Maude Cameron And Her Guardian

Chapter Five

For several weeks, Charles Cameron concentrated on the single project of training his lovely young ward to ride the bicycle without falling off, much to Maude’ s chagrin and embarrassment. In all other things, he treated her with a mellow deference and almost paternal affection, till she began to believe that the nightmarish suggestion he had put to her that very first night in his abode had been merely an impulsive whim, or perhaps a ribald jest to disconcert her.

Yet the afternoon sessions held on that stretch of ground beyond the driveway were the cause of disconcerting and conflicting emotions for the golden haired adolescent. Once she reported out there and he assumed his stance with the thin, flexible and cruelly snappy carriage whip in hand, he took on the aspects of an Egyptian overseer and she that of a slave- and it was precisely this contrast in her otherwise exemplary status as a kind of foster daughter which made her reflect with growing perturbation on the real motive behind such outlandish treatment Undressed to camisole, stays and a single petticoat, conscious of the gross immodesty of such undress, Maude at last learned to ride the boy’ s bicycle without toppling off, at the cost of many a flick and stinging whiplash from the dexterously wielded implement which never once quitted his accurate hand.

To be sure, he was well aware of her confused state in forcing her to undertake this practise, at variance with the rest of the daily regimen which was so easygoing. For Charles Cameron, far from giving up his determination to bring this lovely creature to his bed as a humbled and willing love slave, used exactly this daily “ exercise” to bring him not only nearer to his goal but also to enforce on Maude’ s impressionable young mind the awareness that he was to be henceforth her sole law and guiding spirit.

Imagine, then, her consternation, in hoping that by being adept at bicycling she had at last earned his praise for her obedience and docility, when, just two days before her seventeenth birthday, at the end of a grueling half- hour astride the bicycle, Charles Cameron nonchalantly remarked, “ You see what perseverance to discipline can accomplish, my dear. And I trust that now you are of a better frame of mind to accept my invitation to go to bed with me.”

Maude turned a fiery red from crown to throat, and, turning away, as she held tightly to the handlebars of the bicycle, faintly responded, “ Oh, please, Uncle Charles, everything has been so pleasant being here. Will you not be kind and accept me as I am, without demanding of me what I cannot give?”

“ Will not give, you really mean,” he sharply retorted. “ Come now, my lovely one, you have been here almost a month, and you surely cannot gainsay the courtesy and kindness with which I have treated you. I had begun to hope you had found me sufficiently companionable by now to feel a joyous eagerness at my invitation and confidence enough also to trust me as an initiator of the tender passion in your untutored heart.”

“ But you know very well I could not bring myself to let a man who is not my husband take liberties with me, liberties which are reserved only for man and wife,” she tried to propitiate him with an appealingly soft tone of voice and imploring look out of her tearhumid blue eyes.

He shrugged. “ I see only that you are still a willful, obstinate naughty minx who needs must be chastised rather than coaxed. Very well. I promise you, Maude, that this next Saturday evening, you will repent your stubbornness, for I mean to introduce you to the kisses of the birch, since you will not have my own.”

“ Oh! Sir- what- what are you saying? You are surely not going to be so cruel as to p- punish me simply because I cannot bring myself to commit mortal sin?” Maude tearfully quavered.

Charles Cameron smiled suavely, flicked out the carriage whip along the ground, and Maude gasped as she watched him whisk it up and take off the head of a dandelion with its tapering leather tip. “ I do not consider it as such, my girl, and since you are my legal ward and accountable to me for your behavior, I take a very dim view of your persistence in holding me off with such a sanctimonious excuse. Love, Maude, between the sexes, is a thrilling and wholly satisfying experience, and yet, simply because you have let yourself be influenced by old fashioned notions, you put up barriers in advance before you even know what it is like.”

“ Oh, but- but I do know a little something- only, please, it- it is so embarrassing to mention such things in your presence, Uncle Charles.”

