PROLOGUE

 Marek fell asleep when the taxi was driving up to Kartuzy and woke up in twilight, because the car was shaking on a bad road. Behind the dusty window were floating dark trunks of pine trees. The headlights illuminated a green-painted fence. And behind the fence, Marek did not so much see as guess the familiar silhouette of a large country house.

 "Is there the right place, pan?" the driver asked Marek, looking back to him, "the very house?"

"Yes, that's the house of Pani Felicia," answered Marek, "we're at the place."

Cicadas crackled in the garden. Marek and Pani Felicia were sitting in the living room at the table covered with a white cloth drinking tea from a samovar. A kerosene lamp burned on the table. The light from the lamp in the living room was low, and there were deep shadows in the corners of the room. There was a sideboard with faience, a wide sofa covered with a blanket, and closer to the window there was a high desk with a narrow sloping table top against the wall. The aunt was sitting next to Marek, drinking tea from a saucer. Pani Felicia was in her early thirties. She was a tall, shapely woman, full-breasted and with seductive hips. His aunt had the pretty round face. Her long dark brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail. From under her bangs, which his aunt kept brushing away with her hand, her merry brown eyes looked at Marek, reflecting the fire in them.

"How much you've grown, how handsome you've become." Pani Felicia repeated, smiling at the young man and ruffling his hair with her hand.

Marek was drinking tea, burning himself. Gracia, the maid, in a modest dark ankle-length dress and a white apron with lace trim, set them a bowl of jam and a platter of pies on the table. Gracia was tall and thin girl with thoughtful green eyes and a long brown plait.

Having finished tea, Aunt Felicia began reading a letter from Marek's older sister Xenia. For the past year the young man had lived with Pani Xenia in Torun. Marek's parents went to work on a contract to Australia for a few years. It was a high-paying, prestigious job. They didn't want to lose the chance but they couldn't take Marek with them,

 Frowning, she finished the letter and looked at Marek without a shadow of smile.

"Xenia writes that you are not a good student," said Pani Felicia. "And you didn't get a certificate this year. You couldn't pass physics, literature, and history. This is bad!… Xenia also writes that you need to be flogged every day…"

Marek blushed and stared into his cup of tea. Gracia laughed softly. Pani Felicia shook her head and put the letter aside.

"Oh, Marek, Marek! You are the smart boy but you're so lazy," his aunt said, "I'll have to find teachers for the summer to pull you up for the exams, and here's something else. If you want, you don't have to go back to Torun to my sister when the fall comes, you could live with us. It's a big house, and I'll put you up in the outhouse."

"Thank you, Aunt Felicia," Marek said.

The young man had already visited his aunt two or three years ago. Marek remembered this large dacha and the pine tree forest and the lake nearby. Here, in a dacha village, there lived a girl with whom Marek were friends and with whom he was secretly in love. Katarzhina by name.

"You're at a difficult age," his aunt sighed and looked sadly at Marek through the bangs that had fallen over her eyes. "Pani Xenia writes that you absolutely do not know how to behave… Marek, do not expect me to close my eyes to your bad deeds! For your own good, I will be strict with you. Do you understand me, Marek?"

 "Yes, Aunt Felicia," said the young man without raising his eyes.

 "Whatever happens I will always love you," continued Pani Felicia. "Don't ever forget that. And try not to be offended if I have to punish you."

"I promise, Pani Felicia."

"Very well! Now kiss your beloved aunt and go to bed."

CHAPTER ONE

Marek woke up early in the morning because of the sunlight and birds song. In his dream Marek saw Aunt Felicia's beautiful, sad face in the dim light of the living room. Her bare full arms. Then the young man dreamed of a naked Gracia. The maid had small breasts and long, thin legs. Gracia walked around the garden, smiling thoughtfully and cutting birch twigs… while Marek was sleeping, his penis rose and hardened. The young man yawned and, throwing back the blanket, slowly began to pull his penis with the hand. For the past year Marek has been doing this handwork every morning.

The door creaked and his aunt looked in for some reason. Pani Felicia's laughing brown eyes ran around the room. Marek felt hot with shame, covered himself with a blanket and turned to the window. Marek hopped her aunt would pretend not to notice and leave. But it didn't work out that way. Pani Felicia quickly crossed the room and, bending over the bed, grabbed Marek by the earlobe.

"Now, you naughty boy, come with me!"

The aunt twisted Marek's ear painfully. Pulling up his pajama pants Marek got out of bed and shuffled barefoot across the cool wooden floor after Pani Felicia. They went through the dark corridor and came into the living room. It was bright with sunlight. The smell of coffee beans was delicious. The gangly Gracia was standing with a coffee pot in her hand, and Katarzhina was sitting at the table. Thin and beautiful as a picture, with bright blue eyes and curly hair the color of ripe wheat scattered over her shoulders. The second maid, Alisha, was dusting the sideboard.

