She found her employment too enjoyable to abandon it yet awhile.
She seemed indeed to devote herself to her task with ever increasing gusto, and without for a moment forgetting the particular methods of applying the rod which a long experience had shown to be most efficacious. She had stood first on the right side and had flogged the hemispheres crosswise. Now she stood on the left side and performed the same process.
Then she had taken a curious implement and put it within reach of her and before employing it.
It consisted of an ebony stick of about a foot in length. At each extremity, was a widely branching fork to which was attached a strap and buckle. This she inserted between the legs of the poor girl who could see nothing of these sinister preparations, but who trem bled the more for her uncertainty.
She did well to tremble.
Lady Flayskin attached the straps to the victim's knees. Virginia was now obliged by the ebony rod to keep her legs apart, nor could she possibly rise to her feet.
The preparations finished, her ladyship placed herself behind the girl and laid a firm hand on her neck. Pitilessly deaf to the piercing shrieks of the unfortunate victim, and easily controlling all efforts to escape her hold, she proceeded with all her strength to flog lengthwise, from below upwards.
The rod whistled and curled and the girl writhed and squirmed beneath this cruelty.
It was no use for her to cry in broken syllables that she would prefer, ten times over, the hide-covered scourge; that her sufferings were more than she could bear. It was in vain that she entreated her pitiless mistress to finish with one good bow rather than kill her by inches. In spite of all she could cry or entreat, she was destined to drink her cup of agony to the dregs – or, at any rate, until the arm of Lady Flayskin grew tired.
The flogging was plainly of long duration, and Virginia was more dead than alive when at length she was freed from the curious thigh-dividing implement which had exposed her tenderest parts to the biting cruelty of the birch without enabling her to protect herself in the least from its stinging attacks.
With maternal solicitude, her ladyship now took the weeping girl and raising her in her arms, laid her upon the sofa where she continued to sob, her face covered by her arm, in a manner to touch the most unfeeling heart.
Was savage Lady Flayskin touched? In any case, it is a matter of knowledge that she took a bottle of very old sherry, uncorked it with the respect its venerable antiquity merited and filled two glasses with the really precious wine. One she placed for herself, while the other she offered to her weeping, but still beautiful pupil.
She said to her quite simply:
"Your very good health?"
The girl had withdrawn the arm which covered her face and she now looked with an air of stupefaction at this glass of fine crystal reflecting the warm rich colouring of the topaz hued liquid. What the liquid might be, Virginia did not know, but she looked with dark suspicion, as was natural, at every gesture of Lady Flayskin.
In bitter tones she demanded:
"Is this the consummation of your treatment of me? Do you think now to poison me?"
With a smile of indulgent pity for such folly, the directress, for all reply, put to her own lips the glass she had poured out for herself, drank it off and smacked her lips with an air of enjoyment.
The girl became ashamed of her ridiculous suspicion, did what she had seen done, and found herself feeling much better in consequence. She felt new strength in her body; the sense of prostration caused by the whipping seemed to disappear as the generous wine warmed her blood.
She felt indeed as though she were being warmed by a veritable flame which coursed through her veins increasing the great vibration of the nerves caused by the skilful flogging of Lady Flayskin.
Seeing her rosy cheeks and bright eyes, where tears, which only a moment before had ceased to flow, shone like dewdrops and more brightly than diamonds, Lady Flayskin could not help being moved. Such sweetness and charm compelled her to imprint a kiss 195
upon the cherry lips which immediately returned the token with interest. Yet again was prolonged intercourse exchanged between the woman and the lass upon the sofa and in an exceedingly agreeable fashion.
The directress, however, returned obstin ately to her original purpose.
"Now, dearest, we are going to use our united efforts with the corset."
The girl, overwhelmed with grief, entreated.
"Spare me the suffering, I beg you!"
"Little fool! It is for your good."
"My good, my happiness is to be like this near you, in comfort, free to move about. It is infinite delight. You are wicked! wicked! Let me kiss your beautiful hand at once so cruel and so kind."
"Child!" gasped the mistress.
"Your child! Will you permit it? You shall be my loved mother. But, I beg you, never whip me again as you have to-day."
"You are going to be whipped immediately and in the same manner unless you get up and take your stays."
"Oh!"
With a bound, the girl was on her feet. She rushed to the corset and with lips compressed, stomach thrust in, holding her breath the while, began her vain contortions of a short time previously. Now she was to be aided by the mistress. The latter came behind her and placed her knee against the large stern of her pupil. At the same time with both her hands, she thrust forward the two sides of the stays, causing the corset to gradually make its way over the hips.
At one moment, Miss Malville thought the task was accomplished, and in her satisfaction, she permitted herself to take a long breath, an action she had tried for some moments not to indulge in.
Everything had to be begun again.
Lady Flayskin, who had felt her fingers forced back by the irresistible force of the girl's expanding sides as she took breath, became enraged and hissed:
"Well! What are you doing, little fool?"
"The most natural thing, my lady, I am breathing."
" Know then that I am in no mood for 197
joking! A jest should never be made when a task is in course of accomplishment."
The pretty pupil laid the words to heart. The fruitless efforts recommenced. At a moment when the stud seemed on the point of being caught properly by the hook, Miss Virginia, with a piercing cry, loosed her hold. She had inadvertently, though excusably, in her state of mind, caught a little of her delicate skin under the hook and the pain had caused her to loose hold of both hook and stud.
At length, however, one hook was fast. It was then that Miss Virginia shrieked in agony, declaring that her ladyship, while helping her, was hurting her cruelly by pinching her flesh.
Lady Flayskin consented to a moment of respite, only to inquire if her pupil would prefer to continue the task under the whip? Such a suggestion on the part of her implacable mistress did not fail to terrify the young girl.
She did her utmost to make her efforts match those of the more skilful Lady Flayskin whose fingers were engaged in pulling and working the material which seemed as though it would never yield to any treatment. Her ladyship, 198
however, worked with confidence and without pity for the unfortunate girl's flesh, which frequently became caught under the hooks, and poor Virginia who scarcely dared to breathe, had naturally no intention of groaning.
In this way the work went on for an hour, counting the time involved in necessary moments of rest, and then, quite suddenly as frequently happens in such cases, the hooks seemed to close over the buttons as by a miracle.
Her ladyship was as supremely content as if she had concluded the finest of master pieces, and inquired:
"Well?"
Silence was the sole response.
But the expression on the pale face of the poor girl, the terrible dilatation of her large eyes, the half opened mouth from which her breath seemed to hiss out like gas escaping, all this made up a reply which, for all its silence, was none the less eloquent.