The Demure Bride (3 page)

"Okay! I will do it!" Amanda hated herself for giving in, but she was simply in too much pain to continue her resistance.

"You will do what?" Matt continued spanking, even harder. He wasn't letting her off so easy.

"I will apologize to Robert Thorne!" Amanda practically yelled. "Papa, please stop! I hurt so much!" To her relief, he pulled down her skirts and then helped her to her feet. Her hair had come down, and her face was streaked with tears of pain. She turned to run from the room, but once again Matt stopped her. He pulled her close and put his arms around her to hug her. Amanda was embarrassed when she burst into tears and hid her face in his shirt.

"It's okay, sweetie. Papa is here and will take care of you. It's okay to cry." He continued to hold her until she finally quieted. "I didn't enjoy makin' you cry like that, Mandy, but I am your Papa, and I'm not gonna let you act all snooty with folks and get away with it. Rob is a nice man and a good neighbor. You think about what you want to say to him, and I'll drive you over to his place tomorrow mornin' in the buggy and stand with you." He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Are you mad at me, honey?"

Amanda looked up into his troubled green eyes; eyes that looked like her own. "I still feel I am too old to be spanked, Papa, but I know you did it because you love me. I will try to do better, and I promise I will call you Papa since it means so much to you."

"Now that is what I wanted to hear." He kissed her again and then said, "There is another matter we need to discuss, Mandy. You're to see to it that Glimmer is cared for every day; I want you to prove to me that you are responsible enough to own your own horse. You won't be riding her again until I give you permission. You could have injured her today, daughter, but even worse than that,
you
could have been hurt or killed. You need a reminder not to be that foolish again. Before I let you ride Glimmer again you are going to give me a promise that you won't try to jump her. In the meantime, you won't be sitting a saddle and the only exercise you'll get is from the use of your own two legs."

"Papa, nooo! I love to go riding! I love Glimmer, too! I will not try to jump her again, I promise! Please do not take her away from me," she begged, tears filling her eyes once again.

"You won't be riding her, or any of the horses, for at least one week, Amanda." Matt was serious and his facial expression told her there was no point in arguing. She was being punished for today.

"Why are you doing this, Papa?" Her wounded expression told him she was nearly heartbroken. "You already spanked me, and I have promised you I will not jump Glimmer again. I will keep my word; please do not take Glimmer from me. I will prove to you that I can be responsible, and if I mess up again, you can always take her away then... But, I promise I have learned my lesson. Please give me another chance to prove myself."

Matt gave her a hard, assessing look. It was clear that he wanted to believe her, and finally he asked, "Will you take care of Glimmer yourself?"

"Yes, Papa. I will."

"Okay, honey. I'll give you another chance, but if you jump that mare or I find out that Whitey is the one carin' for Glimmer, you'll get another tanning and I'll use a strap... and you won't be riding another horse on this ranch for a year. I mean that, girl. Do you understand me?" Matt was as serious as he could be and it wasn't an idle promise.

"I understand, Papa. I am truly sorry I tried that jump today, and I won't do that again."

"You are more important to me than the horse, honey. That is why I am being so hard on you." He gave her one more hug, and then said, "I have work to do. You take some time this afternoon to think about what you need to say to Rob. I'll see you at supper." He picked up his hat and then left the room.

Amanda immediately groaned and reached back to rub her stinging backside. Two spankings in one day! Unbelievable! Her Mama was probably looking down on them and shaking her head. Mama did not approve of spanking and it was quite a shock to learn that her Papa had spanked Mama. Amanda did not remember hearing her parents fight, nor did she remember being taken captive by the Comanche. Her Mama was always so delicate and such a lady. It was so hard to picture her married to her Papa... or to picture her over his knee getting a spanking. Amanda had to be honest, her Papa had a good reason to spank her Mama... Just as he had a good reason today, she forced herself to admit. She had been acting like a spoiled brat... She was going to see to it that Glimmer had the best care she could give her. She would not be sitting her saddle again today, and probably not tomorrow; her bottom was unbelievably sore; but she would change her clothing and go and have a talk with Whitey and find out exactly what she needed to do to care for her little mare. She was not in Boston any more, and it was time she accepted that.

