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“Oh?”
“He asked me to help you to disrobe.” Matilda coloured up with embarrassment.
“What on earth for, it is nearly luncheon?” Holly asked, perplexed.
“It wasn’t my place to ask, milady, but since it is still your honeymoon…” Matilda’s voice trailed off. It was clear to Holly her maid felt uncomfortable delivering such a message.
She shivered with foreboding. The fire was out and would not usually be relit again until near nightfall.
“You’d better light the fire first, Matilda, it is very chilly in here,” she stated, changing the subject. She very much doubted her maid’s assumption that her husband was in a loving mood and resigned herself to whatever Gregory had planned.
By the time she was down to her drawers and chemise, the fire was blazing. “I shall leave the rest of my undergarments on until the fire has heated the chamber.”
“Why don’t you hop into bed, milady, that will help you stay warm,” Matilda suggested.
Thus, when Gregory arrived some ten minutes later, Holly was sitting, nestled in bed against a pile of plump pillows
Casting her a stern look, he did not speak immediately. Removing his smoking jacket and waistcoat, he hung them on a chair back, then crossed to the foot of the bed.
“Last Friday, do you recall the promises you made, an oath, before God and witnesses?” he asked.
“Of course, to love, honour, and obey,” she replied, frowning, mystified by his question.
“What did I specifically tell you yesterday about my daughters going tobogganing?”
“That you didn’t want them to, but let me explain, Gregory—”
“No. No ‘buts’ or excuses. You blatantly disobeyed me, Annabelle. The consequence of that disregard caused Libby to be severely injured. I cannot overlook your defiance in flouting my authority. Get up.”
His use of her first name annoyed her. She scrambled off the mattress and stood hands clenched. “Perhaps if you spent more time with your daughters, you’d know that they need fresh air and exercise. You could have accompanied us today and joined in the tobogganing. Libby might have taken more heed of your warnings than she did of mine.”
“I was secreted in my office with staff arranging for food to be delivered to the tenants I discovered yesterday who have been
suffering from this extreme cold. I’m sure their children would rather be in a warm house than shivering in freezing temperatures—”
“That is an entirely different thing!”
Gregory seated himself on the edge of the vacated bed. “Enough! Come here.”
Holly remained where she was. There was something she had to know before she accepted this chastisement. “First, please will you tell me what the doctor said about Libby’s injuries?” she implored.
“The doctor needed to suture both legs. My girl was immensely brave, but I could see they were very painful. Poor Libby wept bitterly. The doctor ordered her to bed rest for a couple of days in order to allow the wounds to knit. He has left some laudanum powders to help ease her pain. I shall send the sleigh into the village to fetch him at the end of next week, assuming there is snow still upon the ground, and he will remove the stitches then.”
Gregory crooked a finger at her. “Now then, no more prevarication, wife. Do as I bid you and come here to me.”
Studying Gregory’s face, she met his eye. Although stern, she noted a sadness in his gaze. His lip quirked into a stiff smile, and she knew instinctively her husband had no wish to harm her.
Reluctantly, knowing there was no way out for her, she nervously obeyed and moved to his side. Reaching for the bow at her waist he released it so her drawers fell about her ankles. She kicked the garment free.
“Give me your hand.”
She placed a trembling palm in his. The knowledge that he would not harm her did nothing to calm her quaking nerves. This was to be a punishment so no doubt it would sting.
With a tug, she found herself tilted across his lap and gasped as her hands landed palms down upon the floor. Humiliation rose as she contemplated her predicament, laid bare-bottomed and facedown over his thighs.
“I hope that this will be the deterrent required to bridle your wilful hubris.”
“What are you doing?!” she cried, even though she fully understood his intention was to spank her.
