Guiding Alice
Alice Lidell
2010 by Blushing Books and Alice Lidell
Smashwords Edition
Copyright 2010 by Blushing Books and Alice Lidell
All rights reserved. No part of the book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Alice Lidell
Guiding Alice
eBook ISBN: 978-1-60968-046-6
Cover Design: ABCD Graphics
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Chapter One
Eighteen-year-old Alice nervously fingered the envelope in her skirt pocket. She should have handed it over on Friday afternoon when she came home from school, and now it was already Sunday afternoon. She told herself she had left it for so long because she had not wanted to ruin the weekend her uncle had so kindly planned for her. But she was due back at school tomorrow morning. She really could not wait any longer.
Alice squirmed nervously, but left the envelope in her pocket. She finished up her cake and sipped the last of her sweet milky tea. They’d had a lovely day together, starting out in the morning by visiting two of Uncle Chris’s favorite museums. After lunch, they’d taken a long walk in the autumn sunshine as he introduced her to London’s many and varied neighborhoods. When they’d walked up a happy fatigue, Uncle Chris had brought her for high tea to the hotel where he kept his office.
The tearoom, tucked away in a quiet corner off the main lobby, was so beautiful it took Alice’s breath away. She felt just like a princess when her handsome guardian ushered her to a table set with a tablecloth and dainty china tea service. Uncle Chris held her chair, and Alice settled into the soft upholstery with a dreamy sigh. She watched Uncle Chris seat himself across from her, then looked around in wonder at the other guests in the room. Everyone seemed so elegant and dressed up! Her eyes had gone round with happiness when a waiter glided up with a pot of steaming tea and a tier of pretty little cakes and buns.
After placing her empty teacup carefully down on the saucer, Alice slipped her hand into her pocket and touched the envelope yet again.
“More tea, Alice?” her guardian asked. He looked up, catching the troubled look on her face. He set the teapot down, and spoke carefully to his niece. “I see something is worrying you, Alice. You had better tell me about it.”
Alice sighed. They’d had such a nice day. She didn’t want the letter to spoil everything. She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. Alice Sorensen was used to getting her way with older people. True, she’d only been living with Uncle Chris for two months, so she wasn’t entirely sure how he’d react. But she felt confident she could work things out so he wouldn’t be angry with her. And so she could go back to school tomorrow.
She took the crumpled envelope out of her pocket and slid it across the table to Uncle Chris. Raising an eyebrow, he reached for the envelope. Alice launched into the speech she had rehearsed.
“I had a little trouble at school on Friday, but it was all a big misunderstanding,” she began, until Uncle Chris cut her off with a firm, “Be still!” She watched as her guardian read the letter, and felt an uncomfortable flutter in her stomach as his expression darkened.
“Really, I can explain everything,” she tried again, but he shot her such a glare that she fell silent. This wasn’t going at all as she had expected.
Uncle Chris pushed the letter back across the table to his niece. “Read it aloud,” he commanded. Alice knew what the letter said. The envelope hadn’t been sealed and she had read the letter many, many times since Friday when Mrs. Farnsworth handed it to her. She didn’t want to read it again. She certainly didn’t want to read it aloud. But she picked it up and began to read in a quiet voice.
“Speak up, young lady!” Uncle Chris snapped. “I can barely hear you.” Alice looked around nervously. She didn’t want the other patrons to hear the contents of the letter, but she started again, in an only slightly louder voice:
"Dear Mr. Hardacre:
I am writing to inform you that your ward, Alice Sorensen, was chastised in school today.
Despite several warnings, Alice chatted during lessons. I am bound by school regulations to punish such behavior, and punish her I did. Alice was brought to the front of the class where she received ten strokes of the strap.
