Page 5 of Papa's Rules
“Oh, believe me, I do.” And quick as a wink, Nurse Lister’s hand went from grasping Cammie’s shoulder to a firm pinch of her earlobe which she then used to guide Cammie from her seat at the breakfast table, out of the room and down the hall. Nervous giggles followed their exit from the eating area.
“Ouch, ouch, ouch.” Cammie scampered to keep up with Nurse Lister. “That hurts.”
“How fortunate, then, that I am a nurse, do you not agree?” And Nurse Lister gave an extra tug on Cammie’s ear and hurried her along the corridor. When they reached her office, Nurse Lister efficiently retrieved her key and unlocked her door single-handedly while continuing to maintain a solid pinch on Cammie’s lobe.
Once inside, she relinquished her hold and Cammie rubbed her ear with her palm, though she dared not meet Nurse Lister’s gaze.
“I understand you are to be married soon.” Nurse Lister pulled out a stack of papers and began scribbling notes upon them.
“Yes,” Cammie puffed up. “Miss Wickersham has found a papa for me. Lord Alexander Cavendish.”
Nurse Lister glanced up from her paperwork and peered at Cammie over the top of her spectacles. “A lord, you say? Well, now I have heard everything.”
Cammie was not exactly sure what the nurse meant by that, but she felt certain it was not a vote of confidence. Still, she refused to be cowed by a nurse whom she would see no more after this day. “Yes,” she said, her voice pert, “I will be Lady Cavendish and you will have to call me Your Ladyship when next we meet.”
Nurse Lister put her papers aside and focused her attention on Cammie. “Is that so, Miss Cammie?”
“W-well, yes. I believe it is.” Cammie squirmed under the sharp eyes of the school nurse.
“And tell me, little miss Lady Cavendish, do you believe that a proper lady would need to be dragged down a hallway in front of a roomful of her friends because she could not obey a request from the school nurse? A request she knew she was obligated to obey?”
“H-how was I to know what you wanted?” She ought not be so flippant with Nurse Lister, but Cammie simply could not stop herself.
Nurse Lister’s mouth puckered in surprise, though she quickly clamped her lips closed into a straight line while she appraised her impertinent patient.
“Well, you are about to find out why I wished to see you. Take off your clothes and lay upon the table.”
“Wh-what?” Cammie stared up at Nurse Lister. Although she had often visited the nurse’s office when she had a tummy ache or needed to have a tooth pulled, she had never stripped off all her clothes. It was unheard of and she took a step back, clutching her pinafore.
“Did you not hear what I said, little Lady Cavendish?”
The nurse’s mocking tone raised her ire, but Cammie also knew she had pushed well past the limit of Nurse Lister’s patience. “I-I am sorry I did not come right away when Garland arrived for me,” Cammie said. “But I had not yet finished my meal, and I did not want to be wasteful of my food.”
“Are you certain what you say is true?”
“Oh, yes, I am quite certain. Miss Wickersham detests wastefulness. We have many mouths to feed, she always says.” Cammie gave the nurse a tentative smile.
“Hmmm,” the nurse said. “As I recall, your plate was empty when I came to the breakfast room.”
“Are you certain?” Cammie pressed.
Nurse Lister paused and gazed down her nose at Cammie as though she had difficulty believing what she had heard. Biting her lip, Cammie wondered if she might have pushed too far with the school nurse. An involuntarily quiver raced across her bottom cheeks. She most certainly didn’t want to arrive at Lord Cavendish’s manor tomorrow with a reddened behind. The very idea was shameful, and Cammie started to regret her recent insolence. She’d heard whispers that married couples saw one another naked, and while that still seemed like an outlandish tale, she supposed she ought not risk the possibility of Lord Cavendish being greeted by a blushing, red-bottomed bride, just in case there was any truth to that scandalous rumor. Her face promptly heated, as she begun to wonder if she would ever see her future husband without clothes, and if he in return might see her unclothed as well. What did men look like naked, anyway? Were they hairy? Did they have muscles in strange places? What did it feel like to kiss a man on the mouth? And what on Earth did a man’s privates look like?
Then she realized the nurse was speaking and Cammie had once again allowed her mind to wander, a habit of which Miss Wickersham had never quite broken her. She straightened and focused on what Nurse Lister was saying.
“… aware of Miss Wickersham’s edict on not wasting food and I would not have taken you from the table were I not convinced your plate was clean.”
“Oh.” Cammie stared at her shoes. She sure wished today had been the day she was leaving to start her new life with Lord Cavendish, her papa. At first she had been sad about leaving Talcott House, but at this instant, she wished to be just about anywhere else. Nurse Lister looked none too pleased with her.
“I believe,” Nurse Lister said, stepping closer to Cammie, “that I instructed you to remove your clothes and lie upon the table. You are to have a thorough medical exam. Now, would you like to have your temperature taken first or last?”
Cammie gaped at the nurse and made no move to comply with her instructions. Nurse Lister spoke again. “You are going to have your temperature taken and if you do not move quickly, you will find it a most unpleasant experience.”
A small squeal escaped from Cammie’s mouth. Not the thermometer! She clutched her hands around her backside. “Bu-but I feel fine.” She forced a bright smile that she hoped the dour nurse would find persuasive.
“I am sure you do. But it is upon Miss Wickersham’s instructions, so it shall be done. We cannot send you off to your new papa without assuring him that you are healthy and prepared to be a good wife.”
“Oh, but I am prepared to be a good wife.”