“ Ah ha!” he chuckled sarcastically. “ You are what is known as a wise virgin, then. Possibly I should have guessed as much when you unerringly went to the forbidden bookcase. You are not so innocent as you make out.”

Maude’ s blushes, beautiful to behold against her fair pink satiny skin, were furious by this time. “ Oh, sir,” she wrung her hands despairingly, “ I have only read a very little about what married people do, and one of my girl friends in London told me things which made me blush with shame. That is all I know- except that, as my own father taught me, I must save myself for the man who is going to be my husband.”

“ So be it. Then your bottom will pay instead for your silly prudery, my girl. You are duly warned,” he said and turned away, whip in hand.

“ Oh, Uncle Charles, please, please, you- you can’ t be going to wh- whip me for that?” she wailed. But he took no heed and went back into the house, purposely leaving her in a state of troubled agitation- which he had exactly calculated would befall her when he had determined to deliver his ultimatum. For Charles Cameron meant to enjoy his lovely ward’ s virginal treasures, while at the same time indulging himself in the delicious sport of making her wriggle and twist about and plead for pardon under the swishing of a good birch rod.

‘ The next day, which was Friday, he reminded her of this dire threat- the subject had not at all been mentioned till the afternoon- by saying suddenly, as they were finishing their high tea,” Maude, there is something in the comer of my bedroom, beside my dresser, which I wish you to bring to me at once.”

Wonderingly, she went out, and when she returned, tears were trickling down her cheeks, for she had found a birch rod placed in the corner of his room, made of half a dozen slim switches, still leafy, and with many scratchy twigs, with a white cloth tied round the end to use as a handle. “ Oh, please, please, dear Uncle Charles,” she sobbed, “ surely you aren’ t meaning to wh- whip me with this dreadful clump of switches?”

Eyeing her levelly, he said coldly, “ Since my arguments to your reason have made no dent, I mean to try to appeal more directly to your impertinent backside. Yes, Maude, you shall be birched. You shall be tied up, undressed, and then feel this good rod on the naked flesh of your saucy bottom. And it will be tomorrow night.”

So saying, he took the rod from her nerveless hand, swished it in the air and smilingly commented, “ I think it will sing nicely in the air, don’ t you, my dear?”

At this, Maude Rivers felt her resolve to be the chaste, obedient daughter her father had taught her to be beginning to ebb away, and she uttered a tremulous sob and responded, “ Oh, Uncle Charles, I cannot bear the thought of pain. Surely you are not going to deal with me so cruelly on my very birthday? If- if I agree to do what you wish, will you not let me off. I cannot bear the thought of being punished with that awful rod, Uncle Charles… and so, if I must obey you, I- I will do so if you will spare me.”

And with this, clasping her hands, she sank down on her knees, raising her lovely blue tear- filled eyes to him.

He stared at her greedily, and after a moment savoringly responded, “ No, Maude, I shall let you off nothing. You shall be tied up, your impertinent posterior prepared to receive the salutations of the rod, and after you have been soundly birched, perhaps then I will discover the extent of your obedience.” So saying, he brandished the birch rod in the air and ordered summarily, “ Now then, Maude, as a precursor to this newly found submissiveness of yours, whose motivation I do not at all doubt, rise, hoist your skirt and petticoats and bend well over so that I may test the efficacy of this newly fabricated instrument upon your fleshy parts.”

Maude groaned with distress as she slowly rose, her face scarlet with mortification and apprehension, and reluctantly gathered up the folds of her muslin skirt and two of her three petticoats and slowly bent over, looking back with dire anguish as she plaintively besought him, “ Oh, please, n- not too hard, I beg of you, Uncle Charles!”

He studied her bottom, protected by a single petticoat and the snugly fitting ruffled lace trimmed white drawers yet voluptuously outlined despite that covering. Maude’ s bottom cheeks were magnificently rounded, tightly spaced, with a breathtaking upsweeping curve from the base where her posterior nascently sprang from the tops of round, lovely, molded thighs; there was a fullness of flesh, particularly at the plump, resiliently taut summits, and altogether her bottom was one of the most enticing and promising he had yet beheld. Even granting his carnal adventuring with females a decade or more older than his charming ward, Maude Rivers had no need to fear comparisons, as regards her Callipygian charms.

