Blessed Beginnings (Hunter's Ridge Book 4) (15 page)

When Ettie began to protest, Lucy shushed her. "We will, Nanny Molly, thank you."

The moment the two nannies left, pulling the door closed, the thick covers were tossed aside and five women sat in a circle.

"Tell us, Ettie," Emmie said, taking the lead, "how is it with three men courting you?"

Ettie giggled. "I'm not sure. In all honesty, it's a bit confusing."

"I can understand that," Lucy agreed. "But is one more appealing?"

"Well, Mr. Whitmore is very sweet, but I think he just likes to bring me candy that I'm not even allowed to eat," Ettie said with a giggle. "I'm not so sure about Lawrence. He's a bit bossy if you ask me. But he is awfully handsome and makes me laugh, even though I thought for a moment that he was going to swat me because he knows I got spanked before or, God, even threaten me with another enema when I pouted about those tarts…"

"Oh, my! He didn't, did he?" Franny asked, her cheeks flushing.

"No, thank goodness, but still I wouldn't put it past him. As I said, he is a bit bossy!"

"Well, you have to admit, you do tend to overdo it when it comes to sweets," Franny said.

Ettie waved her hand in the air, as if her sister's observation warranted no further thought.

"What about Lord Lenar?" Franny asked.

Ettie took a moment and shook her head. "I don't know. I was actually quite surprised that he wishes to court me. At the dinner party, I was sure he only had eyes for you."

Lucy giggled and turned to Franny. "I admit I thought the same that night, until I realized that Mr. Benedict never gave anyone else a chance to really even talk to you." She turned back to Emmie. " I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt. Go ahead. What do you think of him?"

"He is so quiet and seems sad. Oh, you don't know about what happened, do you?" When all but Franny shook their heads, she told how Lord Lenar had lost not only his parents but his fiancée two years earlier. "They had been childhood friends and their families were on holiday together. Raymond was going to join them after finishing some sort of business. He arrived only to discover that the hotel had caught fire. No one survived."

"That's awful," Emmie said, not the only one to have tears in her eyes.

"No wonder he seems so sad," Lucy said. "I know that even as horrid as it was to lose our parents, at least I had Louisa."

Louisa reached for her twin's hand. "I'll always be grateful, as well. Ettie, it is wonderful for you to want to help him find happiness again. Just make sure you don't confuse love with pity. I don't mean to sound harsh but that wouldn't be fair to either of you."

Ettie opened her mouth as if to protest and then shut it again. Nodding, she spoke. "You're right. It's just that when I see him, I want to make him smile. He is just so quiet and I'm not sure if I'm the right type for him. I tend to be, um, a bit less serious?"

"A bit?" Franny said, nudging her sister with her elbow. "Face it, Ettie, you are far less serious but you are absolutely adorable."

Ettie huffed and then shook her head. "Thank you, I guess, but I just don't know yet. Do… do you think it would be awkward if your husband was a doctor? I mean, he'd see other women… you know," her voice dropped to a barely audible whisper, "naked. What if he thought they were more beautiful than you?"

Emmie giggled and then looked abashed when Ettie gave her a stern look. "I'm serious! I felt so funny inside when Lawrence saw me almost naked. I'm surprised he didn't hear my heart beating out of my chest when he was listening to my heartbeat. All I could do was pray he didn't pull up my gown and look at my bottom. I mean, it had to be red! He won't want me if he thinks I'm
always
naughty or just a silly little girl!"

"Didn't he see your bottom when he examined you?" Lucy asked, her brow furrowed.

"No! Why would he? I had a tummy ache and though my bum was tender, it wasn't really painful." She gave her sister-in-law a look. "What you are not saying?"

"Um, never mind…" Lucy attempted to draw the conversation to another topic but Ettie was not having it.

"No, tell me. Do you think something is wrong with Lawrence?"

Louisa shook her head. "No, Ettie, it's just that most exams would include taking your temperature…"

"Oh, he did, but I didn't have a fever."

"How?" Emmie asked.

Ettie looked around the group. "What do you mean? He stuck a thermometer in my mouth while he had my wrist in his hand."

"Oh, that explains it," Lucy said.

"Explains what?"

"Explains why he didn't see your bum," Lucy said.

