"Would you like to go out to lunch Saturday Elizabeth?" Nanny asked Liz "I have a friend that I'd like you to meet. I think you'll like him and I know that he will like you."
"I'd love to, Ma'am".
This was the first time that Liz had heard about a male friend of Nanny's. Nanny was very private about her life away from Liz. Sometimes she would tell Liz about restaurants, plays or museum showings she went to, but she deflected any questions about who she might have gone with, referring to "friends" of unspecified gender. When Liz tried asked too many questions Nanny would remind her that it was rude for young ladies to pry. Liz suspected rude young ladies ended up with red bottoms, so she dropped her questioning.
Liz was very excited about being asked to lunch. As Saturday got closer she peppered Nanny with questions.
"Who is your friend, Nanny?"
"His name is John Warburg. He works in finance."
"Well, how did you meet him?"
"I went to a show by the American painter Andrew Wyeth. I met him at the reception afterward. John has known Mr. Wyeth for a number of years and owns two of his paintings."
Nanny politely but firmly cut off other questions about how long she had known Mr. Warburg, whether he was cute and how long they had been seeing each other.
"You can decide whether he is 'cute' when you meet him Saturday, dear" Nanny told her.
Saturday morning Liz was starting to panic. What was she going to wear to the lunch with the mysterious Mr. Warburg? At sixteen Liz was only just starting to emerge from her tomboy stage, where she wore dresses only at the insistence of her Mother. But this was different. Liz wanted to look pretty so that Nanny would be proud of her, but she was not entirely sure how. When Nanny came in to her bedroom Liz was still wearing her nightie. She had several dresses lying across the bed.
Liz held up a gray wool skirt and a white blouse, "What do you think of this, Nanny? Should I wear this?"
Nanny could hear the wisps of panic in Liz's voice. She went over to the bed and picked up one of the dresses.
"I think that you would look lovely in this Elizabeth" Nanny said holding up the dress. The fabric was a dark royal blue Chinese silk, with small flowers, cherry blossoms and birds woven into the cloth. Liz's mother had dragged her shopping two weeks ago, before she left for France. She had informed Liz that she thought that the dress would look "beautiful" on her and that Chinese silk was in fashion that year. Liz could not imagine where she would ever wear the dress and told her mother so.
"Well, you can't go through life only wearing jeans and plaid shirts" Liz's mother told her.
Nanny's cane had taught Liz the value of thinking before she spoke, so she did not respond with "Why not?" Instead she thanked her mother politely for the new dress, thinking to herself that it would look just fine in her closet.
Liz agreed to Nanny's choice and Nanny put the dress back on the bed. Liz slipped out of her nightie and put on a pair of sheer peach silk bikini panties and a matching silk lace bra that Nanny laid out for her. Wearing "girly" underwear was Liz's only concession to feminine clothing and she always enjoyed shopping for lingerie with Nanny.
After putting the dress on, Liz sat on a low backed chair in front of her mirrored vanity while Nanny brushed her hair and put it into a French braid. The vanity had been her mother's idea too. The vanity chair was rarely used for its intended purpose. It was usually occupied by books or acted as support for a naughty girl when Nanny bent Liz over for a caning.
The dress had a scoop neckline which showed the top of Liz's breasts. A narrow slit ran down the back of the dress to the middle of Liz's back. Silk "frogs" ran across the slit. After Nanny buttoned the dress a thin line line of bare skin still showed.
"You look beautiful, dear" Nanny told Liz, who blushed slightly. "You have grown up into such a lovely young woman Elizabeth. I'm so proud of you."
"Thank you, Ma'am" Liz answered. Nanny's praise made her feel like she was flying.
"Let me put a little makeup on you, dear"
"Nanny..."
"Just a little. Now, sit still please"
Liz was still floating from Nanny's praise so she cooperated without further complaint. Nanny put some eye liner on Liz and some blush to bring out the line of her cheekbones.
"I believe that you have some dark blue high heels that will go with that dress. Now I had better get ready."
Liz tried on the high heel shoes. At least they did not pinch and she had to admit that they looked good with the dress. But she carried them downstairs where she waited for Nanny, fearing that she would fall down the long flight of stone stairs if she attempted to walk down them in the heels.
Nanny seemed to have been born for high heels, Liz thought as she watched Nanny glide down the stairs. Nanny was wearing a dress of layered lavender chiffon silk. The dress stopped above the knee and her slim legs were covered by sheer stockings. Nanny's dark blond flowed down her back under a braid drawn from the sides.
