A Fair Cop, a tale by annie

Caroline stood in the shower, apprehension mingling with anticipation in her. On the one hand she'd had a "good run for her money" or, rather, with Tom's money as it was. It had become almost a game toward the end, one which had become somewhat too easy: moreover it was a game which she could never win in the longer term and, truth be known, she never wanted to win. Her conscience told her unequivocally that she was in the wrong, and she accepted that. It had been partly boredom, caused by the restraints put upon her, and partly indulgence to begin - finally the simple excitement of getting away with it, as with children smoking cigarettes behind proverbial bike sheds. It all began when he stopped her pocket money for her extravagance. That had been fair enough and quite right, they both knew. She had been strapped, lectured and told that she would have no money of her own for three months for the good of both of them. She had willingly accepted her punishments, corporal and financial, as her just deserts and carried on. However her housekeeping allowance remained the same. The idea had come to her, while in a supermarket, that by purchasing certain of their "budget" items, and presenting them at home in the packaging of more expensive items, she might pocket the difference and enjoy a few little treats. The amounts of money were small but, as she well knew, the offence in principal was great. A deep sense of guilt had, rightly, grown in her. The indulgences, small though they were, became nauseating yet addictive in a strange way. Often she resolved to confess her offence but fear prevented it. She resolved daily to break the habit but, each time she shopped, temptation prevailed. On occasion she was moved to tears when in kindness he offered her a small treat from his own resources. Wretchedness had all but overcome her when, purely by mistake, she gave herself away : she bought a magazine. All other indulgences, such as chocolate, were disposable and she concealed all evidence of them - the magazine, a seemingly harmless woman's gossip affair, was different. She had the presence of mind to conceal it in a drawer in the bedroom however Tom, going through the drawers with no intent to expose her wrongdoing, had seen it and noticed the date. Tom confronted Caroline with the magazine, demanding to know how she came to have it. She thought of saying she'd been given it, found it or whatever but she just couldn't lie to him. Overcome with shame she confessed the lot. To make matters worse, he'd been wholly understanding and kind about it ; sad rather than angry. She wished he'd been angry, abusive even, as he had every right to be, but he calmly forbade further discussion of the affair and ordered her to bed. When he followed her some time later, he gently kissed her and said, "Go to sleep, darling. We'll sort this out tomorrow." His being kind to her made it all the worse and, in her shame, she sobbed herself to sleep. The following morning, after she had served him his breakfast, he kissed her goodbye as always and said."Darling, I have to punish you. You know that.""Yes, Sir, I know," she said in a small voice tinged with fear and relief."Severely," he said evenly."Yes, Sir, of course." And off he went, with both of them feeling far better, in different ways, than the previous evening.When she'd showered and donned one of her light, short punishment dresses, Caroline cleared the dressing table for her to bend across, and took two canes from the wardrobe and leaned them against the wall nearby. Tom had said "severely" and when he said severely, she knew, he meant just that. Yet, in spite of her fear she wanted her punishment to be severe. There was no pleasure in punishment for her, only pain, but she knew that she deserved to  suffer severe pain for what she had done. The lesson in itself had already been learned in so far as, through shame and penitence, she knew she wouldn't do anything like it again for a long time : it was rather that through making her suffer and seeing her suffer willingly, he would see her contrition and obedience to him. Although she had been given no order to do so, she went to the corner and stood facing the wall, hands behind her back, and contemplated her guilt.When Tom came home he went to sitting room and watched the news. She could hear him downstairs: keeping her waiting was part of the punishment. Half an hour later he came to their bedroom and ordered her from the wall. She helped him remove his jacket and rolled up his right sleeve. She then handed him a cane, raised her dress, lowered her knickers and bent over the table, legs apart. His eye travelled across the length of her slender legs, the tops of her stockings, the wonderful crease between her legs and the shivering little bottom, so obediently thrust out for him. The punishment was, as promised, severe. She received twenty four strokes at intervals of thirty seconds, gasps rising to cries and cries to screams, but she held her position and allowed him to finish his work.Later, in bed, when she had recovered somewhat and lay on her tummy, sobbing softly, he asked, "Did that hurt very much, darling?""Yes, Sir, thank you.""Do you think I was hard on you?""No more than I deserved, Sir.""Roll over."With a wince and a smile went onto her back, and parted her legs. He moved himself above her, and she guided him into herself with her hand.