around the crib, opening her eyes to the sight of the recently-filled red enema bag being lifted to hang from a hook her papa had installed high on the wall next to her crib. As if mesmerized, she observed a lid being removed from the jar of lubricant, watching in horror as the servant greased a long nozzle that Louisa knew was soon going to be buried well up her bottom. Tears fell faster as Louisa sobbed when she felt the cheeks of her bottom being pulled apart despite her vain attempt to keep them tightly clenched. The restraints holding her legs far apart assured that her tiny bottom-hole was unable to hide and the same greasy lubricant was slowly and very deliberately applied to her tightly puckered opening.

As the tip of the nozzle was pressed against her clenched opening, she began to plead, “No, no, no, no,” as she felt enormous shame of what was about to happen.

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