Settlement

Eleanor smiled nervously and nodded enthusiastically. She rose and walked over to the desk, where she picked up the volume of Dr. Johnson's travels in the Hebrides and examined it cursorily, but appreciatively, before putting it down again. Mr. Mackinnon offered a ballpoint pen for the signature, but Eleanor protested that such a gift had to be signed with something more elegant. She winked with a familiarity begotten of nervousness, rather than bad manners, and Sophia Louise looked on in bemusement as her Mother returned to look in her bag, where she found her treasured Parker fountain pen, given to her by her grandfather in 1971 at the start of her penultimate year at the College. Carefully, she removed the cap and, in her inimitably precise style, wrote her name in full ... Eleanor Louise Waddingham ... She let out a faint gasp as she realised what she had written and quickly penned in ... Penbury ... in brackets after the name.

Eleanor's writing had always been pleasing on the eye, reflecting great care and attention, but her italic-style writing was highly distinctive and was reserved for the most special occasions. She had only used it very rarely in her lifetime, but even as she was writing her name, she saw a card and a hand-written note slide across the desk alongside the book. Without looking up, she blushed with an intensity that took Sophia Louise completely by surprise. Mr. Mackinnon, who was both something of an amateur expert in graphology and a very discerning judge of people, was not so surprised. His gaze joined that of Eleanor and of Sophia Louise, who had now joined them at the desk, as the three documents were compared. There was no mistaking that all were written in the same hand.

Mr. Mackinnon smiled benignly at Eleanor and invited her to sit down again, but she felt almost unable to move as she stood, like a penitent schoolgirl, in front of the desk and looked, half open-mouthed, at the Headmaster.

Mr. Mackinnon sat back in his leather armchair and gazed intently at Eleanor.

"Would you prefer that Sophia Louise found other things to do while we clear the air here, Eleanor?"

It had always been known at school that girls who were about to be subject to corporal punishment were addressed by their forenames, not, as customarily, by their surnames. Despite the fact that she had never been disciplined at school, the detailed reports she had heard from caned girls had left her totally familiar with the ritual and it was for this reason that, for the third time in her life, she realised that the cane was hovering metaphorically over her in a disciplinary setting.

Sophia Louise grinned wickedly, wiggled her hips and said to her Mother, in a stage whisper........

"Oooh Mum, have you been a naughty girl? Never mind, you're no stranger to the cane are you?"

Sophia Louise and Eleanor blushed in harmony as the significance of what had been said sank in to Mr. Mackinnon, whose smile was only visible from the inside.

As on the two previous such occasions, a sense of a longing to 'do the right thing' took over Eleanor's thoughts at that moment, bringing with it the renowned dignity and self-control that were the hallmarks of her character.

She fixed Mr. Mackinnon in her gaze and adopted a posture that was both submissive and dignified.

"May I speak, please, Sir?"

A comforting, soft Skye accent approved her request and Eleanor embarked upon a full statement as to how, given the fact that Julia Beaulieu appeared, through lies, deceit and bullying, totally to have evaded justice and retribution for her wrongdoing, Patricia O'Connor and she had decided that something had to be done. She then went on to describe how she and Patricia had heard Julia bragging about having made love to Mr. Harding, something they knew full well to be malicious nonsense.

Nonetheless, they had then acted totally irrationally and without thought of the consequences of misinterpretation. They had taken Julia's underwear, removed the label, then snagged her cardigan on a nail and torn a small piece of wool from it at just the right place so that the assumption would be made that Julia had been in the caretaker's office. They had engaged Mr. Harding's attention and whilst Patricia had sought information that kept the caretaker totally preoccupied, Eleanor had slipped the underwear into a greatcoat pocket that he rarely used and had then snagged the piece of green wool onto a splinter in a wooden upright. Eleanor had then exploited the absence of Patricia and the caretaker to remove a spare key and slip it into her pocket. After a coded silent signal to Patricia, the two girls had then left the caretaker and made their way back to Julia's locker, where they had planted the false evidence, having wiped the key with great care before doing so.

It was now Sophia Louise's turn to stand, open-mouthed, as the slight tarnish appeared on her Mother's character. She giggled, partly out of nervousness and partly out of pure mischief. Eleanor was now speechless, but was totally in control of herself and, as when her husband had caned her nine years earlier for the first time, she awaited the next move passively and in silence, standing with her hands clasped behind her back.

Mr. Mackinnon looked kindly but sternly at her.

