I'd like to spank, er, thank! My wife Mrs. 123z for the inspiration and ideas for this gothic type tall tale.
x
Isle of Wight, 1891.
As the horse drawn carriage drew up to the foreboding mansion I felt a distinct feeling of dread leap up in my bosom. It seemed like a clichΓ© from an old ghost story as the storm grew ever more ferocious and Peter and myself were soaked by the heavy rain as we stood on the threshold of Bartholomew Mansion. We had been met at the pier after disembarking from the ferry boat and the driver had told us to look for the Crab and Lobster Inn which would mean it would be a matter of minutes before we would catch sight of the old house. I gripped the hand of my husband as we awaited the valet to open the door and let us inside the sanctuary of the house. I only wish that we had fled at that moment as we would never have experienced that fateful visit.
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Jane Bartholomew and I had been the best of friends ever since we left our girls finishing school in Frinton back in the Summer of 1890. We had kept a close correspondence right up until I wed Peter a year ago and when she inherited the mansion and grounds from her grandfather located in Bembridge on the Isle of Wight. Since then we had no further contact, she deciding to ignore all my letters, and I was determined to seek out my best friend and introduce her to Peter. The sky was black as the door creaked open and a mouse like chambermaid looked up at us with eyes as big as saucers.
"Let us in, I implore you child. Jane Bartholomew and I are old friends and am sure she would frown upon you by leaving us outside in such inclement conditions."
The young woman in the black and white uniform dithered, unsure what to do when a tall lean man appeared behind her in white gloves and black suit.
"I am Baines, Madam. The man of the house as it were. Mary here does not have the ability to speak."
"Baines is it? I am Mrs Elizabeth Dawkins and this is Peter, my husband. Please, we are soaked through and require warmth and sustenance."
I took in the gaunt visage of the elderly gentleman and his forlorn look and squeezed Peter's hand.
"And so you shall have it. Come inside both of you."
"Many thanks Baines. Is the lady of the house in residence?"
"My Mistress Jane? She is. You are known to her?"
"Why yes. Surely you have perceived the letters I have written to her these last few months?"
"Forgive me, I do not pry into matters that do not concern myself. Let me take you to a room and I shall have Mary fetch you some food and hot tea."
As we ventured further into the hall I was amazed, no, shocked at the decrepit condition of the once opulent mansion. If Jane had been here for these last twelfth months she had ignored the thick dust, cobwebs and torn drapes. A large portrait of Josiah Bartholomew loomed over the hall and the malevolent eyes seemed to follow every person in the hall. Peter and I followed the valet come butler up the winding stairs to a slightly neater room with a bed, table and chairs.
"Make yourselves at home and I shall inform my mistress of your arrival. I expect her to be busy in her private chambers located in the basement."
The basement? Odd place to contemplate I thought. I heard my husband drop our one valise and flop onto the bed, exhausted from our journey. I joined him and snuggled up to my one true love and closed my eyes too. I was not sure how much time had passed when Mary knocked and presented a platter of bread and cold meats and a tea service. When the maid left we eagerly fed ourselves and drank of the welcome hot tea and then stripped ourselves of our wet things and changed into our night attire.
"I'm scared Peter. What if Jane has changed, or wishes us gone. And the servitude is most irregular. This house has a distinct mood of melancholy to be sure."
My beau kissed me on the forehead and hugged me tight.. He always knew how to soothe my worried bosom in times of distress.
"Hush now, my dear. Everything will be clearer in the morn."
I imagined the room to spin then as I laid on my back and the single chandelier above our bed with the seven candles was like a beacon calling me. One final lightning flash illuminated the room as I succumbed to a dream less stupor.
x
When I came to my senses I was in a dank environment with only flickering candles as the sole source of light. I had not the slightest notion of where I was, or indeed what the time was. That was the first thing to come to mind. The second was the startling revelation that I was entirely naked!
"Heavens above! What madness is this!"
I struggled as I realised that my arms were chained at the wrists above my head thus rendering me rooted to the spot. My back was to the stone wall and the cool air of what appeared to be some sort of ancient chamber beneath the very foundations of the house kissed my bared flesh.
"You never should have come here Elizabeth. I had hoped that by my ignoring your letters you would have given up all thought of me and gone about living your own life. As it stands I am now grateful of your presence as you and your betrothed shall add to my personal amusement."
I turned my vulnerable body to my left and from the shadows emerged my one true and trusted female friend ever, Jane. I blinked twice to shake off my induced dizziness as she came into the candle light. Her voice seemed odd and somehow faraway as I perceived her for the first time in over a year. I was stunned and petrified at the sight of the once charming and attractive young lady now transformed into some kind of dominatrix in black.
"Jane? Is that you?" I asked as I screwed up my eyes.
Taller than myself by some three inches the raven haired female now towered to six feet in stratosphere defying black boots with six inch heels. She already had very long legs, incredibly long like a thoroughbred horse, and now they appeared never to quit. Her upper body had been squeezed into a black corset that was constructed of several separate panels of the finest leather. The midsection was drawn in so that her waist was sucked ih even smaller which emphasized her overhanging and massive exposed breasts. Both her arms were encased in arm pit length shiny black gloves which creaked when she moved them. The corset which began at rib level and ended at her hips meant that without bloomers her black haired crotch was exposed for all to see, framed as it were by corset hem and tops of boots.