"But Josh…"
"Promise me, Lissy," he demanded.
"But there must be some way!" she insisted. "We'll find a doctor someplace and… Oh, Joshua! My grandfather!"
Josh felt the clammy hand of apprehension stroking up his spine. "What about him?" he asked warily.
"He lives in Philadelphia! They must have wonderful doctors in Philadelphia, even better doctors then they have in Texas!" she exclaimed. Why hadn't she thought of it sooner? It was the solution to everything. "We can go to visit him. I know he's going to invite us, and while we're there… Oh, Joshua, don't you see? This is the best thing that ever happened to us!"
Chapter Ten
"He's found her, Uncle Henry," Richard Winthrop said the instant he crossed the threshold into Henry Maxwell's bedroom.
"Who found whom, boy?" a cross voice inquired from within the shadows of the bed drapes.
Richard fought down his natural irritation at being called "boy." Uncle Henry always called him that, probably because he knew it irritated him. "Asa Gordon has found your granddaughter," he explained patiently, pinning a satisfied smile to his lips, even though he found the news far from satisfying.
"He found her? Are you sure?" A blue-veined hand reached out and drew back one of the bed drapes. "Here, tie this back so I can see you," Maxwell commanded. "Tell me all the details."
"There aren't many details," Richard explained as he struggled with the heavy velvet. "Gordon sent a telegram first thing this morning. It says, 'Have located Felicity Storm. Her father is dead. Please advise.'"
"Dead? Old Caleb is dead, eh? Well, that changes things, doesn't it?"
Richard squinted into the shadows of the bed. How long had it been since he had heard this tone in his uncle's voice?
Why, he almost sounded alive again. For months now, Richard had watched Henry Maxwell gradually deteriorating, day by day, until he had begun to actually believe the old man was dying. Not that Richard cared all that much whether his uncle lived or died, of course, except in how it related to his own personal situation. As long as Henry was alive, Richard was assured of a job in one of Maxwell's enterprises. If he died, Richard would probably inherit a small sum of money, enough to keep him comfortable for the rest of his life.
Unfortunately, Richard didn't want to drudge away his life at some menial job, and his main goal in life was to be far more than comfortable. He wanted to be rich. Until this morning, Henry Maxwell's only known living relatives were his spinster daughter Isabel, who was long past the age when she might have produced an heir, the nebulous Felicity Storm, and Richard himself. Richard had been hoping Asa Gordon would discover that the girl Felicity was dead, or at least permanently lost. That would have forced Henry to rethink the provisions of his will and would have considerably increased Richard's chances of inheriting a larger portion of the estate, since Henry was bound to understand that poor Isabel would do nothing but squander it.
Now, of course, the whole picture had changed again. With Felicity found, and with her an orphan no less, Richard could almost see his fortune evaporating right before his very eyes. Henry would want the girl here with him. Unless she proved to be an imbecile with two heads, she would doubtless worm her way into the old man's affections and charm him into leaving her everything.
"We'll bring her here, of course," Henry was saying. "Tell Gordon to put her on the next train and… No, wait."
Richard winced. His uncle was thinking. When Henry Maxwell thought, empires crumbled. "She might not want to come," he mused. "No telling what lies her father told her about me. Better if we take a different approach. Tell Gordon she is invited to visit me here at my home. An old man wishes her company to brighten his few remaining days. Are you writing this down?" he demanded impatiently.
"Uh, yes, Uncle Henry," Richard said, hastily searching his pockets for a notebook. Few remaining days indeed, he thought bitterly. If Gordon had waited another month to locate the girl, that might well have been true. Now, it seemed, the news of Felicity Storm had brought the old man back to life.
"She would bring me great joy if she would accept my invitation…" Henry dictated. Richard winced again.
Not only did Henry Maxwell invite them for a visit, he sent his own private railroad car for them. Felicity convinced Blanche to accompany them to the railhead at San Antonio so she could see it before they left. Felicity had also convinced Mr. Gordon to remain as their guest at the ranch during the interim, so the four of them shared the uncomfortable stagecoach ride from Prospect to San Antonio.
Although she was excited and full of her own thoughts, Felicity could not help but notice the careful way Asa and Blanche were still treating each other. Even a fool could sense the attraction between them, the almost visible spark that flashed whenever necessity forced them to speak to each other. Felicity had taken every opportunity to throw them together, too, insisting that Blanche stay on at the ranch to help her prepare for the trip while they waited for the special car to arrive.
All her matchmaking efforts had been in vain, though. No matter how loudly Felicity sang Mr. Gordon's praises, no matter that even Joshua had come to like him after being forced to know him, Blanche simply refused to be reconciled to him. For whatever reason, Blanche was determined not to succumb to Mr. Gordon's charms. Or at least, not to let him know that she had.
As the time for their departure drew near-Mr. Gordon was taking the same train back to Philadelphia-Felicity began to lose hope of ever seeing the two of them get together. It simply wasn't right that two people who were so perfect for each other should deny themselves happiness because of a misunderstanding. Unfortunately, Felicity could not seem to grasp the exact nature of that misunderstanding, so she had little expectation of helping them straighten it out.
Her frustration over the matter robbed her of some of her joy over the trip. When she occasionally glimpsed a worried frown on Josh's handsome face, she began to wonder whether she should really go to Philadelphia at all.
She had, in fact, expressed her doubts on the matter to her husband the night before they left the ranch.
"You don't seem too happy about making this trip," she had said to him. "If you don't think we should go…"
"Of course we should go," he had insisted, smiling to reassure her. The smile did not quite erase the wariness in his eyes, but he had explained that, too. "And I'm perfectly happy about making the trip. It's just that I'm a little worried about being away from the ranch. Not that there's anything to worry about," he had added hastily. "But I've never been away from the Rocking L for very long. Grady says I'm acting like an old maid about it. Maybe he's right."
"He is right," Felicity confirmed, showing him her dimple. "Grady can run this place with one hand tied behind him. And we're going to have such fun in Philadelphia. You'll see."
She watched his face grow somber, and he took her hand gently in both of his. "I'm not going to Philadelphia to have fun, Lissy. I'm going so you can meet your grandfather. I know what it's like not to have any family, and I don't want that for you, not when you have a family who wants to know you."
Felicity felt the prickle of tears as she savored the fierce determination in his gray eyes. He might not be happy about the trip, but he was genuinely glad for her, glad she had this opportunity. He understood how anxious she was to see her grandfather and how important it was for her to get to him before it was too late.
"Thank you, Joshua," she whispered, making him smile for real.
"Don't thank me yet. Wait and see how I do in Philadelphia. I might ruin your whole trip," he teased.