Pleasing the Colonel (9 page)

“Can she nap with me?”

“Can she come inside the house, Papa?” Rosie asked eagerly.

The Colonel rubbed his face. “Yes, I think that would be all right. So long as we train her well not to bark or soil in the house.”

“How do we do that?” Rosie asked.

“Well, we scold her when she does,” he said, catching Mandy's eye for a moment. “I can help—I understand I'm quite good at it,” he said with a wink and a wry grin.

She laughed and ducked her head, her face growing warm.

The children brought the puppy into the house and showed her around to every servant before making her a little bed to sleep with them in the nursery.

Mandy woke that night to the sound of the puppy's whines. She got up and crept in. Julie's bed was empty and the crying puppy came running to her, tail tucked, head lowered submissively. She scooped her up and soothed her.

“You probably have to do your necessaries, don't you, sweetheart?” she asked, then lifted her chin away from the puppy’s eager licks. She carried her downstairs and opened the back door, setting the puppy down to do her business. She sat on the back steps and breathed in the summer night air, whispering softly to the puppy so her voice wouldn't carry to the open windows above her.

Just then, the back door burst open with such violence that Mandy let out a shriek. The Colonel stepped out, shirtless and carrying his officer's pistol, ready for war.

Chapter Five

“Miss Downy!” Charles exclaimed, relieved that she was not an intruder of some kind. He lowered his weapon. “I'm sorry I frightened you. What—?” He caught sight of the puppy. “Oh, of course.” He sat down beside her. She was in her dressing gown, so he could see her ankles peeking out, and her bare hands were pale in the moonlight.

The way her eyes trailed curiously over his bare chest lit a fire in his low belly. For the briefest of moments, he imagined what it would be like to have her fingernails running lightly over his chest hair, or her head lain upon his shoulder as she slept. But that sort of thinking would get him into trouble.

“I'm sorry, I should have thought Julie would have taken care of the puppy's needs. Was she sleeping?”

Miss Downy seemed to hesitate. He had not forgotten what she'd said the night of the carriage accident. Julie was not always reliable. “She wasn't there—perhaps she was in the kitchen,” she offered.

“Ah,” he said, wondering why she covered for the nursemaid.

They watched the puppy in silence for a moment. “The children love her,” she said, stealing a glance at him.

He looked down at her, noting the way the moon lit part of her face, making her delicate bone structure look even more beautiful. “Am I doing better?”

She flushed and ducked her head. “You're doing wonderfully,” she said to the ground. Then she peeked back at him. “I'm sorry for all those things I said.”

He looked at her fondly. The truth was, he loved the way she squirmed under his stern authority—he liked to watch her blush, and bite her lip, and duck her head. It was so sweet and submissive. But he hadn't enjoyed hearing that she was
terrified
of him. Actually, that had hurt a good deal more than he'd care to admit.

“I appreciated that you had the courage to be honest with me that way, even though it wasn't what I wanted to hear,” he said. He looked down at their two pairs of bare feet lined up together and she followed his gaze. “You reminded me a bit of their mother, the way you marched in there and let me have it.”

She looked at him in surprise.

“She wasn't afraid of me, by the way. At least, she was never afraid to speak her mind the way you did last night. I miss her,” he admitted.

Miss Downy's face held warmth and understanding as she gazed up at him.

“I'm sure you do,” she said softly.

“Last night I realized how truly lost I am without her—I don't have the slightest clue how to raise children.”

“I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—”

“No, you were right. I'm glad you confronted me. As I said, it's the sort of thing my wife would have done. I might have warmed her bottom for the disrespectful manner with which it was delivered, though.”

She peered at him from under her lashes. “Are you going to warm my bottom?” she asked coyly, shocking him and sending a jolt of desire through his body.

He smiled slowly and then quickly reached over and plucked her up from her seat, bending her over his knee. She gasped and he chuckled as he gave her bottom three sharp slaps before setting her back down and grinning at her. Her face turned pink but she giggled. His eyes traveled down to her lips and he leaned forward slightly, imagining for a moment that he might kiss her.

