CHAPTER TWO

Severity and Disgrace

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Disclaimer

This story is dark and contains themes of physical punishment, pain, abuse, and humiliation. Don’t read the story if you are not looking for that. Be prepared for lots of punishment, lots of thinking about and dialogue surrounding punishment, and relatively little actual sex in the traditional sense. All characters are 18 and over. I recommend starting from Chapter One. Please, relax and enjoy the show!

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Claire took a deep breath and opened the door to leave the study.

After suffering through Dr. Thorton’s punishment, Claire had no desire to rebel in any way. Still, she hated the wondered of potentially being seen naked.

With her clothes folded in her arms, she stepped out. Down the hallway in another room, Claire saw a very tall, young man with short blonde hair facing away from her.

Damn it! She wondered. She ran to her room as quietly as she could. When she reached the top of the stairs, Claire made the mistake of looking back over her shoulder. She locked eyes with the blonde-haired man for a moment and ran inside her room.

She cried for a long time there, and at last began to feel a little bit better. Just as she was calming down, Claire heard a knock on her bedroom door. Claire wrapped herself in a blanket and answered the door. It was Nancy.

“Hey, Dr. Thorton sent me to collect your things?”

Claire nodded, and Nancy walked in quickly and shut the door behind her, looking suddenly nervous.

“Claire, you really shouldn’t wrap yourself in a blanket like that. I mean, I don’t care personally. You can keep it on now that the door is closed. But Dr. Thorton would certainly punish you if he saw that you were covering yourself.”

“Oh… I just…”

“I know this must be confusing for you. You are now in disgrace. Did Dr. Thorton explain what that means?”

“Yes… I mean I think so, ma’am.”

“Don’t worry about calling me ma’am. I’m not like Dr. Thorton or Beth. I don’t set any of the rules around here, but I’ve been around long enough to know how to interpret what Dr. Thorton says. And when he says ‘no clothes’ that means you can’t cover your body with anything. Come on… lemme help you pack up.”

Nancy helped Claire pack all her clothes into a suitcase.

“Okay… what about your phone?”

“What?”

“Do you have a cell phone?”

“Yeah… I mean… just this flip phone. It’s not even smart or whatever. Why?”

“Well, you always lose phone privileges when you are in disgrace. Did Dr. Thorton not tell you that?”

“No… I mean at least I’m pretty sure he didn’t say anything about that.”

“I swear… sometimes I think he forgets to tell people about these things on purpose just so they’ll find out later from someone else.”

“Honestly, it is hard to keep track of everything. Maybe he did mention it. I mean this all seems pretty crazy. I tried to be super respectful and obedient, but all these punishments are so… extreme. Don’t you think?”

“This is an extreme place, Claire. You’ll have to adapt. I…” Nancy stopped mid-sentence. She had a far away, sad look in her eyes for a moment. Then, she seemed to bring herself back.

“Well, anyways, losing your phone at least isn’t all that extreme, is it? Just like being grounded or something, right?”

“Yeah…” Claire said, curious about Nancy’s responses.

“Okay, what about makeup? Did you bring makeup?”

Claire nodded.

“Jewelry?”

“A little.”

“Those go in the suitcase, too. They count as coverings.”

“What about your shoes?”

“I have these… and then… just flip flops.”

“Okay, put them in the suitcase. Those are coverings too. I’d like to stay and keep you company for a while, but unfortunately, I have to go. I have to help prepare dinner, which will be in about an hour by the way. Okay, wanna a hug?”

Nancy gave Claire a quick hug, and said, “I’m sorry babe. Even by our standards, I think you are having a pretty rough introduction to the program.”

While Claire waited for dinner in her room, she alternated between crying, nervous anticipation, and moments of calm recovery. Aches on her knees, breasts, and ass from Dr. Thorton’s punishment were beginning to set in, announcing sustained protests. At last, the moment arrived.

“Claire, time for dinner!” Rebecca shouted from downstairs.

She felt a dropping sensation in her stomach. She had decided during her long wait to be strong and not show any emotion, but that plan went out the window not too long after her first steps down the staircase.

“Oh goodness, put some clothes on girl,” said one guest. “Who is that? Claire… She’s being punished… Oh… She’s not allowed to wear clothes tonight… Oh my… Goodness gracious… And what did she do?”

