Disclaimer: All the characters from the "Magnificent Seven" T.V. series are property of Trilogy Entertainment, The Mirisch Group, MGM Worldwide.
Actually, Josiah's day had been strange from the onset, so he was not at all surprised by how it moved from the sublimely bizarre to the extremely weird by the time the sun set on the evening. Of course, Josiah had come to learn that such a state of affairs was nothing unusual in Four Corners as it seemed to be the convergence point for anything out of the ordinary and usually gained its fullest strength around the seven men who guarded the town. During his time in Four Corners, Josiah had been visited by a gamut of odd occurrences, from mechanical monsters to strange alien creatures who wore human skin and was not particular about whose they took for their use.
At least he knew those were oddities whose presence in the world was fleeting and once visited upon them would be gone fortunately from this realm and in all likelihood, would never return again. However, the presence of a little blond girl with the taste for the mystic ensured that Josiah's life would never stray too far from the extraordinary. Since the arrival of Lilith King and her mother the new schoolteacher, an undiscovered vein of paternal emotion had surfaced out of nowhere within Josiah for the young girl with a penchant for the supernatural.
While his feelings for her mother was currently navigating uncharted some waters, Josiah knew exactly how he felt about Lilith following her initial bout of conjuring. Until then, spells and mysticism were little more than fancy words spoken by magicians while entertaining the crowds with clever card tricks and vermin carefully hidden in formal headwear. He never imagined it could be real but then as previous experience had taught him, the world was not a place of absolutes and when he was plunged into the reality of his hearts desire, Josiah learnt just how potent a force true magic could be.
A hundred years ago, what Lilith praticised in her dabbling with the arcane arts would have seen her burnt at the stake by the masses and there were still factions among good Christian folk who would advocate such penalties if they knew what held her interests. There was no doubt in his mind that true magic was neither evil nor some by-product of satanic worship. Lilith had made her first conjuring because she had wanted to bring happiness to those around her. Josiah could not bring himself to believe that a force which could be manipulated for such noble ends could be entirely bad. There was theatre of belief who considered guns to be evil and yet men argued that guns were not the true evil but rather the men who employed its application. Josiah seemed to think magic could be utilised the same way.
Some day, he had no doubt she would master the potential that was harboured in her young body and the power at her finger tips could be save lives, bring hope to the despaired and perhaps change the world in ways he could not imagine. However for the here and now, Lilith was a little girl sitting on a powder keg and Josiah had appointed himself her keeper. It was not a task he found laborious because for most part, Lilith was a delightful child. She was young and inquisitive, eager to learn and able to accept much of what he told her because her mind was open to all forms of knowledge. And because he believed he filled a void in her life left vacant by her father.
Josiah enjoyed being that for her most of all.
They spent a great deal of time together, mostly talking about things. She liked listening to him recite poetry, telling her stories about far away places and people with names like Helen, Perseus, Beowoulf and Gilgamesh. If she had been a boy, there was no telling what that intelligence might do for her in the future and Josiah knew that whatever course fate had in store for Lilith would no doubt be an interesting one.
They say the path to hell is lead with good intentions and never was this phrase more true when one was referring to Lilith. When Billy Travis had professed a desire to get Julia Pemberton and by the same token, all his friends which included the seven and their ladies, the perfect Christmas gift, Lilith had lent her assistance which saw her casting a spell that granted them all their fondest wish. What had intended to be a spell to bring much happiness had plunged them headlong into a nightmare of biblical proportions as the world around them splintered into custom made realities for all those involved.
Josiah had found himself a preacher like he had always wanted but knew inwardly was not the life for him. Until then, he had nursed the dream as one would harbour the desire to take that long trip, they knew they never would. The reality of that wish had made him grateful for what he was but for the others, it had been downright frightening.
He had managed to learn about their wishes with idle discussion about dreams the day after and discovered that JD had thrown out all his books about gunfighters and shootouts, the very books that had brought him to the West in the first place. Nathan seemed more at peace about his sister's passing and Ezra's feelings towards slavery in any shape or form was so acute that his opinions bordered on abolitionist at times. Vin had merely mentioned that he would have rather faced judgement in Tascosa instead of going after Eli Joe himself because it would have probably ended badly and for some reason, Buck had not been able to look at either Julia or Alex in the face for weeks after.
What Chris had dreamed was a secret known only to him.
The entire incident had given them all a finer appreciation for everything in their lives but for Josiah, there had been an unexpected bonus. At the stage in life the former preacher had reached, he was quite happy if things remained the same forever. He had his friends and something of a family in the fellowship of the seven and occasionally, when Maude Standish came to town, much to the chagrin of her son, he had a little female companionship as well. Josiah was well aware that Maude did not take him seriously as a suitor and wondered how she would have felt if she learnt that he felt more or less the same. Women did have a double sided view of such things. They enjoyed each others company, perfectly content with the fact that there was no relationship to speak of, just the mutual enjoyment of two people whose paths occasionally intersected.
