Lady Westbrook's Discovery (4 page)

“Three more I think,
” said Mr Oliver, taking a step back and then raising the ruler high before bringing it down hard on Margaret’s rump. He repeated the action two more times – landing the blows on the lowest part of her backside where her bottom connected to her thighs. Each time the ruler connected with her body, Margaret felt a jolt of pain like she had never experienced before. She cried out in response.

Mr Oliver laid down the ruler on the top of the desk and, thinking the punishment over, Margaret made to get up from her prone position.

“Don’t move,” said Oliver quietly. “I haven’t finished yet.” He gently pushed her down over the desk, his hand on the small of her back.

A wave of panic
coursed through Margaret. There was more? Already her bottom throbbed with pain. She felt the sting of each of those ten spanks crisscrossing her backside. She didn’t think she could take further punishment.

Nevertheless, she resolved to remain where she was and not to make any protest. It was at her request that this
spanking was taking place after all; it wouldn’t do to back out of the arrangement at this stage.

Having laid down the ruler, Mr Oliver now resumed spanking Margaret
using his hand. The swats were hard but not extraordinarily so. He was clearly not using his full force, nor did he lift his arm as high in the air as he had when delivering the blows with the ruler. Rather, he spanked her bottom quickly and thoroughly, covering every square inch of her backside. Margaret found that the pain in her bottom was being diffused. Each blow from his hand caused a shudder of pain as it connected with her already marked bottom, but the pain itself had changed. It was no longer concentrated on separate stripes. Instead, her entire bottom was suffused with a warm – if very achy – glow.

At last
, the rain of spanks ended. Mr Oliver stepped back as though admiring his work. Although of course he could see nothing of the results of his labours, the marks being hidden by Margaret’s skirt and petticoats.

Margaret was breathing heavily from the exertion. She felt as though she had climbed a mountain. Her throbbing backside burned red hot. She could hear Mr Oliver breathing heavily as well although she was not sure
whether that was from the physical exertion of administering her punishment or from some other cause.

“You can get up now,” he said.

Margaret pushed herself up from the desk. Her hair was in disarray and her face was flushed pink. Her hands instinctively went to her bottom in an attempt to temper the pain.

She looked up at Mr Oliver and was
initially surprised to see that his expression was one of anxiety. Of course, she thought, this
was
a test, after all. He wants to know that he has passed.

“So,” she said, her voice wavering despite her best efforts to control it, “you would punish me in that manner if we were married?”

“Yes. If we both agreed that you deserved it.”

Margaret took Felix Oliver’s hands in hers. “Well then. I hope that you do not find it necessary to punish me too often.”

His worried frown disappeared in an instant. He smiled broadly and his eyes sparkled with warmth.

“Then you will consent to be my wife?”

“I will.”

Oliver dropped her hands and encircled Margaret in an embrace. He squeezed her tightly and buried his face in her hair. “Thank you,” he whispered in her ear.

His hand moved to the back of her head and he pulled Margaret towards him and kissed her. Margaret was astonished by the force and passion behind his kiss. His lips forced hers apart; he pressed down on her mouth and plundered it with his tongue. It was not a seemly kiss for two people who were not yet married. It was probably not a seemly kiss for any two people, thought Margaret. Her first husband had certainly never kissed her like it. Mr Oliver’s lips pressed against hers with a passion and an urgency to which she felt herself instinctively responding. Her lips moved in synchronisation with his, and she opened her mouth wide to receive his tongue. It was positively scandalous, she thought happily.

His left hand was entwined with her hair while his right hand moved down to her backside
, which he gripped firmly. The pressure on her buttocks caused a ripple of pain through Margaret’s body, and enflaming her passions further. Still kissing, she pressed her body closer to him and enjoyed the warmth and excitement generated by her closeness to the man she was going to marry.

“It’s absolutely preposterous!” thundered Robert, Margaret’s elder son. “It’s unthinkable. You cannot possibly be considering such a thing.”

“Robert,” Margaret replied, “I have done more than merely consider it. I have accepted Mr Oliver’s proposal of marriage. We have a contract.”

“I forbid it.”

“Robert, you may be Lord Westbrook, but I am still your mother. You cannot forbid me to do anything.”

“But, Mother, surely you can see how ridiculous this is.
I fully understand if you wish to get married again. However, there must be dozens more suitable men out there. An elderly wealthy widower like Colonel Huffington, for example.”

“Stop it.
Do not dictate what I should do, and do not try to matchmake for me. I didn’t ask you here for your permission.”

“The man’s only twenty-six years old for god’s sake. And a
scientist
.”

Jasper, Margaret’s younger son
, lounged on the sofa watching the exchange between Robert and his mother. He let out a peal of laughter at Robert’s last remark. “Oh come now, Robert, you say ‘scientist’ like it’s the very essence of impropriety.  It’s not as though Mama is planning to run off with the boot boy or a gypsy peddler.”

“You can’t possibly approve of this ridiculous match,”
said Robert, frowning as he looked at his brother.