* * *

"Thanks, son," Matt said automatically when Whitey offered to care for his large white stallion. "How did my girl do today cleaning out Glimmer's stall?"

"She was fit to be tied, but she did a good job, Mr. Chambers." It didn't occur to the younger man to lie or coat the truth. "She even come out here this afternoon and asked me how to take care of her mare. Said she was going to see to her from now on, so I reckon that mucking that stall didn't upset her too much."

"Mandy asked you how to take care of Glimmer?" Matt was pleased.

"Yes sir, she sure did. Don't you worry none, Mr. Chambers. I'll show her what to do and make sure she don't get hurt doin' it," Whitey offered.

"Thanks, Whitey. You're a good man." Matt clapped him on the back and headed for the house and a good supper. If he'd known that taking his feisty daughter over his knee would make such a drastic change for the better he would have done it a lot sooner! Once he'd washed up and Goldie called him to the table he noticed there was no place set for Amanda.

"Where's Mandy?" he asked the silent woman.

Goldie gave him a baleful look that spoke volumes. "Her room."

"We'll be down shortly," he announced and then got to his feet and went upstairs. He knocked on Amanda's door. "Mandy, why aren't you coming down to supper?" he demanded.

The door opened and she looked up at him. "I cannot sit down, Papa," she told him, her cheeks pink with embarrassment. "I am in too much pain to attempt sitting to eat a meal," she explained. "Goldie promised to fix me a tray."

"That is extra work for Goldie, and you ain't sick. Sitting on a sore butt is part of the punishment," he informed her matter-of-factly. "You come down and eat at the table."

"But, it hurts to sit down!" she repeated herself, positive he didn't understand what she was trying to tell him.

"It will hurt even worse if I have to spank you to get you to the table, girl. You don't make extra work for Goldie just because you're sore and it hurts to sit. You come and sit at the table. No more sass on the subject."

Amanda didn't know how she got through the meal. Sitting was pure torture, and her Papa was determined she sit there until he was finished eating, too. Finally, Matt announced he had some bookwork to do and he reminded her that they would be driving over to see Robert Thorne the next morning after breakfast.

Amanda wanted to argue, but she'd given her word and now she had no choice but go and apologize to the odious man. Once she helped Goldie with the dishes, Mandy decided she would go on upstairs and to bed. She certainly wasn't going to sit in the parlor, or at the piano and play as she normally did. How on earth she would survive the buggy seat in the morning was a complete mystery. She asked Goldie if she had any salve or ointment that would help, and the woman brought her a small tin. Mandy thanked her and then went upstairs. Once she undressed, she gingerly applied some of the ointment to her aching backside. To her relief, the burning sensation eased immediately. She crawled into bed and lied on her tummy, contemplating getting even with Robert Thorne.

* * *

Robert Thorne woke with a smile on his handsome face and was pleased to realize he was looking forward to the day. Moving west and buying this ranch had proven to be exactly what he needed to do to take care of the boredom his life had become in England. His parents were both deceased; his two sisters were married and had children to raise; his elder brother barely tolerated his presence as their parents' acknowledged favorite. There was nothing holding him in his native country and when the opportunity rose for him to travel, he did so without hesitation. He'd worked at various jobs as he made his way west, and finally found what made him happy, ranching. Robert had always loved horses, and he took to ranching with a flair. When he was positive he knew enough to make a go of his own place, he purchased land, bought cattle, and worked from sunup to sundown. He had faced the inevitable, a couple of hands he hired decided to test him thinking him a greenhorn, and he sent them packing after he proved to the rest that he was capable of holding his own with the best.

Of course, the livid red mark on his cheek reminded him of his feisty little neighbor and he smiled grimly and wondered if her backside sported a few red marks of its own. He supposed he should have controlled his blasted temper and refrained from venting his fury on her bottom, but the thrashing was long overdue in his opinion. Miss Amanda Chambers had a reputation in the area for being uppity and thinking herself better than other folks. She was certainly foolish for trying to take that jump on her little mare, and her Father should have taken her home and spanked her soundly for risking her fool neck.

