"Ah, this is something quite different. Now if you'll excuse me I am expected at the house."
"Of course. I'll leave you to it. Might just sit here and recover for a minute anyway."
Edward left the gardener behind him and strode towards the house. Walking around the edge of the building he noticed the back door was open. No doubt she had left it open.
"Hello there," he called out as he walked into the hallway within. An answering voice came almost at once.
"I say, who's there?" It was a man's voice. A second later a gentleman stepped out into the hallway, followed closely behind was a woman at least ten years younger than him, possibly more. "Is that you Mr Westall?"
"It is," he replied, walking across and shaking the proffered hand. "I have come to assess your daughter Laura."
"Of course, come through, come through. You are quite the unconventional fellow to enter by the back door."
"It is how everyone in Amsterdam does it."
"Is it really?" Lord Rothsfield said, shaking his head. "I did not know that."
They settled in the parlour, Edward in an armchair and Lord and Lady Rothsfield together on a sofa opposite him, looking much as if they were about to be interviewed for a job, which Edward found most amusing.
"I read your letter with great interest Lord Rothsfield," Edward said.
"You did?" he replied. "Do you think you can fix the girl?"
"Fix is not a word I like. I prefer to think of it as bringing out what is already inside them. Girls like Laura do not mean to be bad. They have merely had it too easy in life."
"I told you," Maria said, nudging her husband who turned and scowled at her.
"She is a wilful one," Lord Rothsfield said. "Since her mother died … "
"Spare me the details," Edward said. "They all have a sob story behind them. I have heard them all. No story is bad enough to excuse the sort of behaviour I have just observed in your daughter."
"You have met her already?"
"I have. She is rude, impolite, obnoxious. In short, she is a brat."
"Oh dear. Is it really that bad?"
"It took seconds to see the issue. A lack of discipline at home. You have a child attempting to act as an adult. You need an adult allowed to act as a child."
"I am not sure I follow you."
"It matters not. What matters is whether I agree to take her on and I am in two minds over that particular decision."
"Oh tell me you will take her. Money is no object. My wife tells me you do the finest work."
"Your wife is too kind. I do my best and what more can anyone do?"
"Indeed."
Edward leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. "I am in two minds because I am not certain what you will think of my methods. I am strict, some have even called me cruel. I will not spare the girl punishment if I think she deserves it. Could you handle that? Would you take her back if she posted you a sob story of her own about her mistreatment at my hands?"
Lord Rothsfield turned to his wife. "Perhaps we should reconsider."
She glared back at him. "I will make it very simple. Either she goes with Mr Westall here or I leave this house and never return."
Edward glanced across at Lady Rothsfield. Interesting that she should be the one demanding they let Laura go. "I can promise she will come back a different person. You just may not like who she becomes."
"It can be no worse than who she is now," Lord Rothsfield admitted. "If you will take her, I will let her go."
"You would ignore her pleading to come home if you receive such a missive?"
"I would."
"And if she ran away from my establishment and came back to you, begging that you let her stay at home?"
I would escort her back to you myself."
"You would not visit until such time as I say she is ready to rejoin society again?"
"I will await your word sir and not move from this house until then."
Edward allowed himself a quiet smile. This was perfect. He had the challenge he needed and best of all ,these two did not seem the type who would interfere. He had free reign to choose the treatment she needed and he already knew exactly what that was. "We will begin at once," he said, standing up. "Where is her bedroom?"
Chapter 5
Laura awoke from her nap to find a strange man towering over her bed. She looked up and frowned. She recognised him. "Awake at last," he growled as she realised who he was. "Come on. My carriage is waiting."
It was the man she had encountered in the grounds. The one who had told her to call him papa as if he had any say over her whatsoever.
"Who are you?" she asked as she sat up. "How did you get in here?"
"I am your papa," he replied. "And you shall wear this." He tossed a square of thick towelling fabric towards her. "We have a long journey ahead of us and I shall not be making stops for your convenience."
"What is this?" she asked, holding the cloth up to the light.
"You are an imbecile aren't you? Do you not recognise a nappy when you see one?"
"A nappy? You would bid me to wear a nappy? I am not an infant."
"That is not what I hear from your parents."
"That woman downstairs is not my parent."
He waved away her protest. "Irrelevant. Now I shall ask this one time only. Will you put that thing on yourself?"
"I will not."
"Very well." He threw her back onto the bed, pulling the blankets off and tossing them behind him. "I shall do it myself."
"Let go of me this instant," she said, protesting vehemently and attempting to scramble away from him.
"Stop your wriggling or it will be the worse for you," he replied, grabbing her by the shoulders and dragging her back towards him. He pushed her chest down with one hand, surprising her with his sheer strength. He yanked at her nightdress with his other hand, ignoring her legs as they lashed out towards him. "By God you will be still or you will pay the price."
He twisted her onto her side and she caught a glimpse of his hand as it moved through the air and then she felt a solid smack on her buttocks. "Ouch!" she yelled. "Father, come and help me! He is beating me to death!"
"Your father knows you need this," Edward replied, spanking her again. "By the deuce, it is well overdue."
He continued spanking her as she struggled to free herself. She felt her buttocks burn with heat as his hand descended again and again. Soon she felt nothing but the pain which grew from embarrassing to overwhelming in under a minute as he continued to spank her until he was panting for breath. At last he stopped, looking at the tears streaming down her face, the colour in her cheeks as she glared up at him with a mixture of defiance and fear visible in her eyes. ""How could you do that to me?" she asked, tugging her nightdress back over her bare buttocks. She was so shocked by what had happened she barely knew how to react. Why had her father not come to her rescue when she called?
"You needed that," Edward said, picking up the square of cloth. "There will be plenty more where that came from if you do not behave. Now you will lay on your back and I will tie this in place. You will not struggle else I will make you so sore you will be unable to sit down for the entirety of the journey."
She looked at his face and saw there was no room for negotiation. She either did what he said or he would cause her pain. What choice did she have? Slowly she turned onto her back, wincing as her reddened buttocks touched the bed sheet.
"Good little girl," he said, a flicker of a smile appearing on his lips.
Despite her discomfort, something inside Laura sparked at the thought of pleasing him. She shook the thought away, knowing she hated him more than anyone else in the world, more than her stepmother in fact.
With little ceremony, he lifted her legs and shoved the cloth under her posterior. With one hand he yanked her left leg sideways, revealing the core of her body to him as she felt utter humiliation. He seemed not to notice the sight, his attention entirely focussed on gathering the corners of the cloth and tying them around her hips. Only when he was done did he allow her to stand up.
She slid down the bed and stood before him, feeling the cloth thick and heavy between her legs. She went to move the knot by her right hip and he growled at her. "I warn you that if you cross me you will pay the consequences."
"You will be the one that pays for this," she replied. "When father finds out what you have done."
He raised his eyebrows at her. "Are you so sure?"
She watched as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. The writing that covered it was so small as to be barely legible but she clearly recognised her father's signature at the bottom. "What is this?"