Chapter 33. Mary and Jill.
Philip was full of foreboding as he approached the front door. He had no idea which friends his aunt had invited, except that there were three of them. But when he opened the door, there was only one.
âPhilip, dear. You look lovely! May I come in?â
âMiss Tancred. I-Iâm sorry, I didnât realiseâŠâ
âWell, well, weâre not at school now, are we. You neednât look so frightened.â
âNo, missâŠer, madamâŠI was just surprised, thatâs all.â
âPlease, Philip,â said Christabel, giving Philip her coat and scarf as she passed into the corridor, ââmissâ is absolutely fine. You neednât be formal with me.â
âNo, miss. Sorry, miss.â
âI must say you look absolutely splendid in that little outfit. Estella has such good taste, donât you think? You neednât show me through. Iâve been here enough times in the past.â
Philip went into the bedroom and laid Christabelâs coat and scarf on the bed. He felt unnerved by her arrival. Now there was the head as well as the two girls to witness his discomfiture. But he pulled himself together, and prepared to return to the lounge. Before he could move, however, there was another ring at the bell. He hurried to answer the door. The remaining two guests had arrived together.
âHello, sweetie. Can we come in?â said the first, the shorter of the two, with an innocent smile.
âYou must be Philip,â said the other, taking him in at a glance, âEstella told us she had a new maid, but she didnât warn us how pretty she wasâŠâ
âOf course. This way please. If youâd care to give me your coatsâŠâ
The two guests were quite dissimilar. They were both, thought Philip, late thirties. Probably they were more friends âfrom the old daysâ. One was buxom and motherly-looking, with slightly prominent china-blue eyes, untidy hair, and a permanently sympathetic expression on her face, as if condoling with the world in general. She wore a blouse and narrow skirt, both apparently a size too small for her. The other looked more sophisticated, in a cheap sort of way. Taller and slim, small brown eyes, a hint of fake tan, bronze-coloured hair out of one of those womenâs magazines that you find in doctorsâ waiting-rooms, black wet-look leggings, black knee boots with stiletto heels which she appeared to be having difficulty balancing on, and a short, tight black jumper. Philip dumped the coats and followed them into the room.
âMary, darling! How are you? Jill! Lovely to see you.â
âChristabel! Estella!â
âJill! Mary, sweetie!â
It was clear they all knew each other, anyway. Maybe theyâll just concentrate on each other, get slowly pissed, and leave me alone, thought Philip, as he went to get the drinks. As he was in the kitchen loading the bottles onto a tray, he could hear Estella introducing Freida and Janie to her guests. He expected the girls to be a little embarrassed by the presence of their headmistress, so he was surprised when he heard Freida chatting to her as if she were an old friend. It was a little odd, he thought. When he returned they were all seated around the table laughing, and to his surprise his aunt ordered him to bring two more glasses for the girls. Well, at least theyâd stopped filming for a bit. But that was not to last.
After about ten minutes the girls stood up and got the camera working. The four women sat one at each side of the table, sipping their drinks and reminiscing. Philip, as he had been instructed, stood to one side awaiting orders. He listened to the conversation with interest. He gleaned that Mary had indeed been an old college friend of his auntâs, whilst Jill was a more recent acquisition. They were talking about things he didnât quite understand. On several occasions, Jill mentioned her âtraineesâ, and Mary her âbabiesâ. Christabel must have noticed the puzzlement on his face.
âI think your little maid is curious about our conversation, Estella. Are you, Philip?â
âN-no, miss,â he stammered, ânot at all. I was thinking about something else.â
âLittle liar,â laughed Jill. âShall we enlighten her, Stella?â
âPhilip, dear. Ask my guests anything you like. Go on. Were you interested in Maryâs babies?â
âWell, I did wonder how manyâŠâ
âI have five at the moment,â said Mary. âThough I could always cope with more.â
âAre they all yours?â
âNo, silly. I just look after them.â
âOh, I see. A sort of crĂȘche.â
âSort of.â
âAre they all little?â
âQuite little. The youngest is fourteen, the eldestâŠhe must be nearly twenty-eight now.â
âWhat?â exclaimed Philip, frowning. âHowâŠ?â
The women all laughed at his confusion. Estella explained.
