Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 57623 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 288(@200wpm)___ 230(@250wpm)___ 192(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57623 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 288(@200wpm)___ 230(@250wpm)___ 192(@300wpm)
Once or twice she glances up the table and sees Jane in what appears to be deep and fascinating conversation with her new colleagues. Nice for some, she muses inwardly. The girls around her are talking about an upcoming dinner party which the students will be hosting for the faculty as a sort of test. They seem to be quite excited about it, and that is because they are the most boring set of humans Storm has ever encountered.
Jane’s day is a busy one. She does not give any spankings, but she does meet several students who have been identified as slacking in one way or another and provides improving lectures. They are almost universally received with grace and even appreciation, which is a nice change of pace.
The day is so busy some of the activities the Headmistress had planned go by the wayside out of necessity, but Jane is not worried. All will be accomplished in due course.
By the time late afternoon comes, Jane is ready for a much needed break. She decides to stretch her legs and take Kravik for a walk. It is quite nice having a dog around the house, even if it is a stolen hound.
She retires to her little chateau, changes into attire more suitable for walking, and goes to gather Kravik from the backyard. But Kravik is not snoozing in the sun where she left him. He is not there at all.
Worried the dog has escaped, Jane immediately goes out to look for him, scouring the nearby countryside and calling his name. There is no response. She is imagining how she is going to tell Storm’s erstwhile host family that she lost their dog, when she hears a hail from nearby.
A hefty blond Swiss man and a tall, equally blonde Swiss woman are striding across the mountainside toward her with purposeful gaits. They are wearing black clothing and both have military bearing and the hardened expressions of people who are not to be crossed. Quite like disciplinarians in some ways. Jane finds herself warming to them for what turns out to be a very brief period.
Upon reaching Jane, the man speaks to her in a Swiss-German accent while the woman regards Jane with an unnecessarily withering glare. He looks to be in his mid-forties and carries himself with a sort of grizzled self-importance. His female companion is perhaps in her early thirties, but equally dour. Jane starts to feel guilty, though she has no idea why.
“Do you have a pass to be out of grounds?” He makes the demand in a papers please kind of way.
Jane has no idea what is happening for a brief second before she realizes that these must be the security people the headmistress was going to introduce to her.
“I’m the new disciplinarian,” Jane explains. “Jane Strict. Nice to meet you.”
The two guards exchange looks. “We are looking for a student from New Zealand. You have a New Zealand accent.”
“I’m Australian, actually,” Jane says cheerfully.
Unfortunately for Jane, nobody in Europe can tell the difference, and it is clear neither of these two Swiss people believe her.
“The headmistress has asked us to locate the new New Zealand student. You will come with us, please.”
Jane does not have any ID on her, on account of the fact that nobody who makes women’s clothing puts pockets in them. She has no choice but to accompany the guards back toward Birchbane. It is quite embarrassing, but she imagines it will be much more embarrassing for them in the long run.
“Why is the headmistress looking for the New Zealand student?”
“As if you do not know, she has run away. I mean, you have run away. You will find that is not acceptable here at Birchbane,” the burly Swiss man says while the woman maintains her taciturn silence. “There are consequences for…”
“Storm!” Jane suddenly exclaims as she catches sight of Storm on a different slope, but not too far away. “Storm, come here this instant! That’s the missing student,” she explains to the security people. “That’s the one you’re looking for.”
She speaks with such conviction that they allow her to guide them away from Birchbane and down toward Storm, who is walking Kravik away from the school.
“You had better not run, young lady!” Jane calls out.
Storm doesn’t run. She stops and stands, making Jane’s life easy, for once. Jane is quite relieved to have so swiftly recovered her charge. She can only imagine what would happen if Storm were able to reach the town of Zermatt below, a major vacation hub with trains leaving multiple times per hour.
They draw close and Storm lets them, keeping Kravik close and on his leash as anybody being approached by strangers might.
“Wie gehts?” She greets them all in casual Swiss German and a slightly perplexed expression.
“Are you a student escaped from Birchbane?” The big Swiss man asks her the question in English.