Page 5 of Desire and Discipline

Priscilla

From the moment the carriage arrived, the difference between this event and any other she’d attended before was stark.

There were no carriages proudly bearing their owners’ emblems with coachmen in livery.

Instead, every carriage that arrived—including the one she was in—was plain black or had fabric hanging over any distinguishing features, and the coachmen were dressed plainly.

The occupants of the carriages exited with hooded cloaks obscuring their features and clothing, sweeping up to the doorway where the door opened immediately to allow entrance.

Rather than light spilling out from the interior, the entrance was dimly lit, so she could not see if those before them removed their hoods immediately or not.

The curtains were tightly drawn, making the house appear rather empty.

“This feels very…” She could not find the word for it.

“Secretive?” Evie suggested, sounding amused as her husband Anthony opened the door to the carriage and stepped down ahead of them before pausing on the ground to assist them in disembarking.

“It is. One of the worst-kept secrets in the ton. The best kept secret is the names of the members and when and where they meet. Though most who know about the Society also know that Rex leads it. Whether or not Mary is a member or if she is unaware of her husband’s proclivities is a matter of much debate in certain gossipy circles. ”

Anthony’s lips quirked, almost as though he was about to smile at his wife. His expression was rarely friendly, but Evie did bring out a different side of him.

“Ladies.” He offered an arm to each of them.

Evie took it with alacrity, Priscilla with more hesitation.

She almost felt as she had the first day of her debut, stepping into the unknown.

It was both exciting and frightening. She wished Joseph was there with her, but at the same time, she knew his presence would have made her anxious in a different way.

At least now, she would have a glimpse of what the Society had to offer without feeling the pressure of reacting one way or another. None of her friends would care what she was and was not interested in the way her husband would.

Elijah was stepping out of the other carriage, turning to help Josie down, as he flashed a frown at Evie. Putting her nose in the air, she pretended to ignore him, which was quite a feat as Anthony was not moving forward, clearly waiting for the others to join their party.

Nathan and Lily followed Josie out of the carriage, and both ladies took their husbands’ arms. At the front of the house, the front door had already closed behind the previous party.

“Are you ready?” Josie asked Priscilla as she and Elijah approached ahead of Lily and Nathan. Her blonde curls covered by a deep hood, it was difficult to see her expression in the shadows within, but she sounded excited. Priscilla squared her shoulders.

She’d said she was going to do this, and she was. She wanted to see this side of her friends’ lives. Wanted to see this side of Joseph’s past. Wanted to know if it was for her as well.

Even if it was not, at least she would have a better understanding of it.

It could not possibly be any more frightening than being presented to the Queen of England, and she’d already done that.

“Yes,” she said firmly. “Let’s go in.”

That was what the rest of them were waiting for. Evie began tugging on Anthony’s arm to get him moving while he admonished her. They went up to the front door amid giggles from the ladies and sounds of affectionate exasperation from the gentlemen as they responded to their wives’ teasing.

“Just remember,” Elijah growled at Evie right before they reached the door. “You and Anthony are showing Priscilla around tonight. Nothing else.”

Priscilla did not need to see Evie’s face to know her cousin-in-law had rolled her eyes in response to the admonishment.

“We are hardly going to abandon her to seek our own pleasures. Really, Elijah.” Evie sniffed. “The fact that such a thought would even cross your mind is telling. Is that what you would do?”

“Of course not!” The dig had gotten under Elijah’s skin just as Evie intended, and he practically roared the denial, which sent all the ladies except Evie into another fit of giggles. Anthony sighed, shaking his head at his wife’s antics.

“Well, the thought had to spring from somewhere.” Evie sniffed again and smiled as the door opened. A rather stern looking man with brown hair streaked with some grey stood there, looking them over. His expression did not change as Evie greeted him. “Hello Cormack.”

“My Lady.” He stepped back out of the way to allow them entrance. “Please, come in.”

The entire party entered, sweeping their hoods off their heads as they did so, and Priscilla followed suit.

Though the front entrance was dimly lit and the doors to the rooms on either side of the foyer were closed, she could see down the hallway to other rooms along the first floor of the house which were open.

Light spilled out into the hallway from them, illuminating a pathway where soft sounds she could not quite make out trickled through the hall.

Cormack took their cloaks, revealing their various styles of dress.

Priscilla’s was certainly the most modest. Evie was wearing a bright, scarlet red that would have garnered her horrified looks in a ballroom, especially with how low cut the neckline was.

Her breasts appeared ready to spill out at any moment.

Josie’s pink gown and Lily’s violet were slightly more modest, though not by much. Unlike Evie, they did not appear to be in danger of exposure with every breath, just if they bent over.

Gulping, Priscilla tried to tamp down on her nerves, which had surged again. Would everyone be so exposed? She felt positively prudish, whereas when she’d chosen the dress she’d thought she was rather daring. No one looked at her askance, though.