"I feel that we all benefit from having heard your true version of the facts, Eleanor. Thank you. Now, the matter would appear to be tied off once and for all but......."

Mr. Mackinnon rose from his chair and walked towards the window. Eleanor's and Sophia Louise's gaze followed him as he took up a position overlooking the quadrangle, then turned to face them.

"I know something of you, Eleanor, and that something tells me that, for the sake both of Patricia, whom you loved as a close friend, and for Julia, whom, despite what you saw as mitigating circumstances, you wronged, you are not comfortable with leaving the situation like this."

Eleanor looked down at the floor for a moment, then lifted her gaze again and fixed Mr. Mackinnon attentively in it.

"I was once in a similar situation with my husband, Mr. Mackinnon, and at that time, once I had acknowledged what needed to be done, I was happy to leave it to him. Now, you are in authority, so I will leave it to you, acting on behalf of Miss Frobisher, who......."

Eleanor had been about to say "... obviously isn't able to see justice done ..." when she heard a door creak behind her. She turned and saw a tall, elegantly-dressed elderly lady standing there. She put her hand to her mouth and gasped.

"M-m-m-i-ssss F-f-f-robisher!!!!"

Sophia Louise giggled uncontrollably and muttered something about how she would soon know what a sort of a pain in the arse The Dragon, still the stuff of legend at a school that had inexplicably acquired the nickname of Spankhurst College, could be and how fortunate it was that her Father wasn't there when none other than Mr. James Penbury followed Miss Frobisher into the room, adding a totally different dimension to the scene. Sophia Louise fell very quiet under her Father's stern, silent rebuke.

Mr. Mackinnon took control of the scenario and looked Eleanor in the eye for a few moments, before turning his gaze to Sophia Louise and reminding her, firstly, that her parents had not paid good fees for her education only to have her acting so tactlessly and, in the circumstances, rudely. He then turned back to Eleanor and looked once again at her in the kind but authoritative manner that had an effect similar to, but by no means as intense as, that look which her beloved James was wont to give her.

"Eleanor, I am not going to impose a punishment on you, since you are a married adult woman and the episode is long since ended. However, if you feel that this is necessary, then it will be done."

Eleanor held her breath for a few moments as she struggled to summon up courage for what she knew she would have to endure. After a seemingly endless silence, she addressed herself calmly to Mr. Mackinnon:

"I wish to close this episode of injustice in the only appropriate manner, by accepting the same punishment as was wrongly meted out to Julia Beaulieu."

"Very well", replied Mr. Mackinnon, "it shall be so. However, I see an order of priority here that is different from that which existed at the time of the original punishment. You are now a married lady and your husband has the right of first choice as to who should punish you".

James had said very little and had listened with his undivided attention to the discussion that had taken place. He cupped his chin in his hand for a few moments and then turned to Miss Frobisher.

"I believe", he started, "that Miss Frobisher is the wronged party here, as much as Julia Beaulieu, since her good name and her reputation, not to mention her self-confidence, could have suffered as a result of Eleanor Waddingham's well-intentioned, but wrongful actions. Hers has to be the choice."

James stood back and Miss Frobisher looked at the people in the Study, before announcing in soft, confident voice, in crystal-clear tones:

"This is not a case of one individual against another, but of a girl who, foolishly and in a moment of silly rashness, betrayed very serious and honourable principles that are, I know, very precious to her and to her family. I believe that discipline is administered by the school and, since Mr. Mackinnon is the Headmaster who acts in the name of the Emmeline Pankhurst Sixth Form College for Girls, he is now the person who should administer the punishment. Julia Beaulieu received six strokes".

James nodded discreetly to give his assent and this Mr. Mackinnon acknowledged with a brief reciprocated nod. The Headmaster then went on to ask all present, other than Eleanor and Miss Frobisher, to move to the adjoining room and close the door. This they did, promptly, and Eleanor began to tremble slightly as Miss Frobisher moved behind the desk, to where the Headmaster had been standing. Mr. Mackinnon walked back to the window, lowered the blind, then walked to the corridor exit door, which he locked. He then instructed Eleanor in a quiet, authoritative voice, to bend over the desk.

As the Headmaster walked towards The Dragon's lair, Eleanor walked up to the desk, smiling weakly at Miss Frobisher. The latter had always been of the view that, once something had been decided, it should be dealt with promptly and did not, therefore, waste time on words, but held out her well-manicured hands, smiled kindly at Eleanor and briefly took hold of the younger woman's hands before releasing them to take what she knew would be a very necessary hold on the edge of the desk.