The restaurant Nanny drove them to was on the border of a park, surrounded by trees and long expanses of lawn. As they entered the lobby of the restaurant, Nanny looked around, her eyes adjusting to the darker room from the bright sun outside. She crossed the room to a man wearing a dark blue suit, Liz trailing behind her.
"Hello, John" Nanny said, kissing him on the cheek.
"You look beautiful Lisa"
Nanny's face lit up with the complement. "John, this is Elizabeth Harris. Elizabeth, this is John Warburg"
"I'm pleased to meet you Mr. Warburg" Liz said, holding our her hand for him to shake.
"Thank you for coming to lunch, Miss Harris. Lisa has told me so much about you. May I say that you look lovely. I feel blessed to be joined for lunch by two beautiful women"
"Thank you Mr. Warburg", Liz said blushing. "Please call me Liz. I'm not used to being called Miss Harris"
"I will call you Liz if you will call me John. Now, if you will excuse me, I'll find out if our table is ready"
The Maitre'de lead them to their table, which was beside a large window overlooking the park and a pond.
The lunch was one of the best meals that Liz had ever eaten. She had a sole in parchment paper, which melted in her mouth. Nanny even allowed her to have a small glass of white wine with the fish, so she felt very grown-up.
John split his attention between Liz and Nanny, asking about Liz's interests and books she had read. He was very well read and had a wonderful sense of humor. Liz was charmed. But as lunch progressed she saw how Nanny and John looked at each other. It was just a glance now and then, but in those brief glances it was as if John and Nanny looked at the other and saw something like the hope of the world. Despite John's charm, Liz got chillier as lunch progressed and started to answer John's queries in monosyllables, which he seemed not to notice.
When lunch came to an end, Liz politely thanked John for lunch. Liz was in a black mood during the drive home and Nanny was silent.
"Please come in here" Nanny said when they walked into the stone entry of the house. Liz followed Nanny into the living room. She noticed that Nanny's dress outlined the round curves of her bottom.
For a moment Liz thought that Nanny was going to give her a spanking. "Sit down please" Nanny said pointing to one of the couches. Then Nanny sat beside Liz, turning to face her.
"You were not very nice to John at lunch today", she told Liz who was trying to look somewhere else other than at Nanny.
"I don't know what you mean", Liz said, knowing exactly what Nanny meant.
"I care a great deal for John. I could see that it makes you jealous"
"I'm not jealous" Liz said a bit too loudly. "I just don't like him"
"You liked him until you caught us looking at each other. Then you became very chilly and rude." Nanny took one of Liz's hands. "I know that its a big change having someone else in my life. But the fact that I like John does not mean that I love you any less."
As they talked, Liz finally stopped denying that she was jealous of John and allowed Nanny to reassure her that she would not stop loving Liz.
"Nanny?" Liz asked "Are you going to give me a spanking?"
"No. That would be too easy. You were a brat at lunch and if you were younger I would spank you. But after a spanking its all over. And I want something else. I want you to look at your behavior and change it. Will you do that for me?"
"Yes, Nanny"
"John told me that he would like to invite us to lunch again next Saturday. I hope that you will join us again. But this time you must promise me that you will try to put jealousy aside and remember that I will always love you. Nothing will change that."
For the next three months Nanny and Liz had lunch with John every Saturday. Liz allowed herself to enjoy John's company and she had to admit that she understood why Nanny liked him so much. They did not always go to fancy restaurants. John took them to a Texas bar-b-Que and Liz wore her jeans and plaid shirt (Nanny wore a cute pleated skirt with a peasant blouse). Much to her surprise Liz started looking forward to dressing up for the more formal restaurants. She let Nanny teach her how to apply makeup and she asked her mother to take her shopping for a new outfit.
Liz's mother had long harbored the worry that Liz would never outgrow her tomboy phase, so she was ecstatically happy with the new Liz. It was all Liz could do to persuade her mother that she only needed one new outfit. Liz's mother was so happy about the Saturday lunches that seemed to have transformed Liz that she insisted in paying for the next formal lunch they had.
To Liz it was a wonderful time. Her relationship with Nanny also started to change. In these outings with John they became more like two girl friends who were having lunch with another close friend. Liz's view of herself also started to change too. John always told her how beautiful she was, especially when she dressed up. Seeing herself in the mirror of John's regard she started to realize that she might actually be attractive, which she had never considered before.
Nanny did not stop being Nanny and in that three month time Nanny spanked Liz twice (once over her knee with the hair brush for procrastination on a school paper and a caning for some late math homework). But that time was the start of what would become a long adult friendship.