“Ladies.” Anthony offered Evie and Priscilla his arms again. She was surprised when Elijah, Josie, Lily, and Nathan did not dart off to their own entertainments. Especially since Elijah had been very vocal about wanting to enjoy his evening with his wife without distraction from his cousin.

“The two front rooms are for resting after… after,” Lily said when she saw Priscilla peering curiously at the closed doors. “They have refreshments and plenty of places to sit within.”

“After you are done with your debauchery is what she means,” Evie filled in the blanks helpfully. Lily scowled at her as her husband began to turn her down the hall.

“She knew what I meant.”

“You hoped she knew what you meant, so you did not have to say it outright, is what you mean,” Evie countered.

“Come on, Lily, we did not come here so you and Evie could bicker,” Nathan said, drawing his wife in with his arm about her waist. She sighed but went willingly.

“Stop it, minx,” Anthony said in a low voice when Evie opened her mouth to say something back.

She huffed, but subsided, which was rather impressive.

Her husband seemed to be the only person to be able to keep Evie under control on a regular basis, but she did not always listen to him, either. “Lily can be as discreet as she likes.”

Evie grumbled something under her breath, but Priscilla could not quite hear her.

Nathan and Lily were already leading the way down the hall, heading for the first room. When Anthony stepped forward, Priscilla moved as well, her heart pounding in her chest.

As they approached the first open doorway, she could hear moans coming from inside and an odd thudding sound she did not recognize.

When they reached the doorway, her mouth dropped open.

A woman was standing in the center of the room, completely naked, with her hands on a large, wooden square frame around her body.

A man stood behind her, using a multi-strand whip with very thick leather strands on her shoulders and bottom, which were both already dark pink.

“Oh, my…” Priscilla could not stop the words from falling from her lips as she took in the scene. Her feet ground to a halt, digging in her heels. Thankfully, Anthony stopped immediately, not pulling her forward, so she could watch from the hall.

The sight made her insides twist in an unsettling way.

“That’s a leather flogger,” Anthony murmured quietly.

Lily and Nathan had already moved past to peek into another room, as if the events in this room did not particularly interest them.

As Priscilla stared, Elijah and Josie slipped in through the door, moving to the side and out of sight.

That was when she noticed how many spectators there were around the room, just watching.

“The wide strands on it and the knots on the end of them mean it does not sting so much as…” He paused, floundering for the correct descriptive word.

“Thud. It feels like thudding on your back.” Evie leaned forward to address Priscilla, peering around her husband’s chest. “Like someone patting you very firmly, or tapping their fingers with intention… but it feels good. Relaxing.”

“Oh,” Priscilla replied because she did not know what else to say. The rise and fall of the many strands was fascinating. She wanted to go in, to reach forward and touch the pinkened skin, to feel how hot it was… to ask the woman if it hurt. And she wanted the answer to be yes.

Her reaction frightened her far more than the sight itself.

Was this how she was supposed to feel? A sick fascination and the desire to know that the woman was in pain? How could that be? It was so wrong, yet she could not deny the impulses or her thoughts.

Then again, that was what the Society was supposed to be for, was it not?

She was hardly the only person watching with rapt fascination.

Priscilla relaxed again, though she felt wound more tightly than she had before.

She glanced at Anthony and Evie, who were focused on the scene in the room, though neither seemed inclined to move forward at the moment.

Priscilla returned her attention to the couple inside.

The man let the flogger fall, the long strands hanging by his leg. Now she could see the knots Anthony mentioned better than before since they were no longer in motion.

“Anthony.” Evie said her husband’s name with an urgency that had Priscilla turning to look as well.

Evie was looking off at the end of the hall.

The light was dim, but when Priscilla blinked, she could make out Mary standing there.

The blonde waved her hand at them, beckoning them onward, before disappearing to the right.

Anthony muttered a curse under his breath. Strange foreboding took up residence under Priscilla’s breast, as if something terrible was bearing down on them. What was Mary calling them toward? Why was she acting so oddly? Why did Evie sound so strange?

“What is it?” she asked as Anthony turned them to the hall, beginning to walk again.

“I am sorry, Priscilla,” Evie said, her voice heavy with regret.

“You see, we did have some ulterior motives in bringing you here tonight, beyond those we expressed. One of the rules of the Society is that we are not supposed to talk about the other members, ever. The secrets of the Society are sacrosanct, and breaking that rule is cause for immediate expulsion. However, there are no rules against showing someone the secrets or bringing a guest who might recognize the other members.”

“Which would not be a problem if certain people weren’t so bloody foolish,” Anthony growled. He came to a sudden halt just before the corner, his eyes blazing in the dim light as he looked down at Priscilla. “No matter what, no matter what you see, just know that you have done nothing wrong.”

There was a thought trying to make its way to the forefront of her mind, pushing against the haze that had suddenly descended upon her. What Evie and Anthony were saying made no sense, none at all…

Unless…