Here's a short story for you to enjoy while I get round to finishing some of my proper-length books.
It is available as a free PDF here so that you can download it onto your kindle, kobo, phone, tea-kettle or similar. Enjoy!
Millie and the Mill
Owner by Etta Stark
It was just
before half past five in the morning; Millie pulled her shawl tightly around he
shoulders as she stood outside the gates of Northam Mill ready to begin her
day’s work.
The other
girls who worked at the mill chatted to one another as they waited. As usual,
they did not include Millie in their chatter. Millie pretended not to mind. She
knew that she did not fit in. She wasn’t one of them. She had the wrong accent.
These girls had all grown up together whereas Millie had been raised in a
different world, a privileged life with wealthy parents, a good education and all
she could wish for. But everything had changed after her father’s death.
Poverty and
shame meant that she had to find work quickly doing whatever job she could find.
She had been relieved to be taken on by Northam Mills as a weaver. The days
were long and the work was difficult and exhausting. Millie could bear the work
itself but the attitudes of the other girls was difficult to cope with.
The gates
opened and as Millie moved forward with the crowd, someone barged into her from
the side causing her to stumble.
“Oh I am sorry, Lady Muck” her assailant said.
“Did your diamond shoes trip you up?”
Of course, Millie
wasn’t wearing diamond shoes nor anything like it. She wore heavy boots like
the rest of the workers. But it didn’t matter; the girls thought her a posh
snob and were determined to hate her.
Millie
reached her machine and set about cleaning it ready for the day’s work. She
noticed that the other girls’ chatter was more animated than usual this
morning.
“Did anyone
else hear that Lord Northam is coming to inspect the troops today?” a girl
called Bet remarked.
“I heard
that too. You know he’ll find fault with someone here. He always does.” This
response came from Jane whose machine was next to Millie’s.
Bet gave a
ribald laugh. “From what I’ve heard maybe I wouldn’t mind his Lordship finding
fault with me.”
The girls
all laughed much to Millie’s bafflement.
One girl, Molly, didn’t join in the merriment. “You wouldn’t laugh if it
had happened to you, I can tell you” she said.
“Aw, Molly,”
said Jane. “You still sore about it?” More laughter.
“I was
bloody sore for days afterwards, I can tell you!” huffed Molly before returning
to clean her machine.
“Why is Lord
Northam visiting the mill floor?” asked Millie, her curiosity getting the
better of her.
The laughter
stopped immediately. Jane turned to Millie with a look of contempt. “Oh I
dunno, y’Ladyship. Maybe he heard we had an actual fucking Duchess working on
the looms.”
“I’m not a
Duchess,” Millie retorted.
“Well,
you’re too high and mighty for the likes of us, aren’t you?” Jane then lunged
forward and grabbed Millie’s bucket and threw its contents at her machine.
Cold, dirty water went everywhere.
Millie was
completely dumbstruck for a moment. Only for a moment though. When her voice
returned she was furious. “Why the hell did you do that, you stupid bitch?” Millie
yelled.
At that very
moment the foreman, Mr Weavind came round the corner into their view. He was
accompanied by the mill owner, Lord Northam.
Lord Northam
was not what Millie had expected at all. For some reason she had imagined the
mill owner to be an old man. Yet Lord Northam was clearly no more than five and
thirty. He was well-attired with dark hair and a rather forbidding expression. His
gaze was immediately fixed on Millie and then turned to her machine which was
dripping wet. “What, may I ask, has
happened to your loom?” he asked.
Millie,
still furious, replied through gritted teeth “It was sabotaged by one of the
other workers, Sir.”
Jane gasped.
She clearly hadn’t expected Millie to grass her up. But Millie was too angry to
abide by any sense of workers’ solidarity. She was going to lose her job, most
likely. She was bloody well going to take Jane with her.
“I see. And
did this person have any reason to carry out such an action?”
“No, sir”
replied Millie.
“No reason
except you’re a lazy stuck-up snob who thinks she’s better than everybody else”
spat Jane.
Mr Weavind
looked absolutely furious at the unprofessional behaviour his workers were
displaying in front of the mill owner. “This is completely unacceptable,” he
barked.
Lord Northam
held up his hand. “I will deal with this,” he said, calmly. “Both of you will
go to my office. Now. Weavind, escort the girls there immediately.”
“Yes, sir,”
replied Weavind gruffly.
Jane shot Millie
a look of pure venom. There was no doubt that she held Millie entirely
responsible for the trouble that she was in. However, Millie’s mood was already
so low that Jane’s anger could not sink it any lower.
This was it,
she thought. She was going to lose her position. Jobs were not easy to come by
in this town. She might not have had any great love for working in the mill but
any job was better than none at all.
When they
reached the door to the mill office, Weavind told them to stand and wait in
silence. He stood with them and made no effort to speak further.
