Chapter 3. Edward becomes master of the house
Life went on fairly pleasantly this way for several years. Sarah developed into
a fine looking woman and was much sort after by sons of the local gentry. Ruth
never really developed though. She remained small and skinny with an almost flat
chest. Even when dressed in expensive clothes, she didn't excite too much
attention from the opposite sex. Thus she became more wrapped up in what she saw
as her work. She helped her father and studied botany with great enthusiasm but
left boys well alone.
All this came to an abrupt and brutal end when one night on his way home Lord
Robert was waylaid by highway men and shot and killed when he refused their
demands for money. The men were subsequently caught and hanged but the effect
the death of Lord Robert had on the household and Ruth in particular was also
brutal and demeaning. Her father (or as she was reminded now) her adopted father
hadn't made a will so no provision was made for the two girls' future. Lord
Robert was only 46 years old and believed there would be plenty of time for that
later. After taxes were paid Edward inherited it all. However, he was living
somewhere abroad and it was a two months before he could be contacted and
returned to the Hall.
Sarah immediately realised the consequences of what might happen when Edward
returned as Lord Edward Lavenby and master of the household. Fortunately she was
seriously courting a cavalry officer at the time and managed to extract a
proposal from him. After a short engagement, she married him and they left for
India.
Ruth thought she might still be able to fulfil a role in the house as a
financial adviser but her illusions were shattered immediately after Edward's
arrival. She had been out when Lord Edward arrived and on entering her room
found it bare. None of her clothes were in the cupboards, all the drawers were
empty and there were no sheets on the bed. When she called for one of the maids
Edward himself entered. "Get yourself downstairs to Mrs. Symonds the new
housekeeper. She will give you your new servants uniform and return the fancy
dress. You came into this house with nothing, you now own nothing. The clothes
you are wearing now belong to me. From now on you do not have any privilege
position. You are just another servant and a lowly one at that but I am sure
Mrs. Symonds will soon knock you into shape."
Ruth tried to protest at the injustice but Edward just slapped her across the
face and sent her to the kitchen to find the new housekeeper. Edward had hired
her because she had a reputation for being a very strict disciplinarian. A short
tawse hung from her belt seemingly as part of her uniform and used it frequently
for minor infringements. More serious lapses were recorded and punishment meted
out after dinner each evening.
As soon as she arrived in the kitchen Mrs. Symonds ordered her to remove her
clothes and when Ruth hesitated the housekeeper immediately brought the tawse
across the back of Ruth's legs. "So you still think you are one of the
mistresses of the house do you? We'll soon see about that. Get those clothes off
NOW!" Ruth fumbled with the fastening half keeping an eye on the bootboy who was
cleaning utensils. She wasn't quick enough and received another stroke of the
tawse. Mrs. Symonds looked over Ruth's naked body as she stood shivering with
fear in the centre of the kitchen. "There may not be much of you but you will
still have to do a full days work same as the others otherwise you will have to
bear the consequences. Now just to make certain you now know your place here,
bend over the table."
"No, please, Mrs. Symonds. I'll do my best." Ruth was crying now.
"I'm sure you will and this is just to make sure of it." Turning to another
maid, "You there, girl, hold this one's arms while I show what she gets for
hesitating to do what she is told." Jane, the maid came and held Ruth's arms
from the other side of the table.
Whack! Whack! Whack! Ten times the tawse fell across Ruth's backside. She
screamed, squirmed and pleaded but all to no avail. When Jane was ordered to
release her, Ruth felt she could hardly stand but Mrs. Symonds would have none
of that. Throwing a simple, rough, smock at her she was told to put it on a was
then taken to the courtyard area and told to scrub the stones clean.
Ruth tried but soon her soft hands were torn and bleeding. Her back ached so she
could hardly stand. Once Edward came past and taunted her. "It's about time you
did some work. You sponged off my father for long enough." He kicked her sore
arse so she fell on her face on the stone slabs. At regular intervals, Mrs.
Symonds came to inspect her progress and was always very dissatisfied and
usually lifted Ruth's smock and added another couple of stripes "To encourage
her to work faster."
Dinner for the staff was a frugal affair. Quite unlike former times when the
food was good and plentiful. It was followed by the dreaded punishment session.
All the staff had to attend. Ruth noticed the birching horse now had a place in
the kitchen.
First to be called to the horse was the bootboy. After stripping him of his
smock he was fastened to the framework. Edward arrived, "Don't spare any of
these lazy scoundrels Mrs. Symonds," he ordered. She gave the boy ten stripes of
the birch. He yelled at the top of his voice but it made no difference. By the
time his punishment was over, he was reduced to a sobbing wreck and when
released was unable to stand.