As you know from the parent/guardian agreement you signed when you enrolled Alice in Farnsworth Academy, chastisement at school must be followed by further correction at home. It has been our experience that such correction is most effective when administered by a male authority figure and when the young lady is properly bared for her punishment. We strongly recommend that the home punishment be at least as severe as that administered at school to reinforce the message that disobedient and inappropriate behavior will no more be tolerated at home than at school.
Before Alice may return to class, the school must be assured that she has been thoroughly chastised at home. Such proof may be submitted in the form of a letter in her own hand describing the punishment she received, with your signature confirming that the punishment was accurately described and administered in full.
I trust we will have your full cooperation in ensuring Alice's improved regard for school regulations upon her return.
Sincerely,
(Mrs.) Hilda Farnsworth”
Alice put the letter down on the table, much relieved to have that unpleasant business over. Little did she realize her ordeal was just beginning.
“Well, Alice. What do you have to say for yourself?” her guardian demanded, fixing her with his most disapproving stare.
Farnsworth Academy was one of the most renowned finishing schools in the country, and Mr. Hardacre had gone to considerable lengths, and no little expense, to enroll Alice as a student. He was not pleased that she had gotten herself in trouble so quickly, but frankly he was not surprised.
Alice tried again to explain the letter away.
“Uncle Chris, it was all a big misunderstanding. I wasn’t chatting like Mrs. Farnsworth said in the letter. I was merely asking one of my classmates about the homework assignment when...”
“Alice!! I absolutely do not want to hear your pathetic attempts at excuses!”
Mr. Hardacre’s angry voice caused a number of patrons to look up from their tea. He dropped his voice again and continued. “Mrs. Farnsworth would not punish you without cause. Her letter clearly states that you were given several warnings.”
Alice glanced around nervously, hoping that everyone around them had gone back to their own conversations. She blushed furiously to see that two matrons at the next table were following Uncle Chris’ scolding with great interest.
“Well, young madam,” Mr. Hardacre continued, “it appears that you will not be allowed to return to school without further chastisement from me. That being the case, I think it is best if we retire to my office where I will take care of the matter immediately.”
Alice looked at her guardian with alarm. Surely, he wasn’t going to…
“And let me assure you, Miss Sorensen, that after you have finished this afternoon’s detention your bottom is going to be considerably redder than your face. Now stand up, with your hands by your side, and wait for me to pay the bill!”
Alice had a great deal she wished to say on the subject of further punishment, but she decided to wait until they could discuss it in a more private place. So she stood as instructed and waited self-consciously whilst her guardian called over the waiter and settled the payment. She felt more than a little foolish standing at attention whilst he remained comfortably seated. A number of the other patrons glanced at her briefly, appearing mildly puzzled. But the hateful old ladies at the next table were barely concealing grins, and Alice stuck her tongue out at them. Fortunately for her, Uncle Chris missed that exchange.
Finally Mr. Hardacre rose and, having instructed his charge to follow him, strode purposefully towards the hotel lift lobby. Alice hurried after him, almost running to keep pace with his long stride.
As he moved across the lobby, Christopher Hardacre thought about how it happened that a 38 year-old bachelor found himself with the responsibility for raising and disciplining a child.
Alice is the only child of his half-sister Sophia. "Fee," as his sister calls herself these days, is two years his elder. Nevertheless, he spent all his childhood looking out for her because she was so flighty and irresponsible. Christopher’s father hadn’t any interest in guiding or disciplining the pretty little girl his wife brought to their marriage, the offspring of another man, and young Sophia was allowed to run free.
His half-sister had moved to Los Angeles years ago, taking like a fish to water in its culture of vanity and self-absorption. Just as she had used her beauty in childhood to control her stepfather, she used her beauty in adulthood to manipulate the many men who fell for her. Trading solely on her good looks, she had never worked or developed any skills. Neither had she been pushed to develop positive personality traits. A woman like Sophia had no business having a child. She had no desire to have a child, but Sophia didn't tell Christopher about the pregnancy until it was too late for him to swoop in and save her from yet another disaster. Besides, she had informed him, she was a Buddhist now and life is precious. She would not even consider such a thing.