Eleanor closed her eyes as she heard the cupboard door open and she was acutely conscious of the quiet footfalls of the Headmaster as he approached. She heard the unmistakable sound of the cane being placed on the desk alongside her and she shuddered instinctively as she recalled how she had looked away from the cane when James had laid it on the bed alongside her, all those years ago.

Mr. Mackinnon walked behind Eleanor and looked across at Miss Frobisher, who nodded slightly before the back of Eleanor's dress was raised and the beautifully-shaped bottom, enclosed in cream-coloured slightly-elasticated full briefs, was exposed to his view. He masked his thoughts and feelings extremely well, although Miss Frobisher was able to read his mind perfectly. So perfectly in fact, that she was not in the least concerned about any hint of impropriety, for this was a man whom she knew well and whom she understood as few others did.

Mr. Mackinnon walked back to the desk and picked up the cane quietly. Eleanor was aware of movement in her vicinity, but it was the soft touch of the rattan across the mid-line of the seat of her knickers that gave her the final warning of the start of the punishment she had awaited for 27 years.

As on the previous such occasion, she heard the whistle of the cane, as it sliced through the air, in exquisite detail before her body tensed rigidly as the cane found its mark along the equator of her bottom. Her legs buckled slightly and she clenched and tensed her buttocks alternately in an attempt to dissipate the sharp pain.

When, thirty years previously, Mr. Mackinnon had last used the cane, he had made a point of marking out the boundaries of the caned area with the first two strokes. Thus it was that the second stroke landed at the very base of the buttocks, at the edge of the knicker fabric.

Eleanor let out a muted yelp as it landed and held firmly to the desk. Miss Frobisher resisted strong compassionate urges for the time being, whilst the Headmaster watched the profile of Eleanor's bottom as raised weals formed. He then proceeded to administer four final strokes with The Dragon, strokes that had a profound effect upon Eleanor as she squirmed, trying to ensure that the desire to 'see the job done properly' overruled the longing to stand up and run. Her efforts were successful, but only just!

She felt her dress being lowered gently over her bottom, then vaguely heard the sound of The Dragon being returned to its final resting place, never to be used again. The sound of the lock closing floated in the pink haze of pain and relief that was filling her body and mind. Her sense of submission to what she knew to be right had the effect almost of elation and her body, as on that previous occasion, was beginning to give her tell-tale signs of her need of her husband's careful and loving attention. Carefully, she moved her hands back to her side of the desk and eased herself into a standing position, wincing as the fabric of her knickers rubbed momentarily over her weals.

She had heard the door to the Annex open, but her thoughts were far away, her eyes looking mistily towards the window. She felt a tissue being pressed gently into her hand, then the comforting embrace of Miss Frobisher, who kissed her cheek softly and whispered "I'm proud of you, Eleanor. I always knew you would do the right thing."

The next event in this bizarre sequence probably shook Eleanor almost as much as the caning had done, for there, alongside her husband, was not only Sophia Louise, but a tall, radiantly warm-looking woman with rich auburn hair that was just beginning to exhibit hints of grey. Eleanor's mind worked frantically to work out who she was before this woman walked over to her, embraced her with warmth and sincerity, then whispered quietly into her ear: "We both deserved it, Elle."

Eleanor came quickly to her senses and looked in utter astonishment. "Julia?"

The tears flowed freely as the two women embraced one another, the events of an earlier generation now finally resolved properly. Their embrace was close and any hint of former antipathy had long since vanished. When, eventually, they released one another, they looked deeply into one another's eyes, then exchanged kisses on the cheek that both came to cherish as symbols of wrongs put right.

The final surprise in a day that had proved to be something of a watershed for Eleanor came when a middle-aged couple joined the other six people in the Study. Eleanor knew instantly that these were probably the people who had suffered the most harm of all and went immediately across to Polly and embraced her with both penitence and affection. She felt almost too uncomfortable to look Mr. Harding in the eye, but he smiled at her and took her hand gently, before giving a handshake that wrote the final line under the entire affair.

The small group of people moved from the Study along the corridor into the quadrangle, where a warm late summer afternoon warmth embraced them. Across the quadrangle, the attention of a black and white cat perched precariously on a balustrade was temporarily distracted by the new arrivals, allowing sufficient time for a pair of plump collared doves to flap their way heavily and noisily into the sky. The cat, for which hunting such prey was a totally unnecessary luxury in dietary terms, looked dismissively at a feather floating slowly to the ground, then disappeared silently into the intricate architectural complexity of the College buildings.