Forced To Be The Duke's Maid

Forced To Be The Duke's Maid - Part 6

How was I to respond to that? He was going to punish me. How? I stood frozen to the spot, not knowing what the duke had planned for me. Why had I been so foolhardy as to think I could defy his wishes? It seemed like the worst decision I ever made not to wear the red dress and put my hair up now. Why hadn’t I just done as he asked?

“What are you going to do to me?” I watched him warily as he unbuttoned his waistcoat, his sleeves rolled up to the elbows now. Whatever he planned to do, it seemed like he needed freedom of movement to do it. Was he going to whip me?

He looked at me with a steely expression on his face. It should have scared me, but mostly I was just curious as to what he had planned. “You’ll see.”

He walked over to a cabinet that sat in the corner of the room. He pulled a key out of his pocket and opened it. Making sure I did not see inside, he bent down and when he stood up again, he had a small red velvety looking stool in his hands. The duke walked over to me and placed the stool in front of me.

I looked down at it, then back at him. “What would you have me do sir?”

“Kneel in front of the stool Celeste,”

I immediately did as I was told. It was my disobedience that had gotten me to this point, and I didn’t want to make things worse. I rested on my knees, waiting for the next instruction. He didn’t give me one. He turned and walked over to the cabinet again. He bent down inside of it When he emerged again, he was holding what looked like a scrap of brown leather, taken from a belt or a boot. Was he planning to use that on me?

“Lean over the stool, Celeste.” The duke said, as he stood over me, his dark brown eyes focused on me with so much intensity. Shivers ran through me; I couldn’t tell if it was fear or anticipation.

I did as he asked. He moved to stand behind me now. What was he doing? I jumped at the sudden touch of his hands on my waist.

“ Keep your back straight.” He tilted my waist so that my backside was sticking up. I was now resting on my elbows across the stool, with my bottom sticking up in the air.

The duke then lifted the bottom of my dress and moved it slowly and carefully up to around my waist. He never lifted my undergarments. They still cover me, for now. I shuddered at both the sensation of his hands being so close to my skin and the chill of the room on my rear end. My underskirt did not provide very much warmth. I had a tingling sensation between my legs, it was a weird feeling. One I had rarely had before. The last time was when I had been play-fighting with Freddie, both of us rolling around on the floor. Was this what being aroused felt like? I had no experience of knowing. All I could recognise was that I was no longer fearful, I was ready to welcome the punishment. What was wrong with me?

Just as I was preparing myself to feel the sting of leather across my bare buttocks, the duke stood up and walked over to the armchair. I looked up in disbelief as he sat in the chair, placed the scrap of leather on the table next to him and opened his book.

The room was silent apart from the sound of the fire cracking in the hearth. I had been leaning across this stool for what seemed like hours, although it had probably only been about twenty minutes. The duke sat casually in his chair; one leg swung over the arm of it as he seemed engrossed in his book. He never looked at me, not once. Even though I was sure he could tell I was staring at him. I watched his long, tanned nimble fingers every time they turned a page of the book. I remembered how hot and firm they had felt wrapped around my waist and I so desperately wanted to feel them on my body again. He would occasionally smile as he read. It was the kind of smile that would make any woman weak at the knees. He had a chiselled jawline, with lovely white teeth and a small dimple on his right cheek. I could not take my eyes of him and to make matters worse, I kept looking at the leather strap. I wanted the punishment, I almost needed it. Why was I so determined to feel pain? The tingling feeling between my thighs had only increased, the longer I sat here looking at the duke, waiting for my punishment, the more intense the tingling sensation became.

After what seemed like an eternity, the duke finally looked over at me. His eyes locked with mine. We both just stared intently at the other, neither of us willing to be the first to look away first. It was then I had to ask. “When will my punishment begin sir?” I had to know, for my own sanity.

The duke never answered, he just closed his book and placed it back down onto the table. He stood up and walked behind where I was still leaning over the stool. I felt his presence as he bent down behind me. I closed my eyes, waiting for that pain, desperate for a release, because I needed to be released from whatever messed up feelings I had right now.

The duke began to pull my dress down again, smoothing it out. He then got up and walked round to stand in front of me, reaching his hand out for me to take. I took it and he pulled me to my feet in one swift movement. As soon as I was standing, he immediately dropped my hand again, almost like he could not bare to touch me for too long.

“Sit down Celeste.”

“Yes sir.” I walked over to one of the dining table chairs and sat down. The duke walked over to the window. He looked outside as he pulled his sleeves down and rebuttoned them, then tied up his waistcoat again.

“Shall we try this again, Celeste? Do you think you are capable of following orders to the last detail without question?”

“I am, sir, more than capable. I can only sincerely apologise for my disobedience. I will assure you now, that it will not happen again.”

He turned to face me now. “Very well. Tomorrow morning, be here at seven with my breakfast tray, wear a red dress and have your hair pulled up neatly and off your face. I will provide you with more details of your other duties when I see you tomorrow. Understood?”

“Yes sir, I understand.”

“That will be all for today, Celeste.”

Was he dismissing me for the rest of the day? Is this still part of the punishment? What was I supposed to do all day? “Sir? Is there anything else you require of me? I am keen to be kept busy.”

He turned and looked out the window again. “No Celeste. Our time here is done for the day.”

“Thank you, sir, good day.” I got up and walked towards the door. Something was bothering me though. I had to get it off my chest. “Sir?”

The duke turned to face me again. “Yes Celeste, what is it?”

“Why did you not go through with my punishment?”

He smiled at me. “But I did go through with it Celeste, you received your punishment and now you are being dismissed for the day to reflect on it. That will be all.”

I just nodded and walked over to open the door, stepping into the hallway and closing the door behind me. I immediately felt the loss of his presence, almost like I was only happy when around him. What did he mean by that? I did receive my punishment. He barely touched me, he left me waiting for the pain of punishment, when all I did was lean over a stool for over an hour. What kind of punishment was that?

As I walked back to my room I felt completely confused and hurt. I couldn’t fathom why I felt this way. Should I not be grateful that he didn’t use that leather strap on me? Was there something wrong with me? The fact that I wanted him to.

I closed my bedroom door and threw myself on the bed. As I closed my eyes, I felt tears well up in them. I missed everyone at Exeter House. Miss Campbell, Freddie and Matilda to name but a few. I tried not to thin about them, it hurt too much. I rolled onto my side. All I could think about was the duke’s hands, the way they held the book, the way his nimble fingers tied up the buttons on his waistcoat. If I thought hard enough, I could feel them on my skin.

The sound of a car pulling up outside made me sit up. Was it another girl getting brought for the duke? Had I already been replaced for my bad behaviour?

I got up and ran over to the window. When I looked out, I saw the driver open the back door to a very expensive looking silver car. The first thing I saw was a very delicate ankle stepping out the back seat. Cream laced up ankle boots, with white stockings and a pale blue dress. A large hat was covering the face of the mysterious female. When she finally looked up, I saw a big beaming smile and blond locks cascading over her shoulders. She was immaculate and beautiful. I immediately felt intimated. Then I saw why she had a big smile on her face, the duke was walking down the steps towards her. When he reached the bottom, he leaned in and kissed her on the lips and hugged her.

Was she his fiancé?