Rose awoke the next morning to find Mama standing over her. She was not sure if she had dreamt her encounter with Papa. As she went to climb out of bed, her posterior ached, the nerve endings sore enough to make her realise it had really happened. He had come into her room, he had put two fingers in her backside, he had brought her to the most powerful climax imaginable. What was it he said when he left? It was something important, something she wanted to remember but couldn’t.

“Good morning, little Rose,” Mama said. “Up you get and come with me.”

“Where am I going?”

“To the bathroom. It is time for your bath.”

Rose sat in the tub a few minutes later, steaming hot water surrounding her as Mama washed her hair for her. “May I ask you something, Mama?” Rose asked.

“Of course, what is it? Is something troubling you?”

“I suppose so. I wondered what you think of Papa.”

“In what way?”

“Well, have you known him long?”

“Around twenty years.”

“How old is he?”

“You’d have to ask him that. I don’t like to say. Arms up.” She began scrubbing Rose’s chest with a damp cloth.

“Is he a nice man, do you suppose?”

“He’s the nicest man I’ve ever known.”

“But then why is he so cruel to me?”

Mama stopped scrubbing, looking directly into Rose’s eyes for the first time. “He is not cruel to you. He is trying to teach you to grow up, to act like the adult you are.”

“I don’t think he wants me to become a grown up, not really.”

“What on earth makes you think that?”

Rose sighed before answering. “It is the way he is around me; the things he says. Can I be honest with you?”

“Of course you can. That’s what I’m here for.”

“I don’t want him to go. At the end of the week, I mean.”

“I know.”

“You know? How can you know? I’ve only just realised it myself.”

“When you’ve been a nanny for this long, you get an eye for these sorts of things. I’ve seen him with lots of students over the years, you’re not the first to fall for him.”

“I’m not?”

“No. Stand up.”

Rose lifted herself to her feet, water dripping from her back into the bath as Mama began to scrub her stomach, working slowly down her body. “You don’t think he loves me then?”

“That, I don’t know. What I do know is that he is behaving rather strangely with you. He’s never needed the chair before, nor has he ever spanked any of his students in front of her friends. In fact, he goes out of his way to keep his teaching methods a secret, kept putting off buying the chair, said the right student wasn’t there for it yet. I think he’s turning soft for you. It’s all hush hush normally.”

“It is?”

“It is. I’ve helped him turn a lot of brats into respectable grown ups and I’ve never seen him like this before. If you want to know my opinion, I honestly think he’s falling for you.”

“Oh, really? You think so?” Rose’s heart soared at the thought of it. “But why does he beat me so hard?”

“He is testing you, seeing what kind of person you really are, who you really want to be. Who do you want to be, Rose?”

“Me, I want to be me.”

“Yes, but do you want to be little or big? Do you want to have responsibility over your life, have demands made of you, have to make the tough decisions we all have to make? Or would you rather let someone else make those decisions for you? Relax and play all day and do as you are told?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Well while you’re thinking, let’s get you dry.”

Rose stepped out of the bath and Mama wrapped a towel around her, another keeping her hair in place as they walked back to Rose’s room. “Your bottle is ready for you,” Mama said as she closed the door behind her. “Let’s get a fresh nappy on you, then you can have breakfast.”

Rose lay on her back on the towel, her naked, wet body cold in the cool morning air, the fire having gone out during the night. She looked up at Mama as the nappy was tied in place, thinking how odd all this was. “How little does he want me to be?” she asked.

“What do you mean?”

“If I were to marry him, would he want to keep me in nappies and dummies? Or would I be allowed to wear my knickers again? Eat at the table with him?”

“That’s not his decision to make.”

“It’s not?”

“No, it’s not. It’s yours. You have to decide if you want to be his little and how little you might want to be. I get the feeling he would be happy with whatever you decide.”

Rose smiled as she was helped to her feet. Her hair was still drying by the time she clambered onto Mama’s lap for her morning bottle. She sucked the teat almost absently, daydreaming about marrying Titus. She pictured herself skipping down the aisle whilst he waited at the front in a dark suit, all the cream of society watching her marry Titus Burlingham. It was a pleasant fancy and it occupied her so deeply, she hardly realising she was wetting her nappy as she drank. How quickly, she was sliding into the role of a little.

“Oh, little Rose,” Mama exclaimed when she noticed. “I’ve only just put that on you.”

“Sorry, Mama.”

“You should have said you needed to go.”

“I didn’t realise.”

“Well, I’ve a way of ensuring you remember next time.”

Before Rose had time to react, she was twisted onto her front, the nappy yanked down to her thighs. A moment later, Mama began spanking her, the echoing sound of skin slapping against skin echoed round the room. Rose was surprised by the feeling, Mama was nowhere near as strong as Papa, her blows more stinging than anything else.

“You think you’ll remember next time to tell me when you need to go?”

“Yes, Mama.” Rose let out a scream as suddenly the blows grew firmer, the hand landing on her again and again, heavier each time until she begged for mercy. “Oh, please stop, I can take no more.”

“There, there,” Mama said, stroking her behind softly. “It’s all over now.”

Rose choked back tears as she turned and looked up at Mama. “All done?”

“All over. Now up you get, let’s get you dressed and then Papa wants to see you.”