Late this summer, his half-sister had telephoned. She woke him, as usual, because she has no regard for time differences or other people's schedules. Half asleep, he listened to her excited babble. She was desperate to sail around the world with her latest boyfriend, and could he please, puh-LEASE, take Alice for six months?
Sophia had fobbed her daughter off on him once before, when Alice was only five, saying it would be for two weeks. He knew better and had engaged a nanny who cared for the poor little left-behind girl for nearly four months until Sophia remembered she was a mother. Probably because whatever man she had been with had moved on. Young as she was, Alice had seemed reluctant to leave the calm, orderly nursery he had provided and he worried about her for months after she returned to her mother.
Christopher Hardacre felt very sorry for any child of Sophia. He called his niece a few times a year, and sent presents for her birthday and Christmas, but he felt there wasn't much more he could do at such a distance. He hadn’t seen her since when she was ten, when he visited them during a business trip to the United States.
Perhaps it would be a good thing if Alice came to live in a stable environment again, he thought. The child could use a positive influence in her life. He was able. Then, he should be willing.
"All right, Sophia. I'll take her. But it's unfair to break up her school year. If she is coming, give her to me long enough that she can do a full year in a British school. It will be less disruptive for the child." Sophia had agreed at once, as he knew she would.
It had been a shock when Alice stepped off the plane. She had grown up into a well-developed young lady, and seemed far older than her actual age. She looked like a common tart, wearing the briefest of cut-off shorts and a cropped T-shirt that showed all of her midriff. Hardly what he considered appropriate attire for air travel. Hardly appropriate for anything, except streetwalking, perhaps. Her pretty little face was painted up with make up, some of which came off on his shirt when she threw herself into his arms.
"Hi, Uncle Chris!" she called out in a painfully loud voice, drawing disapproving stares from the proper English matrons around them. But she did seem genuinely happy to see him. He returned her embrace with some embarrassment, then hurried her through the airport and out to the car park.
On the drive home, she chatted happily, full of curiosity about England and everything she saw from the car window. When she paused, her uncle asked her politely to remove her nose ring and was relieved to see that she wasn't actually pierced. He shuddered all the same. She confirmed that such accessories were very common among girls her age in Los Angeles.
Rather than take his niece straight to his house in Surrey, Mr. Hardacre drove first to a clothing shop run by his sometime lady friend, Diana. He introduced Alice and spoke quietly to Diana about getting Alice more appropriate clothing. Alice milled about the shop good-naturedly until she was shown what her uncle considered suitable clothing.
"No way, Uncle Chris! I absolutely will NOT wear that stuff. It's babyish."
He insisted. She refused again, quite rudely.
Mr. Hardacre felt his temper rise, but Diana quickly intervened, lovely woman. In a soothing voice, she explained to Alice that English girls lead less exciting lives than young ladies in Los Angeles, and would have trouble relating to Alice's “mature” look. Alice would fit in better, and have an easier time making friends at school, if she conformed to the local styles. Alice, who was obviously a smart girl with an understanding of adolescent female social groups, dropped her defiant stance immediately. She quizzed Diana about the tastes of the local students, demonstrating an almost intellectual grasp of tribal rituals and dress.
While Mr. Hardacre continued to steam about his niece's casual insolence, Diana steered Alice to the fitting room and a new wardrobe was assembled. "Underthings, too," he had hissed to Diana when she brought him a cup of tea to soothe his temper. He did not care to imagine what Alice had on under her tart outfit. If anything at all.
He waited. He was surprised at how infuriated he felt that Alice had responded to Diana's logic rather than his own authority, but calmed down as he realized that the child had never had anyone in her life that cared enough to set some limits. That would change, he promised himself.
