Sir Thomas’s Bride_Masterful Husbands_Book One, page 16
"What!" Thomas held her away from his body by her upper arms and stared into her tear drenched face. "What's this you say, not your father? But he is your father Margaret and has been treated most abominably. He needs your love and care not your condemnation!" Crossly he gave her a little shake to emphasise his words.
"No, no, I cannot, I do not believe he is my father. My mother would have known if... Yes, that's it! We will ask my mother for she will know..."
Thomas shook his head and keeping his voice smooth and steady, he explained the circumstances of her father's incarceration to her.
She slapped him.
Thomas knew that she was not angry with him personally but with the set of circumstances. He also knew that when his little bee became a wasp the best way to deal with his naughty, stinging wife was to pull the sting from her tail, which he decided in this moment, was what he had to do.
Margaret was indeed of singular purpose to sting, by way of biting and kicking and raking her nails.
Thomas shook his head and sighed as he avoided her gnashing teeth. He pulled her down firmly across his knee and administered some hard swats to her fully clothed and wriggling behind until she stilled and shortly after he heard her crying piteously.
"Are you done with your temper tantrum?" Thomas enquired, in his most reasonable tone.
"Yes, sir," she replied softly, "I am sorry, Thomas, for I know none of this is your fault."
Thomas lifted her so that she was sat upon his lap. He tucked her head into his shoulder and rocked her gently in the circle of his arms. Neither spoke for some while, then Margaret took a deep breath and apologised again to him, sounding quite genuinely sincere. Thomas kissed her lips and stroked the side of her face with his thumb as he did so.
"I love you, Bee, and I want what is best for you and if that means calming you with a spanking when required, then so be it. Learn to trust me, Margaret, and everything will be all right. Now dry your tears and come talk with your father. He has had a terrible life up to now and we have the opportunity to make it up to him as best we can."
Margaret nodded, feeling most ashamed of her earlier outburst and uncharitable behaviour. "It was the shock of finding my father alive and in such a dreadful state. How could my mother not have known about this?"
Thomas then explained the whole sorry tale again to her, but this time as it had been relayed to him by her father.
"What shall become of my mother? What she has done is absolutely heinous! Surely she will be made to suffer for her crime?"
"As to that, the King and Council will decide her fate. Now then, are you ready to go down and greet your father as you should?"
She nodded, hopping up from his lap she shook her skirts out and patted her hair. They went down together to see how they could best help poor Lord Alfred Beauchamp regain his life.
Lady Amelia was incarcerated within her London house, while Mrs. Oats resided in Newgate gaol. Both women awaited the King's grace. Finally, Amelia was brought before the King, where she was told that she and Mrs. Oats had a passage arranged for them aboard a ship destined for the American colonies. She would be travelling alone with just Mrs. Oats on the ship Nell Gwen, along with a fresh batch of men, all of whom had been 'persuaded' to take the King's shilling in order to fight the patriot uprisings.
Lord Beauchamp moved back into his home at Longetlestone, where he was cosseted by Margaret and the household. Eventually he chose to live in the much smaller and cosier Dowager House, where he felt more privately independent. His health soon improved and his face filled out through a diet of good food and fresh country air. With loving kindness, he thrived and enjoyed his daughter's company.
He too enjoyed his cricket and he and Thomas had become firm friends, often found discussing the finer tactics of the game.
Margaret only ever received one letter from her mother. It arrived a year after her banishment to the colonies. She read it aloud to her husband and father whilst sitting in front of a roaring fire, one hand resting on the dome of her very pregnant stomach, for she was due any day now.
Dear daughter,
I hope this missive finds you well. I have had quite the adventure and find myself living in the midst of turbulent times. I have been rescued from total annihilation by Mr. Randolph, Lady Mortimer's father.
I now reside with him as his housekeeper and receive annual remuneration for my services. Sadly Mrs. Oats succumbed to illness on the voyage over and was later buried at sea, rather droll I thought, in view of her husband’s drowning, both fated to a watery grave!
I often wonder how my life came to this but I console myself that you are cared for and comfortable. Despite everything you might think of me, I do in fact care for you, Margaret, and wish you well. I shall not write again.
Adieu my child,
Your mama,
Amelia Beauchamp.
She set the letter aside and leaned back into the comfort of her cushions, blocking out the rumbling voices of her husband and father as they discussed her mother's crime and the contents of her note. Margaret pondered on her mother's attitude toward life and subsequently her own.
The King had offered her father a place as one of his advisers in Council. Lord Alfred graciously declined the offer, on account of his frailty and a desire to spend the rest of his days with his daughter and son-in-law at Longetlestone. King George more than understood the poor Lord's wishes to exert his own free will over his deserved freedom and wished him well.