Although Liz never really thought about it, she assumed that she, Nanny and John would go on like this forever.
One night Nanny was brushing Liz's hair before bed. Liz was wearing a cotton eyelet shortie nightie and sitting in her vanity chair. Nanny was wearing an ankle length silk gown. When Nanny finished brushing and braiding Liz's hair, she went over to the bed and sat down. "Come over here dear and sit down" she said, patting the bed next to her.
Liz went over to the bed and sat down, facing Nanny. Nanny looked very serious. This sort of thing was sometimes a prelude to "the talk" which prefaced a trip over Nanny's knee, followed by tears and a red bottom. But Liz could not think of anything she had done to earn a spanking.
"You know that I care for John a great deal" said Nanny
"Yes, Nanny. I like him too"
"I am so very happy about that. It means a lot to me that you like him too." Nanny took Liz's hands in hers. "John has asked me to marry him and I've said yes. I have not told anyone else. I wanted you to know first."
"I'm so happy for you Nanny. John is a wonderful man." Liz hugged Nanny. Nanny petted her hair, caressing her back. "I hope that we can always be close friends, Liz. But I can't keeping being your Nanny."
Liz pulled away, as if Nanny had shocked her with a cattle prod. "But you can't leave me, Nanny!" Then she burst into tears. Nanny held her and petted her as she sobbed against Nanny's shoulder.
"You're getting too old for a Nanny, dear. Next year you're going to be applying to a University. You've become a young woman and young women don't need Nannys"
"Well, I do" sobbed Liz
Liz cried and cried. She had never felt pain like this before. It was much worse than any spanking Nanny had ever given her. Finally Nanny tucked the sobbing girl into bed and let her cry herself to sleep.
The next day Nanny told Liz's mother that she would be marrying John and that she would leave in two months, if that was acceptable. Liz's mother was not entirely surprised and agreed to Nanny's plans.
Nanny tried to reassure Liz that she would always love her and always be her friend. Every night Nanny brushed Liz's hair kissed her goodnight. Nanny suggested that Liz call her Lisa, since it would not do to address an old friend as Nanny. Liz looked pleadingly at her and said "But you're still my Nanny. At least for a while."
Lisa and John were planning on a small wedding at the estate of one of John's friends. Liz agreed to be Nanny's "maid of honor" and they went shopping for a wedding dress for Nanny and a dress for Liz to wear at the wedding. Liz and Nanny addressed the wedding invitations and Liz helped Nanny plan the catering. This would be much more fun than one of Mummy's garden parties, Liz thought to herself.
Liz continued having lunch on Saturday with John and Nanny. The lunches went on much as they had before. Liz wanted to hate John for taking Nanny from her, but by this time she liked him too much.
If there had been any way to slow time by dragging her feet, Liz would have worn the soles of her shoes off and then the skin off her heels. But as someone once said, "time stops for no man" and it certainly was not stopping for Liz. The time came when most of Nanny's things were in boxes and Nanny would be moving out in a week.
Liz was in the library doing her math homework. She had developed a new appreciation for mathematics because it allowed her to lose herself in the math problems and proofs. Liz's mother was away in Milan shopping, but would be back before Nanny left.
"It's time to get ready for bed, dear" Nanny told Liz when she came into the library.
Liz went over to Nanny and put her arms around Nanny's waist and nuzzled into her shoulder. "Nanny, would you give me a spanking?"
"Why, dear, have you been a naughty girl?"
"No, Ma'am. I was thinking of doing something naughty to earn a spanking, but I could not stand the thought having you mad at me. So I just thought I'd ask. I know it sounds stupid..."
"No, I think I understand, dear. If you want I will give you a spanking."
"Will you please spank me hard, as if I'd been a very naughty girl?"
Nanny caressed Liz's hair. "All right, dear. Are you sure that's what you want?"
Liz snuggled closer to Nanny. "Yes, Nanny", her voice somewhat muffled.
Nanny continued to caress Liz's hair. "You know I love you, don't you?"
Liz was not afraid of the pain of a spanking, since she thought that even if Nanny flayed her bottom, it still would not hurt as much as this. "Yes Nanny. I love you too" Liz answered, tears leaking out of the corner of her eyes. "Please don't leave me..."
"Oh honey, this is not the end for us. I'll always love you and we will still see each other. But you will soon be at a University and you will have your own life."
"If I give you a spanking, I want you to do something for me. Tonight I'm still your Nanny and I've going to give you a good hard spanking. But tomorrow I want us to be two close girl friends and I want you to call me Lisa. And its fine to address your elders as Sir and Ma'am, but we are old friends, dear. So no more "Ma'am"'s either. Can you do that for me?"