But just then Barkley came scrambling back, jumping eagerly, pawing at his leg and jerking him back to reality. He stood up abruptly. Kissing his governess was
not
in his plan. “Good night, Miss Downy,” he said. “Thank you for taking care of Barkley like this.”

“It's all right,” she said lightly. “I am happy to be governess to Barkley as well.”

“Governess is one thing, nursemaid is another,” he said, determined to go and find his errant servant.

He checked in the kitchen for Julie and heard voices in the cellar. He listened to hear who was speaking. He heard Julie's voice distinctly. “How long do you think it will be before the Colonel offers for Miss Downy?”

“Nay, I don't think it will happen,” he heard Violet respond.

“Oh come on, you've seen how he looks at her! Who could blame him, she is as lovely as they come!”

“Aye, but she's not interested in him. You remember what she said—too stiff. Too military!”

His chest tightened at that. Not that it mattered to him. Because he was
not
planning to offer for Miss Downy or any other woman. Besides, that wasn't news to him. She'd said as much the night of the carriage accident and again when she barged into his study the night before.

He stepped away from the door as the two women came up from the cellar. He let them worry a bit under his stern gaze, wondering whether he'd overheard them or not, and then made certain Julie understood that she was responsible for the puppy.

As he lay in bed that night staring at the darkened ceiling, angry thoughts toward Julie and Violet swirled through his head. But somehow he ended up holding his stiffened shaft in his hand and thinking instead of Miss Downy's parted lips. He thrust away his conscience, which warned him that thinking of her this way was a mistake, and instead allowed himself to remember how she'd felt squirming over his lap, her naked bottom so deliciously spankable, her beautiful sex presented for his viewing. He climaxed sooner than he would have thought possible. Apparently the thoughts he'd been denying himself about his lovely governess had only been gaining power in the place he'd locked them away.

* * *

“Miss Downy, come quickly!” Rosie exclaimed, bursting into the sitting room where she'd been cross-stitching. The child had a wild, panicked look that sent her heart racing.

Mandy jumped off the sofa and threw down her cross-stitching, following the girl out of the house at a run. She could hear Tom wailing before she saw him.

“Look!” Rosie pointed toward the old stable—the one that was no longer in use because it was falling down. There, perched on the roof, was one terrified little boy, screaming with a pitch in his voice that she had never heard before. It looked as though one foot had gone through the roof and was now stuck. He was crouched there, on his hands and one knee, with the other leg enveloped by the roof.

She raced over. “How did he get up there? Where is Julie?” she demanded.

“I don't know,” Rosie wailed.

Two of the stable men had come out to see what the noise was, and the Colonel and Miss Watson had arrived, breathless. “Harry—the ladder—now!” the Colonel ordered.

Mandy ran around the back of the old stable and saw how Tom must have climbed up—from the fence, to the old windowsill and upward—there were enough foot and handholds to do it. She took a breath and began to climb. On the side of the building, she heard the ladder hitting the roof and the sound of rapid steps climbing. The Colonel leaped onto the roof at the same time she arrived. He looked at her with surprise, but then turned immediately back to Tom and started walking carefully across the old roof. He only made it two steps before the roof collapsed under his weight.

She screamed in terror, then instantly regretted it, as Tom answered her scream with one of his own that lifted every hair on the back of her neck. One of the Colonel's legs had gone through, but he'd caught himself with his hands and scrambled back up. He didn't move, looking as if he were too wary to attempt it now.

She took deep breaths to calm herself, relieved that the Colonel had not plunged all the way through.

“Tom! Come to me,” he beckoned to the child.

“No!” the child wailed, clearly too petrified to move.

Mandy inched ever-so-slowly past the Colonel.

“No!” he barked. “It's not safe, Miss Downy. Harry! Get me a rope.”

“Yes, sir!”

“It's all right, I'm quite a bit lighter than you are,” she said with a forced calmness, side-stepping very slowly toward Tom.

“Miss Downy…” the boy sobbed, holding his two arms out to her.