“Oh why not? I think Mama marrying again is a wonderful idea. She’s hardly in her dotage. As for her choice of husband, well as long as he doesn’t plan to steal her money and beat her senseless on a regular basis, she may choose who she likes.”

“How do we know he won’t?” huffed Robert.

Jasper’s off-the-cuff remark about being beaten caused Margaret’s heart to beat somewhat wildly. He was closer than he knew
, even if Mr Oliver’s only demonstration of domestic discipline so far had been at Margaret’s behest.

The spanking had certainly felt severe at the time as Mr Oliver had laid ten swats with a ruler and followed it up with a hand spanking.
When Margaret had examined her bottom in the mirror that evening, she had expected to see a mass of bruises. She was surprised – and she had to confess, a little disappointed – that aside from a pinker than usual hue, there was very little evidence of the spanking.

Robert’s response had
brought back the memory vividly. She turned him to him and said sharply, “What do you mean by that?”

“Are we sure he’s not trying to steal your money? As the youngest of the Earl of Rochester’s ten children, I imagine he’s not expecting much of an inheritance.”

“He is quite comfortably off. Don’t worry. If he was looking to fleece a gullible elderly widow, then I would be a terrible choice. He knows full well that everything belongs to you as Lord Westbrook. As it happens, he is buying Colonel Huffington’s house now that the Colonel is moving back to India. We shall live there together once we are married. Until then, I should like to continue living at Westbrook Manor if I have your permission to do so, of course.”

“Of course, Mama.
It is your home for as long as you want it. I wasn’t planning to toss you out into the street.”

Robert looked flustered. For all his bluster, Margaret knew that his anger was entirely borne out of concern for her well
-being. He’s a good man, she thought. Like his father. And like his father, he was serious to a fault. He took his responsibilities to heart. He just needed to understand that his responsibilities did not extend to approving his mother’s new husband.

Jasper, on the other hand, was certainly not afflicted with his brother’s
sense of seriousness. He scarcely seemed to take life seriously at all.

“Hurrah!” Jasper said. “An
autumn wedding! Let joy be unconfined! We’ll dress in our finest silks and dance through the night! Mama, do you think it would be possible for me to bring along my dear friend Charles? We share rooms at Cambridge and he’s such a good sort, you know. I’m sure he would love to join the festivities.”

“Of course,” replied Margaret. “He would be most welcome. You will come, won’t you Robert?” she addressed her elder son, realising that anxiety was beginning to creep into her voice a little.

“I will endeavour to arrange leave on that day,” Robert replied. “It is of course only correct that I should be there.”

“Oh you must ensure you can come!” said Jasper. “We both need to be on our best behaviour for our new Papa!”

Robert shot Jasper a furious look and stormed out of the room.

“Oh Jasper, he was just coming round to the idea,” said Margaret wearily. “Why do you antagonise your brother so?”

Jasper shrugged. “Force of habit, probably. It can’t be for the sport of the thing. Goodness knows, antagonising Robert is like shooting particularly slow fish in a very small barrel.”

Margaret followed Robert into the garden, where he stood, scowling at the rosebushes.

“Please don’t pay any mind to Jasper. He just likes to annoy you.”

“Jasper is not the person responsible for my annoyance at the moment. I do not understand why you wish to marry this man.”

“I love him,” said Margaret simply.

“Is that enough of a reason to marry someone?”

“Yes, it’s enough, Robert. Please accept that. I hope when the time comes for you to choose a wife you will consider more than just your duty. I hope you will find love.”

“You and Father were not a love match?”

“No. We were not.”

“Were you happy with him?”

“I was happy enough, Robert. We were good companions for one another. And the marriage produced you and Jasper who have both brought me so much joy. But I have been a widow for ten years now. You and Jasper are grown-up and making lives for yourselves. I didn’t expect to fall in love but I have, and Mr Oliver makes me so happy. Your blessing would make me happier still.”

“Very well. I should not want to detract from your happiness. I believe I would like to meet Mr Oliver before the wedding though.”

“Of course. That can be arranged.”

Felix paced the empty hall of his new home. Colonel Huffington’s packing cases filled the dining room, waiting for collection. Very few of his
own belongings had been delivered so far and the furniture in the property consisted of a few bits and pieces that the Colonel had not wished to sell or transport. The house really wasn’t in a fit state to entertain visitors, he had to concede to himself, but he was eager that his first meeting with Lady Westbrook’s sons be on his own territory, not theirs.

The doorbell rang and Felix went to open the door himself – staff, too, were minimal at the moment. Most were not contracted to start until just before the wedding
, which was still three weeks away.

He ushered his guests into the sparsely furnished drawing room. Both
of Lady Westbrook’s sons had much darker colouring than her own; he presumed they took after her late husband. Robert, Lord Westbrook, wore his regimental uniform; he was tall and thickset and his face seemed fixed in a constant frown. Jasper was slighter in build and dressed fashionably in a perfectly fitted jacket and starched cravat. He looked a lot less furious to be there than his brother and wore an expression of amused indifference.

