Page 10 of Papa's Rules
Cammie began to relax, particularly when Miss Wickersham, rather than taking a seat, headed toward the doorway. Hopping up from the sofa, but careful to keep the torn side of her dress angled away, Cammie followed the others to the door and bid Miss Wickersham good-bye. Miss Wickersham promised to return in a few hours with the vicar.
She had done it! Miss Wickersham was gone. The vicar would soon arrive and no one was the wiser that she had broken the rules. What a glorious day.
Suddenly an overwhelming force drew her to Lord Cavendish and she turned to look up at the man with whom she would spend the rest of her life. He towered over her, but even without that advantage of height, his mere presence was daunting. His eyes seemed not to miss a thing and Cammie felt as though he could see into her very soul. She smiled up at him, though he did not smile in reply.
Uh oh. Cammie’s tummy did a somersault. What had gone wrong?
He took her elbow. “Shall we return to the drawing room, Cammie?”
His touch on her arm sent a heated thrill through her and her breath caught in her throat, making it impossible for her to reply other than to nod. Papa led her to the same sofa where she had been instructed to remain just moments before and they sat down next to each other. Cammie stared at her hands which were folded in her lap. The length of her dress covered her torn stocking and scraped knee, but had he noticed the tear in her dress?
“Cammie,” Lord Cavendish said, turning toward her, his face quite serious, “I am glad we have some time alone to talk before we get married. There are some important matters for us to discuss.”
“Oh?” was all Cammie could come up with to say. What more could there be? Had not he and Miss Wickersham already covered all of the details? Surely if they had unfinished business, her teacher wouldn’t have departed to collect the vicar.
“As your papa, I have certain expectations.” His deep tone was mostly kind, but held a hint of scolding that had her lady bits tingling and heating.
“Yes,” Cammie said, a blush covering her face. “Nurse Lister explained to me about...about...how babies are made.” Her voice trailed off into a nearly imperceptible whisper as she finished her sentence, such an embarrassing topic for their first private conversation.
Lord Cavendish chuckled and some of the seriousness left his face. “I am happy to hear that, Cammie. I ought to have been more clear in what I was saying.” He cleared his throat. “Let me start again. I expect obedience in all things, and that includes my wife.” His gaze held Cammie’s and she felt her heart drop to her toes. “Do you understand?”
“I-I believe so, sir.”
“I also expect honesty and truthfulness, and you can rely on me to give the same in return.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I also believe in punishing those who disobey me.”
Cammie sat up straighter and felt the muscles of her bottom clench up. “Punish?”
“Yes, I expect obedience from you and if it is not given, there will be punishment. I want you to understand all of this before we agree to be married. If it is not acceptable to you, or you are unwilling to trust me to provide guidance and discipline when needed, then I believe, much as I hate to say it, it would be best for us to part ways.”
Cammie gasped and stared at him. His face was no longer stern, but seemed to have a cast of sadness about it, the same sadness she felt at the prospect of losing him as her papa.
“No,” she said. “I do not want us to part ways. I-I understand your expectations and I agree. I need a papa who will take good care of me and make sure I behave properly. I...” she trailed off and stared at her hands again before looking him directly in the eye and saying, “I want you to be my papa, and I want to be your bride, more than I have ever wanted anything in my whole life.”
She held her breath, feeling as though her entire world might come crashing down in an instant depending on how he responded. Her vision clouded and her eyes burned, and she blinked hard a few times in an effort to keep herself from crying. The prospect of having to return to Talcott House and never again see the very man she’d believed would be her forever papa filled her with so much sadness, it took all her willpower to keep from bursting into tears.
Lord Cavendish smiled down at her, and his kind expression helped her relax and blink away the burn in her eyes. As he continued smiling, her heart danced around in her chest.
“Thank you, Cammie. I am pleased to hear that.” He paused for a moment, as if carefully considering his next words. “Now,” he finally continued, his manner becoming stern again, “can you explain to me why I saw you outside my window just a few minutes ago after Miss Wickersham clearly told you not to move from your place on this very sofa?”
Cammie felt the color drain from her face. It was on the tip of her tongue to deny his statement, but his words about truth and honesty rung in her ears and she wisely chose to acknowledge her misdeeds.
Wringing her hands together, she spoke. “I-I was nervous and I felt lonely and a little bit scared and when I looked outside, I saw a flower that reminded me of my best friend, Hyacinth, and so I went outside...just for a minute...to smell it and touch it. It made me feel much better and I only meant to be outside for a minute, but then a big cat came by and walked right past the door and it closed and locked before I could get to it.” She paused and snuck a glance up at him. His face gave no hint of what he was thinking. “So, you see, I had to get back in the house and that is why I was outside your window. I am very, very sorry. Please do not send me back with Miss Wickersham. I promise to be a good girl always.”
“Cammie,” he said, gathering her hands in his, “I am not going to send you back with Miss Wickersham simply because you were naughty. I do, however, intend to impress upon you the importance of wifely obedience. I regret that I must punish you on the day we are to be married, but I will not allow you to get away with any misbehaviors. As your husband and your papa, it is my responsibility not only to care for you, but to correct you when you’ve done wrong.” He tipped her chin up, forcing her to stare into his dark, stern gaze. “Do you understand, little Cammie?”
“I-I understand, sir.” She swallowed past the sudden dryness in her mouth. Her heart raced faster and faster. Despite her current predicament, a quick, heated spasm afflicted the area between her legs.
She squirmed in place under the scolding look her papa had leveled upon her. Would he spank her? Or would he make her stand in a corner to contemplate her misdeeds? If he hadn’t been holding her gaze, she would have spared a glance around the room for something that resembled a naughty chair. She knew only one thing for certain.
She’d been a wayward little girl, and her new papa, the handsome but no nonsense Lord Cavendish, was about to punish her for the very first time.
