I couldn’t imagine what she felt like. It must have been a horror. But for all my compassion and angry opposition to this punishment, I was nonetheless mesmerized, even fascinated by the whole ordeal.
Once Hannah’s bottom was bared, John wasted no time in proceeding with his task. Removing his suit coat, he draped it over the back of a nearby chair, then rolled up the sleeves of his white dress shirt until they were at his elbows on both arms. Taking the paddle from where he’d left it, he gripped the implement with a firm hand, and moved just to the woman’s side, so both Peter and I were in full view of the act. Then he raised his arm back and brought the paddle down with a blow I thought would surely send the girl into hysterics the way the sharp sound of it reverberated about Peter’s of
