The room was tidy and well lit, lanterns hanging along the dark stone walls.
At the center, chains hung from the ceiling, their ends fitted with a pair of cuffs meant to hold a person's wrists.
Whipping. That was Cynthia's way of punishing people in the Blythmor household, and Elain had known it since she began living with them. Whether it was her daughter, her niece, or the servants, Cynthia punished people in the mansion this way.
Elain had seen it happen several times, and had experienced it herself when she was a child.
Cynthia had always been strict when it came to household rules, as far as Elain could remember. And she could be merciless when it came to punishments.
"Rory goes first. Thirty lashes."
Elain's eyes widened.
Thirty? That was absurd. Cynthia had never gone that far, not even with a servant. Elain knew that what Rory had done this time was worse than any mistake she had committed in the past, but still… it was too much.
