Pondering ideas for dark scenes…
The maid had been caught for some dastardly misdemeanour. The master of the house demanded to see her; the butler brought her forth. Apologies were met with anger: “She must be whipped, of course,” the gentleman would observe.
But, he would decide, she should be given time to contemplate her crimes and her punishment. He was about to go on a trip: “”Take her to the cellar, lock her in, and feed her occasionally with bread and water. Make sure you’ve cut some birches by the time I return,” he’d tell the butler.
And then he’d turn to the girl, “Once I’m back, I’ll have you brought back in here, and I’ll give you the flogging you so soundly deserve, and afterwards we can decide whether or not you can continue in my employ.”
Needed: a girl who can spend a few days locked up; a local supply of birches; and a deep, cold, windowless cellar…
Not that this is a competition, but even so: I don’t think you’ll ever be able to beat the waterboarding from last year
Anyway, a slight modification. The butler thinks that a mere birching isn’t severe enough – the maid’s crime has challenged his authority and made him look foolish in front of his employer.
So every day when he comes down into the cellar, he takes his cane and makes short work of the poor maid’s posterior. The cries of the maid echo throughout the manor and remind the other servants of who is in charge of the household.
When the master returns he will observe that his faithful butler has restored order in his own efficient way. And of course the birching still awaits…
Dastardly is *such* a good word!
Sounds just like a seasonal detox in a pricey spa! She emerges, eventually, slim and glowing!