"Yes, Nanny"
"All right then. Go to your room now and get ready for bed. I'll be up in a little while to give you a spanking."
"Yes, Ma'am". Liz piled up her papers and books for the morning and went upstairs. She washed her face and brushed her teeth. She got the bath brush from where it hung by the tub and carried to into the bedroom and put it on the night stand. Liz put the oak spanking ruler from the dresser next to the brush. From where they hung in the closet Liz got the rattan cane and the tawse, which she laid out on the bed.
Liz undressed, hanging her clothes in the closet. She slipped off the cotton panties she was wearing and put on a pair of sheer white string bikini panties. The sheer silk in the front was embroidered with flowers. Nanny had bought the panties for Liz when they were shopping for some lingerie to go with Nanny's wedding dress.
Nanny came in a few minutes later. She was wearing a dark silk robe that came down to her knees, belted at the waist. Nanny's hair was loose and Liz thought that it looked beautiful as it flowed over the dark silk of the robe.
Over the years, when Nanny came into Liz's room to give her a spanking she usually found either a repentant naughty girl or a stubborn, defiant one. That night, when Liz looked up at her from where she sat on the end of the bed, she looked radiant and beautiful.
Nanny held open her arms. "Come here, dear". Watching Liz cross the room toward her wearing only the sheer bikini panties was like watching a fuller figured version of Botticelli's Venus. Liz had a narrow waist, flowing out to full hips and like Botticelli's Venus, a slight curve to her tummy. Her breasts were round and high. Nanny held Liz in her arms, Liz's head nestling against Nanny's breast as Nanny caressed her hair. "Do you still want me to give you a spanking, dear?"
"Yes, Ma'am"
"All right dear. It's going to hurt and I'm not going to stop even if you're crying"
"I understand. I want you to spank me hard."
Nanny moved away and slipped off her robe, laying it at the head of the bed. Nanny was wearing a black lace chemise that stopped at the tops of her thighs. As Nanny bent over the bed slightly, the chemise rode up and Liz could see the curve of Nanny's bottom through the sheer black bikini panties she was wearing. Beneath the thin straps of the chemise, the silk cupped Nanny's breasts, showing the faint outlines of her aureoles and her nipples. Liz thought that Nanny was breathtakingly beautiful.
Nanny went to the night stand, got the spanking ruler and sat down on the bed. "Over my knee, dear" Nanny said patting her bare thigh. "You can leave your panties up for now"
Tears started lining Liz's cheeks and she was crying silently as she lay over Nanny's lap. Nanny caressed Liz's back. "Shh. Its all right. What's wrong, dear? You're crying already and I haven't even started spanking you yet."
"I'm sorry I'm being a crybaby. I'm going to miss having a Nanny"
"I know dear" Nanny said, sliding her hand down across the smooth silk of Liz's panties, over the top of her thigh.
"Are you ready to take your spanking?" Nanny asked as she rubbed the smooth wood of the ruler across the lower part of Liz's bottom.
"Yes, Ma'am" Liz said as she spread her thighs slightly and pushed her bottom up. Nanny brought the ruler down hard across Liz's bottom. The sheer silk of Liz's panties did not provide much protection and the ruler stung. Nanny held Liz with her left arm as she spanked her. Liz cried silently as Nanny gave her twenty strokes with the ruler across the seat of her panties.
Liz raised her hips as Nanny pulled Liz's panties down to the middle of her thighs.
The ruler stokes hurt more now on Liz's bare bottom and soon each stroke elicited an "Ouch" from the crying girl. Liz's cries were louder when Nanny spanked her thighs, spanking one size then the other. Finally when Liz's bottom and the tops of her thighs were crimson and her crying was no longer silent, Nanny stopped spanking her. She kept Liz across her lap, caressing her hair and her back as she told her that she was proud of her for taking her spanking bravely.
When Liz had stopped crying, Nanny patted her bottom. The skin was was warn under Nanny's palm. "You can get up now, dear" Liz stood up and slipped her panties off.
Nanny took two pillows from the head of the bed and placed one in the middle of the bed and one at the end, on the edge. "Come here, dear" Nanny said, as she patted the pillow at the end of the bed. Liz lay over the end of the bed, her bottom pushed up by the pillow, her legs slightly spread, angled straight out behind her. She buried her face in the second pillow. Liz found the soft warmth of the pillow comforting as she waited for the first stroke of the cane. When Nanny spanked her with the cane, Liz often wished that it would be possible by some magic to have Nanny stroking her hair as she cradled Liz's head in her lap while at the same time Nanny caned her.