âMy friend Mary looks after grown-up babies, Philip. They get brought to her by wives, sisters, aunts⊠Naughty boys who need subduing and retraining. After a few months with her they emerge much more compliant.â
âAnd happier, too,â added Mary. âSome of them elect to remain as babies.â
âIâve never heard of anything like that,â said Philip, amazed. âI mean, do they choose to go to you in the first place?â
âOh, no,â laughed Mary, âthey donât choose. Usually they have done something naughty, and submit rather than be exposed. Occasionally they have to be brought to me by force, but thatâs rare. Once I have them theyâre put in restraints for the first month, sometimes longer, until they become completely conditioned. Youâd be amazed how easily some of them can be persuaded to regress.â
âI see. I canât imagine howâŠwhat youâŠ.â
âYouâre going to have the chance to find out first hand, Philip,â interjected his aunt. âIâve booked you a month with Mary in the summer holidays.â
Philip stared at her, and then at Mary, in alarm. âNoâŠI donât needâŠI havenât been naughtyâŠand Iâm going to be a really good maid, aunt, youâll see!â
He heard the girls spluttering with mirth. He turned to them. âShut up, you two!â
âYou see,â sighed Estella. âHe has these little outbursts of rudeness. I hope youâll be able to cure him, Mary. Will a month be enough?â
âOh, I think so, dear. Iâll give him the intensive course.â
âThank you. Youâre so kind to me.â
Philip was incoherent with fear.
âAunt, pleaseâŠ. Listen, Iâm gonna be so good! What do you want me to do? Anything!â
âI want you to go see Mary, darling. Thatâs what I want. And thatâs whatâs going to happen.â
He advanced to the table and confronted his aunt. âIâm f***ing not! Itâs too much! You canât make me!â
Aunt Estella didnât reply. She gave him a long, withering stare, then rose from her chair, and left the room.
âW-whereâs she going?â asked Philip, nervously, suddenly repenting his boldness.
âPhilip, that was a mistake,â said Christabel, resignedly.
The words were hardly out of her mouth when his aunt returned. The leather paddle was in her hand.
âAunt. No. Iâm sorryâŠâ
âI warned you, Philip. Ladies? Iâm going to need a little help here.â
The three of them rose. Philip backed away, but they surrounded him. They dragged him, struggling and protesting, to the sofa.
âOver the back, I think,â said Estella, calmly. âIâll be able to get a better swing like that.â
He was bent over the back of the sofa. Mary and Christabel sat down on it and held his arms. Jill sat on the floor and wrapped her legs around his ankles. His little stiff skirt stood up straight, leaving his bottom unprotected. Freida and Janie were almost hysterical with delight. They could never have imagined anything as wonderful as this! They positioned themselves to the side, where they had a perfect view of proceedings. Poor Philip was already beginning to sob and plead. But his aunt was unrelenting.
âThe first ten with your panties on, to warm you up. The second tenâŠ.â
âNo, aunt, please, pleaseâŠ.!â
The first blow landed. Philip screamed. The broad leather paddle made a loud crack as it connected with his bottom, sending a wave of pain through his body. Pain that didnât subside, but grew steadily with each stroke. He ceased to struggle, trying to focus on counting the strokes, but each successive one drew from him a yelp or a howl of agony. When the first ten were done, Estella allowed him to rest for a minute. Then she unceremoniously pulled down his panties and his underpanties, revealing a pair of glowing buttocks trembling with apprehension. Freida now had the camera, and she zoomed in for a few seconds before returning to a wide view. Philip was squirming with pain and mortification. Estella resumed. She placed the blows alternately on one buttock then the other. She took her time, allowing the pain to develop after each stroke before applying the next. Philip was sobbing helplessly. Through blurred eyes he could see his tears dropping onto Maryâs skirt, making little wet stains. His bottom became a livid red, the shape of the paddle clearly demarked on his pale flesh. When it was finally over, and the ladies released him, he sank to his knees on the floor, eyes tight shut. Estella left the room to replace the paddle, and returned with a jar of cold cream.
âMary? Maybe youâd like to do this? You have the most experienceâŠâ
âLove to, Stella. Come here young man.â Christabel helped him around to the front of the sofa. Mary spread a towel on her lap, and Philip was instructed lie face down on it. He turned his head and opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was the delighted faces of Janie and Freida, either side of the camera lens. With a groan, he turned his head back the other way. As Maryâs expert hands began to apply the cream, with unexpected gentleness, he sighed with relief. He had learned his lesson. No more swearing. No more outbursts. No, he was going to be a model maid from now on. MaybeâŠmaybe Aunt Estella would take pity on him, and let him off the trip to Maryâs place. Though she could hardly be any worse. But his cogitations were interrupted by his aunt's icy voice.
âWhen youâre done, panties back on and serve the starter please, Philip.â