Now he was getting downright angry. What could she be up to? He had a mind to take her over his knee right here on the boardwalk. "What other commitments, Miss Verity?" he asked, trying to keep his voice even, though he'd like to show her that he was extremely displeased.
"Well," she said, "There's Hope. And you know, that other thing at home."
What "other thing?" She was making all of this up. To what end? They needed to have a serious conversation. "May I speak to you in private, Miss Verity?" he asked. "Would it be all right, Mrs. Harrison? Miss Verity and I need to have a few words."
"Of course. I can see you have a difference in opinion," Bertha agreed.
"Yes, ma'am." He took Verity's arm and led her off a few feet.
"Whatever are you up to, Verity?" he said, keeping his voice down when he really wanted to yell at her.
"You can't do this," she insisted, yanking her arm away.
"Why not? Why in the Sam Hill not?"
She wouldn't look him in the eye, and he couldn't touch her face right here on the street to lift up her chin.
"Because of Granny."
That was news. "Granny?"
"Yes. She'll miss you. She still thinks you're her husband."
"She does? When did this happen?"
Verity bit her lip and played with the strings of her reticule. "When you were first brought in."
"She hasn't said anything to me about it."
"Um… well… maybe you haven't noticed."
"Verity, if this is another tall tale, I'll have your bottom in a sling."
"You wouldn't let Granny pine, would you?"
"I'll explain to her that I have a twice-daily commitment out of the house. She'll understand. I don't think she's as addle-pated as you're saying."
Verity touched his arm, her gloved hand warm on his sleeve. "Please, Joshua."
"No. And if you're lying to me to get your way, I'm going to blister your backside."
She drew away her hand abruptly, blushing. "You will not."
"Are you daring me?"
"I'm just saying—"
"You're telling me a tale. And about your grandmother, too. You should be ashamed."
The blush got redder and she didn't defend herself. It was a lie, all right. But why? Would she miss him or something? That was patently unbelievable. But the wheels were turning in that devious mind of hers. He was going to get to the bottom of it, but right now, Mrs. Harrison and his job were waiting. He took Verity's elbow and steered her back to Mrs. Harrison.
"I think we've cleared up the matter," he told her. "I can start today." He was no milksop who needed babying.
Bertha clapped her hands together and gave them a wide, gap-toothed grin. "I'm so happy. I'll pay you every day at the end of the day. My eggs are ready. Our farm is about a quarter mile away from the Bucknell's place," she told him. "Walk over around seven in the morning, and pick up the eggs. I'll drive you back in the afternoon after the last delivery. You can start with this afternoon's deliveries. I had to do the deliveries this morning, and the children 'bout drove me mad while I was doing them."
"Mr. Smith, you can't walk a quarter mile," Verity insisted, elbowing him in the ribs.
He was not going to miss this opportunity to make a few dollars. The leg would hurt, but it wasn't broken. He could do it with a little gumption. "Of course I can. I have a cane."
Verity sighed. "If you insist."
He turned back to Bertha. "How would you like to proceed?"
She was still grinning. Gap-toothed or not, she had a pleasant demeanor. "I'll go fetch my young'uns from the mercantile and drive the gig over here to pick you up. We'll go to my place, you'll get the eggs and the list of afternoon deliveries, and off you can go."
"I'm not all that familiar with Virtue, Mrs. Harrison. I'll need directions."
"Most deliveries are right here on Main Street or nearby, but I'll give you directions. Never you worry."
It would be a good way to get to know the town. And a child's job wouldn't tax his leg or his reserves. "I'll wait for you here," he told her.
Bertha nodded, then offered her hands to Verity. "Thank you for loaning him to me, Verity."
A loan implied that he had some value to Verity or the Bucknells. Joshua mentally scoffed at that idea. Until he got some money and a horse, or remembered his life, he was nothing but a burden. This job was a start down that road. But he was definitely going to get to the bottom of Verity's stubborn resistance.
Verity answered. "As long as you're happy with the arrangement, Bertha, I'm sure Mr. Smith will be a big help."
