Tuition Ch. 04.5

"You moron." She spat. "As if I would do such a thing? I have no idea where he got the camera from."

I saw that, at least for the moment, I was wasting my time on Bailey. I turned back to the photographer. "Did Bailey give you the camera?"

Everyone watching could see the truth written on his face, but he started to shake his head, starting to deny it. He was cut short by Barton reaching down and grabbing his cock through his trousers and twisting it savagely. He screamed like a girl until Barton shouted at him,

"Answer the question - truthfully."

The man sobbed as he confessed. "Yes..YES! That bitch brought the camera. She told me I'd get £20k for the pictures. It was all HER idea."

I smiled as my suspicions were confirmed. I had to take decisive action now, to nip this in the bud.

I looked at Barton and issued instructions. "Strap that piece of shit to one of the 'sore horses' till I'm ready to deal with him. If he makes the slightest noise you have my permission to twist his cock right off." Perhaps believing my threat he went quietly, lead away by Adam and my butler.

Mary clapped her hands sharply, attracting the attention of my shocked looking guests.

"Ladies and gentleman, supper is about to be served. Perhaps you'd like to make your way to the tables?"

Some of them obviously, actually, wouldn't like to, but Mary was not to be gainsaid. I flashed her a smile of gratitude as she shooed and cajoled the guests away . As they moved I noticed that, whilst all the excitement had been taking place, Kat had been untied from her table. Alice had sponged the food and wax from her body with a towel and warm water and was now tenderly massaging her wrists. I caught the French girl's gaze as she did so and could see a worried look cross her face. With a quick nod and a smile I wordlessly let her know that I approved of her actions. Then I turned back to my sister.

Now she looked a little less certain, but she was still trying to appear defiant.

"Why did you do it Bailey?" I said, in my most reasonable voice. She didn't even to appear to hear my question.

Inspiration struck me again. "Where were you going to get twenty thousand pounds from? That's a lot of money for to give an accomplice?" I paused for a second, noticing that Mary had come to my side.

"How much were you going to get for the pictures Bailey? What's it worth to sell out your family these days?"

Bailey sighed with mock boredom. "You are such a tiresome prick Bastian." Then the rage that she had damped down suddenly flared up. "You cut off my trust fund you CUNT! What did you expect me to live on? Huh?" Then she smiled.

"I am...I was...going to get a million pounds for exposing you bunch of sick perverts; a million pounds." She sounded gleeful.

"Even without the pictures my story is going to be worth a fortune. And there is nothing..NOTHING any of you can do about it!"

I felt movement at my side. Mary took two steps forward, drew her arm back and delivered a round arm slap to Baileys face. Mary was panting with fury as she shouted.

"How could you even think of doing that to your family?!"

Bailey was aghast; her hand went to her face, touching the cheek that bore the red imprint of Mary's hand. I guessed that this experience was a completely new one to her. Almost instantly tears flooded from her eyes.

More sad than angry she wailed, "Why do you always take Bastian's side? You've always hated me Mary, always."

I could see both women in profile as they spoke and my brain started to spin as I looked at them. They looked so similar. Why had I not ever really noticed before? Because I saw them together so rarely? Then I heard Mary say, in a completely different tone of voice,

"You couldn't be more wrong Bailey." Her words were unmistakably tender. "I have always loved you dear."

Pieces of an old jig-saw puzzle clicked into place. I raised my eyes to the portraits above me, the 5th Earl and his wife gazing down on us. Then the incontrovertible truth struck me like a bolt of lightning. I felt like a genius, then like an idiot in the next moment. "Why had it taken me so long to realize?"

Mary turned to me and came closer. "I think my...your sister deserves to be punished Bastion."

"Yes...."

(Bailey looks like me)

"I agree...."

(Bailey looks Mary)

"................Mother."

I whispered the last word so that only Mary heard it, but the effect was instantaneous. I saw her body stiffen slightly, and her eyes fill with tears. I could tell that her pride and iron will were the only things keeping her upright in that instant, that stopped her from fainting. I put out a hand out to steady her but I she refused my help with the faintest shake of her head before she drew her shoulders back and straightened up. If I'd even the slightest remaining doubt her reaction banished it. "How...how....how? When she couldn't find more than that single word to say she stopped. I grasped her hand and lead her away from Bailey slightly, then drew her to me and hugged her tenderly.

"It doesn't matter. I just this second worked it out. It doesn't matter, expect I wish I'd known sooner...' I whispered in her ear.

Muffled against my shoulder she started to explain. "When your father found out that....his...wife couldn't have.............." she trailed off. "I bore you and Bailey but to be a legitimate heir we had to.............I'm so sorry Bastion, your father made me promi.."

I tilted her face up to mine and hushed her words with my hand. "Stop, not now... Mother.." The word felt strange but right in my mouth. I brushed away the tears from her cheeks with a gentle fingertip and watched a tremulous smile blossom on her lips.

"We'll talk all about that soon enough. But not here, not in front of everyone. La Mottes don't make a scene. I saw the effect my words had, retrospectively adding her to my family and she smiled crookedly and wiped at her tears.

Then we heard Bailey's complaints getting louder.

"What did I say about this family not making a scene? But wasn't Bailey always the exception to any rule. We have a lot to talk about, but later; right now we have a few other things to take care of."

With my arm protectively around Mary's shoulder I turned my attention back to Bailey. Mary's slap seemed to have temporarily taken the wind from her sails but she was building up a new head of steam, swearing and ranting. I noticed that Barton and Wren had returned from dealing with the photographer.

"I think Bailey needs to be taught a lesson, to be punished. "I announced, a bit like a judge pronouncing sentence. "A punishment that fits the La Motte tradition."

