England Swings like a Pendulum Do

Inside our home, in the main foyer stands a clock, the old fashioned type with a pendulum. Every so often it requires winding, a task that whoever notices generally performs. The clock is quite forgiving that way, even our youngest can do it. However, when the time changes it must be adjusted. Master is a stickler for clocks always displaying the correct time. This weekend on Saturday night we found ourselves alone in the house. A rare occurrence to be sure and one not to be wasted by Master who spent several hours for his amusement and delight keeping his slave quiet and bound. 

Just before drifting off to sleep, Master remarked that in the morning mouse would need to adjust the clock time (since the time change would be occurring as we slept). The clock, while having ease in how its wound, is rather finicky when it comes to adjusting the time. It chimes every 15 minutes and you cannot adjust it just before or after it chimes. 

In the morning, we woke, mouse performed her oral service to Master, and then began the shower. downstairs mouse heard the clock chime 8 times and made the mental note that it needed to be changed since the actual time was seven am. At fifteen to eight, we came downstairs and passed the clock, as it had just chimed the time wasn't right to change it. Then mouse entered the kitchen and began her morning tasks of cooking Master some breakfast, making coffee and changing the table linens, beginning the weekly preparations for lunches and dinner. 

Master was seated at the kitchen table, watching casually mouse go about her cooking routine, when he heard the clock chime nine times, and had a thought. 

"I thought I instructed you to change the clock?" 

In an awkward way mouse reminded him that she can't just be changed just before after it chimes. Of course he knows this, since he instructed mouse on the clock care, by this time she was serving him his omelette and handed him the hot sauce.  

Several minutes later, the clock chimed again as mouse was busy and secretly cursed under her breath. The longer half-hour chime, and again, mouse missed it. Short of standing there and staring at the clock mouse kept missing the time. His meal finished, and he complemented mouse on the quality of his eggs and noted that just the right amount of cream was in his coffee. It was at that moment, however the clock chimed again the incorrect time, loudly almost bellowing that it was 11am when it was only 10.

"Over my knee mouse." Master tapped his lap with his hand.

Looking at him like he was a bit nuts, mouse hesitated for a moment. and then lifted her dress. Maybe this was why he had laid out panties earlier for her to wear, because he seemed to enjoy pulling them down. Then he struck her bottom a right then left cheek alternating eight times, then paused, and gave one slap in the middle, then a few more slaps in the middle and another single one. It didn't take long for mouse to realize that he was punishing her for each incorrect chime. Then continued with the right and left, again 9 more times, followed by the pause.

By the time he reached the ten o'clock mouse was in tears and then again with the final eleven mouse was whimpering. When he told her to get up, he stood and held her for a minute as she rubbed her flaming bottom.  Feeling rather disgruntled mouse pointed out that is was unfair to be punished for the fifteen, half and three-quarter hour chimes since the clock will do those anyway regardless of the time of day.

Master arched his eyebrow at his slave, "Those were for each opportunity missed." Then he slapped her face, not terribly hard for displaying insolence toward him. "Perhaps you could simply stop the clock for an hour and set a timer, perhaps on your cellphone to remind you to restart it and just perhaps you will avoid further abuse to your already smarting bottom?"

Standing before him, mouse opened her mouth, as if to say 'oh,' but without sound as the thought sunk in. He was offering a rare solution to her pendulum dilemma and without much haste, mouse went to the grand clock, saw the timing was perfect, and stopped the swinging pendulum. Then found her phone and set the timer to remind her when to restart the clock.

As she was sliding the left-over challah turned bread pudding for dessert into the oven, the timer went off and mouse rushed to restart the clock. By this time Master was in his study working, as she could hear the click-clack of his fingers flying against the keyboard of his computer; mouse nearly unconsciously, rubbed her bottom before returning to the kitchen. An hour later the clock chimed the correct number of times