The Demure Bride(4)

"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.