"Here, look at our guest!" his aunt said, not letting go of Marek's ear. "Tell pani Katarzhina what you were doing in bed."

The young man stood in the middle of the living room in pajama pants, red-faced with shame and looked at the floor.

"Well, then I'll tell you. My dear beloved nephew, Marek, was engaged in masturbation!"

There was a silence in the living room. They could hear a fly hitting the window glass. Marek glanced at Pani Felicia, and realized that his aunt was seriously angry with him. Her plump lips were pursed with resentment, her brows were frowned, and her eyes glowed with anger.

"Go to the desk! And you, Gracia, please bring the belt."

At first, Marek wanted to tell his aunt that he was an adult already and should not be punished. The young man wanted to shout that if Pani Felicia laid a finger on him he would immediately leave her house. Then Marek thought that there was the exact way that a boy would do on his place. The young man decided that it would be better to endure the punishment in silence, preserving his dignity. Marek forced his feet to move to the desk near the window. His aunt gave him a light push on the back of the head, and he obediently lay down on his stomach on the narrow table top.

"Good morning, Marek," Pani Katarzhina said, "I haven't seen you for ages! As soon as you're free we'll surely talk about everything."

 Marek looked at Katarzhina and saw that pannochka's eyes were laughing, and her wheat-colored hair was burning in the morning light. Katarzhina found the situation with the young man's punishment a little piquant and funny. And Marek was ashamed and wanted to fall through the ground. And even more, the young man was afraid to burst into tears.

 The maid took a wide worn belt from a nail on the wall and brought it to the aunt. Pani Felicia pulled off Marek's pajama pants and lowered them down to his knees. The young man heard Pani Katarzhina laugh softly. At this moment, Marek seemed to see himself from the outside. Now he was lying on his stomach on the desk and his pajama pants had slipped off his knees and fallen to the floor, covering his bare feet. Aunt Felicia, Pani Katarzhina, and the two maids look at his bare pale buttocks.

 The aunt lifted Marek's pajama shirt over his shoulders and took the belt from the maid. Gracia walked around the desk and took the young man's hands firmly in hers.

"Ten strokes will be enough for the first time, I think," said the aunt and she slapped on the thin boy's ass with her strong hand but not too hard.

 Marek's whole body shuddered. He was lying on his stomach on the narrow sloping table top looking out of the window. Near the verandah in the front garden there were lilac bushes and the sunlight burned on their leaves.

Pani Felicia sighed. Pursing her lips she swung the wide leather belt across the boy's bare buttocks. Marek jerked on the desk but the maid held his wrists tightly. The impact of the belt burned then the pain slowly faded.

 "One," said Pani Felicia. She took the hand with the belt back, lingered a moment and gave it a second lash.

 "Two… Don't you dare do any handwork in my house! It's disgusting!" the aunt said and lashed Marek for a third time.

His buttocks burned so that he gave a short cry and jerked again, and again Gracia held his hands.

"Three!… Four!… Five!"

After counting out five strokes, the aunt took Marek by the chin and looked into his face.

 "And remember something well," said Pani Felicia, looking into the young man's eyes, "Every morning I will come to the outhouse and if you behave like a pig again… another time you will get whipped with rods! You must get rid of this bad habit once and for ever."

"Yes, Aunt Felicia."

 Pani Felicia nodded to Marek and caressed his cheek with her hand…

Either the aunt began to lash more painfully or the young man's buttocks became more sensitive from the blows of the belt, but Marek got unable to endure the punishment in silence. The young man twisted on the desk and could not contain his screams. Alisha, the maid, stood with a duster by the sideboard and watched the punishment without taking her eyes off. Alisha was a short hard-boned girl. She had a broad expressionless face small bright lips and narrow black eyes.

 "Six!… Seven!… Eight!… Nine!… Ten!" counted Pani Felicia.

 Gracia let go of Marek's hands. The young man bent down and pulled on his pajama pants. His buttocks, whipped by the belt, were on fire.

"Still corporal punishment is something like the dark ages in our enlightened age," said Katarzhina pushing aside her cup of half – finished coffee, "it looks so… so vulgar, if you like!"

 "You may be right, my dear," Pani Felicia sighed, "but what are you going to do with these unbearable young men?"

 The aunt gave the maid the belt.

"Marek, change for breakfast and we are waiting for you. And thank me for the spanking."

And Pani Felicia held out her hand for the young man to kiss. Marek looked at his aunt's face. Pani Felicia gave him a sad smile and straightened her unruly bangs that had fallen over her eyes.

"Thank you for the spanking, Pani Felicia," muttered Marek, and kissed his aunt's hand.