Franny joined the conversation. "Are you saying that you believed Dr. Fielding would put a thermometer in, um, a different location?"

"Exactly," Emmie confirmed. "I haven't had a thermometer in my mouth in years."

"Okay, I am totally confused," Ettie confessed.

Lucy shook her head but again felt that Ettie deserved to know a bit more about the life required of a Little. "Ettie, women like us," she began, using her hand to include Emmie and her twin, "have our temperatures taken differently. The thermometers are thicker, much longer, and go up our bums, not under our tongues."

It took a second and then Ettie's eyes grew huge and color flooded her face. "Really?" At the girls' nods, she flopped backwards, and moaned. "Oh my, I think I would have just perished if Lawrence had done that. God, he would have been certain I'd gotten a spanking and not just assuming I had."

"That's interesting. You don't protest having a glass rod in your behind but are glad that your spanked bottom wasn't examined," Lucy said, pulling her sister-in-law up again. "And, Ettie, I've noticed that Dr. Fielding is the only one you addressed by his Christian name. I wonder why that is?"

"I did?" Ettie said, surprise evident in her voice. Shrugging, she added, "Maybe because out of the three, he is the only one constantly badgering me instead of just thinking I'm adorable."

"I hardly think you need worry," Louisa said. "You are a very beautiful woman. Besides, I'm betting Dr. Fielding doesn't go around plucking tarts off all his female patients' plates or warning them to behave. Back to your question, no, at least I don't think it would matter if my Papa was a doctor. I'm sure Dr. Fielding doesn't think of patients as he does a possible wife."

"You're probably right," Ettie conceded and then reached to pat Franny's hand. "It's your turn, Franny. What about Mr. Benedict, or should I say Samuel?" Franny's cheeks flushed and the others smiled. "Oh, I think our Franny is in love!"

Franny's look was serious as she glanced at each of them. "How do you know? I mean, how can you be sure?"

Emmie answered first. "You just do. I knew Stefan was the only one almost immediately."

"Me too," Louisa admitted. "I wasn't even looking for a husband and suddenly I was engaged and then wed. I think you just have to listen to your heart."

Lucy giggled. "Or listen to him constantly telling you that you need a firm hand and then feel your tummy flip when he spanks you and your toes curl when he kisses you."

Franny smiled and nodded. "I did enjoy that quite a bit," the eldest among them admitted. "I enjoyed the second one even more."

"Enjoy what?" Ettie pounced on her sister's statement. "Oh! Samuel kissed you, didn't he! Was it wonderful? Does Lucas know?"

"Well, he did see him kiss me goodbye but I don't think he knows about the kisses in the parlor," Franny said, looking a bit panicked.

Ettie patted her hand. "I didn't mean to upset you." Her momentary lapse into seriousness changed with her next statement. "Did you like it? His kiss, I mean?"

"Ettie!" Franny attempted to chide but then had to smile. "Yes, I liked it very, very much."

"I'm glad you like him, and his kisses," Ettie said with a giggle. "Hmm, maybe I need to get Lawrence to kiss me. I mean, if it made me feel icky then I'd know I couldn't possibly marry him, right?"

Her four companions glanced at each other and then giggled. "Well, that does make sense but I don't think you should go around kissing everyone just for fun," Emmie said.

"Not everyone," Ettie quipped. "Just Dr. Fielding and maybe Lord Lenar."

"Ah, so poor Mr. Whitmore is out of the running?" Lucy asked.

Ettie nodded. "I don't need to kiss him. I mean, he is very nice but I don't feel anything fluttering or tingling or want to jump about when he touches my hand. I might not understand everything but I've got eyes and ears. I've seen how the three of you act when one of your Papas cuddle or kiss you. I just wish I'd seen how Franny looked when her Samuel kissed her in the parlor. Did your toes curl?"

"You are absolutely incorrigible," Franny said, shaking her head.

"Nope, adorable, remember?" Ettie said with a giggle, the others smiling and shaking their heads as well.

Franny looked around the circle. "Can I ask a serious question and you won't tell?"

"Absolutely!" Lucy promised, "anything shared among us will not go further. Right?" When the others agreed, Franny took a moment, her fingers plucking the hem of her chemise.

"D-do you think that Samuel believes in spanking?"