"I'd best go get my gig. Be back in a jiffy. Good day, Verity."
"And to you, Bertha."
Bertha hurried off back up the boardwalk toward the mercantile, leaving Joshua and Verity on the sidewalk.
"That was very foolish of you, Joshua," Verity scolded.
He stared her down. "I need a job. It is a job. I can do it. I'm not so prideful I can't take what's so generously offered."
"If you need help, you'll have to ask Hope. I'll be too busy to do a child's job." Derision dripped from her voice.
So now she apparently had no use for him. Well, so be it. His situation was one barrier, and her attitude another. But first, maybe an attitude adjustment was necessary.
* * *
Verity walked back to the laden wagon with Hope, explaining where Joshua had gone.
"He's such an admirable man," Hope said, pausing at the haberdashery for a moment. "Mr. Philips has a new hairpiece in the window," she pointed out. "Complete with a matching mustache. I've never seen the like."
"Women aren't the only ones who can be vain, Hope."
"A girl could choose a worse husband."
"Husband? Oh, Joshua. He's a cipher, Hope. He's probably a criminal or a married man. I don't trust him."
Hope shot her a surprised glance, but Verity pretended she didn't notice. "Verity, I don't know how you can say that. Joshua has been upright and stalwart. He's a pleasure to be around. Why ever wouldn't you trust him?"
They walked on while Verity thought about it. Why wouldn't she trust him? Papa trusted him. For heaven's sake, she'd slaked her lust with him, trusted him enough with her body. She'd made a mistake. One she shouldn't repeat. But oh how she wished circumstances were different. She'd be eager to have him court her. And she wouldn't wait for marriage to try out things that made her feel as she'd done before in his arms. But Hope had to be discouraged or she might pursue him without taking the situation into account. He was still dangerous in too many ways.
"You're too young to understand."
"I am not!"
"Yes, you are."
"No, I'm not!"
"Hope, you sound like a petulant child."
"Fine. Keep him for yourself."
Verity stopped before they reached the wagon. "I don't want him for myself."
"You just don't want me to have him, is that it?"
"I don't want you to make a mistake." Like the blunder that had already transpired. No need to dwell on that now. It wasn't important. Keeping Hope from pursuing Joshua was.
"I think I'm old enough to judge what kind of man he is. It wouldn't be a mistake."
Enough was enough. "Get in the wagon," Verity told her younger sister.
Hope did not obey. "Why, Verity Ann Bucknell, I think you're jealous."
"I am not!"
"Yes, you are!"
"You have no idea what Joshua is like."
Hope pounced on that. "And you do?"
"I… uh… Get in the wagon!"
"Fine. Be that way." Hope climbed into the wagonette and Verity took the reins, leading them back home, her heart as heavy as the wagon. She wasn't jealous. She wasn't. It wasn't like that. None of them should pursue Joshua Smith, not until he was Joshua Somebody Else. And in the meantime, Verity would keep her secret to herself, and keep an eye on Joshua. Someone objective needed to watch over him.
Chapter Ten
; Joshua's leg was killing him, but he tried to make it less apparent to the family when he joined them for supper that night. The meal was distracting enough, and no one but Verity appeared to notice. Verity looked positively smug, with no sympathy for his pain, the brat.
Through supper, he kept an eye on Granny. She appeared perfectly lucid tonight. On other nights she'd been a little odd, throwing out the occasional non sequitur, but not tonight. And never once, in the entire time he'd been there had she suggested he was her dead husband. It seemed possible that she'd had a confused moment when he first came into the house—that would not be totally out of character for her, and especially considering the excitement of the day—but any further episodes with the same theme were missing entirely. Clearly, Verity had made it up.
He thought he'd test it a bit. "Mrs. Sutton," he began, "You've mentioned your late husband many times, but I can't find a portrait of him on display. What did he look like?"
"Oh, my," she responded, looking wistful. "He was so handsome. Not the tallest man, but the straightest of spine. He had blond hair, the blondest you can imagine. And pale eyelashes over smoky gray eyes. When he looked at me, I melted like butter in July."
