Mister Ray could see the cogs turning in the young woman’s brain as she considered his words. When Miss McMillan agreed to his terms, he nodded curtly. He’d just made an agreement with a little girl. What a day. Perhaps this would improve his relations with the children, at least. And give him a tad more security in his work. He fully expected Miss McMillan to scamper off, probably to her sister, but instead she assumed an unsettling twinkle in her eyes and made an offer that temporarily dumbfounded the tutor.<br/><br/>”Would you like to cane me now for saying you were a very bad man, sir? I will not cry or tell my father.” She had removed her dainty gloves, and was offering up her hands and maintaining gutsy eye contact with the man.<br/><br/>Mister Ray’s eyes widened in surprise and his eyebrows crept slightly up to his forehead, which wrinkled in response. Then he smirked, although he rushed to smother it. “No, Miss McMillan, that will not be necessary. As I am in fact a very nice man, I shall spare you the cane. For today.” His eyes were lit up in amusement, not spite, and he rocked back on the heels of his feet. What a cheeky young woman; she was an interesting puzzle. But he knew he would need to iron such behavior out of her; it was not desirable for a wife, which she would probably soon be, to act in such a manner. “Is there anything else I may assist you with, Miss McMillan?” He said this while tugging on and straightening his tie, an action which had started to become an unconscious habit of his.