Page 11 of Papa's Desires
She took a deep breath and pulled out Cammie’s letter again. Perhaps if she read it over and over, it might start to make more sense. But no matter how many times she reread the missive, she didn’t quite understand. Nor did she understand the dampness that was now rubbing between her thighs as she resumed squirming around on the bed, pressing her thighs together even tighter. She also didn’t comprehend why the aching increased whenever she thought of the handsome yet frustrating Lord Grayson. She folded the confusing letter up again and returned it to her pocket, but didn’t cease her unladylike movements upon thebed.
The mattress gave a loud squeak, and it was at that moment the door was flungopen.
Cynny froze. Miss Wickersham stood in the doorway, eyeing her withsuspicion.
“What are you doing in here all by yourself? You are supposed to be helpingCook.”
“I finished helping Cook early,” she said, trying her best to look innocent, as if she hadn’t just been wiggling around on her mattress in an effort to make her kitty feel oh sogood.
“I heard noises. You weren’t jumping on your bed, were you?” Miss Wickersham crossed her arms, appearing quitestern.
Cynny’s tummy clenched, along with her bottom cheeks. Her last punishment at the headmistress’s hands remained fresh in her mind. “I just sat down very quickly and the mattress gave a squeak. I swear I wasn’t jumping.” She folded her hands in her lap, attempting to look prim and proper, ever aware that the stolen watch was in the pocket of her dress, along with Cammie’s odd letter. Talk about contraband. If Miss Wickersham decided to question her longer, or search her—which happened occasionally when things went missing around Talcott House—Cynny was doomed beyond allmeasure.
“Miss Wickersham! Miss Wickersham!” Garland rushed up to the headmistress. “You must come quick! Daisy said a naughty word, and when I tried to escort her to your study, she ran off into the gardens and now I can’t findher.”
“What word did shesay?”
Garland whispered something in Miss Wickersham’s ear that had the older woman’s eyes bugging out of her head. Cynny wasn’t surprised, as the few naughty words she knew, she had learned from Daisy. But she was smart enough not to repeat them in the presence of Garland or any of the other caretakers in TalcottHouse.
Both women rushed off, leaving Cynnyalone.
Poor Daisy. Cynny hoped Miss Wickersham wasn’t too strict with her, though she supposed hiding from a caretaker in the gardens was a bit more mischievous than simply uttering a naughty word. A sympathetic quiver raced across Cynny’s bottom as she imagined the kind of trouble her friend had landed herself in, but she couldn’t help but feel a bit smug that she wasn’t the one headed to Miss Wickersham’s study for a change. She also felt grateful to her friend for unknowingly saving her from further questioning by MissWickersham.
Cynny stuck her hand in her pocket, caressing the letter and the pocketwatch.
No more squirming and no more thinking about touching her kitty, she resolved. She would endeavor to be pure in thought and deed until her wedding tomorrow. And then she would finally have a papa and she would henceforth be known as LadyKensington.
It seemed almost too good to betrue.
