Regenesis

Joanna - Conduct Book

Miss Beckwith took her time leafing through the book, stopping to read the remarks before flicking the page over, exaggerating every move as if to show how much she had to wade through. Finally she came to the last page and laid the book open on the table. She took an old-fashioned fountain pen from her desk and began to write in her beautiful cursive script, the royal blue ink swirling across the page. She appeared to write a few short lines, not stopping to marshal her thoughts, the text seemingly already prepared. Finally she screwed the lid back on and laid her pen down on the desk.

"What do you think I have written, Joanna?"

"I.....I don't know Ma'am."

"Have a think, girl."

"Maybe......maybe I have been impolite to visitors to the office, Ma'am."

"Well.......have you?"

"I.....I think I may have been, Ma'am."

"I see.....and what else?"

"Was it my appearance, Ma'am?"

Miss Beckwith arched an eyebrow in response.

"Perhaps too much makeup, Ma'am?"

"Do you reapply it before you come to the office in the morning, Joanna?"

"N....No Ma'am."

"Then your governess would have inspected you before you left the house."

There followed a silence, awkward for only one of them. The clock ticked ominously behind Joanna, unseen.

"Well?" the spell was finally broken.

"Has my work been below standard, Ma'am?"

"Look at me, Joanna."

Joanna hated having to do this. She couldn't disobey, and she knew that when their eyes locked, she would be under Miss Beckwith's spell, and unable to lie, even a bit.

"Do you think it has, Joanna?"

Joanna lifted her head and looked into Miss Beckwith's eyes and nodded slowly.

"We don't nod. We answer courteously."

"Yes, Ma'am. It has."

"I am not going to ask specifically where your work has been under par. You will return tomorrow morning at 8 am and review every piece of work you have done this week. You will proof-read it, checking for spelling, punctuation and grammar. You will make sure everything is aligned according to company policy, before sending me an email listing which documents you have checked and confirming that they are error-free. Is that clear?"

The next day was Saturday and Joanna had been hoping to meet her best friend for a walk and a well-deserved catch up. Instead she would have to get up as if it were a normal workday, dress formally as if for a normal workday and work for as long as it took to go over all those files. She also knew that, although the office would be empty, she would be monitored via the CCTV which covered the reception area from many angles.

"Yes, Ma'am." She almost whispered, catching herself to stop any sighs of self pity entering her voice.

"Now, bring that footstool over into the middle of the room, if you please." She pointed imperiously behind Joanna, to where a squat but wide and cushioned footstool lay against the wall. It resembled a church kneeler in its appearance, with a hand-made cross-stitch motif emblazoned on it, but mounted on short Queen Anne legs. As she bent to lift it, she was conscious of both her posture and her modesty, making sure that none of her mandated underwear should show, especially as her back was facing Miss Beckwith. Keeping her back straight and bending at her knees, she lifted the surprisingly light stool and turned to approach Miss Beckwith. She looked down at the padded tapestry decorating the top of the stool. The background was a light blue with an ornate coat of arms emblazoned on it, remarkably unlike anything she had seen before and strikingly feminine in appearance. Under the coat of arms was a legend in what Joanna presumed was Latin "oboedientia demorata inoboedientia est". She didn't need much prompting to know how it would translate to English, as she had had the mantra drilled into her in Nursery, like so many before and since.