Holding her breath and closing her eyes, her dainty little fingers feverishly clutching the uprucked hems of her garments, Maude awaited the “ test,” and meanwhile her guardian moved from side to side, selecting the best vantage spot for the application of the supple rod. This prolongation of suspense manifested itself by the convulsive tightening of her gluteal muscles, which accentuated the sumptuous curves of her voluptuous young seat in the most provocative manner, and Charles Cameron promised himself a veritable regalia of sensual gratification when, tomorrow night that bounteous yet firm and beautifully proportioned pair of nether globes should be unveiled for the first time to the eyes of a man and the finely grained, satiny pink skin exposed in its shimmering nervousness as it awaited the burning kisses of the birch.

When he perceived from the sporadic trembling along her thighs- bewitchingly set off in the finely meshed black silk hose which he had commanded her to wear- he stepped to the left and slowly brought the flexible rod to bear across the plumpest sectors of Maude’ s jutting bottom, pressing it slowly forward so that the lovely adolescent could not fail to be aware of what awaited her. He was rewarded by a stifled little gasp and the feverishly instinctive jerking of her hips from side to side, a spasm which indicated her mounting dread of her introduction to birch discipline. Having her thus at his disposal with the thrilling certainty that some twenty- four hours hence she would be bound and helpless under the stinging slashes of the twigs and withes, her virginal flesh shamefully bared to allow his discerning eye to behold the marks of the rod, gave Charles Cameron a sense of glorious power arid absolute dictatorship over this beautiful young creature.

“ Stay well bent over, with your bottom out, Maude,” he sharply directed as he slowly lifted the rod off her twitching posteriors, and then, keeping her in suspense a moment longer, swept the withes vigorously across the broadest curves of both fleshy hemispheres, just where he had indicated to her the first stroke would fall by the suspense- ridden preliminary ritual of pressing the birch over the area selected for its chalorous caress.

The whistling sound of the rod through the air, a kind of longdrawn Swishhhh!- was followed by the soft impact of the spreading switches over the resilient contours, only two thicknesses of fabric shielding her satiny pink bare skin from the birch. Nonetheless, Maude wriggled and uttered a shrill cry, “ Ohhh! Ohh, it is dreadful, Uncle Charles! Please, please don’ t birch me tomorrow night, I know I shall never be able to bear it, truly I shan’ t!”

She instantly straightened up, though he had not yet given leave, and as she let her clothes drop back into modest place, frantically rubbed the place the birch had attacked, her eyes welling with fresh tears and her lovely heart- shaped face an exquisite study in maidenly distress and anguish.

He knew perfectly well that the little ceremonial he had just perpetrated would have the effect of preoccupying the emotional nature of his young beautiful ward to the point of weakening all her natural defenses, and so demoralized as she would be when confronted by his shrewdly conceived plan put into execution, her virtue would fall an easy prey- yet not without the most voluptuous kind of prolongation and nuances of interludes which would make her conquest a never to be forgotten delight.

In the morning, he woke after a good night’ s sleep, hugely refreshed by the prospect which awaited his delectation that evening. He had, before going to bed, busied himself in the cellar of the house, preparing various and sundry devices for the event which was to conclude the night of lovely golden- haired Maude’ s seventeenth birthday. So it was with rare good humor that he presented himself at the breakfast table, to find his blushing, timorous young ward eyeing him with a state that balanced feverish despair with piteous entreaty, her lovely big blue eyes brimming with tears- a sight which infallibly made her even more desirably attractive to the voluptuary that Charles Cameron was.

But before she could vouchsafe a word in her defense on a topic he knew in advance, he took her quite by surprise by casually remarking, “ Happy birthday, my dear. Oh by the way, I took the liberty of putting a little remembrance at the foot of your door out on the landing. You might wish to go upstairs now and see what it is. A trifle, of course, but as I always say, it is the sentiment not the gift that counts.”