Margaret concluded that she herself was a happier person since she had become kinder and more tolerant of other people. It was nice to be liked and to like in return. It was even better to love and be loved in return. She glanced over at Thomas and basked in the warmth of his returning gaze. Margaret was sad that her mother had never learned this lesson from life but she was grateful that she had, before it was too late for her to change her ways. For that she solely thanked her strict and oh so loving husband, Sir Thomas Wiggington.
The End
Author’s Note
I want to thank those of you who have been kind enough to review my books in the past. Reviews are the only way an author has of gauging what their readers enjoy and want from them. So please do take the time to leave me a review; I love to read them and believe me I do take note of everything you say!
Historical figures in this book have been used in a purely fictional sense, although the facts given about them are historically correct. All other characters are purely fictional and represent no person either dead or alive. I have taken the liberty of placing the Eton and Harrow Schools annual cricket match within my tale, but in actual fact, this match did not begin until the early 1800s. I apologize to the purists among us.
Other Titles by Vanessa Brooks
Don't miss these exciting titles by Vanessa Brooks and Blushing Books!
Sunny’s Safe Haven
Cowboy Caveat
Twin Turmoil
A Shift in Time Series
Lightning Switch, Book 1
Wylde Switch, Book 2
Masterful Husbands Series
His Colonial Rose, Prequel
Sir Thomas’s Bride, Book One
Viscount Weston’s Bride, Book Two
The Colonel’s Bride, Book Three
The Smuggler’s Bride, Book Four
Victorian Melodramas Series
Elspeth, Book One
Amanda, Book Two
The Adventures of Linnett Wainwright
His Spoilt Lady, Book One
His Defiant Wife, Book Two
Anthologies
Historical Heroes
Sweet Town Love
12 Naughty Days of Christmas 2016
Connect with Vanessa Brooks:
vanessanovels.wix.com/vanessanovels
vanessanovels@inbox.com
Vanessa Brooks
International bestselling author Vanessa Brooks lives in Sussex, England. She has a lifelong love of history, most especially English and American. She has written a few western tales, one notably for the Red Petticoat series, which was such a huge success in America. Her Georgian series, Masterful Husbands, set in the 1700's, also proved highly successful on both sides of the Atlantic
Vanessa’s novels are generally historically based; she has a knack of bringing authenticity into the eras in which her novels are set. She carefully researches every time period, and strives to ensure that any historical facts she uses are correct.
More importantly, Vanessa likes writing entertaining books that her readers will enjoy. She includes passion, adventure, romance and domestic discipline – de rigueur within past times.
If you read it and enjoyed it, please leave a review!
Thank you!
Connect with Vanessa Brooks:
https://vanessanovels.weebly.com
EBook Offer
WOULD YOU LIKE A FREE SPANKING STORY EVERY MONTH?
At http://www.blushingbooks.com, we provide our visitors with a free eBook every single month! That's right, every month we choose an eBook to give to our customers at no charge, both to show our gratitude for your business and to provide a sample of the content we offer.
Can you read this free eBook on your Kindle? Yes! Once you’re logged onto our site, it’s easy to send a book right to your Kindle.
Can you read it on your iPad? Yes! Your Kobo? Yes! Your Nook? YES!
We provide all of our books on BlushingBooks.com in several formats so that you can read our stories on virtually any reader! Membership at BlushingBooks.com is free, so sign up today and get your free story right now!
DO YOU NEED A TRIP TO THE WOODSHED?
Since 1999, Bethany's Woodshed has been publishing the best romantic and erotic BDSM and spanking fiction on the Internet. Before there were eBooks, there was Bethany's! More than a decade later, The Woodshed is Blushing Books exclusive preview site, and it is still going strong delivering the best, original stories - now with two updates a week. We guarantee at least 40,000 words of brand new, professionally written stories each week by all your favorite Authors, plus at least 20 completed books when you join. Vanessa Brooks, Carolyn Faulkner, Addison Cain, Anya Summers, Maren Smith, Starla Kaye, Paige Tyler, Joannie Kay, Abigail Webster, Allison West, Melinda Barron, Courage Knight, Loki Renard ... they're all here, plus many more.
Embrace the spank!
See the stories first at The Woodshed!
http://www.herwoodshed.com
Blushing Books Newsletter
Please join the Blushing Books newsletter
to receive updates & special promotional offers:
http://goo.gl/GYTwKZ
You can also join by using your mobile phone:
Just text BLUSHING to 22828.
Blushing Books
is one of the oldest eBook publishers on the web. We've been running websites that publish spanking and BDSM related romance and erotica since 1999, and we have been selling eBooks since 2003. We hope you'll check out our hundreds of offerings at http://www.blushingbooks.com.
You might also enjoy our membership site at http://www.herwoodshed.com, where we offer an exclusive first look at new novels and novellas by some of our most popular Authors before they are released anywhere else.
Vanessa Brooks, Sir Thomas’s Bride_Masterful Husbands_Book One
