go to bed. No doubt your dormitory mates will want to see the state of your bottom!”
As she opened the door, her mother called after her.
“The Headmaster said you took your punishment bravely. He caned you harder than the others so that there could be no question of you getting off lightly because you’re my daughter. I’m glad you didn’t make a lot of fuss, like Alice did. Well done.”
Margaret smiled back at her mother. “Thanks, Mum. Goodnight.”
***
At the weekend Miss Holloway was still savouring the stimulation from having participated in the punishment of the three smokers on Wednesday afternoon. On Saturday evening, she and Dick were going to the cinema, the early performance, and then Miss Holloway had invited him back to her flat for supper. She went to great trouble: she tidied the flat, carefully chose some romantic big-band records, decorated the kitchen table with a vase of flowers (she didn’t have a dining room), and prepared the ‘party food’ she was best at: prawn cocktail, beef stroganoff, and ice-cream with a rich fudge sauce. She asked the local off-licence for advice about drinks and came away with a bottle of dry sherry and a red Bordeaux wine for which she paid more than she could really afford. She spent the rest of the afternoon washing her hair.
She dressed in a blue polka- dot skirt with a white blouse, and when she met Dick outside the cinema, he thought she looked stunning. He took her arm and paid for the most expensive seats. Miss Holloway declined his offer of popcorn. The film was a romance: ‘An Affair to Remember’ , with Deborah Kerr and Cary Grant. Dick put his arm round Miss Holloway and pulled her head on to his shoulder. The people sitting behind them ostentatiously moved to seats with a better view of the screen.
It was a fine evening, so afterwards they walked back to her flat hand-in-hand, humming the film’s theme song : ‘Our love affair’. The date was off to a romantic start.
When they reached Miss Holloway’s flat there were a few moments when they flapped about and told each other how cold it been outside. Basically, both of them wanted to embrace the other, but shyness prevailed and after a while the moment passed. Miss Holloway put one of her big-band discs of the gramophone, while Dick wandered around the sitting room making admiring comments on the decor, the pictures on the wall, and the ornaments on the mantelpiece. He picked up a ship in a bottle.
“This is clever. Where does it come from?” He was hoping for a reply along the lines of ‘It was made by my great-grandfather, the one who skippered schooners, whilst he was ship-wrecked on a Polynesian island’. What Miss Holloway actually said was:
“I got it for five shillings in a jumble sale.”
“Oh. And these African prints. Have you lived in Africa?”
“No. My neighbour threw them out in the rubbish. I rescued them.”
“Ah...” And so on. The conversation was a little stilted.
“Would you like a glass of sherry?” Miss Holloway asked, suddenly afraid that he might want a beer. “I’m afraid I haven’t got any beer”, she added unnecessarily.
“Sherry would be lovely, thanks.”
She didn’t have any sherry flutes, so she poured a stiff measure into two wine glasses.
“Well, cheers then.” She gave a glass to Dick and tapped it with her own.
The sherry, a beverage to which they were both unused, soon started to break the ice. Miss Holloway put the stroganoff into the oven to heat up, went back into the sitting room and sat on the sofa. She hoped Dick would sit next to her, but he chose the armchair.
“Seen anything of Annie recently?” Dick asked. Miss Holloway glanced at him anxiously to see whether he was registering any untoward interest in her friend.
“Not for a couple of weeks. Since just before my car broke down, actually. It was so sweet of you to fix it.”
“Oh, my pleasure. At least I got something out of my National Service. Has it
As she opened the door, her mother called after her.
“The Headmaster said you took your punishment bravely. He caned you harder than the others so that there could be no question of you getting off lightly because you’re my daughter. I’m glad you didn’t make a lot of fuss, like Alice did. Well done.”
Margaret smiled back at her mother. “Thanks, Mum. Goodnight.”
***
At the weekend Miss Holloway was still savouring the stimulation from having participated in the punishment of the three smokers on Wednesday afternoon. On Saturday evening, she and Dick were going to the cinema, the early performance, and then Miss Holloway had invited him back to her flat for supper. She went to great trouble: she tidied the flat, carefully chose some romantic big-band records, decorated the kitchen table with a vase of flowers (she didn’t have a dining room), and prepared the ‘party food’ she was best at: prawn cocktail, beef stroganoff, and ice-cream with a rich fudge sauce. She asked the local off-licence for advice about drinks and came away with a bottle of dry sherry and a red Bordeaux wine for which she paid more than she could really afford. She spent the rest of the afternoon washing her hair.
She dressed in a blue polka- dot skirt with a white blouse, and when she met Dick outside the cinema, he thought she looked stunning. He took her arm and paid for the most expensive seats. Miss Holloway declined his offer of popcorn. The film was a romance: ‘An Affair to Remember’ , with Deborah Kerr and Cary Grant. Dick put his arm round Miss Holloway and pulled her head on to his shoulder. The people sitting behind them ostentatiously moved to seats with a better view of the screen.
It was a fine evening, so afterwards they walked back to her flat hand-in-hand, humming the film’s theme song : ‘Our love affair’. The date was off to a romantic start.
When they reached Miss Holloway’s flat there were a few moments when they flapped about and told each other how cold it been outside. Basically, both of them wanted to embrace the other, but shyness prevailed and after a while the moment passed. Miss Holloway put one of her big-band discs of the gramophone, while Dick wandered around the sitting room making admiring comments on the decor, the pictures on the wall, and the ornaments on the mantelpiece. He picked up a ship in a bottle.
“This is clever. Where does it come from?” He was hoping for a reply along the lines of ‘It was made by my great-grandfather, the one who skippered schooners, whilst he was ship-wrecked on a Polynesian island’. What Miss Holloway actually said was:
“I got it for five shillings in a jumble sale.”
“Oh. And these African prints. Have you lived in Africa?”
“No. My neighbour threw them out in the rubbish. I rescued them.”
“Ah...” And so on. The conversation was a little stilted.
“Would you like a glass of sherry?” Miss Holloway asked, suddenly afraid that he might want a beer. “I’m afraid I haven’t got any beer”, she added unnecessarily.
“Sherry would be lovely, thanks.”
She didn’t have any sherry flutes, so she poured a stiff measure into two wine glasses.
“Well, cheers then.” She gave a glass to Dick and tapped it with her own.
The sherry, a beverage to which they were both unused, soon started to break the ice. Miss Holloway put the stroganoff into the oven to heat up, went back into the sitting room and sat on the sofa. She hoped Dick would sit next to her, but he chose the armchair.
“Seen anything of Annie recently?” Dick asked. Miss Holloway glanced at him anxiously to see whether he was registering any untoward interest in her friend.
“Not for a couple of weeks. Since just before my car broke down, actually. It was so sweet of you to fix it.”
“Oh, my pleasure. At least I got something out of my National Service. Has it
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