Disclaimer: I didn't write the Twilight series. I wrote this.
Warning: this chapter contains corporal punishment.
"Jasper!" Sir Charles greeted him with a warm tone and a clap on the back.
"Charles, it gladdens the heart to see you, and your lovely wife, Renee. And, this must be the Lady Isabella. Thank God that reports of your beauty are too brief and too shallow, otherwise I would never have been able to get through the press of men at your gates."
Charles laughed at the compliment and Renee looked gratified. But the Lady Isabella herself seemed neither amused nor pleased, if anything she appeared a little unhappy. Jasper noted this. She was not the first lady he had met who disliked compliments being paid to her person. Not everyone was a Rosalie.
"You'll be hungry after your ride," Charles said, "come in, you have timed yourself well and arrived just before dinner."
Before he let his host lead him away, Jasper turned to Edward and reminded him softly, "see to the horses, then come to me and I'll see you fed. There'll be men in the stables to help you."
"A new squire?" Charles asked, "I thought to see Jacob besides you still."
"Not a new squire, just a servant. Jacob has some sickness and I have this boy until he is better."
"A handsome fellow."
Jasper raised his eyebrows, "you think? He looks pale to me; he needs to spend more time outside."
Either Charles had been telling the truth and dinner was arriving at the same time as Jasper, or his servants were very quick. Whatever the explanation, food was laid out within minutes of Jasper's arrival. He took his seat at the top table, with Renee on one side of him and Lady Isabella on the other. Renee almost ignored him in her attempt to force him to converse with the young lady.
Now that he was here, sat next to his prospective bride, Jasper was nervous. He wasn't sure what to say. Other than Rosalie, he didn't spend a lot of time conversing with ladies, and Isabella didn't look like she wanted to hear long and detailed compliments about her dress.
He tried anyway, "The ribbon around your neck is a pretty colour, my lady, it brings out the hints of green in your eyes. Brown with hints of green, they are like a forest in springtime."
Lady Isabella looked down at her plate and muttered, "thank you, Sir Jasper." Then she looked up at him, giving him another sight of those eyes, but it was not with pleasure that she looked. She looked instead with resignation, as though she was giving a gaze that she owed him and must – but would rather not – pay.
Aware that his first sally had been rather poor, Jasper ate a little, and tried to consider another approach for conversation.
Kindly, Isabella spoke first. It was her turn, and she was an anxious to please her parents as he was to please his. "Do you hunt, Sir Jasper?"
"Of course, my lady, the woods between your home and mine are fair full of game. I have had many successful boar hunts this year. Do you ever go to see the hunt?"
She lowered her lashes, and it was such a pretty sight that Jasper wondered if it could be accidental. Surely no woman could look so temptingly virtuous unless it were deliberate. "I have no brothers to watch, and my father rarely takes me. He is afraid that I will be hurt."
"Perhaps he will permit me to invite you on my next hunt. I could vouchsafe your return unharmed."
Now he saw her natural smile for the first time. It is very different to her social smile. Her natural smile is less pronounced, just a slight lift of the lip-edges, but it is far more beautiful. It fits her face, makes her look more alive. Jasper found himself trying to think of ways to bring that expression to her face again.
"I would like that" she said, unnecessarily since her smile had already told him of her pleasure. "I hope you will make this a long stay, sir, it is a fine thing to have a young man around to make us more lively."
"Soon you will have a husband of your own, my lady, and then you will long for the days without young men cluttering up the place."
Isabella laughed, "I do not think that I will do that."
She was a lively girl, and Jasper was pleased with the way that this first meeting was going. The Lady Isabella was passing pretty, positively delightful when she smiled. He could easily be enticed to kiss her. She was cheerful, too. She liked the woods and the birds. If they rode out together, she would be interesting company. Her reference to her loneliness here worried him a little. A knight's wife must spend much time alone, awaiting her husband's next return. But he would hope to give her a child soon enough, and that would provide both company and occupation. Soon she would have no leisure to be lonely.
