Taking the stairs of the main staircase two at a time, he hurried to the second floor and down the hall to the special room where they had their daily playtime as Papa and Little Mari. Today he would be adding the largest butt plug to her tight little bottom as he trained her to take him in her back passage.
His cock throbbed as he pictured the way her little bunghole quivered when he pressed his lubricant-covered fingers into it and worked the salve all around, smoothing the insertion of the plugs into her bottom. She had enough lady-like modesty toprotest his invasion and insist that it was too big, but the way she squirmed over his lap, as well as the slickness which was evident on her nether lips, told a different, more accurate, story of how she felt about his exploration of her backside pucker.
Depending on how she did with the largest plug today, he thought that perhaps tonight would be the night when he breached that final part of her that he had not jammed his cock into.
Bloody Hell! He tugged at the collar of his shirt to alleviate the heat which suffused him at the thought of pushing his cock past the tight ring of her anus.
He stood outside the door to Mari’s nursery, calming his raging libido, which was nearly impossible when he knew what awaited him on the other side of the door.
Mari had a standing instruction to meet him in the nursery every day at this time and she was to be wearing only her chemise because he liked to select a proper Little Mari outfit for her to wear. Usually short dresses and pinafores and ribbons in her hair. Sometimes he dressed her in a cozy nightgown and put her hair into rags to make curls.
Then they would play with her stuffed animals or cuddle in a large rocking chair while he read her a story.
But first, the butt plug.
“Good afternoon, little Mari,” he called out as he crossed the threshold. “Papa is here.”
Instead of the usual squeal and padding of her feet as she ran across the room toward him, the room was silent.
Empty.
A slow smile spread over his face. “Come out, come out, wherever you are, little Mari. You are very naughty to hide from Papa. When I find you, I am going to tickle you.”
He waited. Usually his threats to tickle her caused her to break out into giggles, making it even easier to find her, but today there were no giggles.
“Oh, little Mari, when Papa finds you, you are going to be in big trouble.” He opened the wardrobe but did not find her there. He looked behind the heavy curtains on the windows. No Mari.
Finally he went to the bed to look beneath but before he could bend down to see below the mattress he noticed something on the pillow of the bed.
An envelope.To Papawritten on the outside.
With a knot of dread forming in his stomach, he reached for the missive.
Mari sat facing Miss Wickersham. Her hands knotted in her lap. Her arrival at Talcott House had caught the usually unflappable Katrina Wickersham by surprise.
“This is a most unusual circumstance, Marigold,” Miss Wickersham said.
“Yes,” Mari said, staring at her hands. “I am sorry. I ought not to have come here.”
“No,” Miss Wickersham answered sharply. “It was right for you to come here. I always want my girls to feel that this is a safe place for them. I am simply surprised to see you. I thought that you and The Duke of Norwich were particularly well-suited.”
“We were. We are,” Mari said, feeling tears prick the corners of her mouth.
“Was he unkind to you?” Miss Wickersham leaned in Mari’s direction, her eyes intense.
“No, he was so kind it was hard for me to believe. He bought me gifts and treated me like I was the most important thing inthe world to him.” Mari’s heart panged as she recalled the sweet pleasure of being held in her Papa’s arms.
Miss Wickersham licked her lips and paused for a moment before continuing. “Did he force you to do things you did not wish to do?”
Mari recalled the first time her Papa had shown her a plug for her bottom and explained that he intended to claim her backside. She had been shocked that such a thing was even possible. But she had trusted Theo and to her utter surprise, she had found the use of the plugs arousing. Though she would never admit that to Theo. Or Miss Wickersham. Mari’s face heated at the thought.
“No,” she said, moving her head from side to side. “He was always very considerate of my feelings.”
Miss Wickersham threw her hands up. “Then why are you here, Mari? It is much too late in the evening for a social call.”
Mari gazed at Miss Wickersham while she tried to put all her emotions into words. “I am not duchess material,” she said, her heart breaking with the admission.
Miss Wickersham sat up straight in her chair. “Not duchess material? Did The Duke say such a thing? If so, I have a few things I would like to say to him. All of my girls are trained to be wives for the most powerful men in England and that includes you, Marigold. Were you not trained in the proper management of a household?”