In other words, he looked nothing like Joshua. "I can picture him well now, ma'am. Thank you."
Verity's cheeks were pink, but she wasn't giving up her fiction. "Did you realize, Granny, that you confused Joshua with Grandpa Sutton when he was first brought into the house, unconscious?"
It seemed very bad form for her to remind the old woman of a potentially embarrassing episode, but he had to admit some curiosity.
"I did? Oh, dear. Sometimes things are so jumbled in my mind. I don't recall thinking that, but how silly of me to have done so. Joshua is nothing like Tom." She gave him a direct stare. "I'm so sorry, Joshua, if it bothered you. I have my moments of muddled thinking these days. Fortunately, my granddaughters are around to get me past them."
"You are fine today, Mrs. Sutton," he said. "And there is no forgiveness necessary. I was unconscious and nothing came of it, right, ladies?"
Charity spoke up first. "There is nothing to worry about, Granny. I didn't even realize it had happened. We all love you just as you are."
"She's right," Faith agreed. "We didn't notice anything amiss."
Even Mercy had something to say. "Getting Grandpa Tom confused with Mr. Smith is so absurd it's outrageous. If it happened, it was only for a moment. Considering all the excitement of having an in-house patient, who could blame you for being confused?"
"Thank you, my dear."
He looked over at Verity, but couldn't read her expression. She'd told him a lie. The next question was why.
After supper, they all retired to the parlor, except for Dr. Bucknell, who went to his study. Joshua was invited, but declined. He had business to transact with Verity.
"I could use a hand with something. I think maybe my knee is behaving badly, probably from limping. I don't want to bother Dr. Bucknell since he deserves a rest after a long day, but perhaps you can look at it, Verity? If it wouldn't inconvenience you?"
She looked skeptical, but only for a moment. "Of course. We can go to the clinic."
"Thank you." With the aid of his cane, he limped out behind her and they took a left turn at the foot of the staircase and soon made it into the clinic treatment room. Owing to propriety, they didn't close the door entirely, but Joshua was unconcerned about any noise they might cause. The rest of the house's occupants were behind sturdy closed doors.
"Now," he said, "I want to know why you were so dead-set against me taking that job with Bertha Harrison."
"I thought it would be too much for you. I was right. You can barely walk."
"Wrong. I can walk and will continue to do so. I'm not a child, Verity. I don't need a mother."
She turned away. "Well, pardon me for being concerned."
Joshua reached out and turned her back to face him. "There's more than concern here, Verity. I want to know what it is."
"I'm just doing the Christian thing."
"Ha! For some reason, you want to keep me hanging around here in the house." Then facetiously he said, "If I didn't know better, I'd think you wanted to keep me under your thumb so no one else could be exposed to me."
"Rubbish," she barked. "I don't need you here. Go off and do whatever you like."
"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what was churning in your mind when you told me that tale about your grandmother."
"She told you herself that she may have been confused."
"When I first came in, not since then. Everyone corroborated it."
Her chin tipped down. "I didn't know what else to say. I'm sorry."
"I'm less concerned about me, though I sure want to know why you said it. But I do think you should be sorry for putting your grandmother in the middle of one of your schemes."
"I'm sorry."
"Not good enough. Take down your drawers and bend over the treatment table."
"You must be joking. Another spanking? Not on your life."
"Mind me. You deserve it. And your grandmother deserves retribution."
Verity pouted. "She'd never countenance a spanking."
"No?"
"Well…"
"Do what I said."
"Joshua, I—"
"Mind or it will be worse."
Reluctantly, she turned around to face the cabinets and raised her dress. It was slow and incremental, but it went up. She gave him a frown when she reached for the strings of her drawers, but she did loosen them and let them drop to her ankles.
Joshua immediately regretted his promise of a spanking. His libido screamed at him for something even more intimate, especially when she turned around and her bum was presented in all its perfect glory. Two round globes meant for his hands, their pale skin like porcelain. It was going to be difficult to resist the call of her body, but resist he would. A point had to be made. Verity couldn't get away with lying, not even once.
"Bend over the table."
