Recently, Emma Jane and I visited Bath for a weekend. As rather dedicated enthusiasts of all things Regency, we loved the place – even if my young lady experienced some of it in slight discomfort after a nice, hard birthday spanking (the majority with my hand, mixed with a dozen of the tawse).
As we wandered on the first evening, we spotted a somewhat eccentric gentleman on the Royal Crescent, dressed in full Georgian garb. Turned out he did private tours – and so the following morning we found ourselves wandering the streets with him hearing all sorts of fascinating anecdotes. (Oh, and that he “has a large collection of canes”, which made me splutter – not, of course, the type we’d think of…!)
He explained how ladies visiting the city in the season never carried money. They’d go to shops, sign for (say) £2,000 of lace – an outrageous sum in those days – and the bill would duly be sent to the house in which they were staying for settlement at the end of the week.
The potential to corrupt that little idea was immense, of course. A gentleman in town with a young lady – wife, fiancé, ward, daughter? – asking to see her in the drawing room. Laying the various end-of-week receipts on the table. Enquiring as to why she had been so profligate. Explaining that, whilst the money was no issue, her undue extravagance was. Pulling her over his knee; spanking her until she cried.
Time for a little Regency role-play…?
Yes, a gentleman could consentrate on ‘butts’. ‘naked butts. After a spendthrift naughty lady squandered his hard earned money in places. like Bath, by giving her a good spanking. I have visited this historic city in England, built by the Romans.
2,000 pounds worth of lace might well be worth some tears.
I agree with Svetlana – £2000 worth of lace?! How many doilies does one person need??
But yay to Regency roleplay 😉 x
I probably should have mentioned that £1 then is equivalent to about £60 now… But people in Bath for the season were known for spending huge sums to impress others.