“ Oh- t- thank you- U- Uncle Charles,” she stammered, essaying a faint smile which he returned with a gentle nod of his head as he seated himself at the table. She hesitated a moment, then hurried upstairs while he partook leisurely of the oatmeal she bad placed before him, well creamed and sugared.

In due course, Maude returned, her face bright with happiness. “ Oh, whatever can be in it?” she exclaimed as she undid the little ribbon bow and hastily removed the tissue paper of a small box. Her eyes widened as she opened the lid. “ Oh, how beautiful it is, Uncle Charles! It’ s truly the loveliest thing I’ ve ever owned,” she announced as she lifted a gleaming gold charm bracelet out of the cotton bottom of the box and held it up for him to see. Several little golden hearts dangled by tiny chain links from the bracelet, and there was an inscription on each, “ To Maude from her guardian.”

“ It is only a trinket my dear, but a token of my esteem for you,” he rejoined.

“ But it is so lovely and so thoughtful!” her eyes fairly danced as she hurried over to him and put her soft round arms round his neck and gave him a delicious kiss on the cheek. “ Oh, thank you ever so much, dear Uncle Charles!”

“ You are quite welcome, my dear. And there is also something a bit more tangible in the form of a new savings account in your very own name at the little branch bank in town where I have deposited twenty- five pounds in your name. You may use the money for anything you like, whether it be gewgaws and frippery or good books.” With this last, he gave her a mocking little smile, thus reminding her once more of her initial disobedience and catching his meaning, Maude turned a bright pink with adorable confusion.

She put on her bracelet, held it up to the bright sunlight streaming in from the window and once again expressed her pleasure in the gift: “ Oh, how bright and lovely it is, dear Uncle Charles. I’ m ever so grateful, and I shall always treasure it.”

“ As I shall treasure you, my dear,” he remarked with a bland smile.

Coquettishly, golden- haired Maude approached him, her eyes full of appealing pathos, as she murmured, “ Oh, surely now that you’ ve been so nice and given me this lovely present, you can’ t mean to punish me the way you said, Uncle Charles.”

“ But that is quite another matter, my dear,” he gravely interposed,” and I always keep my word. This evening, promptly at nine, you will accompany me to the cellar where your punishment for disobedience will take place.”

Maude Rivers uttered a stifled gasp and biting her soft full red lips, stammered, “ Oh do please let me off, this one time please, dear Uncle Charles! I know I shall never be able to bear that awful birch and I’ ve tried so hard to please you these last few days.”

“ In every way except that which I most desire,” was his ironic quip.

Staring blushingly down at the floor, not daring to look him in the eye, so distraught my maidenly confusion and the awareness of strange, troubling new emotions to her virgin psyche, Maude at last timidly murmured, “ I- I have done a good deal of thinking over what you have said, Uncle Charles. And- and I don’ t want to be b- birched. I will have to do what you want in the long run, anyway, I- I know… and so- and so-” here, taking a long deep breath to pluck up her courage, she blurted out so faintly he could hardly discern it-“ So if you will only spare me tonight, I- I will try to- to do what you want.”

“ Oh no, my girl, it’ s not so easy as that,” was his tart reply. “ And then after I had spared you, you would find some other reason for withholding your favors from me and we should have it all to go through again. Decidedly not! Tonight at nine, your plump backside will make the acquaintance of His Lordship Sir Birch, and there will be nothing between either of you so that the meeting will be burningly candid, take my word on it. And now I have further errands to run in town, so you will oblige me by seeing that the house is nicely cleaned in case of any visitors- though I do not expect any- and by thinking of what you will give me for supper this evening. I bid you good day till this evening then, my dear.” So saying, he rose and walked out of the kitchen, leaving poor Maude very nearly in tears, twisting her slim little hands in mounting anguish, her cheeks crimson with her vividly imaginative pictorial concept of what would unfold tonight at nine..