“There, there, that will do,” said Papa, in a very excited tone. “I’ve drawn the blood for her. Now, Miss Dunce, kneel and kiss the rod, and ask your kind governess to forgive you.”
I slipped down on my knees, and hiding my face in my hands in her lap, promised Miss Birch “if she would forgive me now, to be a better girl in future.”
“That will do. I don’t want to be too hard upon Lucille this time. We will leave her to think over her disgrace and shame, and let her beware of the birch again,” said Papa, taking Miss Birch’s hand, to lead her from the room. “This has been a most agitating scene for your governess, who must repose in her private room for a while to recover herself.”
The schoolroom door, which opened directly into her private room, was closed upon me, and the key turned in the lock, but all my hurts and bruises were insufficient to distract my attention from the peculiarly warm and excited glances which passed from papa towards my governess, whose face was suffused with blushes, and her eyes turned down, as if afraid to meet his ardent looks as they passed from the room.
My curiosity was excited so much, that I listened at the keyhole. Papa was evidently remaining in the governess’s room. I could hear a rustling of her dress, as if some little struggle was taking place; a sound of smothered kisses, and soft expostulatory ejaculations, such as, “I dare not! Oh! No! No!! Not now! Pray leave me! Oh! Oh!!” Then an almost perfect quiet, except for a slight rustling sound, and, now and then, broken sighs with heavy breathing.
At last all was quiet, and having now been left more than half-an-hour to myself in the schoolroom, I ventured to tap at the door and beg Miss Birch to let me into her room, as I would never, never, offend again.
After a very slight delay, the door was unlocked, and my governess received me with expressions of great tenderness, kissed her poor Lucille, and hoped my poor bottom was not too sore. Her eyes were melting with what I should now call a soft voluptuous languor, and scintillated with extraordinary brilliancy, all of which set my young ideas in a flutter of wonderment, as to the extraordinary cause of her prolonged emotion.
Things went on pretty smoothly for some time, but I found it quite impossible to avoid coming under the rod every now and then, the chastisement getting more severe on every fresh occasion.