Chapter 2
At breakfast, Aunt Julia announced that she had to go into town on business, and advised them to enjoy themselves but behave themselves too, or she would want to know all about it when she came home! They went up to the attic, and collected the irons, and some ropes, intending to play in the woods. When she came across the strap with a handle, and trying to imagine what it had felt like. Again, the queer sort of thrill made her clench her legs tightly together, and Diana noticed this. Without saying a word, she picked up the strap when Muriel put it down, and slipped it into her belt.
Arrived at the woods, she took Muriel up into the tree-house, whilst Gerald climbed one of the nearby trees with the irons. When he was on the same level as the platform, he threw a rope across, and the girls made it fast to a stout limb, then tied some timber and tools onto another rope, and passed them across to him. He set to work on making a little observation platform, high up in the other tree, and cutting notches that would make it easy to reach. "When he has done, he will give us a shout, and we will help from this side whilst he fixes up that side, and we shall have a rope 'bridge' between the trees!" Diana explained to her cousin. "Meanwhile, we'll get a little snack ready."
Opening a box cupboard, she revealed a collection of bottles of soft drinks, some glasses, and knives. From the satchel she had brought with her, she produced a cake, and some tarts. "Hope Mom doesn't miss these they are supposed to be for tea but if she brings some chocolate ‚clairs from town as she usually does, she won't need them."
The cake cut, buns shared out, and glasses put out on the card table, with a bottle of orangeade in the middle, the girls sat together on the sofa, and Diana steered the conversation round to the one subject that Muriel was wanting to discuss. "I haven't had the cane at all this week! Mother will be wondering what is wrong!" She asked her cousin if this was unusual. "Do you really get it most weeks then?" Diana laughed, "Yes, I suppose I must be just naturally naughty! But I enjoy being naughty so I suppose it is worth a sore sit-upon!" Soon they were discussing the details of the punishments, and how sore it was.
At this point Diana pulled the strap from her belt, and said, "Well, this used to smart but it soon passes off. When I get the cane the marks are still visible the next day, and it hurts for a lot longer!" Carefully watching the interest on her cousin's face, she then asked, "Haven't ever even had the strap?" At Muriel's rather shamed confession, she smiled and suggested, "Tell you what, let's try it! Then you will know what we are talking about!"
Muriel blushed hotly, and was silent for a moment, then the rising excitement overcame her shyness, and her fear. "W. . . well er well, all right! I'm game!" Diana grinned, "Come on, over my knees!" Muriel was blushing furiously, but feeling a new sensation of 'butterflies' in her tummy, and a novel warmth in between her legs. She scrambled over her cousin's legs, and bent into the ordered position, feeling Diana throw back her frock, and push up her petticoat. When the girl's fingers went inside the elastic of her panties, although it was another girl, and her cousin, she felt a strange sexual thrill as the coolness of the air on her exposed skin told her that her bottom was bare before this other girl!
Then a sharp, burning sting in her bared buttocks made her gasp. She had felt it! It was not all that bad! Not unbearable. She almost welcomed the second blow. Then the third struck her glowing rump. The excitement seemed to more than compensate for the pain! When Diana saw from the change of color, that the strokes had stung, and Muriel hadn't made any move to escape, despite her gasps, she took a firm grip around her cousin's waist, and began to lay on the strap as her Mother had. A hail of rapid, hard whacks that covered all the exposed cheeks and the tops of Muriel's thighs! Now the accumulated smart was telling, and despite her thrilling excitement, Muriel started to kick and wriggle to dodge the seemingly endless hail of blows. Diana was now breathing heavily, "Aha! Now you are feeling it! Now you know what naughty girls get! Now I'll just give this naughty, rosy bottom some more!" There was a quiver of excitement in her voice, and she again laid on the strap in a series of full-armed, really whacked down strokes that drew squeals of pain from her victim!
After a half-a-dozen of these whacks, she let go of Muriel, and lay back, gasping with a mixture of excitement and effort. Muriel wriggled around to join her, and they cuddled, breasts heaving, against each other. They kissed, and Diana felt the tear-wet face of her cousin against her own. When the kiss ended, they were both breathless and trembling, but Gerald's call brought them back to earth! "Hey, you two lazy hounds! What about some more rope?" Diana slipped off the sofa, and picked up a coil of rope. Muriel quickly tugged her panties up to cover her heated and rosy bottom, and joined her.