Lady Westbrook carried out the introductions between them, looking far less self-assured than he had seen her before. This meeting clearly meant a lot to her. I mustn’t do anything to mess
this up, Felix reminded himself. If she feels she has to choose between her children and me, there’s very little chance I’ll win.

Lord Westbrook looked about the house with barely concealed disdain. “This is where you expect Mama to live?” he asked.

“Yes. It will be fully decorated by the date of the wedding, and I expect we will be very comfortable.”

“It’s much smaller than Mama’s current house.”

Yes, well, it isn’t
Mama
’s house, it’s yours,
thought Felix,  managing to keep his out-loud response to a neutral “I believe it is, yes.”

“
Indeed, we shall only have half a dozen more bedrooms than we require rather than the full dozen,” interjected Margaret testily.

“You will be content to live here in reduced circumstances?” Lord Westbrook said.

“Oh, don’t be ridiculous, Robert,” said Margaret “I’m hardly entering the workhouse. The house is beautiful and has extensive gardens. I plan to entirely remodel the herb garden.”

Jasper spoke up. “
Will you show me  the gardens, Mama? I believe that Robert intends to interrogate Mr Oliver further and it might be best if we were both safely out of the way.”

Lady Westbrook looked as though she was about to object. Felix shot her a quick look and nodded his
head slightly to indicate that she should take up her younger son’s offer. He was going to have to have it out with him at some point and having his mother step in to reprimand him after every sentence clearly wasn’t improving Lord Westbrook’s temper.

Lady Westbrook turned to Jasper. “Very well, I shall show you where I plan to
put the rosemary cuttings.” The pair walked out through the drawing room’s French windows, leaving Felix and Lord Westbrook alone together.

Felix was
well aware that Lord Westbrook considered himself his superior. He was titled and Felix was not; it was as simple as that.
I don’t even have the advantage of age that most potential step-fathers would have in this position
, thought Felix.
There are only five years between us
. He looked at the imposing figure of Lord Westbrook
. I have no advantage over this man at all. If it came down to it, I couldn’t even best him in a fist fight.

“Cigar?” Felix offered.

“No.”

“Brandy?”

“No.”

“Right. Um, a
nything else I can get you?”

“I do not approve of this marriage, you know.”

“I had rather gathered that,” Felix replied.

“This ridiculous charade could potentially make my mother a laughing stock within the whole community.”

“Oh surely not. She’s a widow and she wishes to remarry. It happens all the time. It is quite unremarkable.”

“I do not know what wiles you used to persuade my mother to accept your proposal of marriage but it seems clear to me that you did not have her best interests at heart. You expect her to relinquish her title, reduce her income and endure the embarrassment of being known to have married a man so much younger than herself. It seems to me that if you have any regard at all for my mother, you would grant her the opportunity to extricate herself from this unsuitable arrangement.”

“Has she indicated to you that she
wants
to extricate herself?” asked Felix.

“That is not the point.”

“Really? I think it is entirely the point. You are clearly very fond of your mother and I have no wish to come between the two of you. However, your accusation that I have managed to persuade her to marry me against her will in some way is completely laughable.  In the short time that I have known Lady Westbrook, it has been very clear to me that she is a woman of both strong will and remarkable intellect. The fact is, she has chosen to marry me because that is what she wants to do. You should extend her enough courtesy to respect her wishes in this.”

Lord Westbrook’s eyes narrowed.
“You think you know my own mother better than I do? Is that it?”

“Not at all. However, I think you need to trust your mother’s
judgment in this matter. Have you spoken to her about your concerns?”

Lord Westbrook scowled.
“Yes and I can see that neither you nor Mama seems prepared to listen to reason on this. Very well, I am prepared to tolerate your marriage but I warn you, Mr Oliver, I expect to see my mother well-treated or I shall not be responsible for the consequences.”

He really is a pompous twerp, thought Felix to himself. He
had tried his very best to give Lord Westbrook the benefit of the doubt. The poor chap has had a lot to deal with, he reminded himself. He lost his father when he was only eleven and had to assume the responsibilities of being Lord Westbrook from that young age. That certainly couldn’t have been easy and must have had some bearing on the adult that he grew into. Felix certainly did not envy him his situation. Nonetheless, Felix found it difficult to warm to the man. He wanted to like him for Margaret’s sake but found it difficult to believe that this humourless, arrogant army officer was even related to Margaret. He certainly didn’t seem to share his mother’s individualism or sense of fun.

Still
, he didn’t need to befriend the man. He just needed Lord Westbrook’s acceptance – however grudging – that Felix would be a good husband to his mother. “I understand,” he said.

Lord
Westbrook nodded curtly. “Shall we join my mother and Jasper in the garden?”

“Here they are!” called Jasper gaily as Lord Westbrook and Felix walked across the lawn. “Hello
, you two! Are you the very best of friends now?”