“Shh… Miss Downy's coming,” she soothed him. “Don't worry… Miss Downy will get you. It's all right. Everything's going to be all right.” She kept talking as she slowly, slowly made her way closer to the child.

She had almost arrived without falling in.
Thank God for small miracles.
She inched closer and before she was close enough, Tom stood from his crouch, yanking his leg back out of the roof, and literally launched himself into her arms. The shock of it caused her to stumble back and she heard shouts and gasps from the Colonel and those on the ground, but she did not fall.

Moving even more slowly and carefully now that she had her precious cargo in hand, she inched her way back toward the Colonel and the ladder. The Colonel had stood and moved to a place where the roof beam could support him. He stretched his long arm toward her and as soon as she was able, she grasped his hand. His strength and steely will poured through his grasp as he pulled her toward him and the safety of the support beam.

Tom clung to her tightly, his arms around her neck and his little legs squeezing her waist. The Colonel started to reach to take the boy, and then seemed to change his mind.

“'ere's the rope, Colonel!” she heard Henry calling from below.

“It's all right, it's not needed. Hold the ladder to assist.”

He looked at her, considering, while he rubbed Tom's back soothingly. “If Papa goes down first, would you let Miss Downy hand you to me?” he asked the boy.

Tom sniffed and lifted his head. Then he nodded slowly.

“All right. I'm going to go halfway down, then Miss Downy will pass you to me.” He went calmly to the ladder and then descended partway before reaching his long arms up toward her. She felt dizzy looking over the side like that, but she took a deep breath and carefully disengaged Tom from her body to hand him down. The Colonel took the little boy easily, placed him on his hip, and climbed down with one hand.

Julie was there to take Tom from his arms and then the Colonel turned back to Mandy. “Come down now, Miss Downy.”

She hesitated. It suddenly looked very frightening. She hadn't climbed a ladder since she was a child.

“Turn around and climb down backward,” he instructed.

Oh right.
That felt more familiar. She searched for the top rung with her foot and once she found it, she quickly made her way down until she felt large hands at her waist, lifting her to the ground. Tom reached for her again, which didn't make Julie too happy, though she usually didn't mind. Her face looked quite pale and frightened.

She felt furious with Julie for having left the children unattended, and she wasn't the only one.

“Where in God's name were you, Julie?” the Colonel thundered.

“I—I…” she trailed off.

As angry as she was, Mandy suddenly feared Julie would lose her job over this and she didn't want to see that happen. She knew Julie had nowhere else to go—no family, nothing. “I think there was a misunderstanding, Colonel,” she improvised quickly. “Between Julie and I… about which of us was supposed to be watching them.”

The Colonel turned to her, his eyes flashing. He took hold of her chin and brought her face closer to his. “Really, Miss Downy?” His voice conveyed his doubt.

She hesitated. “Yes, sir.”

A look of disappointment flickered across his face. “You promised me you wouldn't lie,” he said in a very quiet voice.

Her gut tightened convulsively.
Oh God.
Her probation! Now she was facing dismissal as well. Her eyes filled with sudden tears. “I'm sorry,” she whispered, her eyes pleading with him for forgiveness.

He looked at her for a long moment. “Why would you lie?” he asked in the same low tone. No one else could hear him, but the intensity with which his burning gaze held her captive made her insides turn to fire.

She swallowed convulsively. “I—I just…” she trailed off. “Please don't dismiss her, Colonel?” she whispered.

He looked at her for a moment longer, then he released her chin. “You take care of the children until bedtime.” He turned to Julie. “Go and wait for me in my study,” he commanded.

Julie bobbed a curtsy, her face displaying unmasked panic, and walked quickly back up to the manor. Mandy's heart was still slamming in her chest and now she must somehow get through the next hour or more trying to contain the feeling of dread that had filled her as she wondered and worried what consequence would face her. Had he said he would dismiss her if she lied again? She couldn't remember. She only knew she had given her word she would not. She walked slowly to the manor with the children in tow, somehow managing to comfort and reassure them. The Colonel passed her with his long-legged strides, looking grim and carrying a riding crop. She sucked in her breath, wondering if it was for her or for Julie or both.