"Joshua, do we really have to do this?"
"Are you going to feel bad if we don't? Don't you feel guilty for telling such a rotten lie?"
She nodded and waddled toward the table, her ankles impeded by the drawers puddled around them.
"Twenty on each cheek, Verity. And then you're going to tell me what makes you so all-fired anxious to keep me homebound."
Her answer was a sniffle, and Joshua felt his heart sputter. She was crying already and he hadn't even begun. This was turning out to be a terrible idea. If she hadn't done such a rude thing, he'd have let it go, but he was determined to spank the lies right out of her.
He began slowly with two spanks. She squeaked, but it sounded more surprised than painful. Another three on each cheek and her rump was getting slightly pink, but not much. The next several were harder and faster, and he felt a tingle in his palm. Her behind would jiggle with each swat, and it was so enticing. More swats and she reached back to cover herself.
"No hands, Verity. I've told you before."
She quickly withdrew them and said, "You've done twenty. Now let me up."
He put his free hand on the small of her back and kept her in position. "No, now we talk about why I'm supposed to remain at home."
"I won't say. You can't make me."
"Yes, I can." With that, he lit up her butt with a series of hard spanks that soon had her cheeks going from pale pink to rosy red. "Tell me, Verity."
"No! Ouch!"
More spanks and she sobbed louder. "Why did you do it?"
"I don't know. That's the truth."
He continued slapping her rear. "I think you do know."
"I don't! I don't!"
"Are you afraid I'll run away?"
She sniffed and wiggled. "You've already said you would leave at the first opportunity. I don't want you to go."
He stopped spanking, stunned. "You don't?" He took his hand from the small of her back and she stood up unsteady on her feet.
Joshua braced her by taking her upper arms.
"All right, I admit it. I don't want you to go. I want to know who you are, and devil take it in the meantime, I fight myself every minute. Are you the good man you seem to be or are you a reprobate and scoundrel, maybe a murderer?"
He drew her closer and she stepped up against him, even as she pounded on his chest in frustration. "I wish I knew, Verity. I want to know as much as you do."
She sobbed. "Don't go. At least let me find out who you are before you go."
He pulled her tight against his body and smoothed his hand down her spine. Even though it pained his leg, he lifted her up onto the table so they could be eye-to-eye. Her eyes were red-rimmed, tears running down her red face, her hair had come askew and hung in strands around her cheeks. In his eyes, she'd never looked more beautiful.
Her face was warm and wet under his thumbs as he cupped her cheeks. "Shh. It's all right. No more spanking today. No more unless you lie again. Can you stop? Are you so compelled that you can't stop?"
"I can stop if I try. I'm not deranged."
"I will make an effort to help you."
She sniffled but gave him a watery smile. "By spanking me every time?"
"If I have to."
"Then you have to stay to keep an eye on me."
He chuckled. "I guess I do."
Burying her face against his chest, she hugged him tight. "I was confused, Joshua. I think the spanking forced me to face facts. Can you understand?"
He nodded. "I think so. It's a confusing situation."
"Yes. I can't help how I feel. I've been trying, but I can't."
Looking deep into her eyes, he told her the truth. "I can't help it either."
"Oh, dear. What shall we do?"
"We'll keep searching for the truth. That's all we can do." With that, he drew her closer and kissed her lips. Her response was immediate and gratifying. He teased her tongue and loved the taste of the clafoutis they'd had for dessert.
Verity hummed softly as he kissed her. No tune, but a soft purring that kept him enthralled. Their kiss took a long time, at first gentle then more vigorous. He ran his hands down her arms, back up again, and then to her chest where he cupped her breasts. They were firm and small compared to his hands. Finding her nipples, he twirled them with his thumbs as he kneaded the soft flesh. She moaned into his mouth. All logical thought seemed to flee and he reached for the buttons on the front of her dress, opening them until her breasts were freed. Trailing kisses down her throat, he paused only to bite her gently at the join of her neck and shoulder, then continued down the path toward her beautiful breasts.
The Doctor's Daughter: A Virtue, Arizona Novel Page 8
