Sophie had come to be rather fond of Thomas over the last few terms acting as his designated house tutor. There was a natural, easy rapport and she had begun this ploy as a tease to try and shake him out of his academic complacency. She had intended that her traditional crook handled school cane would act merely as a prop to give emphasis to her words. Perhaps an older or more experienced housemistress might have sensed a curious infatuation in his eyes, perhaps could have understood the allure of her authority, and might even have guessed just how much he longed to submissively bend to her every whim. Of course, she was not naive to the fact that many of the senior boys and prefects were harbouring a lustful crush. In the hormonal maelstrom of the Grey House senior common room, it was pretty much inevitable that a young, beautiful housemistress would provoke exactly this reaction.

I suggest you stand up straight, and if you can't keep your hands from pulling at your shirt tails, you'd better take it off altogether."However, the school also operated a ‘demerit’ system for minor acts of disobedience, such as running in the corridor, being late for class, talking during a lesson etc. You were allowed up to three demerits per term without punishment – after that, your bottom had an appointment with the headmaster. I suggest," Miss Sternwood announced in the same controlled tone, "that you remember every last detail of this punishment," the light tap-tap of her cane punctuating the rhythm of her words, "especially if you ever begin to feel your mind wander from your studies... now for number three." The two strokes which followed were, let’s say, something of a blur. My bum was completely on fire by the time the punishment was over and was told: “All done – make yourself decent.”

At long last they had arrived at the final afternoon of spring term, Easter weekend only seven days away, falling as it did precisely in the middle of the two week holiday. There had been the usual frantic dash to gather up books, bags and PE kit and now, in the calm aftermath of that storm, this late afternoon appointment was to be the final act in a performance upon which the curtain had risen twelve weeks previously in a January house tutorial meeting. The sports field she overlooked was almost deserted, just a couple of late stragglers taking a shortcut from Mainschool towards the school driveway. To her left a tall beech tree partly obstructed one corner of her window and in that shaded area of glass she saw a ghostlike reflection of her room.Yes Miss," he replied breathlessly, taking the same small footsteps and only moving his hands once he was up against the edge of the desk and beginning to bend forward. Despite facing away from her, he could feel her eyes appraising his young, naked body, and sensed the frisson of a forbidden, shameful thrill, blending inextricably with what was rapidly becoming a very real anxiety. Almost as though it were a favourite pet, Miss Sternwood lightly and affectionately patted her cane, but for the time being left it lying on the desktop. Miss Sternwood's aim was always unerring, her power never diminishing, her strength fully gathered in the ten to fifteen seconds that she habitually allowed between strokes. Once the fifth red stripe had been added to the melee, a horizontal two inch band of densely grouped red tramlines positively glowed, cheek to cheek, all the way across Thomas's bottom.

She watched the glass as Thomas, finally free to rub his bottom, struggled to simultaneously turn his boxer shorts the correct way around using only his left hand while his right hand frantically massaged at his burning cheeks. With a wry smile she reflected he would not be rubbing away that sting for quite a while. Even by her own superlative standards she knew those had been six very smartly delivered and powerful strokes.I can vividly recall my first visit to his study. Both I and a friend of mine, Paul Jennings [all names have been changed – Ed] both got a demerit in the same lesson for constantly not paying attention. Both of us had been sitting on three demerits – and now the time for sitting had come to an end! The Dom part of a me has a streak of sadism that would have been quite happy to hurt Katie some more, but her trust in me is such a beautiful thing that I would rather disappoint her by ending the caning early than risk betraying that trust. Eventually, the crying coming from the office died down, and after a further wait Paul emerged with a tear-stained face and furiously rubbing his bottom. “He says you’re to go in now,” he said before sloping off. After what seemed like a lifetime, the door finally opened Mr Dawson appeared. He turned to Paul. “Jennings, you’re first. Come with me.” Paul shot a final, scared look over his shoulder at me and followed the headmaster into his office. The door closed and although I could hear talking inside, I wasn’t able to hear what was being said. Are you decent?" she asked a couple of minutes later, already knowing from her reflected view that he was busy with his tie. She turned her chair as soon as he replied and watched until he had pulled on his blazer and straightened the collar.