on working through any issues before we climbed into bed.”
Tom glanced overhead to Victoria’s room, which was silent. Maybe she’d already fallen asleep. Or what if she was awake and threw the brush at him?
“You can do it,” Dad said, as if sensing his hesitancy.
“Your dad always figured out a way to soften my heart.” Mom giggled. “Remember the time when I was upset about having to move again, and you went out and dug up all my tulip bulbs so that I could take them with us?”
Dad nodded.
“Or that especially hot summer after Ruth was born when I was grouchy all the time. You made me my own private tidal pool where I could cool off whenever the house got too hot.”
Tom remembered those times too. Dad could have reacted in anger and frustration to Mom’s moods and the difficulties. But instead, Dad had gone to extraordinary efforts to show his love. He’d nurtured and tended her like a gardener his flowers. As a result of his faithful efforts, his marriage now flourished so beautifully.
Even if Tom’s marriage to Victoria was short-lived, he could still follow Dad’s example, couldn’t he? He could do something for her tonight. To soften her heart. Considering all the changes she’d had in the past two days, she’d done well. And perhaps he had been a little hard on her.
“Where do you keep the bathing tub?” he asked.
Dad grinned. “Do you want the one big enough for two?”
Heat hit Tom square in the face, and he ducked his head. “The regular one will work fine.” His voice came out squeaky, and he quickly cleared his throat.
Dad chuckled.
“It’s in the pantry,” Mom said. “And you go ahead and get some of the lilac soap from my room. She’ll like that.”
“Make sure to offer to scrub her back.” Dad’s voice was light and teasing.
“I always like when your father brushes my hair,” Mom offered.
Tom wanted to plug his ears and start humming. He didn’t need to know any more details about his parents’ love life than he already did. So he hustled away before his parents could say anything else to embarrass him.
He warmed up some water to add to the cold well water so that the temperature was perfect for cooling her, but not cold enough that she wouldn’t enjoy it. He sloshed pails of water up and down the stairs filling the large tub in the hallway so he could surprise her. As he worked, he tried not to think of his parents’ comments about scrubbing Victoria’s back or brushing her hair and what that actually might be like.
He had no claim to such intimacy, even if his parents believed he did. Whatever the case, the bath was for her. He didn’t expect anything in return.
When he finally dumped the last pail, he was sweating rivulets from his exertion. And the heat of the second floor only made him hotter. He caught his breath before listening at the door. She was so quiet he might have thought she’d somehow runaway, except that the octagonal shaped doorknob was in the same upright position he’d left it.
He knocked softly. “Victoria, I’m coming in.” He listened again, and when she didn’t protest, he opened the door a crack and peeked in.
She’d sprawled out on her stomach across the bed, still clad in her corset and skirt. From the gentle rise and fall of her torso, he guessed she was asleep. Even from the doorway, he could make out more of the bright red marks where the whalebones in her corset had rubbed her skin raw. From the way the laces were tangled and knotted, it was clear she’d been attempting to free herself from her corset.
He let himself in and hefted the tub to the middle of the room before closing the door. She would be mad at him again for coming in when she was undressed, but what else could he do? His stomach twisted at the thought of his parents listening to every step and noise they made. This pretend marriage was going to take a lot more acting than he’d anticipated.
With a sigh, he splashed some of the tepid bath water onto his face and then wiped himself dry with his sleeve. He arranged a clean towel and the lilac soap next to the tub, and then stood back and fidgeted with his shirt collar.
He couldn’t leave. His parents would scold him and order him back to the room. But there was no way