Zachary said nothing.
“Liar,” the boy accused. “Do you want me to believe that you are slow and stupid?”
The boy stood too cocksure of himself. Zachary loosened his neck collar. He hated being interrogated by a peach-fuzzed nine year old. “I’m just a friend.”
“Sure,” Joseph scoffed. His voice cracked from high-pitched to a deep baritone. “There’s no hurry. You should get there someday.”
“Do not misinterpret”
The boy folded his arms in front of him. “Caroline has picked you for Miss Spencer. She always gets what she wants. And I make sure of it.”
Zachary glanced heavenward. “And the grizzly whistles on the mountain.”
“Are you kidding? You have it bad.”
Zachary made a growling sound in his throat. “I think you have too much time on your hands to form fanciful delusions.”
If the boy’s jaw jutted out any farther, Zachary might be able to hang his coat on it. The boy was set to be a fierce enemy if crossed. What a formidable man he’d be.
Unable to help himself, Zachary surveyed the delicate sculpture of Elizabeth’s high cheekbones, well-shaped mouth, beguiling dark lashes and perfectly straight white teeth, like a string of pearls.
“Do I now?” said Joseph, catching him studying Elizabeth overlong and determined to have the last word. “To my estimation, if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, it is a duck.” Joseph gamboled over to join Caroline and her postmortem seedling. She was ready to cry because it didn’t look like any of the other orphans’ seedlings.
“Needs a little water is all,” said Joseph. Like a magician, the boy swapped out a live plant for Caroline’s dead one and pretended to add water. “Completely revived.”
Caroline clapped. “You can do everything, Joseph. You are the smartest, strongest and most wonderful person in the world.”
Did Joseph grow a few inches taller?
Smiling, Elizabeth rejoined Zachary. He took in a shallow breath at the heady intoxication of having her interest solely on him.
“If I may?” he asked and then tucked her hand into his arm without asking. Her hand felt comfortable on his arm, as if it were natural for it to rest there. He might as well succumb to Joseph’s accusations. Leaning his head toward hers, he said, “Your interference is timely.”
She raised a skeptical brow, and her lips curved in a teasing smile. “I’m happy I could help. I suspect Joseph was provocative?”
He leaned back to view the smirking nine-year-old. “And then some.”
Elizabeth laughed. It was both husky and light, a full-throated sound that made his blood thicken in an awakening of carnality. He really needed to not be alone with her in public.
She took his hand and guided him to a hall and then quickly continued walking, leading him to the farthest end of the corridor. The pleats of her light cornflower-colored taffeta day dress made a rustling sound when she moved.
The sky was bit clearer today, so bright sunlight filtered through the ten-foot windows surrounding Elizabeth in a halo of dazzling light. The moment she released him, he automatically curled his hand into a fist to hold on to her heat.
With avid interest, he saw a spark in her eyes and an amusing twitch of her mouth. She was a glittering vision and like a schoolboy with his first infatuation, she could cut him to little pieces if she had the whim. He was compelled to pity Joseph in Caroline’s wake.
“Joseph is full of questions and innuendoes. I still haven’t recovered.”
“Such as?”
“Why does the moon go away in the morning?”
“I suppose you gave him an illustrious scientific answer?”
She was teasing him. “Interesting you ask. I simply told him the moon was off to light up someone else’s night. I find children teach you many things. How much patience you have, for instance.”
“You know of my family,” Elizabeth demurred. “It is only fair you tell me about your family.”
He leaned his head back and scratched his throat. “There’s quite a history.”