The dinner table was surrounded by twelve cushioned chairs with twelve ornate table settings and, in the middle of one long edge of the table, a high wooden stool with a name tag that read Claire on it.

So, this is what Dr. Thorton meant by being in disgrace, wondered Claire.

Claire awkwardly maneuvered through a few standing strangers and took her place at the table. The stool was tall enough that Claire could not touch her feet to the ground, which put additional pressure on her bottom. She realized that this was, of course, by design.

The table was decorated with something like a Thanksgiving feast. There was a Turkey, gravy, scallop potatoes, and berry cobbler. The crowd began to dig in. Claire had not been given a plate or bowl or any utensils. She figured that meant that she wasn’t getting dinner. I guess that’s a traditional punishment thing? Claire wondered to herself. But then Nancy spoke up on her behalf.

“Dr. Thorton, is it okay if I get Claire a plate?”

“Oh right. Sure. Claire’s food is in the frig. Top shelf, all the back in the back. Can you get it for her?”

Nancy returned with an expression full of pity and gave her a half a peanut butter sandwich on a paper plate. Claire’s eyes welled up with tears. She couldn’t discover the thoughts to express why this was somehow worse than simply not getting dinner. Nevertheless, she was hungry and did eat the tiny sandwich.

One older woman whose face seemed stuck in a particularly judgmental expression, grilled Claire throughout the night about her studies.

“I mean what seems to be the problem? You do have access to the best tutors that money can buy, you know?”

“I don’t know, ma’am. Math has just always been difficult for me.”

“But that just won’t do, dear. I mean look at the investment that poor Victor has gifted you with. Don’t you feel grateful for the opportunity to do this?”

Others around the table seemed more sympathetic but did not come to Claire’s defense in any way. The conversation drifted to other topics, and after the guests finished their dinner, they retired to the great room where a concert pianist was playing romantic classical music on a grand piano. Claire was asked to serve the guests drinks and hors d’oeuvres.

Claire was holding a glass of Chardonnay and a bowl of grapes for one middle-aged, Asian man, when the topic caught Claire’s attention.

“Do you plan to hire this new girl into the company?” asked the man.

“Yes, in due course,” replied Dr. Thorton. “She has only just arrived and has a lot to learn still.”

Claire hadn’t heard anything about being hired for a job.

“Where will you send her? I’m sure we could use a girl like her at the Chinese branch.”

The man took the Chardonnay from Claire without looking at her and returned the glass to her hand after taking a sip.

“Nice try, Brandon. This one is going to stay here with me. I’m afraid I’ve developed something of a soft spot for her.”

“Well, that’s too bad. For me anyway!”

The men laughed.

Brandon got up and left for another room. On his way out though, he made a very peculiar opinion:

“Enjoy your new acquisition, Victor. I’ll see you Monday.”

Acquisition? What did he mean by that? Claire thought.

After the guests left, Claire stayed up for an hour doing everyone’s dishes. Then, she was finally allowed to go to bed.

Life was hard over the next few days, but a relief compared to that first night of punishment. The Thorton family did seem to treat Claire differently now that she was in a state of disgrace. However, she was almost used to being naked now and the ‘sir’ and ‘ma’am’ routine was becoming more second nature. Still there was the looming knowledge that at some point Dr. Thorton would call her back to the study, and he would tell her that she needed to finish the punishment.

Four days after Claire’s punishment, the Thorton family left to get Rebecca settled in at MIT. Ms. Thorton came to Claire’s room before they left.

“Claire, we are heading out. Will you be alright here by yourself?”

“Yes ma’am. And I’ll have Nancy to keep me company anyway.”

“About that. We are actually giving Nancy the weekend off. She deserves it. And anyway, Dr. Thorton would like you to take over Nancy’s duties for the weekend. I know this hasn’t really come up yet, but sometimes some additional sacrifices need to be made by those who are in state of disgrace.”

“I understand completely, ma’am. That’s no problem.”

“Normally, Nancy would just clean the third and fourth floors over the weekend. So, if you can just have that done by the time we get back on Sunday night, that would be great, okay?”

“Of course, ma’am.”

“Oh! I nearly forgot. You got a letter. It’s from your parents.”

Claire’s heart skipped a beat. She took the letter and Ms. Thorton left. Would her parents save her from this hell? Surely, if she explained what was happening, they would come for her. She opened the letter:

Hey Claire,

We got some news from Dr. Thorton. He said that you’ve been completely inattentive during your lessons and that you were actually pretty disrespectful to the family at times. That’s not okay, Claire. We were really surprised to hear him talk about you that way. Remember that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for you. Try to make the most of it.