Edward returned sooner than he expected and that too was gratifying, perhaps the boy knew something of the care of horses even if he couldn't ride them. Pleased with this sign of Edward's usefulness, Jasper piled a plate with good cuts of meat and soft bread, and gave it to him. He indicated a space by the wall where other servants were sitting to eat their supper, and Edward obeyed with a bow that was a little too smart for a squire, but not worth complaining about.
Despite seeing few hunts, Isabella proved to be quite knowledgeable about the wildlife of the woods, and Jasper found her a pleasure to talk to. They had such fun imitating bird calls together that Renee shushed them. All in all it was a very successful start to a possible courtship, and it was a very happy Sir Jasper who strode over to the stables to check on his horses before bed.
It was a very angry Jasper who actually saw his horses. "Boy!" he yelled, though his servant was standing right behind him, "the horses should have been rubbed down after the ride, and given oats and water. All you've done is tie them up! Are you lazy or stupid? It must be one or the other."
"No, sir, I didn't know, sir," Edward was looking at Jasper with real fear now, and well he might, Jasper was furious.
"First," he said sternly, "I will take care of the horses. Then I will take care of you."
A shiver ran up Edward's spine. He wasn't sure how Sir Jasper meant to 'take care' of him, but he was sure that it wouldn't be pleasant.
Quickly, efficiently, with the smooth motions of a man who had performed the same task many times, Jasper rubbed down and fed and watered his horses. As he did so, he threw the odd insult towards his nervous squire. "I told you to ask for help if you needed it" he said, whilst rubbing the mare all over with straw. Then "either one of these horses is worth more to me than you are", while he checked the stallion's feet.
Finally, Jasper was satisfied with the state of the horses. He walked into an empty corner of the stable and beckoned Edward to follow. Edward's feet seemed to be made of wood, he had to drag himself over to obey Jasper. His stomach had sunk to his knees. Jasper's quick hands pulled Edward's tunic up over his head.
"Bend over," Jasper said, indicating a bale of hay.
Edward closed his eyes, wished that he was somewhere or someone else, and did as he was told, leaving him bent over a bale of hay wearing only his hose and his shoes.
Jasper fetched his dog whip from the saddle bag. He hadn't thought he would need to use it so soon. He gave it a couple of test passes in the air.
The crack made Edward jump. He waited for the hot sting, but it didn't come. Keeping his forehead pressed into the hay, he turned his head to glimpse his master out of the corner of his eye. He saw the fierce determination in Jasper's eyes and bit his lip to stop himself whimpering.
"Your most important job is to take care of the horses. You need to treat them with respect. Always see to the horses first. Always be sure they are warm, dry, watered and fed before you even think of feeding yourself. Since this is such an important lesson, I am going to have to be harsh with you. I am going to give you something to remember next time you consider skimping on your work. I am going to flog you now, boy; do you understand?"
Forced to open his mouth, Edward couldn't stop himself from sobbing, "yes, sir," he muttered, and then he clamped his teeth back over his lip.
"Have you been flogged before?" Jasper asked more gently. Edward looked younger now that he was stripped and bent over.
There was another sob, then Edward answered, "yes, sir," in a shaky voice.
"Alright then. Let's get this over with." Jasper lifted the crop high and struck hard and fast, right across the boy's buttocks.
Edward bit down harder on his lip, and his entire body shuddered.
He was slighter than Jacob, his arse was probably still sore from his first ever ride. Jacob would have taken thirty or so of these strikes in his stride, on him this would have been a minor rebuke. For Edward, even the thought of a beating seemed to destroy his composure.
Jasper applied the next blow to Edward's upper thighs, aiming for a spot that probably wouldn't have been tenderised by the ride. Again, the young servant trembled under his crop. Jasper gave the next three strikes in quick succession.
Edward bit through his bottom lip and tasted coppery blood.
Another hit.
