His Mischievous Bride: Regency Matchmaker Book Two

by Jones, Celeste

  The polished toe of his boot moved into my line of sight. He tapped it against the floor. "I am waiting."

  I swallowed against the parchment of my throat. "I... I had not considered those things."

  The boot continued to tap.

  "I might have put you and Gibson in danger too."

  More tapping.

  "Am I going to have to stand here all evening tapping my foot?"

  "I do not know what you want from me," I mumbled, head still facing the floor. "I am unbearably remorseful and know not how to make amends."

  "There are no amends to be made. What is done is done. However, that does not mean there will not be consequences for you."

  A tingle of apprehension moved through my body. We had been married such a short time, I had no notion of what William meant by 'consequences' though I had a fairly good idea and it did not sound enjoyable.

  A gentle hand touched my chin and tipped my face upward. I gazed into my husband's eyes where a storm of emotions was evident, yet amongst them I could distinguish love. I had committed an egregious offense, endangered lives. This was well beyond any of my usual foolhardy errors.

  "You need absolution. Punishment will allow you to pay penance and relieve your own guilt. Which do you feel more strongly... sadness or remorse?"

  I held his gaze and saw love there. Yes, I needed and deserved to be punished. It was the only way to get past what I had done.

  "Remorse," I said. "It is nearly overpowering."

  "James has entrusted me to punish you appropriately for the risks you took with his wife. In addition, there is the discipline necessary for the risks you took with your own life."

  "Oh, I did a horrible thing by endangering Tempest. Jimmy loves her so much. He would never forgive me if something happened to her."

  William tapped me on the nose. "Exactly. Now, how do you suppose I would feel if something had happened to you? Is not my love for you as great and profound as James' love for Tempest?"

  Through tear filled eyes, I looked up at him. "Yes," I whispered, "though in truth, until this moment, I had not realized the depth of it."

  He kissed me tenderly on the lips. "When I saw you hanging out of the carriage door and then fly through the air and land on the ground, my heart nearly stopped. You are the most precious thing in my life. How dare you imperil yourself like that? How would I ever go on without you, now that I have found you at last?"

  The sadness in his expression broke my heart. I had never considered his affection for me could be absolute and unconditional.

  In that moment, I grew up. I truly understood love and the depth of it.

  With one silly escapade, I had endangered everything and everyone I hold dear.

  Was there even a punishment sufficient to erase such malfeasance?

  I threw myself into my husband's arms, sobbing. "Oh, why am I such a fool? How can you love me when I am selfish and silly? Reckless with the people I love most? Oh, I am a miserable being."

  William held me for a few moments, stroking my back while I sobbed out my misery against his shoulder. When I had finally cried myself out, he lifted my face and gazed into my eyes. "I know you are sorry, Callie. And I believe you finally understand the seriousness of your infractions."

  My heart leapt. Perhaps my remorse had sufficiently swayed him away from the notion of discipline.

  "But," he continued, "there is still the matter of your punishment."

  Fiddlesticks.

  "I understand," I said, wiping my face with his handkerchief. "Please, let us get on with it."

  "This will not be a fun spanking like we have had in the past, you understand."

  "Yes, I would have it no other way. You are my husband and I trust you to know what is necessary."

  "Thank you," he said. "Your trust is something I strive to deserve."

  * * *

  William

  The strap.

  I flexed it against my palm and waggled it in the air, making sure it was not too stiff nor too flimsy.

  In the army, the strap was one of the most severe punishments inflicted on a wayward soldier, renowned for not just pain, but the humiliation of having one's arse punished by a commanding officer and usually done publicly as a warning to others.

  Of course, I would not expose my wife to public punishment. In fact, most of the servants had been excused for the evening in order to preserve some semblance of marital privacy for Callie and myself.

  She had acknowledged her wrongdoing and I believed her to be sincerely remorseful. However, the severity of her misdeeds warranted the most extreme punishment.

  I did not relish this husbandly duty. Not at all.

  A pit formed in my stomach and a line of perspiration covered my brow. I had never shirked my duty before and had no intention of doing so now.

  Callie had obediently stripped and now lay naked across the clothing horse which had been retrieved from my dressing area, her bare bottom prepared to accept her chastisement.

  I saw her left heel bounce up and down and smiled. A nervous tic she'd had since childhood, I remembered it well.

  Taking a deep breath, I moved closer to her, rested my hand on the small of her back. "Are you ready, Callie?"

  She wrapped her fingers tightly around the rail of the horse and inhaled deeply before replying. "Yes," she said, "I am ready."

  There was no avoiding it. I raised the strip of leather high in the air and brought it down with a firm slap against the flesh of her backside, leaving a scarlet imprint in its wake. Callie shuddered and adjusted her feet, but made no complaint.

  I repeated the action, with the same effect. Another mark blazed over her tender hindquarters.

  After the third swat, I could bear it no more and flung the instrument from me. It clattered against the floor and Callie glanced in that direction, then back at me. "William?"

  "I cannot do it," I said. "The strap is meant for miscreants, not my wife." I gathered her in my arms. "I know you are sorry and in this instance, there is no punishment worse than the regret you feel.”

  "But, you were so angry with me, as well you ought to be. What I did was grievous and despicable. I deserve the most severe punishment."

  Settling on the edge of the bed, I cradled her in my arms, my hands caressing her precious form.

  “Your punishment is to remain married to me for the rest of your life.”

  Celeste Jones

  One day while out to lunch with my mother, she leaned across the table and whispered, "Have you ever heard of spanking...you know, like with sex?" A friend of my mother's had confided in her that she wrote spanking stories for Discipline and Desire. My mother, convinced that her daughter could do anything, suggested I give it a try. I guess mothers do know best because I've been having a great deal of fun writing spanking stories and I owe it all to my mother.

  Don’t miss these exciting titles by Celeste Jones and Blushing Books!

  Maid for a Lord

  Lady Katherine’s Comeuppance

  Lady Katherine’s Conundrum

  Willful Miss Manchester

  Laying Down the Law

  Regency Matchmaker Series

  His Tempestuous Bride – Book One

  His Mischievous Bride - Book Two

  Anthologies

  Milestones

  www.writercelestejones.blogspot.com

  Epilogue

  Callie

  My darling Tempest and I were reunited two nights later when William and I hosted my son and his wife for dinner. I had worried for her, knowing how angry James had been. Unlike his ugly accusations against William were baseless, his fury over our venture into detective work was justified.

  However, when I saw the two of them together, it was evident all had been resolved and they were as much in love as ever before.

  At dinner, William raised his glass. “A toast,” he said, “to Lady Tempest whose stealth in recovering a book of coded messages broke open the investigation and several arrests w
ere made... including Lord and Lady Freebush.”

  A gasp went up around the table. In the aftermath of our endeavor, I had forgotten about the book.

  I glanced at Tempest. Instead of glee, she had taken on a somber appearance. “What is it, dear? Are you not pleased?”

  “I am glad to know our efforts were fruitful,” she said. “And though I have no great affection for my aunt and uncle, I am surprisingly saddened by their current situation. They were my only family, after all.”

  “You have a kind heart,” William said.

  “We are your family now,” Jimmy said, squeezing his wife’s hand. “And our family is growing.”

  At that, Tempest perked up considerably. “Which reminds me,” she said, speaking to me. “Since I do not have a mother to attend me during my confinement, I wonder if you would be kind enough to fill that role when the baby arrives.”

  My heart nearly exploded with gladness. “I would not miss it for the world,” I said.

  And if you, gentle reader, do not wish to miss it either, you will have to wait for book three.

  The End

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