Dr. Thorton said he needed to punish you. He said you are losing phone privileges, and that he is considering something more drastic as well. He asked us to write you and convey the following: We are fully supportive of Dr. Thorton and his decision. You are staying at his house. So, it’s his rules. I know they do things a little differently there, but your father and I really believe this is what’s best for you.

Dr. Thorton said that we could plan a phone call on the house phone at some point, but he also said that he thinks it would better if you don’t have any distractions for a while. I hope we get to talk soon, but I’ll let Dr. Thorton decide about that.

I’m sorry things are off to a bumpy begin, sweetie. I’m sure that, if you set your mind to it, you’ll do really well there.

Love,

Mom & Dad

Claire crumpled the paper up and threw it across the room. She curled up on to the bed and cried herself to sleep. When she awoke, she pushed away all the painful thoughts and focused on cleaning.

Claire soon discovered just how big the third and fourth floors really were. She cleaned all day on Saturday and didn’t manage to finish. She left half the fourth floor for Sunday. Claire thought if she could wear clothes now that there was no one watching her. She decided not to risk it. Besides, Nancy had taken all her clothes. So, she would have to take someone else’s. And that just didn’t seem like a good idea. She also looked around for a phone thinking that she could call her parents and tell them what happened from her perspective. But strangely, there were no phones anywhere in the mansion from what she could tell. She knew there was one in the study, but that room was locked.

Despite the tiring work, Saturday gave Claire a much-needed break from the cruelties of the Thorton family. Sadly, it was not to last. On Sunday, a dreadful disaster struck. Claire was getting quite tired from all the work and moved a bit too hastily while cleaning one particular table. She knocked over a gorgeous vase on that table and watched in horror as it shattered into a million pieces.

Of course, the rest of the afternoon was spent in a state of pure panic. She broke into tears while cleaning up the debris. What would Dr. Thorton do now? Is it efficient that they would not notice the vase’s absence in such a large house? Claire cried intensely on her bed worrying about what to do. She became exhausted and drifted into a sort of delirious sleep.

With a startle, Claire awoke to the sound of the Thorton family’s return.

“Claire!” called Ms. Thorton. “Can we get your help bringing in the luggage?”

Claire tried to get her mind in working order and hopped down the stairs.

“Hey Claire, how was the time alone?” asked Ms. Thorton.

“Um… good. I got the third and fourth floors cleaned like you asked… ma’am.”

“That’s great to hear, sweetie.”

Claire walked outside to help with the luggage. It was very cold without any clothing.

“Honey, don’t you have any shoes?” asked Ms. Thorton.

“No, I had to give those up with my clothing.”

“Oh, I’m sure we can get you some flip-flops or something.”

“Beth…” interjected Dr. Thorton. “She needs to obey the rules. It isn’t a punishment because it is easy or pleasant. Just watch your step, Claire. And clean your feet very carefully before you come back inside.”

Claire got a washcloth and bowl of water ahead of time. Then, she brought the suitcases in. After cleaning her feet meticulously, she jogged up to her room wanting to be alone.

Okay, time to figure this out… she wondered to herself. Claire shuttered at the wondered of being punished again, but she suspected that at some point someone would notice the missing vase. Then, she wondered of Dr. Thorton’s piercing disappointment when he learned that she had not been honest during the punishment. Strangely, even though Dr. Thorton could be very harsh. He could also be kind at times, and Claire did actually still genuinely want him to be proud of her.

With that, her mind was made up, she would tell Dr. Thorton about the vase. She walked downstairs and knocked on the door to the study. There was no reply. Realizing that Dr. Thorton must be somewhere else, Claire looked around the house and found Alice.

“Do you know where Dr. Thorton is?”

“He went out on the patio to take a call. Why?”

“I just… really need to talk to him.” Claire voice quavered and her naked body was shaking with fear.

“Oh babe… you mean you need to admit to something that you did, huh?”

Claire resisted for a moment, but then accepted that Alice had seen right through her. Claire actually smiled a little in response to the camaraderie. Claire imagined that Alice had probably been in her shoes many times.

“What did you do?”

Claire had to take a deep breath before answering that question.

In a voice so quiet Alice struggled to hear it, Claire said, “I broke something.”