Christopher Hardacre quite enjoyed getting to know his niece in their first weeks together. She was a bright and good-natured child, and seemed surprised and pleased that he spent time with her. They ate breakfast together every morning and he tried to finish his work early enough that they could take their evening meal together as well. She was interested in everything he had to say, and he enjoyed her lively young mind.
But her manners were atrocious. It was a strain to watch her eat and she interrupted him constantly. He didn't have enough hours in the day to make up for a lifetime of neglect, which is why he decided to pull every string within reach to get her into Farnsworth's Academy. The strict atmosphere would be no small adjustment for Alice, but it was clear to Mr. Hardacre that any child who had grown up with his half-sister must be supremely adaptable. She'll get used it, he told himself. Or Mrs. Farnsworth will see to it that she does.
He had been quietly instructing Alice over the past few weeks, trying to improve her manners, but he had hesitated to be too tough on her. Nevertheless, he had already come to the conclusion that it would be necessary to set down some rules and the consequences for breaking them. Then he would have to hold her to them.
Thus he welcomed the letter from Mrs. Farnsworth, as distressing as it was to receive, because that letter was going to be the turning point in their relationship. Alice was finally going to be forced to accept that theirs was an unequal relationship. They were not friends, as she seemed to assume. He was the adult, and her guardian. She was the child. He determined, as he strode across the hotel lobby, that she was going to fully understand and accept this by the end of the afternoon.
He could tell by her face in the tearoom that she didn't believe, not really, that he would punish her. She had almost sneered when she read the part in Mrs. Farnsworth's letter about naughty bottoms needing to be bared for chastisement. He could tell she thought him far too proper and “uptight” to bare any young lady's bottom, let alone his darling niece's.
Young Miss Alice, he thought with some satisfaction, was in for a rude awakening. He found he almost looked forward to what was to come.
The lift rose smoothly to the Executive Floor where Christopher Hardacre had for many years rented an office. He often worked from home these days but he needed a place in London to meet his clients. The formal environment of the office would serve as an excellent venue for discipline, he thought to himself.
As the lift doors opened, Mr. Hardacre reached over and took a painful grip on Alice’s right ear and marched her quickly down the corridor towards a large door situated at the very far end.
“Ow! Don’t!” the startled young lady squealed, stumbling along beside him and glancing desperately around to check that nobody was observing her embarrassing parade. Fortunately, the corridors were deserted on a Sunday afternoon.
“I have had just about as much as I can take of your impertinent and ill-mannered behaviour, young lady,” he lectured as they proceeded towards his office. “Mrs. Farnsworth’s letter is the last straw! I can see that I have been far too lenient on you these past two months.
“That is going to end here and now, young miss. When we get to my office you are going to get the spanking of your life. You are not going to sit down for a week by
the time I have finished with you!”
“Ouch! Please, Uncle Chris, I said I was sorry! Stop it! Ow, you are hurting me!” Alice continued to protest.
Reaching the office, her uncle opened it and propelled the whining young lady inside, closing and locking the door behind them. They passed through a small anteroom, usually occupied by a secretary, and on into a grand oak-paneled office. Leather bound books were neatly arranged on the shelves and, in one corner there was a small wooden coffee table surrounded by a number of comfortable sofa chairs. Pride of place in the room went to a large writing desk, which sat squarely at the end of the room and dominated the entire space. Behind the desk was a huge leather director’s chair, whilst in front was a more modest visitor’s seat.
Mr. Hardacre settled into his chair, directing Alice to move the smaller chair to one side so she could stand in front of the desk.
“Hands at your sides! Feet together! Stand up straight!” he barked.
Overwhelmed by the unfamiliar firmness in his voice, Alice jumped to attention. She was only beginning to realize that their relationship had taken a turn, and she was quite sure she didn’t like her new position.
Mr. Hardacre observed his charge closely. Alice was handsome, and showed signs of becoming even more stunning than Sophia. Well, a woman needs a great deal more than good looks, he thought to himself, renewing his determination to teach her some manners and morals so she’d amount to something in life.