Liz sharply drew in a breath as she felt the first stroke of the cane. She tried to make Nanny proud by being a brave girl and taking her punishment quietly, but by the time Nanny had given her ten strokes, she was crying again. She was sobbing, her cries of pain muffled by the pillow when Nanny had counted out twenty strokes. Nanny told Liz to put her thighs together and administered another five strokes across the tops of Liz's thighs.
Nanny sat down next to Liz. Liz pushed the pillow aside and snuggled into Nanny's thigh, feeling the soft silk of Nanny's chemise against her face. Nanny petted her hair, caressing her back, then her bottom, feeling Liz's hot skin and the welts that lined her buttocks and upper thighs. Nanny's hand felt cool and comforting. Liz pushed her hips up as Nanny's hand moved over the soft skin of her inner thigh.
Nanny bent down and kissed Liz's face, which was wet with tears. "Its time for more cane, dear" Nanny stood up and Liz buried her face in the pillow again.
The second set of cane strokes mirrored the first, twenty on the bottom and five on the thighs. As Liz took the last strokes across her thighs she was sobbing, gulping air as she cried out with each stroke.
Nanny sat down next to Liz again and caressed her back. "Catch your breath dear. Then I want you to count out ten strokes for me. You can tell me when you're ready."
Nanny's caresses were very comforting and slowly Liz stopped sobbing and her breathing slowed. "I'm ready to take my punishment" Liz said at last, her voice soft and high. In between cries, Liz counted out each of the ten cane strokes Nanny gave her, thanking Nanny for each one.
Nanny put the cane down and lay down on the bed on her side. "Come here, dear" she said, holding her arms open for Liz. Liz got up and lay next to Nanny, her head cradled between Nanny's breasts. Liz could hear Nanny's heart beat as Nanny petted her hair. She felt Nanny's nipple grow hard beneath the sheer black silk of her nightie as she nuzzled it. Nanny pulled away, still petting Liz.
"I want you to take the tawse for me, dear" Nanny said. "Can you do that for me?"
"Yes, Nanny"
"Good girl." She petted Liz. "You're my brave girl. I'm going to give you twenty strokes with the tawse. I'll give them ten at a time so you can catch your breath."
Liz knelt on the bed and piled the pillows in the middle. She lay over the pillows, her body forming a "V", her head down, hands braced against the headboard, thighs spread, bottom pushed up.
Nanny brought the tawse down hard across Liz's upraised bottom, rocking her forward slightly. The tawse hurt exquisitely over the cane welts and the loud crack of the heavy leather across Liz's bare bottom was soon joined by her cries of pain.
After giving Liz the first ten strokes, Nanny gave her a short break as she caressed Liz's thighs running the back of her hands over the soft skin, crooning to her telling her what a good girl she was. Liz was still crying when she felt the caress of the cool leather on lower curve of her buttocks and then pain as Nanny started whipping her again with the tawse.
"You can get up dear" Nanny told Liz after giving her the last set of tawse strokes. Nanny got the bath brush from the night stand and sat down on the side of the bed. She held out a tissue to the sobbing Liz who blew her nose. Liz glanced apprehensively at the bath brush in Nanny's hand before lying over Nanny's lap.
"Do you want to take a break before I paddle you, dear", Nanny asked the sobbing girl as caressing her buttocks and thighs. Liz's bottom was a deep crimson, lined with welts from the cane and tawse.
"I can take my paddling now" Liz said, between sobs, in a little girl voice.
"All right dear, it will all be over soon. I love you Elizabeth"
"I love you too, Nanny"
Nanny held the naked girl firmly with her left arm as she paddled her with her right, bringing the bath brush down hard first on one buttock and then the other. Liz always remembered those frozen moments, as Nanny paddled her hard with the bath brush and the pain drove out all other thought. While she remembered the pain of the spanking, what she remembered most was the warm, safe, loved feeling of being spanked over Nanny's knee, held firmly in Nanny's embrace.
When the spanking was over Nanny pulled back the covers and had Liz get into bed. She lay next to Liz, taking her in her arms. Liz could feel Nanny's breasts beneath the sheer silk as Nanny cradled her, stroking her hair as she cried. Nanny held Liz until she stopped crying and fell asleep.
After that night Nanny became Lisa and she gently teased Liz, calling her "Miss Harris" when ever Liz called her "Ma'am".
September, 2004