Mister Ray surveyed the expression on Miss McMillan’s face. She took a calming breath and fiddled with her necklace for a moment. Then she spoke, “You may assist me in telling me why my sister’s hands have been caned.”<br/><br/>Ray blinked, rolled his shoulders back slightly, and explained, “Caning is a punishment for when a child fails to behave as asked, Miss McMillan. It is a supplement to teaching, and as Miss Emily displayed behavior unwanted in a young lady, it was my duty to cane her.” Ray kept any defensive tone out of his speech. He had an inkling this answer would not satisfy the young woman before him. As expected, the girl continued on, her voice betraying that she was upset.<br/><br/>“She is but a child. Yes, I do know children need discipline, but this is barbaric. Cruel. Why would one teach children when he obviously does not like them? A simple verbal correction would suffice. A few hours writing lines, something other than hurting her.” She took another deep breath, and Ray suspected she might be holding back tears. He shifted his stance slightly, mulling over what she had said, and seriously hoping she would not cry. Anger had flickered for a mere second over his expression when she concluded that he disliked children because he caned them. He grinded his teeth together, then released an almost imperceptible sigh, ridding himself of the spark of irritation. It was an illogical leap, a false assumption that he disliked children – in fact, he was quite fond of them --, but he could concede that caning may not be the<span style="font-style: italic">most</span>effective method of teaching. But it<span style="font-style: italic">was</span>one that children weren’t likely to forget quickly. Before he could utter a response, she was speaking again.<br/><br/>”I am sorry, sir. I did not mean to teach you how to do your work. I simply want to let you know that I am<span style="font-style: italic">very</span>upset at the thought of my sister’s tiny hands being caned. And that I think you are a very bad man. Good day, sir.”<br/><br/>Instead of being outraged, instead of wanting to punish her, Mister Ray was reminded that she was but a child protecting her younger sibling. Though the former two reactions were certainly lurking in his mind, the latter was dominant. He was a child not long ago – he might have said the same thing if his own sister had been caned. Before she could depart, he made the decision to not dismiss her simply because she was a girl, simply because she was a child. Instead, he spoke to her from an empathetic perspective.<br/><br/>”Miss McMillan. Shall I offer you a compromise? When Miss Emily next misbehaves, I shall assign her lines and nothing worse.” His sensitive blue eyes blinked purposefully at her, and he said, “And you will respect me, Miss McMillan, and I will respect you both.” He hoped she would understand – he did not want to be the very bad man who caned children because he did not like them, and he did not want his teaching to be critiqued. The insecure slice of him thought,<span style="font-style: italic">Especially not in front of Lord McMillan.</span>He knew very well how children could contort words. He did not want to become an abuser instead of the tutor who followed orders. And in return he would show her that he could<span style="font-style: italic">listen</span>to her and respect her views, at least to an extent.