gag pressed into your disobedient little mouth to teach you to bridle your tongue!” He was pleased to see realization dawn in her eyes that perhaps she should be far less concerned about her sister’s fate and far more concerned about her own immediate future. He released her chin and turned to Lucas, who had stood quietly while Edward dealt with his wife.
Edward took Lucy’s cloak from Lucas and passed it to Molly who was also silently witnessing the scene. Edward reached into his pocket and extracted a small key, which he passed to Lucas.
“Are you sure you won’t need it, as well?” Lucas asked Edward.
Edward heard Louisa moan and watched as her face grew pale, as if only now realizing her husband might intend to spank her. Edward shook his head. “I have all I shall need in my chamber.”
Lucas nodded, slipping the key into his own pocket before turning to speak quietly with Anna. She listened intently and after assuring him she understood his request, they all watched as Lucas turned to follow his bride.
“I'm sorry, Papa,” Louisa said quietly once they were alone. “I just don’t want her hurt on her wedding day.”
Edward shook his head, not believing she had already broken his order to remain silent. Despite the fact that she was making an apology, he knew she had just earned a much more physical lesson to remind her to obey his every word. He took her hand and led her to climb the stairs.
“He will not harm her, Louisa,” he said firmly. “I promise that, even as I blister your bottom for your behavior, which I promise will hurt a great deal but also will not truly harm you. Your sister accepted her husband’s decision to punish her behavior with more grace and respect than my own wife who has far more experience in these matters. While Lucy’s spanking will also hurt, it will serve as her first lesson to behave as her husband expects. My hope is that your own blistered rump will remind you of lessons you seemed to have forgotten.”
Edward didn’t make promises lightly and knew she would soon be dancing to the tune of his discipline. She’d heard her sister give her vows only an hour earlier. This lesson would hopefully serve to remind his little one of the vows she’d made to him. Looking down at her and seeing the acknowledgement in the depths of her eyes that she had indeed stepped far over the line, he opened the door to his bedchamber and pulled her inside.
Chapter 8
Lucy was unaware of her sister’s plight as she entered the study. Her eyes immediately went to the large armoire and she shuddered. Not wishing to think of which implement her new husband would choose, she walked to a corner and turned into it. Her blood was racing through her veins. She felt a tear slip from her eye and angrily brushed it away. The moment she’d begun her tantrum she’d known better and had spent the past few hours anticipating paying for the inability to stop herself. She tore her thoughts away from the upcoming spanking and remembered the promises made as she gave herself to Lucas in marriage. As the words echoed in her mind, her heart stopped pounding, and her racing pulse slowed. She reached up and fondled the charm hanging between her breasts, feeling a sense of acceptance and peace flow over her. When she heard the door open, she vowed again that she would obey her husband in all things, though some of those things would definitely not be of her choosing.
Lucas saw his wife standing in the corner, her nose pressed into the wall. He smiled as he realized her hand was raised, her fingers clasping the charm on the necklace he’d placed around her neck. Perhaps he should instruct her to place her hands on top of her head, but for now, he allowed her to draw whatever comfort she might need from the token of his love. Turning, he closed the door behind him before removing his jacket and laying it across the back of a chair. The sight of the license joining him to the young woman in the corner drew another smile as the love for his wife flowed over him. Unbuttoning the cuff of his sleeve, he began rolling it up as he considered the fact that this session would likely set the tone for all future ones.
He understood Louisa’s concern for