Ettie surprised them all when she spoke first. "According to Lucas,
every
man does. He told me that husbands spank their wives even if they aren't special little ones. He said that if your husband is also a Papa, well, then you get spanked all the time!" Ignoring the shocked faces of her sister and friends, she shrugged. "Don't look at me like that, I'm just repeating what Lucas said."

Lucy giggled at the expression on Franny's face. "I'm sure Papa didn't say it exactly like that. I mean, there is spanking involved but
not
all the time. Even as naughty as I can be, I do manage to go several days without a spanking."

"Oh, well, that's a relief," Franny said, squirming just a bit but enough to have Lucy bending forward.

"Did Mr. Benedict spank you?"

"No!" Franny answered emphatically. "I was just wondering because… well, you three would know, and Ettie is always getting into trouble."

"I am not!" Ettie protested. "Just because I got punished that day doesn't mean I'm always in trouble!"

The others gave her looks that had her giggling. "Fine, I admit I'm in trouble far more often than Franny, but still." Shaking her head, she looked at her sister. "Besides, you are always so perfect that I can't imagine you ever being naughty enough to get a spanking from any man you choose."

"Thank you, but—what I mean is, how does it make you feel when you are um, spanked by a husband or a-a Papa?"

The question was so quietly asked that Lucy had a moment of wondering if she'd heard correctly. When Louisa looked as surprised, she realized she had.

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked, not forgetting what her Papa had warned her about but not wanting to have Franny, or Ettie for that matter, having unanswered questions, especially those concerning how it felt to experience these things. Though their papas could and should answer certain questions, only another woman could offer an answer based on experience.

"I mean, when Lucas spanks you as his… little one. Does it hurt? Not physically, as I can't imagine a spanking that wouldn't hurt, but does it feel strange? Does it feel different than when your parents spanked you?"

Lucy took a few moments, the room quiet as she gave the question some thought. "Yes, it's different than when my father or maman spanked me as a child. I just asked Louisa the other day if we were strange and she said that even if others think we might be, it is something we both embrace." Meeting Franny's gaze, she smiled. "So I guess what I'm saying is that it might be strange but I can't imagine living any other way. And yes, it hurts. A mother or father or, I suppose, a brother, spanks you as a child. When you wed, your husband or Papa spanks you as a grown woman even if you are also a special little one. Papa reminds me that punishment is supposed to hurt to teach the proper lesson." She paused and decided that Franny—and Ettie for that matter—deserved to know the truth.

"I can promise that the moment my spanking or punishment is over, Papa holds me and I know I'm loved and forgiven. It is far more intense that I ever felt as a child but I suppose that's because I love Lucas with my entire soul. My bottom hurts but my heart never does. Does that make any sense?"

The two single women both nodded but it was Franny who answered. "Yes, for some reason it does. I remember the nights our mother would sit on our father's lap. I never gave it much thought but now that I think about it, whenever I see any of you three with your Papas, I think of Mum." She gave a soft smile. "I agree with you both. Who cares if others think it strange, it is clear as day that you are just as incredibly happy as our parents were."

Louisa reached out and took her hand. "My wish would be that you will find everything you want in a man you choose to wed." Pausing a moment, she gave Franny's hand a squeeze. "Don't ever question what your heart is telling you. As we've said, it's hard to explain, but even though I didn't fully understand what I needed to experience the love I have for my husband, who is also the Papa I never knew I craved, I wouldn't change a single moment of my life."

"Me either," Emmie said. "I learned at Miss Summers' school that there is no one way that suits every couple. The important thing is to find what works for both of you. Of course, in our case, we do all share the fact that we receive spankings from our husbands and our papas." She giggled and continued. "Of course, that also means that we feel very much loved and adored." The last word had them all giggling, remembering Ettie's comments.

Franny returned the squeeze and nodded. "Love is so hard to explain but all I know is that every time Samuel looks at me or just brushes his hands across mine, the rest of the world disappears and all I want to do is be in his arms."

Lucy smiled. "And even if he does have to spank you, I promise he's the sort of papa who would never fail to take you in his arms and make sure you know you are his only love."

With Franny's blush and her nod, the group began to settle. Louisa whispered softly so that only her twin could hear. "You referred to Mr. Benedict as a papa…"