The Demure Bride(5)

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."         

     



 

"In Boston you aren't out on open range and there are people all over  the place to ask for help. Out here you do what you need to do to help,  and that is what Rob did. You owe the man a sincere apology, Amanda. I  expect you to fix a nice company meal and behave tonight. Don't think I  won't take you from the table and tan your hide if you act like a  spoiled brat!" he threatened.

Amanda was quiet all the way home. Sitting on the hard seat of the buggy  was extremely painful on her tender bottom... and she couldn't help but  wonder if her parent was right. Was she wrong to strike Robert Thorne?  In Boston it would have been expected, but things here were so  different. When they finally reached the ranch, Amanda was relieved to  jump down from the buggy. She headed for the house but Matt called to  her and she turned to face him.

"Best you fix a decent meal, Mandy, and behave yourself tonight." He  turned then and walked off, his meaning very clear to the pretty  redhead.

Mandy walked inside and hurried upstairs to rub more of the salve on her  aching posterior. She had lied to her father, wanting his sympathy; she  only had two red marks on her bottom, but she was very tender and  sitting was a constant reminder that she'd been soundly spanked twice!  She wasn't going to do one thing to earn another... And all it would  take was careful planning. First things first, she said as she put on an  older dress and an apron. She went down to the kitchen and said with a  smile, "Goldie, we are having a guest for dinner tonight and Papa  expects me to do all of the cooking. The house is clean as can be, so  why don't you take a day off and go and visit with your sister in town?"

Goldie looked at her in surprise, but then smiled and nodded. She left without saying goodbye.

Amanda went to work, a wicked smile on her face...





Chapter Three





Robert Thorne shaved carefully and put on a suit before leaving for the  Circle C Ranch. The evening promised to be entertaining, and he grinned  in anticipation as he mounted his stallion. Miss Amanda Chambers was  full of spirit and he could not help but wonder if she would bring all  that fire and passion to bed with her, not that he was likely to bed her  anytime in the near future. She was thoroughly angry with him for  turning her backside up for a solid thrashing, even though she richly  deserved the chastisement. His fingers went to the red mark that she  left across his cheek with the little riding whip she persisted in  carrying when she went riding. It was still very tender, and shaving  over the area had been tricky and somewhat painful. Hopefully her  posterior was sporting a few matching marks that ached when she tried to  sit her chair. While it certainly was not considered gentlemanly to  manhandle the fairer sex, the hot-tempered redhead had earned every  stroke he administered, and he was no sorrier for spanking her than she  was for striking him.

Yes, the evening ahead would prove amusing. He was fairly certain that  Miss Chambers would not be able to resist retaliation of some sort, and  he was prepared for an ill-prepared meal at the very least, and barely  concealed sarcasm that would pass her father's attention. Rob was still  very surprised to learn that morning that Matt Chambers had given his  daughter the spanking she deserved for trying to jump her skittish  little mare. He'd heard from the well-meaning gossips in the area that  Matt had a blind eye for his girl, but in truth, he was trying to make  up for not being involved at all in his daughter's upbringing. Rob liked  Matt Chambers, and to be honest, he found it hard to believe his  likeable neighbor had such a spoiled brat for a daughter.