Rob decided he would forego shaving and give the mark on his cheek a chance to heal a bit before he scraped over it with a razor. He went downstairs and shook his head once again as realized he was going to have to hire someone to clean house for him. The parlor needed dusting yet again and he did not have time to spare for the task. He joined the men for breakfast and then assigned chores for the day. Running a ranch was never ending work. He was saddling up and preparing to ride out to make sure the work was all getting done properly when he heard a buggy approaching. He turned to see who was approaching and suddenly wished he had taken the time to run a dust rag over the parlor. His visitors were his neighbors, Matt Chambers and his feisty daughter. He walked over to greet them with a smile.

"Good morning, Matt. Miss Chambers," Robert greeted them.

"G'mornin', Matt. Mandy has something to say to you," he said, but his dark eyes were on his daughter.

Amanda wanted to throw a fit, but her Papa was not in a reasonable mood this morning and it was best to get the apology over with so they could return home.

"Would you like to come inside?" Robert offered politely, trying not to wince as he thought of his dusty parlor.

"No thanks, Rob. I know you've got work to do, and so do I. Mandy...?" His meaning was clear.

Amanda felt Robert Thorne's dark eyes on her and she wanted to grab the buggy whip and... "Papa insists I apologize... So, I apologize for striking you yesterday."

Robert couldn't help snickering. "That is a most gracious apology, Miss Chambers."

"Gracious?" Matt exclaimed in disgust. "Girl, I am disappointed in you!" His face was red and Robert didn't know if it was from anger or embarrassment, or perhaps both.

Amanda refused to say another word, although she did feel a bit guilty when she saw the mark she'd left on Robert Thorne's left cheek. It had to hurt... every bit as much as the ones he left on her tender bottom! The drive here had been exceedingly painful and her Papa refused to allow her the small consideration of a pillow to sit upon.

"Amanda, if you can't do any better than that, then it's sure and certain I didn't do a good enough job tanning you myself!"

"Papa!" she whispered in a strangled voice as her face flooded with color.

"I sympathize with how Miss Chambers feels, Matt, and I assure you I understand her position. She is not the least bit remorseful for her actions, and since I am not the least bit remorseful for mine, we are at what you westerners refer to as a 'stand off'. I fear that neither of us has made a good first impression upon the other, but given time I hope to remedy that."

"We can start that by invitin' you to supper tonight, Rob. Amanda can and will cook us a nice meal. Will you come?"

"Of course; I would be delighted." If looks could kill, the lovely redhead's green eyes would have sliced both him and her father to ribbons. "May I trust you will not poison our food, Miss Chambers?" he couldn't resist teasing her.

"Oh, I am sure I can come up with something more clever than poisoned food, Mr. Thorne!" Amanda retorted.

"I shall look forward to dining with you tonight then." He grinned at her, and then bid them a good day as Matt turned the buggy and headed home at a brisk pace. Robert saw Amanda wince in pain and suddenly realized she was truly in pain. He felt little sympathy for her. If ever a young lady needed taming, it was Miss Amanda Chambers! He looked after them for a while and then headed out to check on his men.

* * *

"That was not an apology, girl."

"Because I am not really sorry, Papa! You saw the mark on his cheek! I have at least twenty of them on my bottom, especially where I sit! My clothing was wet, and it made the blows extremely painful. I am not an animal to be used so!" She was still insulted by the fact that Robert Thorne used the small riding whip on her backside.

"You shouldn't have hit the man, Mandy. He didn't deserve it."

"I struck him twice; he shouldn't have done what he did, either!" She refused to back down. "Seriously, Papa, I was already smarting from the fall. I told him not to touch me, but he put his hands all over me; what was I to do?"

"He wasn't tryin' to take advantage of you, Mandy. He was checkin' to see if you broke any bones. It's what I would have done," Matt insisted, defending Rob. "Your Mama put all that nonsense in your head, girl, and it's just plain silly. You don't hit a man when his intentions are good ones."

For the first time Amanda found herself wondering if her father was right. She looked at him, confusion in her eyes. "In Boston a gentleman wouldn't dream of doing something so improper. He would have asked if assistance was needed, and then gone for help."