‘No,’ I said quietly.
‘So what was it?’
‘I was annoyed.’
‘Annoyed why?’
‘With you. Because I wanted to leave and you wanted to stay.’
‘Right. So you drank too much to drive home as a way of getting your own back on me.’
‘I was bored.’
‘So, boredom and passive aggression?’
I sighed heavily.
‘You see, it’s fine for me to take you to your friends’ parties and sit there drinking lemonade and being looked daggers at and whispered about. But it’s not fine for you to be bored for an hour while my friends do their best to entertain you.’
Gah. When he put it that way, it did make me sound like a bit of a brat. I couldn’t stand that he had a point. I didn’t want to acknowledge it. But I had to.
‘I’m sorry,’ I muttered.
‘I didn’t catch that.’
‘I’m sorry,’ I said, not in a particularly apologetic manner.
‘Are you really? That sounded like it came from a very grudging place. Let’s see how grudging you are with your apologies when we’re done here, shall we?’
‘No, I really am,’ I said, twisting around from my corner position and turning on the beseeching eyes.
‘Here,’ he said, and he picked up two pillows and put them into the middle of the bed. ‘Come and put yourself over these.’
‘What are you going to do?’ I asked, approaching dubiously.
‘I’m going to do what you want me to do,’ he said.
How could such words be so ominous?
I swallowed and shuffled forwards. It was surprisingly difficult to maintain balance with heavy metal cuffs on my wrists. I knelt on the bed and wriggled myself into position. The time for argument was past. I just had to take my medicine and hope it wasn’t too foul.
‘You aren’t
going to use the cane, are you?’ I blurted. ‘Please.’
I heard his heavy police-issue boots on the wooden floor, moving from one side of me to the other. He sat and put his hand on my cotton-clad bottom.
‘I don’t think you deserve the cane for this,’ he said, more kindly than before. ‘If you’d tried to drive the car without telling me you’d had too much wine, then yes, most definitely, I’d have called that a caning offence. But you were honest when it counted, so I’ll leave it in the cupboard for tonight.’
I exhaled hugely.
Now that was out of the way, I thought I might even be looking forward to my punishment.
‘Thanks,’ I said meekly.
‘You’re welcome,’ he said, with two heavy pats on my bum, not exactly spanks but not far off.
He stood up again and went to get something from another room.