I stopped and looked around. "Does anyone disagree?"

There was no sound apart from Bailey's mouth opening and shutting in shock

"Barton? Wren? Put her on the cross."

This broke Bailey's brief silence and she started to shriek and flail at my cousin and the butler. But they quickly grabbed her arms, even getting help from a couple of guests, and lifted off her feet between them. I heard Bailey screaming, "Bastian? Bastian!" but I ignored and went to check on Kat.

She stood by the table she had recently adorned, looking a little shaky. Alice still hovered at her side, looking at me reproachfully. As I walked towards them I shooed Alice away and she scurried off with a glance and a smile for Kat. I stopped a pace away and looked her up and down. Her smile was a little crooked, but at least it was a smile. I smiled back. Alice had done a good job cleaning her, but I could still see angry red marks across her body where the wax had scalded. Her nipples bore the marks of the clamps and when I looked further down I saw the stripes left by crop and I winced at the memory.

She must have caught my expression. She quickly dropped her eyes and started to speak quietly. "I disobeyed, you....had to...I know you had option but to......"

I silenced her by taking her chin gently between thumb and forefinger, raising her face until I was gazing into her sky-blue eyes. Then, only when I had her full attention, did I speak.

"Katerina Soren, you are not to try and excuse or justify my actions and commands. You are just to accept them, to submit to them. Do you understand?"

I waited till her head nodded and I released her chin. I found myself stroking her cheek with the back of my hand.

"Good" was all I found myself able to say.

I noticed Wren out of the corner of my and snapped out my unexpected and tender reverie to turn to him.

We stared at each other for a moment. Then he slowly spoke. "I'm sorry Bastian."

"What for?" I asked.

He only half answered my question. "Bailey kept asking me what you were up to, when she and I met........to....Well I didn't see what the harm was....in feeding her a few bits of gossip. She was always very....grateful....if you know what I mean?"

Without smiling I said, "So she fucked you to get the dirt on me?"

Wren had the good grace to look hang-dog. "Yeah, I guess so. But I swear I didn't know she was passing it on to the press. Shit, if I'd know that, obviously I wouldn't have."

I let him wind down to silence, leaving him dangling on the hook just a little longer. Then I allowed myself a hint of a smile as I asked

"So, you and Bailey eh? What was that like?"

Wren looked at me, trying to gauge me real mood, and risked a smile of his own.

"What do you think it was like?" Then he laughed. "A fucking nightmare was what it was like. Constantly barking orders, 'slower, faster', stuff like that."

Wren stopped, "and she never came, never had an orgasm, whatever I tried - which was a bit of blow to my pride, if you know what I mean?"

I nodded in sympathy

Wren carried on. "She blamed me for that, even though she admitted she'd never had an orgasm." He shook his head sadly, "Not ever, poor bitch."

Then he smiled as he recalled, "Then, one time she got extra bossy. I'm doing my best and she was shouting 'harder, deeper' so I shouted back at her 'tighter, wetter!' Laughing, he continued. "And that was that. She got up and left without another word. Never called me again."

"I'm not surprised." I responded "Bailey never accepted even a polite request in her life, let alone an order". I sighed.

"You were 'played' Wren, manipulated by a maestro. But you came good in the end, didn't you?

I saw him start to smile when he began to believe I was going to let him off, but I could see he was puzzled by my question.

"You ended up on the side of the angels at the end? You caught that photographer?"

He looked relieved and shrugged. "What else was I going to do? It was actually Barton who first noticed him acting suspiciously. He came and told me and Adam and we grabbed him."

"So I have Barton to thank as well as you and Adam?" That gave me pause for thought. Perhaps he was worthy of a bonus?

We both turned when we heard a foul tirade coming from the other end of the room. Barton and Adam were strapping Bailey to the St Andrews Cross and she obviously wasn't liking it one bit.

Wren glanced down at the table and picked up a ball-gag. 'That noise reminds me of what I came for" he laughed. He strode off and shortly afterwards the noise level dropped considerably.

I pointed down at the table from which Wren had taken the gag, ordering Kat to take several of the items. "Come with me." I took her by the hand and lead her towards the cross where the other guests were gathering, anxious for the dénouement.

Bailey was strapped to the cross - front on. Barton was fastening the last leather strap around one her ankles, whilst Adam held it to stop her kicking back. Wren had gotten the gag in her mouth, a braver man than many obviously. But this didn't stop Bailey trying to curse every one of us, turning to glare over her shoulder, eyes wide and wild. We could hear her muffled invective and shouting, muffled by the gag.

Without preamble I took the 'safety scissors' from Kat. I always kept a pair ready at my parties in case some needed releasing quickly from bindings quickly, in case of a medical emergency. Designed to cut ropes they made short work of Bailey's leather skirt. In her fury she was trying to fight the straps, shaking with rage, making her now exposed arse jiggle before the crowd.

Then I took a second item from Kat, my favourite cane, 4ft long and thick as my middle finger. I flexed it to test the spring in its length. Then I announced to the guests.

"I am feeling a little 'biblical' right now." I said and smiled. "Maybe I should quote the passage, 'vengeance is mine sayeth the Lord?'" I got a polite laugh from those who got the pun on my title. Or perhaps it just wasn't as funny as I thought.

I pressed on. "No, not that one. But I am staying with the Old Testament, my favourite, and I am going to take Leviticus 24:20 and adapt it a bit, 'eye for eye, tooth for tooth. As he has injured the other, so he is to be injured.' Then I paused, "Or in this case, she is to be injured."

With a flourish I handed the cane to Kat. "I want you to punish Bailey. It is your right."