Lysa spun on her toes and hurried away, astounded by their harsh words and unsympathetic tone. Tidying away her tools, she left the plant house, not looking back. Behind her, the laughter fizzled out.
Walking down the tunnel, she came to the mysterious doorway with the PB lettering. She glanced up and down the corridor and pushed the door open.
A square room with grey walls and black flooring. Ominous, slightly chilly and lacking any adornments. Around three walls were rows of benches, creating an auditorium. In the middle of the room lay a foreboding piece of furniture. She’d never seen anything like it. She tiptoed towards it, peering over her shoulder, checking she was alone.
Jen had used the term spread-eagled. Now Lysa could see what she meant. A bench with four arms—two in a T-shape and the other two in a V-shape. She could picture a prone person laying on the peculiar table, arms outstretched to her sides, legs spread wide. She reached out to touch one of the numerous straps. She flinched, dropping it. The rigid material scared her.
Tears welled in her eyes. It was true then. All the rumours back on Earth, neither denied nor confirmed by the authorities—corporal punishment existed on the Outer Rim worlds. She’d assumed the rumours to be false. Yet here she stood in the so-called Punishment Block faced with a spanking bench, a cruel device for holding a woman in place while she was beaten.
A wave of nausea hit her belly and she charged out of the room, running down the corridor, desperate to reach the sanctuary of her pod.
She flung open the door and came face to face with a half-undressed Blake. He’d removed his arms from the work suit, leaving the pants in place. The grime on his face couldn’t hide his surprised expression.
“Lysa?”
She charged up to him, bared her fists and thumped them on his burly chest. “You never told me about the corporal punishment.”
Blake grabbed her wrists, easily holding her hands at bay. She winced, struggling to free herself.
“Calm down, Lysa. What are you shouting about?”
She stared up into his bemused face. “That room.?
?
“You went into the Punishment Block? I told you not to.”
“I can see why. It’s barbaric.”
He lowered her arms, twisting them behind her back. “Lysa, you knew about the spanking, so what did you think happened when you break a Corporation rule? Huh?”
Her mouth opened and shut in disbelief. Spanking!
“It’s in the contract. Order in the colonies is maintained by corporal punishment. It ensures wives don’t make trouble. It’s a privilege to be out here, but the company can’t have women running amok, invoking dissent. You know this, so why are you upset?”
“Spanking,” she repeated. “You don’t condone this?”
He chuckled. “Good grief, Lysa. I support it whole-heartedly. So do you. You signed the contract.” His eyebrows furrowed. “You didn’t read it, did you?”
He freed her arms and she rubbed her wrists. Bowing her head, she stared at the dirt on her shoes. What an idiot! “No,” she muttered.
“You foolish girl. Didn’t you read it back on Earth, before being accepted into the catalogue?”
“I circumvented the usual channels, didn’t I?” She didn’t dare to look at him. “I missed out on several selection stages. By then, everyone assumed I’d read it and agreed to abide by the contents. I couldn’t ask to see a copy, it would expose my deception.”
Blake clenched and unclenched his hands. “When we were in the adjudicator’s office?” he growled.
She chewed on her lip. “It didn’t cross my mind there would anything like that in it. I thought it was all rumours. Gossip put about to put off women going.”
“It doesn’t seem to put off anyone I’ve met. If you had known, would you be here, married to me?”
She pictured herself lying on the spanking bench, tied down and humiliated. “No, absolutely not. I’d find some other way. It would have taken longer, but I would have made it here, somehow,” she blustered.
“Well, it’s too late. You signed it and gave your consent. Look at me, Lysa.” Raising her chin with his finger, he tilting her head up. He folded his arms across his naked chest and stood with his legs apart.
“I’m going to make this very clear to you, Lysa. It is all there, in the contract, which you signed. You should have read it before consenting, but you didn’t. You can back out, divorce me, but you’ll be sent back. I’m sorry, but that’s the way this is. You understand?”
“Yes,” she whispered. She was stuck on the colony and there was no going back. Her pride wouldn’t let her, she’d come this far. If she stayed out of the trouble, she need never end up in that terrible room.