F Campbell - Margo

"Get me out of here. Margo, this is ridiculous. I'm tied up as though I were dangerous. And on top of that, I'm locked up in a cell I couldn't get out of in a hundred years." Her exclamations trailed away into silence. She was obviously thinking hard before coming out with, "But I suppose this is the way it is. I'm here to be punished. These ropes I'm tied with, they're a punishment, and this damn cell is a punishment too. But I get the school doesn't think so. I bet the Academy is just considering me as getting nicely started."

"That's about it." Margo searched for solace to offer, but could think of none. Her own mission and status relative to Bea was something she was not yet ready to speak of. Instead, she asked, "Would you like me to come in there with you for awhile?"

Bea stared at her in amazement. "You mean you've got a key?"

"Yes, I'm afraid I have. You see, I'm…" "Unlock the damn door, for God's sake! Then use the one that gets us out of the building, and we'll go home. If Henry tries this on me a second time, it won't be him who'll go to the police – it'll be ma. Hurry up."

"I'm afraid you're still working on your first kidnapping. The only door I can unlock is this one. There's no way you or I can get out of this building. Forget it."

"You've got rank here?"

"Well, sort of." Margo was still trying to think of a way to explain her undesired and unsought office. "I'm supposed to be looking after you, and in Rossland, that means I keep you tied up, chained up, and probably whipped. I'm terribly sorry."

"You're sort of a trustee now, eh?" Bea sounded fretful as Margo used her key and then untied the captive's ankles. "I call that a pretty fast promotion." Margo sighed and grappled with the knots. Bea, because of what she had once been, would probably be a handful, and unless she was properly broken in, she would find it difficult to adjust. Breaking in Bea was something Margo had no wish to do. Looking at the strained nudity upon the cot, she noted a particular curve of her breast and her concave tummy most alluring. Had the two of them been less absorbed with problems, it might have been entrancing to.

But Margo cast the thought aside. She was involved enough already with Mildred Harridance, and God knows what Henry Ross might still demand of her. By nightfall, she might be thrashed and ravished once again. Her glimpse of freedom had been brief and might well be disastrous. She cast the rope aside and said brightly, "There, is that better?"

"It's better for my feet. What about my hands?"

"They stay tied, darling. Please do try and be patient and understand that you're in Rossland, not back at the office."

"Good gosh! How could I forget?" Bea was busily exercising her free feet. When she spoke again, her tone had softened. "I'm sorry I'm talking like a bitch, Margo, but this is hard to take. It's all so new. Prison wouldn't be half this hard on a girl." She twisted her bound arms fretfully and wriggled constrained shoulders before hastily asking, "Do you think I'm guilty? Do you think I deserve this?"

"Yes, I do." Margo hoped she was being patient. "What you did was a damn fool act by any standards. Just because you knew me and Henry Ross didn't give you any license to kidnap anybody, least of all me. Don't you realize what a mean, petty response you were showing the man who employed you?" Margo managed a mild chuckle. "If it were not I who had to punish you, I'd say, sure, you deserve it. But, Bea, I don't know what I'm going to do with you. I honestly don't."

"Well, first of all, you can untie my hands," Bea suggested briskly. "Why are they tied with these cords anyway when they've got all these handcuffs and things?"

"Cords hurt more and give you less freedom."

"You think I don't know?"

"Bea, you must not be too shocked, but you're going to get your bottom caned, and I'm the one who has been assigned to do it. I wish I were not the one, but I can't get out of it. I really do not want to do it."

"Well, don't do it then! Can't you paint some lines on my behind with lipstick or something? Nobody's going to examine me with a magnifying glass – are they?"

Margo sighed. Bea was going to be a problem. She was far more a prisoner of Rossland than any other girl, including herself. Bea was here purely for punishment and imprisonment. There was no parental motive, nor cash at the end of the lien. The length of her sentence had not been named. At this moment, even while they talked, Bea was busily twisting her bound hands as though still under the illusion she could free herself. It was then that Margo had an inspiration. She locked her captive in and went in search of Penny Pendleton.

The nymphet was delighted. Her eyes shone and she wriggled in the prospect of bliss.

"Oh, Margo darling, you mean I can have a whole grown-up girl just for me? Is she really all grown up? I mean, her breasts and everything are fully developed?" The teenager sighed in prospect. "Just think, Margo – a whole grown-up girl to whip. You did say I could whip her, didn't you? I'd suggest the cane to begin with since this is all a bit of a shock for the poor dear. What did she do to get in dutch? I bet she refused to sleep with Mr. Ross. Was that what it was?" Bea was standing in the center of her cell, still busily twisting her bound hands. She spared Penny a glance of disfavor and complained, "Margo, you shouldn't exhibit me to children. This girl is hardly well, anyway, she's not old enough to see naked women."

"Isn't she simply gorgeous?" Shiny eyed, Penny entered the cell to survey her new responsibility. She made a complete circle of the nude and annoyed Bea Maxwell and once more turned to her mentor.

"Oh, Margo darling, is she really and truly all mine?"

Bea stopped struggling. She glared at the girl she had so recently kidnapped and demanded, "What does this child mean I'm all hers! Look, this girl is far too young."

"The poor dear's shy, that's her trouble," Penny said with youthful wisdom. "I'll take my clothes off too, then she'll feel better." She giggled. "It doesn't take long." A moment later she stood nude and explained seriously to an outraged Bea Maxwell, "You see, I'm not nearly as nice as you are. I don't have all the lovely things. Mine are still a bit small, and I haven't got as much hair as I hope to have one day." She turned to Margo. "Keep an eye on her, darling, while I dash off for a collar and leash."

"What the devil is she talking about?" Bea stood in outraged nakedness and resumed the twisting of her wrists, but her eyes were now riveted accusingly on Margo.

But the girl who was now her keeper stemmed the floor before it started.

"Bea, stop worrying. Penny's a darling, and she'll look after you beautifully. I know you will be humiliated because she is just a teenage, but she knows all about everything. She's more a part of Rossland than the furniture. I'm delegating your punishments to her. I just don't want to punish you. But you must be punished, so Penny Pendleton is the one to do it."

"Look, I don't want any damn teenage slashing away at my bottom with a cane!"

"Bea, stop beefing! You're in a jam, and I'm just doing my best. Anyway, I turned things around for you here at Rossland. It's going to hurt. It's going to hurt your dignity, your bottom, and your back. For Pete's sake, resign yourself to it."

Boa stood as though stunned while nimble young fingers fitted the collar on her neck and clicked it tight. From it trailed a sufficient leash for Penny's needs. The outraged young woman had considered kicking Penny squarely where it would hurt most, but was deterred from this noble thought by sight of the cane held ostentatiously for her attention. Nothing was said, but everything was understood. In triumph, Penny led her captive from the cage. Reaching their designation, Bea looked around the austere room and demanded belligerently, "What's this, the torture chamber?"