Anonymous - Maude Cameron And Her Guardian

From some of Maude Rivers’ comments along the return journey home, Charles Cameron had deduced that for all her sweet docility she evinced a certain latent spirit all her own. Now, he told himself, if judiciously he could arrive at provoking her disobedience against his edicts, by challenging that very spirit which he sensed lay within her innermost psyche, then she would be certain to rebel and, naturally, being under age and completely in his realm of authority and power, such rebellion might be exquisitely chastised in the manner which he himself most enjoyed.

By this, dear reader, it must be known that Charles Cameron, though to this date no scandal had ever been bruited about his name and conduct with the fair sex, had a predilection for the use of the rod as a stimulant to those flights of Cythera on which he was wont to pilgrimage on occasion. Now it was also true that not all of his paramours in the past were complacent to this manner of seduction, but it was equally true that a number of others, notably bolder and more intrepid divorcees and young matrons who had traveled as he had on the Continent, were quite willing to lend themselves to this fascinating sport.

But since in the main he could not always be certain that an amorous conquest would permit him to indulge himself as his secret and erotic nature yearned to do, Charles Cameron had provided himself with a magnificent library, of which at least a third was devoted to works of erotology in several languages, handsomely bound in buckram, tooled leather and hand- canvas, for his leisurely perusal. These books, French, German and also some from the Orient, were kept in a special bookcase under lock and key, and it came to Charles Cameron’ s mind that this very safeguard might be used as the very first pretext under which he could subjugate his lovely ward, Accordingly, having shown Maude through the house, he led her into the library and pointed out the fateful bookcase.

“ I am sure,” he sententiously declared, “ that you will wish to continue your studies and your comprehensive knowledge of cultural things, my dear, and here you will find many excellent books for that purpose. However, the books in that case with the green baize drape over the top are those which I do not wish you to read, and I have consequently locked the doors with a key which I keep on the hook beside it on the wall. I trust that you will observe my one little domestic rule, as otherwise I should regretfully be compelled to punish you for disobeying.”

The golden- haired young girl uttered a charming little laugh, and her pink cheeks colored divinely as she retorted, not without a flair of sauciness, “ My gracious Mr. Cameron. However would you do that? I shall be seventeen on my next birthday, which is only a month from today, ‘ I’ ll have you know. And Father never punished me at all, except perhaps to scold me when I did something he didn’ t quite like. I shall try to be very good, of course, and I will do what you tell me to.”

“ So long as you remember that cardinal principle, my dear,” he at once replied with an affectionate smile which hid his true feelings, “ I am sure we shall get along famously.”

From the roguish glance which the golden- haired young girl gave him, Charles Cameron felt certain that she would essay to show her independence against this categorical tenet, which of course he had made up on the spur of the moment.

The rest of the day passed quite pleasantly and, having been a lonely bachelor for longer than he cared to remember, Charles Cameron found himself looking forward almost impatiently to the evening, when intuition told him he would have the very first opportunity of taking emprise of Maude. There was, to be sure, a feudal concept involved, whereby to all intents and purposes the virginal, lovely creature whom the dying old Rivers had trustingly put into his custody would actually become his little slave- girl. For Charles Cameron, being in the legal profession himself, was well aware that he could exert the sum total of parental authority in his capacity as Maude’ s guardian- and that is what he proposed to do. It would, he was certain, be much more logical if the pretty minx would give him the opportunity he sought without his taking the first step, he assured himself. In that way she could bring upon herself the logical outcome of having flaunted his authority.

He allowed her to prepare supper, and found that she could make good her boast of being quite able to cook. It was a pleasant contrast to have a charming young girl opposite him at the table to wile away the evening which would otherwise be spent in locking himself up with his beloved books and conjuring up fantasies of those secret erotic intricacies which had become so keenly absorbing to his desires. And the prospect of having a flesh and blood virginal ingenuous and totally helpless partner at his disposal for experimental purposes in carrying out these fantasies was absolutely breathtaking.

At about nine- thirty, he judged that the day had been sufficiently exciting to the newcomer in his mйnage, and so tactfully suggested that Maude would feel more receptive with a good night’ s sleep. Accordingly, he rose and with a final smiling reminder that she might, if she so chose, sit up for a little bit and amuse herself with all the books in his library except those in the locked bookcase which he had already pointed out, he took himself off to bed. His own master bedroom was on the first floor at the back, so that Maude was directly above him, and the thought that only a flight of stairs and a door separated him from her virginal bed was positively intoxicating. Pouring himself a glass of sherry from the cut- glass decanter which he kept on the little buffet stand hear his bed, he savoringly sipped it and, closing his eyes, let his mind run riot with the most vivid and speculative pictures of delights to come.

About an hour later, having donned his dressing gown over his night shirt, and slipping his feet into a pair of heavy felt slippers, Charles Cameron tiptoed from his room and went down the hall to the library. It took only a moment to ascertain that his spirited ward had defied his interdiction referring to the forbidden books: true, the case was still locked and the key remained on its hook as before, but there was a noticeable gap on the first shelf, and two books had been tilted rather naively to hide the loss of one which obviously the charming Maude had taken off to bed with her. Another glance told him that the book was none other than “ Life at Miss Belissa’ s Boarding School,” an extremely spicy volume which told of the experiences of two attractive teenaged sisters who discovered that at the private school to which their aunt had sent them, they would be introduced to not only corporal punishment when merited, but also scandalous clandestine nocturnal encounters with their female classmates, who would seek to initiate them into the tender rituals of Lesbos.

Charles Cameron smiled with zestful anticipation upon discovering the title of the volume which his ward had seen fit to pilfer. Of course, there was no clue to let him know whether she had simply made a random choice or had simply had spent time enough perusing the various tomes on the shelf and thereby acquainted herself with the extremely candid and lasciviously outspoken volumes of his erotic collection. In either instance, she deserved chastisement for having first defied him and secondly taken reading matter which he had forbidden her on the grounds of her tender years. There remained only to catch the culprit in flagrante delicto and then apply the requisite penalty.

Charles Cameron felt the blood pounding in his veins and that exquisitely indescribable feeling which always is the prelude to carnal adventure as he tiptoed down the hall to Maude’ s bedroom. In preparation for what he fully anticipated would be required- which is to say, the very first chastisement of his beautiful young ward at his hands under his own roof- he had pot into the pocket of his dressing gown a flexible, stingy metal leafcutter which had hitherto been used to cut the pages of newly issued French novels which his London book agent frequently purchased for him, since Charles Cameron read French as fluently as he did his native tongue. He stood before Maude’ s door, made certain that his gown was belted and that he observed- at least at the outset- the strictest propriety of demeanor. Suitably, he adopted a stern expression on his handsome face and then knocked at the door.