<em>In that case, Lucy, I find myself willing to undertake your tutelage, so long as a few conditions are clear between us.</em><br/><br/>Her tutelage?  Whatever did it mean?  Lucy hadn't a clue, of course, but clearly he thought he was teacher to her student.  And in a way, she supposed he was.  She was here to learn his darkest secrets, and he himself would show her.  She could not have planned this better!<br/><br/>His voice was smooth as he rattled off conditions, and she listened impatiently.  Yes, yes.  Of course she was here on her own volition.  She'd come here freely; it wasn't as if he'd hogtied her and dragged her here.  And surrender control?  He was a man, and she was his fiancee's maid.  Of course he was the one in control here.  At least, that's what he would think.  Free to go? Not until she had answers for Katie.<br/><br/>It was the fourth condition, the final one, that gave her pause.<em>And the fourth is that what happens here stays between us.  </em>It was obvious to her that she would not comply with it.  After all, she was a woman on a mission, and it consisted of gathering information for her friend.  But... why the emphasis on secrecy?  What exactly was it Lord Covington was involved in?  His voice sounded rather vehement about the whole matter, at least when he got to that stipulation, and it gave her a moment of pause.<br/><br/>But even that was nothing compared to what he said next.  Lucy's eyes widened when he took the leather contraption from her.  "That you came here in stealth, without my permission, is not acceptable behavior, nor certainly is rummaging through my belongings not open to public view.  Indeed it is a crime … for which there must be punishment ..."<br/><br/>Her heart sank.  After all of that, he was going to turn her over to the authorities?  "But," she whispered as he sat down, her mind scrambling for a way to get out of this one.<em>Think, Lucy!</em>He wanted her to come back, so he could not mean for her to be hanged for thievery.  And he had said she could return to Katie.  Had he changed his mind?<br/><br/>"So if you will kindly array yourself across my knees, I shall offer you timely and appropriate justice, to which you will submit willingly as a token of your sincere penance."<br/><br/>She sucked in a breath.  He wished to take her across his knee?  She knew where that led; after all, she'd been involved with her fair share of mischief-making as a girl and had certainly not gone without punishment.  But the last time she had received a spanking, she had been eight!  "I shall<em>not,</em>" she retorted, her voice much more haughty than it had any right to be as a maid, and especially as a maid caught snooping in private chambers.  But his expression was impatient, and she bit down on her lip as she considered her options.<br/><br/>He'd not accept "no" as an answer, she could tell.  And if she left, he'd likely call in the magistrate to take her in.  Lucy's punishment would be far worse than Covington's hand on her arse, and poor Katie would be humiliated.  She did not have a choice.  She would have to allow this punishment, and then he would let her go.  She would be able to report back to her friend, and she would be able to return to find out his secrets.<br/><br/>"Okay, fine," she said before he could say anything further, and she stepped up to him, awkwardly laying her body across his lap, her cheeks aflame.  She could not<em>believe</em>the pickle she'd gotten herself into this time.