Scott abruptly opened the door and stepped in to witness Kinsey sitting on the edge of her bed looking very worried indeed. Slamming the door shut with such force inspired the hotel guests' main dinner topic to be the earthquake they’d felt earlier in the day.
Snagging a straight-backed chair he walked it across the room to firmly set it down in front of his cousin all the while never breaking eye contact with her. Sitting down himself, Scott unbuttoned the cuff of his one shirtsleeve and rolled it up to his elbow and then repeated the process with the other sleeve. Placing his hands on his knees he leaned forward.
“Evidently, you are under the impression you have outgrown the possibility of ever receiving a sound spanking. It’s the only explanation I can think of that would confirm your belief in which lying to me would not result in a consequence.”
Before Kinsey’s brain finished processing the words Scott had just spoken, she found herself firmly planted over his knee and experiencing the first of a dozen well-placed swats to her sit-down. Once he was certain his point had been made, Scott uprighted his little cousin and plopped her back on the bed. He found her shocked and bewildered expression priceless.
“That HURT!”
“It’s a spanking Kinsey. It’s supposed to hurt. It means I did it right.”
Putting her hands to her face the tears started.
“No. No you don’t. Those hands stay in your lap and your eyes are on me when I’m talking to you. Now, I am going to ask questions and you will give me straight, honest answers. If I detect even the slightest stray from the truth, young lady, you will be revisiting my knee and this time I will not be offering you the luxury of those petticoats for extra padding. Have I made myself clear?”
“Yes.”
Taking a deep breath Scott began. “Does your grandfather know we are arriving in Philadelphia?”
“No.”
“Does your grandfather know you are in the states?”
“No.”
Scott hesitated to ask the next question. “Your parents think you are where?”
“California.”
“All right. Acceptable for now. Kinsey, did you write the letters to your grandfather?”
“Yes I did! I showed them to you! Don’t you remember?”
Scott held up his hand for silence.
“Did you mail those letters when I asked you to?”
“No.”
“So you lied to me.”
“Yes.”
Taking another deep breath Scott carried on. “Why? Why didn’t you mail those letters?”
“I was afraid he wouldn't want to see me.”
It was Scott’s turn for a bewildered expression. “What?”
The words started tumbling out of Kinsey’s mouth so fast and disjointed it was difficult for Scott to sort it all out. Once her sobbing was added to the mix it was damn near impossible. The best he could gather was family ties were completely severed when the Furlongs moved to Melbourne and Kinsey has never been in contact with her grandfather.
“I thought Garrett’s Gallop was a gift from your grandfather?”
“No. It was a gift from a friend of my fathers. I was the one who named him. I knew it would upset my mother.”
This statement led to others outlining the rocky relationship between Kinsey and her parents. Scott’s assumption that Mr. and Mrs. Furlong were far too busy with their own self absorbed lives to show their daughter much attention was ringing true.
“Scott, they think I’m with the Good Sisters of Mercy in Sacramento!”
In Kinsey’s mind, after reading Murdoch’s suggestion in his letter, reconnecting with her estranged grandfather would be the ultimate in a rebellious act. But once arriving in California and the traveling to Philadelphia became more of reality, Kinsey’s hesitation to contact her grandfather led to avoiding the situation by not mailing the letters and in turn started the lies.
“I’m not going back to Melbourne, Scott! I won’t go. You can’t make me. I hate it there!”
Scott rose to pour Kinsey a drink of water from the pitcher and to fetch a cool cloth from the basin which, once seated again, he applied to the back of her neck.
“You need to calm down. Drink. Kinsey, I want you to listen very carefully. I never want to have another conversation with you like the one we just had. However, in the future, I won’t hesitate to do so when you deserve it. I’m changing the rules little girl. Now, you and I are going to get this mess straightened out by first contacting your grandfather. In twenty minutes you will meet me in the lobby.”
“How did it go, Boston?”
“How do you think it went Johnny?”
“From the other side of the wall it sounded like half-pint will need a pillow to sit on during supper.”
“Then I would say there is nothing wrong with your hearing. I’m going to the telegraph office.”
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