Millie was
already trembling in fear; she kept her eyes focused on the floor so that she
did not risk having to look at Jane or the foreman.
Ten minutes
later, Lord Northam appeared. “You may leave us now, Weavind. I will handle
matters from here.”
Millie’s
eyes were still firmly fixed on her shoes; she heard Weavind mumble his
acquiescence and depart.
“Very well,
girls” said Lord Northam. His authoritative tone made Millie look up to meet
his eye. “I shall see you, Jane, in my office first. Follow me. Millie, you
wait here.”
Millie
managed a mumbled “yes, sir” as Lord Northam opened his office door and walked
through it, followed by Jane.
She had no
intention of eavesdropping but her position just outside the door meant that
she had little else to occupy her attention. She heard muffled voices – mostly
those of Lord Northam – and then a few minutes later a sound which made her
jump with surprise.
It was a
loud “thwack!”. Millie had never received any corporal punishment other than
the odd pat on an errant backside by her father when she was a child. However,
she was no fool. She knew that the sound she had just heard was the beginning
of a beating. Some sort of implement was connecting with flesh. Bare flesh.
Moments
later, the sound came again. Then again. And again. Over and over the same
sound of something colliding with what Millie could only assume was Jane’s
exposed bottom. After half a dozen strokes, the sounds of the beating were
accompanied by new ones – the shrieks and wails of its unfortunate target. The
beating continued. Jane’s evident distress at her punishment clearly wasn’t
going to put a stop to it any time soon.
At long last
the door opened and a very tearful Jane exited the room. Her eyes were wet and
bloodshot and her hands were instinctively clasping her now-covered backside.
“Return to
your work immediately, Jane, and do what I have told you” said Lord Northam.
“And I trust we will see an improvement in your behaviour going forward.”
Jane nodded
and hurried off back to the mill floor. Millie watched her go thinking that
however much Jane had hated her before, this was only going to increase
following the hard spanking that she had had to endure. And yet she felt a
sense of excitement deep in the pit of her belly that she couldn’t readily
comprehend.
“In my
office now, Millie” said Lord Northam. On entering the room, Millie’s eye was
immediately drawn to a thick leather strap lying on the desk. No doubt this was
the implement which had been so loudly used on Jane. She could not stop looking
at it.
Was she
about to receive the same punishment, she thought. She wished that this was the
case with a fervour that surprised her. She told herself that this was because
being beaten, however harshly, was a hundred times better than finding herself
without a job.
Lord Northam
sat behind his desk and looked Millie up and down as she stood before it.
“Camilla
Leamington, isn’t it?” he asked.
“Yes, sir.”
“Any
relation to George Leamington?”
“He was my
father, sir.”
“I thought
as much. George Leamington was once a prosperous and respected man in this
town. And yet his daughter is now reduced to working on the machines in my
mill? Why is that?”
Millie had
no idea why his Lordship was asking such questions of her but she replied
honestly.
“There were
debts that needed to be paid off, Sir, after his death.”
“Gambling
debts?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I see” said
Lord Northam standing up and coming to the front of the desk. He picked up the
leather strap. “Right let’s get on with it. Bend over the desk. Feet on the
floor. Hands holding onto the far edge.”
Her heart
hammering in her chest, Millie did as she was bid. When she was bent over in
position, she felt Lord Northam lift her skirts and fling them over her back.
He parted her drawers so that her bottom was fully exposed. She had scarcely
time to consider this undignified position before she felt the first smack of
leather against her skin.
The pain was
incredible. She had never felt anything like it. Tears welled up in her eyes
but Millie was determined not to move from her position. She wanted to take her
punishment as well as she could. After all, her job depended upon it.
Moments
later, the second strike cracked across her flesh. Lord Northam barely paused
as he brought the strap down repeatedly on her bottom. As Millie tearfully
endured the pain, she became aware of another, rather more baffling, reaction.
She was
aware of a warmth suffusing her body. Not just on her bottom which was fast
becoming fiery red from the harsh application of the strap. No, the warmth she
was embarrassed to discover was somewhere else, somewhere more intimate.
She could
feel her breath becoming faster as Lord Northam continued the spanking. She was
almost panting. As the blows rained down hard and fast on her tender bottom,
she did not move an inch. When his Lordship stopped, he gave a low whistle.
“You took
that remarkably well. Have you been
beaten like that before?”
“N-no, sir”
stammered Millie. She could barely get the words out.
Lord Northam
put his hand on Millie’s still-upturned bottom and began rubbing her cheeks. Millie
let out an involuntary moan in response. Lord Northam chuckled. “I suppose you
are just a natural then. I do believe that you enjoyed that almost as much as I
did. You didn’t struggle or cry out at all. A rather unusual response, I must
say.”
Millie felt
she should rightfully feel embarrassed by his Lordship’s touch and by the words
he was speaking to her. But she could not manage to feel shame. Instead she
felt longing. She welcomed the feel of Lord Northam’s hand on her sore punished
bottom and felt herself raising slightly to meet his touch.