Edward broke silence and cried out in pain.
Jasper chewed his own lip, unsure what to do. The horses could have caught chills because of Edward's laziness. He couldn't in all good conscience allow the boy to get away with only half a dozen cuts of a crop. But, the agonised cry upset him. He couldn't attack Edward's thighs again. He had thought to correct a lazy servant, he hadn't expected to find himself beating a child.
"Just one more, lad," he said softly, hoping to give the boy heart and strength. He drew back his crop and flung it down, more gently than he had ever flogged anyone. It wasn't gentle enough, the pain was too much and Edward gave another desperate wail.
Poor boy, he was quite a tender thing. Jasper struck him once more, and then he stopped. "It's over" he said, "you've received your punishment in full."
Eight strokes wasn't a lot for most servants. But, this new boy was a delicate flower it seemed. Jasper wondered if he ought to have simply taken him over his knee and spanked him.
Edward had collapsed onto the straw and he was sobbing brokenly.
"I know it hurts," Jasper said, "try to remember why I did it; then try to avoid repeating the same behaviour. The horses can be the difference between dying on the field and living to fight again."
He waited while Edward wept himself out. Then he said, "come on, I'll help you dress and we'll to bed." Edward looked up from his position on the floor. His cheeks were sticky with tears, and his lips were stained with blood. His jaw shook as he struggled to keep his weeping inside.
Jasper offered his hand and sighed at Edward's flinching away. "I'm not going to hurt you. You took that beating like a man, don't cringe like a girl now."
The half-compliment gave Edward's jaw a little more strength. He held his head up now and took his master's hand. Carefully, Jasper brought Edward to his feet and then eased his tunic back over his head. He considered leaving the boy's body to air out; it would heal faster that way. But, he suspected that the nakedness would be another punishment for Edward, and nobody should suffer twice for one crime.
"I'm sorry that I had to do that before I've had a chance to really make you trust me," Jasper said, as they walked back towards the castle. "I've had Jacob work for me for so long, I've almost forgotten what it is to train a new squire. With him, it's like he reads my mind, we know each other well." Jasper noted that Edward scowled at the sound of Jacob's name. Even though the two of them had never met, they were becoming rivals.
"You and I will have to work hard to get a connection like that" Jasper said, trying to offer some sort of hope. Though in truth he would be glad to have Jacob back and send this boy to work in the kitchens or somewhere else where he needn't worry about horses.
"Yes, sir." Edward's response was servile, but his eyes were glazed with hatred. He was not cowed after his beating, as most boys would be; he was furious. Though Edward had clearly been in the wrong, he resented Jasper for punishing him. Actually, he probably resented Jasper more because he had deserved to be punished. He was as furious to be caught out as he was to be thrashed.
Jasper pursed his lips into a whistle mould. "When we're alone, you can speak more freely than that. I want obedience, but I don't stand so high on my dignity as to fear relaxed speech. You don't know me at all, do you?" He had meant it rhetorically, though more sorrow came through in his tone that he intended. In truth it was a little lonely to be visiting a large establishment, on such an unusual errand, with only a boy he barely knew for company.
To Jasper's surprise, Edward replied, with a dryly rueful tone. "I know that you care deeply about your horses, sir," Edward said.
Jasper scrutinised his face, there was regret first, a lot of that around the eyes. But, there was a softening around the jaw-line that wasn't sorrow at doing wrong, nor at being beaten. It was the opposite of the arrogance that Jasper had noted in Edward's face before. Edward may not be impressed by Jasper's manners, but he had a little bit of respect for the care Jasper showed his horses. Perhaps the flogging would actually help him to trust his master, since a man who cares deeply for his animals is not going to be profligate with his servants.
Jasper took in the slight change in Edward's attitude, he decided that Edward's wry comment was meant to be a sort of joke, then he laughed, "that you do," he agreed.
Edward gave him back a slight lift of the lips. It was good to see him smile at last, even if it was only half a smile.