THE LADY ASHLEY'S PENANCE
by Tom Justin
It was stifling hot in the crowded courtroom as twenty-two year-old, Lady
Ashley Hamilton rose to her feet and faced the somber, bewigged magistrate.
The proud jut of the defiant beauty's jaw gave evidence to the fiery
temperament of the young noblewoman as she impassively awaited her
sentencing. The court's verdict was never in doubt to any of those in
attendance for the infamy of the Earl of Brockhurst's daughter's
crime had spread throughout the village.
The high-spirited young woman, in a fit of anger at her domineering father,
had run off with a lover after first ransacking her father's home of
everything of value that she could carry. The girl had succumbed to the
persuasive charms of a handsome rouge by the name of Jack Lawrence, and the two
of them had led the law on a merry chase before they were finally caught in
nearby Athington. Knowing that the gallows awaited him, Jack Lawrence chose to
die at the point of a sword instead after first killing two of the sheriff's men
in the melee that ensued. The struggling, cursing Lady Ashley was returned to
her disgraced parent in chains to suffer his anger. It was the Earl of
Brockhurst's decree that his rebellious offspring would receive no leniency
from the court for the dishonor she had brought upon his household, and the
shamed nobleman had advised the Lord Justice Campbell on the severity of his
daughter's punishment
The grim-faced judge cleared his throat and announced solemnly, "Lady
Ashley Hamilton, it is the decision of this court that for the crime of
thievery, wantonness, and accessory to murder, on the morrow you be taken to
the prison yard, stripped naked and bound to the cart's tail. You will then
be led through the streets of Covington and whipped lustily from your
neck to your knees. Furthermore, at the four corners of the town square the
cart will halt and you will be ordered to bend over and spread your legs for
three strokes of the lash where you least desire it but where it will do your
soul the most good."
The magistrate paused for a moment then asked, "Have you anything to say?"
The willful young woman raise her head in the arrogant and haughty manner
she had assumed during the court proceedings and shook her head scornfully.
The Lady Ashley had incurred her father's wrath and stoically accepted her
fate. Only the merest trembling of the defiant penitent's lips at the
pronouncement of her harsh sentence had shown on her impassive countenance.
Those in attendance expecting pleading or tears were sorely disappointed.
The judge made a motion with his hand, and two burly guards stepped forward
to dwarf the slender loveliness of the condemned beauty. The sharp crack of
the justice's gravel announced the end of the trial and the Lady Ashley Hamilton
was led away, head high, eyes blazing defiantly.
In the morning, she would suffer the sting of the flogger's lash.