Next was young chambermaid who had been caught sitting on the bed when she
should have been cleaning the room. She too was stripped and fastened naked to
the horse. Again the sentence was ten stripes which she bore with a little more
fortitude than the boy but was still crying and begging before it was over.
However, for her it wasn't over. Edward stepped forward. The sight of the plump
sore arse had given him an obvious erection. "Leave her fastened there a
moment," he ordered, then whipping out his prick, rammed its hard length into
the tied down girl. Her screams renewed in intensity as Edward thrust his loins
against the tortured flesh. He seemed to have no feelings at all. To him the
girl was nothing more than a receptacle for his cock. It was rape, pure rape
watched by with very mixed emotions by all the other females on the staff.
Edward continued until he came within her, withdrew and wiped the end of his
cock across the welted arse and told Mrs. Symonds to carry on with the
punishments.
Ruth was called and unceremoniously stripped and fastened to the horse. Mrs.
Symonds castigated her for her supposed laziness and ordered twenty stripes.
Ruth fainted at the thought of taking that number of strokes on her small body.
The were gasps of horror from others on the staff but all were afraid to speak
or help. Water was thrown over Ruth to revive her and the first strokes were
applied to her buttocks. No matter how she struggled, how much she cried and
screamed she could not evade the punishing birch. Again she fainted. Again she
was revived. Her arse was one large blister so the birch rod transferred its
attentions to her back. Twice more she fainted and after the eighteenth stroke
she lapsed into complete unconsciousness. Water failed to revive her. When she
came to she was lying face down on a rough bed in the servants quarters being
gently sponged by one of the other girls. The girl tried her best to alleviate
some of the pain but with nothing to use except water, the pain continued
unabated. Ruth hardly slept that night.
Next day it was found that three of the maids had absconded during the night.
The sight of the thrashings had made them realise their life would not be worth
much if they stayed. Ruth was again taken to the courtyard but after only half
an hour lapsed into unconsciousness again. Mrs. Symonds tried to revive her with
a few swats of the tawse but even she realised it was not going to work. She
ordered two of the gardeners to throw Ruth in the barn and fasten the door to
keep her out of the way. Fortunately the head ostler saw them and after a short
while entered the barn and gave her water and tried to make her as comfortable
as he was able. Later he brought her a few young carrots grown in his garden as
he didn't dare get caught stealing food from the house to bring to her.
Ruth was left in the barn for the rest of that day and night. At least she
didn't have to witness the evening punishment session. Next morning, just before
breakfast Ruth was brought into the house and ordered to wash herself and report
to the kitchen. Three more staff had left during the night so now there was a
shortage. Apparently two of the girls had been birched the previous evening and
decided they could take no more. Ruth too saw the need to abscond and at least
in her case, she had money in her bank account. However, she never had the
opportunity to get away.
Mrs. Symonds must have decided that she wouldn't be able to maintain her
position if too many staff left so eased up on the punishments. Ruth's flesh was
still a livid colour and she tried not to sit but was ordered to be seated at
the breakfast table for the barely palatable porridge that was served. Having
hardly eaten anything the previous day she was hungry and cleaned her plate.
"Now girl," the housekeeper spoke to her, "You've had a full plate of porridge
so you should have enough strength to do a full days work. Unfortunately we
don't have all the staff we did so for the time being the courtyard will have to
wait and you will work in the kitchen cleaning up after Cook."
Even the kitchen work seemed tiring especially as every movement pained her back
and bottom. Many times she was ordered to lift heavy pails of water, pails she
could barely lift when she was in full health. Cook tried to ease her load as
best she could but the housekeeper just seemed to hover around all the time. At
one point Ruth was struggling along with two pails of water. Her back and bum
were voicing their objections to lifting the weight in no uncertain manner and
her steps were short and she had to lower the pails to the ground after a few
yards. Had she known Mrs. Symonds was behind her she would have kept moving but
as soon as she picked the pails up to resume her journey the dreaded tawse
swished across the back of her legs. They buckled up and Ruth and the pails were
upended on the floor. The housekeeper was now very angry. Not only was Ruth the
laziest being on this earth but she had created as much mess as an army of
miners. Grabbing the hem of Ruth's smock she pulled it above the waist and laid
a sharp slap across the already blistered rear. Almost immediately Ruth's cries
started to fade and Mrs. Symonds knew she would soon pass out again.
"Damn the girl," she muttered, "She can't stay awake long enough to take a good
hiding." Flipping Ruth over until she was lying face upwards in the water she
bared the girl's body from the navel down. "Well see if your front can take a
hiding even if your arse cannot." With those words she proceeded to unmercifully
lash the bare flesh before her. Ruth barely remained awake during the hiding and
couldn't move when told to get up and clean the mess from the floor. Even two
lashes between her legs didn't cause any movement. Again she was thrown and
locked in the barn. Two days and two nights she spent in there with a little
food and water sent in in the evening.