“You… broke something?”

“I broke the vase. The vase upstairs.”

“Oh no… which one?”

“I dunno it was… green and…”

“Oh shit… you broke mom’s wedding vase?!”

“You think he will be really angry with me?”

“Um. Yeah.” Alice said a little harshly.

“I didn’t mean to…”

“Look there he is now. Go. Just like ripping off a band aid.”

Dr. Thorton had started walking away from Claire, and she had to jog to catch up to him.

“Dr. Thorton, sir?” she called.

“Ah Claire. I trust the time to yourself was restorative?”

“Yes, sir. But um… I need to talk to you about something.”

“What is it, Claire? Is something wrong? You seem upset.”

“I made a mistake. A big mistake. And… I n-n-need t-to be punished, sir. I’m feeling very guilty, and I know I need to start being more honest with you.”

“I’m glad you are coming to me with this, Claire. I need to call a colleague back regarding an urgent business matter. It should only take ten minutes or so. So, why don’t you go to the study? And um… go and ahead and get into that kneeling position on the chair. You can lay down some pencils like last time if you’d like.”

Claire looked disappointed at the mention of pencils, but with a nod she conveyed that she understood.

“And then, we can discuss what you did. I’ll inform you about the severity of your guilt, and we can select some appropriate punishments from there, okay?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And again, good job for bringing this to my attention.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Claire felt a tiny bit comforted by his praise.

Claire went to the study, placed a wooden chair in the middle of the room near the desk, and then placed two pencils on the chair. She knelt on the chair with her knees directly over the pencils and interlocked her arms above her head.

Dr. Thorton entered a short while later.

“Okay, Claire. You may sit.” Dr. Thorton sat down behind the desk, poured himself a whisky, and loosened his tie.

“What seems to be the issue?”

“I was cleaning yesterday and… well, there is no easy way to say this. I broke a vase, sir. The um… the green one, sir.”

Dr. Thorton was silent for a moment.

Anxiously, Claire continued. “Alice told me it was a wedding gift. I’m so sorry. I won’t make any excuses for what happened. I know that you’ll want to punish me for this, and for the problems I had during the last session. Please, just tell me how you feel I need to be punished, and I will try to obey all your instructions.”

“Well, you are right Claire. That was a big mistake. That vase was a priceless antique — a one-of-a-kind collector’s item. If it were someone else, I’d ask them to reimburse me, but I’m sure you don’t have that kind of money. So, it’s just a great loss. Oh goodness… Beth loved that vase. She can be so very sentimental at times.

I’m inclined to assign a very severe punishment for this, but I do appreciate your attitude so far in handling this. I just don’t know though Claire… We hadn’t even finished addressing your prior transgressions. You are still in disgrace. I simply cannot allow myself to be merciful during a period of disgrace. The whole idea is to be a bit stricter for a while.”

After thinking for a moment, he continued, “Yeah, this is really not acceptable behavior, Claire.”

Dr. Thorton had at all times been so calm and collected in Claire’s experience. She thought if he was actually losing his composure just a little bit.

“I’m going to walk around the courtyard and make sure that I make the right decision for you, Claire. I would never punish you from a place of anger. So, I’m just going to cool off for a while and see what Beth thinks. Please, get back into the kneeling position. And actually, let’s see. Yeah, I’m going to have you hold some books too.”

Dr. Thorton grabbed two encyclopedias from the shelf.

“Hold your arms out straight in front of you. And hold these until I come back.”

Dr. Thorton left the study and called, “Nancy!”

Claire could hear the conversation they were having out in the hallway.

“Nancy, can you watch Claire for a minute.”

“Of course, sir.”

“She broke the emerald vase.”

“Oh no. The one from Italy?”

“Mmhmm. And then there’s everything else that’s been going on with her, you know? Yeah, so she’s in a lot of trouble right now. I need you to watch her and tell me if she moves even an inch out of position.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I’m gonna talk to Beth. I’ll be back.”

Claire had to wait for what felt like a long time. In reality, it was probably only five minutes or so. Nevertheless, that was plenty of time for her shoulder muscles to tire. She had to set down the encyclopedias several times.

Nancy was quiet as they waited together. Her expression seemed to say that she pitied Claire’s situation. Eventually, Dr. Thorton came back into the room.

“Nancy, how was she?”

Claire looked at Nancy pleadingly.