“Oh you
wicked girl,” said Lord Northam in a voice that sounded almost affectionate.
“You are enjoying this far more than you should.”
Millie
gasped as Lord Northam moved his hand so that it was no longer rubbing her
buttocks but was instead fondling the soft folds between her thighs. Her most private
area. The area that no man should touch until her wedding night.
She was
powerless to stop it. This was not because she was cowed or intimidated by her
Master. She may have been before the beating but she was not even thinking of
such things now. The sensation of his fingers inside her felt so marvellous
that she wished he would continue to touch her in this way forever.
“So very,
very wet,” said Lord Northam approvingly. He withdrew his fingers and gave Millie
a sharp slap on her bottom.
His voice
became commanding. “Right, you naughty girl, stand up and adjust your clothing.
I believe you and I need to have a talk.”
Millie
righted herself from her procumbent position with some difficulty; her body
simply did not want to move. Her skirts fell back into place and she smoothed
them down while turning to face Lord Northam. Her senses were beginning to
return to her and she became aware once again of her surroundings. What on
earth had just happened?
“Well Millie,
you have certainly made my decision a good deal easier.”
“Sir?”
“You do not
belong in your current job. You should not be working on the factory floor.”
Sense and
reason returned to Millie in an instant. She was going to lose her job after
all. No wonder, she thought, after the behaviour she had displayed. Surely Lord
Northam did not want a woman as wanton as her on his payroll.
However,
Lord Northam continued. “Tell me, Millie, can you read and write?”
“Yes sir,”
replied Millie, slightly baffled by the question.
“Did you go
to school?”
“To Rodean,
sir.”
Lord Northam
smiled. It was a brief smile but it was dazzling. “Perfect. I have a
proposition for you. My Clerk has just quit his position and I urgently require
someone to fill the role. I see no reason why a woman could not do the job as
well as a man. I would like to employ you as my Clerk on a month’s trial basis.
The hours would be eight to six with a half day on Saturdays.”
Millie could
scarcely believe it. The hours were so much better than the long shifts she
currently spent on the looms. When Lord Northam named a wage far in excess of
her present one, her spirits soared at the thought of her new job. A job which
would take her away from the hatred and taunting of Jane and the other girls on
the factory floor.
She managed
to find her tongue. “Thank you, your Lordship. That would be most agreeable. I
will endeavour to do whatever you require of me.”
“I’m sure
you will,” said Lord Northam. “Of course, if you fail to please me, I shall
beat you thoroughly. You have already met my junior strap but, believe me, I
have a fine collection of straps, canes, whips and tawses that I will not
hesitate to use on your bare backside. Is that acceptable to you?”
Millie felt
her blood rush to her face. And to her nether regions. “Oh yes, Sir,” she said emphatically. She tried not to smile. She
failed.
Lord Northam
considered her thoughtfully. “In fact, it occurs to me that I shouldn’t wait
for you to displease me in order to punish you. What if you never put a foot
wrong? Then I should never have any reason to spank your bottom. I don’t
believe that would please either one of us.”
He picked up
the strap from the table and slapped it against the palm of his left hand in an
almost absent-minded manner.
“I have
decided that you are a girl who should be disciplined regularly regardless of
your behaviour. We shall consider them Guidance Spankings.”
“Yes, sir. I
think that would probably be wise,” said Millie mischievously. She was relieved
that she would not have to be bad on purpose to be bent over and spanked by
Lord Northam.
“Good. You
will start your new role tomorrow morning. Arrive here half an hour early at
half past seven. Before you start your clerical duties, I plan to plan to put
you over my lap and administer a sound hand spanking to your bare bottom. Then you
will bend over the desk and receive a most thorough caning.”
“I will be
here at half past seven promptly,” said Millie, excitement rising in her belly.
“I shall
look forward to it. As, I am sure, will you.” Lord Northam flashed Millie
another of his brilliant smiles. “Don’t bother returning to work today. Take
the rest of the day off. I will see you tomorrow morning and not a minute later
than agreed.”
“What about
my machine?” asked Millie thinking of the thrown bucket and its dripping
contents.
“Jane will
be instructed to thoroughly clean and dry your old loom,” replied Lord Northam.
Millie bid
good day to her Lord and Master with profuse thanks. She exited the huge
external gates of Northam Mills as though floating on a cloud. What an
extraordinary day this had turned out to be. She had a new job which was
eminently more suited to her talents than her old one. And, she thought, there
was the other thing… The spanking. She had no idea what had happened there but
she knew she felt utterly calm and happy about it. And that she was excited at
the thought of experiencing it again.
She smiled a
beatific smile and walked home. The sun was shining, the birds were singing,
her bottom felt hot and sore and bruised and Millie felt truly happy. She was
eager for the new adventures that life had in store for her.
