Read Lucy and the Doctors for Free Online

were. Benedict Crane was the taller of the two. He was also darker, with brown eyes and thick chestnut hair that brushed his collar. His face was almost pretty for a man’s, with high cheekbones and a full mouth. Thomas Allard had sharper features; Lucy could see the patrician influence in his breeding, given his strong jaw and slightly Roman nose. Even though he was serious, the shape of his mouth implied it could break into a smile at any moment. Unlike his colleague, he wore his sandy blond hair closely cropped.
    Both men were tall, and while they were clearly older than Lucy, she did not put either of them over forty. They also both had pleasant, cultured voices carrying an air of gentleness and quiet authority.
    “Did you sleep well?” Dr. Allard asked.
    “Yes,” she said. “And I awoke to this dress. It’s lovely. Thank you.”
    “From what you told us about your desire to return to a simpler time in your life, we thought it was appropriate,” Benedict said. As he spoke, Thomas piled a plate with breakfast for their ward.
    “You mean…” She looked from one man to the other. “I can stay here as your ward? Under your protection? Oh, I thought I’d dreamt it. It’s too much to hope for…”
    She saw the men exchange quick smiles before Dr. Crane turned his attention solely to her.
    “Yes, Lucy. You absolutely can stay. We have full custody of you now. Even though you are an adult, we believe it is in your best interest to remain here living as a child. You’re ill-prepared for the outside world, sheltered as you are. And having learned the nature of Judge Bonham, we are both concerned that he may pose a threat should you become independent too soon.”
    She nodded, her eyes filled with fear, as he continued.
    “But please understand that our protection comes with conditions. You must obey us as you would obey your papa. Or, in our case, papas. ”
    Lucy nodded earnestly. “Of course,” she said. “I told Dr. Allard that I would be a good girl.”
    “And I’m sure you will,” Benedict said. “But it requires more. We expect your obedience, Lucy, in all matters, even when we ask you to do things you may not want to do.”
    She felt suddenly nervous.
    “Wh-what would you ask me to do that would warrant an objection?”
    “It hardly matters,” Dr. Allard chimed in. “The point is that we will only require things we consider essential to your wellbeing, and disobedience to our directives will carry consequences.”
    “Consequences? What kind?”
    “Whenever you misbehave or fail to obey us, you will be spanked.”
    Spanked. The word hung over her like an anvil. Lucy had never been spanked. She’d witnessed it, of course. Pastor Priven had preached that the parent who spared the rod was the parent who hated his son.
    Lucy looked up at her new guardians. She could not imagine that either of them would spank her, and she was sure that this warning was merely a means of raising the specter of such chastisement in order to ensure her obedience.
    “I promise to do as I am told,” she repeated with conviction before tucking into her breakfast. It was delicious, and as she ate Dr. Allard remarked that for the short term, at least, she’d be expected to clear her plate at each meal and have snacks in between to compensate for the deprivation she’d suffered at the asylum.
    After she’d finished, Nurse Lassiter came in to hand Dr. Allard some papers. He and his colleague had already planned to take some time off for the research project that circumstances had derailed, he said. Now they would devote that attention entirely to her.
    “Unless, of course, you’d prefer to have a governess.” He nodded toward Nurse Lassiter. “She’d do the job admirably. Did you have a governess with the Privens?”
    “No,” she said. “Pastor Priven was a frugal man. Even with the stipend Judge Bonham sent for my maintenance, he never had anyone other than his wife care for me.”
    “Very good,” Dr. Crane