For the next few minutes they were kept busy tossing, catching, and tying ropes. Then the 'bridge' was completed, and Gerald joined them. They all went into the hut for their cakes and 'pop'. Gerald saw the strap lying on the sofa but said nothing at the time. The feast over, they all went over the rope bridge, to see the new platform. Again Diana led the way, and Gerald brought up the rear. Muriel realized that if he looked up, he would see the reddening of her legs under the edge of her panties and know what they had been up to. She didn't know whether she was praying from embarrassment that he wouldn't, or hoping from pride that he would!
Gerald made no comment, and they reached the look-out platform he had built, admired his handiwork, and saw through the gaps in the foliage that Aunt Julia had returned. By the time the bell rang, they were down the tree, and on their way to the house for lunch. On completion of the meal. Aunt Julia suddenly sprang her surprise. "I had occasion to go to the pantry as Muriel does not even know where it is, the missing items can only be the responsibility of you two!" Her gaze transfixed her son and daughter. "Go up to my room!"
Looking rather woebegone, Gerald and his sister, left the room. Aunt Julia got up and went over to the corner-cupboard. Muriel only just controlled her face as she saw the thin, thirty-inch length of yellow stick with it's curled hook at one end. Flexing this between her hands with a strange look, Julia left the room to follow her of spring up the stairs. For a moment, Muriel sat there, her heart pounding as she thought of what was going to happen, then she could not hide her curiosity any longer, and slipped out of the dining-room to creep upstairs after them.
Arrived at her Aunt's bedroom door, she was just in time to catch the last words that their mother said, "over the end of the bed!" Putting her eye to the key-hole, she was disappointed to find that she could only see the wardrobe corner of the room.
Quickly she turned her head to press her ear to the aperture as she heard a soft, but vicious, hissing sound that terminated in a sharp "Twack!" and was immediately followed by a muffled gasp of pain. It was not clear enough for her to even make out which of her friends was 'getting it' first, but sent a quiver of excitement through her loins. Ear flattened against the hard wood of the door, she heard the sharp swishing sound of the flexible cane descending again. This time the cry was quite sharp, and despite its high pitch, she thought it was from Gerald! A third stroke followed that drew a loud cry, also high pitched, then her guess was confirmed as she heard Aunt Julia's voice, with an edge of something like excitement on it, saying, "Get up now and stand over there! Now for you, my girl!" So it had been Gerald, and now Diana to get 'it'. The voice continued, authorities, but with that undercurrent of emotion.
"Panties down, and bend over! Come on! I'm not going to wait all day!" A pause, then, "No Gerald! those marks!" A short pause, and then the voice Leave them where they are! I want to see spoke again, "Further over! Get your bottom well up!" A further pause, then the thin swish of the cane's passage through the air, the distinctive noise of it burying into soft flesh, and a sharp gasp! Muriel felt a new sensation in the pit of her belly, it was frightening, yet so deliciously so, that she wanted it to continue!
The second stroke drew another gasp, and the final one, a small cry! "Now go and stand beside your brother. Keep those clothes up! Ah! It seems that I have not lost the knack of making a bottom smart! Let that be a lesson to the pair of you!" Muriel realized that her aunt may stop to gloat over her victims for some time, or may come straight out, so she sped silently off down to the dining room.
Sitting there, she was surprised by her feelings, and could hardly keep her bottom still on her seat. She felt as though she wanted to have a pee! But she had had one just before lunch! She was still preoccupied with probing these new sensations and thrills when her aunt came back into the room.
Stopping before her niece, Julia flexed the supple cane, and told her, "I have just had to beat my two! You had better know, here and now, that if I have any trouble with you whilst you are staying here-I shall have no hesitation in taking your panties down and giving you a taste of this little 'corrector' of mine!" She swished the cane through the air with that tummy-shivering hiss, then went over to hang it up in the cupboard again.
Despite the chill of terror that these words had sent through her, Muriel also got the same new thrill that she had felt as she heard the others get their punishment! Ten minutes later, her friends came back down, and they were allowed out to play again.