The first time he had met Audrey, he was not even in this world. He was in the dream reality created by Lilith and he had been a preacher asking for her to believe him. He remembered how it was to look at her that first time, to see a face just as worn by the years as his and yet lovely nonetheless because the sparkle in her blue eyes was not bound by time. She had believed him when there had been no reason to do so and that had touched Josiah more than anything she could have said. He still carried the memory of taking a turn with her through that tree lined walk to the river and wished it was something he could share with her.
Getting to know Audrey was no easy thing. While she was artistic with a tendency to be flamboyant in her speech and her manner, she was a surprisingly private person. They say some women could be a mystery a man could spend a life time trying to unravel and in Audrey's case, it was precisely that. After nurturing a friendship of so many months, since what they were could hardly be called courting, Josiah found that he cared for Audrey more than he had for any woman in his life. When they were together, they spoke of books and travels, of things seen in life, of religion and politics and any subject that captured their interest. He found his mind challenged by hers and reaffirmed Josiah's belief that Four Corners was a magnet for strong, intelligent women as evidenced by Mary, Julia and Alex before her.
Audrey had no idea or course that Lilith was an amateur sorceress. While Audrey was aware that Lilith enjoyed reading that musty old book handed down from her ancestors, she did not know that her daughter considered the book more than just fascinating and was actively conjuring spells that had far reaching potential. There were moments when Josiah considered telling her about Lilith's predilection and yet feared the reaction that might come from the revelation. While he cared about Audrey and was confident enough to know quite a bit about the lady, he could not say for certain how she would take the news that her daughter was a powerful sorceress in the making. Audrey was open minded but Josiah did not know if she was that open minded. When they had been in that alternate reality, she had accepted what he had told her readily enough but so much about that other world had been distorted to suit, Josiah did not know if that included her response as well.
Josiah did not know when the revelation would be made to Audrey but he hoped it was later rather than sooner because things between them had settled into comfortable and Josiah liked comfortable.
Unlike the others, his world did not need shaking up.
"How am I gonna stay one step of her?" Buck Wilmington grimaced as he sat at their usual table in the Standish Tavern, moaning his circumstances following the sudden arrival of Millie back to town.
"Just tell her the truth Buck!" JD groaned in exasperation, giving the preacher a look at how ridiculous this was when the solution was so simple.
Josiah smiled as he saw JD's disbelief and thought to himself just how much the boy who had first forced his way into their ranks had grown since that initial arrival in Four Corners. JD was on the verge of becoming a man and judging by the sense he was displaying at the present moment, he would be a pretty good one in Josiah's opinion. The preacher felt a sense of pride knowing that he had a small part in that.
"Out of the mouth of babes." He drawled in his low rumbling voice before continuing to enjoy the lunch that Rain had set before him.
"It ain't that simple." Buck gave them both a look. "I don't want to hurt her feelings!" The big man said wanting to know why Josiah and JD found this so hard to understand. "I'm a fine catch." He continued to procrastinate. "I mean the poor girl could be devastated knowing that I slipped through her fingers." With a perfectly straight face, he sat up erect in his chair and added with great dignity. "I ain't easy to get over you know?"
"Of course not." Josiah said with an equally straight face. "However, might I remind you that your wife may not take to kindly with your attempts to keep one step ahead of Miss Millie." Josiah pointed out, ever the voice of reason.
"Yeah..." Buck nodded, his face creasing with new lines of worry at that possibility was presented to him. "Inez ain't gonna believe I had nothing to do with this."
"How do you know that?" JD countered. "You and Inez are married now, I'm pretty sure that she trusts you."
"Boy," Buck looked at the younger man as if he was talking a child. "You don't know the first thing about women do you?" He challenged. Without waiting for JD to answer, Buck pushed himself away from the table and started towards the door muttering. "I got lay low for a while. If she can't find me, there ain't no reason to worry..."
JD and Josiah stared at the new father as their gaze followed him out of the saloon and shook their heads collectively after his departure. "You know Josiah," JD sighed. "I'm starting to think I know a lot more about women than he thinks, without actually knowing a woman." The last part of his sentence came forth rather awkwardly and he tried to convey his intention a little more clearly.
"I understand your meaning, my young friend," Josiah said sparing him the embarrassment of trying to explain. "I am afraid Buck's affection for the ladies, sometimes clouds his judgement as to what they are really like. He has an image in his mind that does not always fit the reality." The older man replied and felt some with Buck in that sense. There was a time when Josiah was more in love with the idea of being in love than actually caring about the object of his affections. He still stung from humiliation when he thought of how ardently he had built the image of Emma in his head when it was nothing like the reality of what she was. Josiah was glad he had a more measured view of Audrey.
"You think its that way with him and Inez?" The young man asked somewhat shocked if it was. Buck and Inez were like fire and oil but the conflagration they ignited by their passion seemed to feed of each other and it was impossible for an outsider to watch without feeling the heat.
"Probably not," he shook his head. "Fortunately, in that relationship, Inez is the smarter one."
JD laughed at the thought and could well believe it. The youth glanced outside the window and frowned with displeasure at the storm that was forming just beyond the confines of Four Corners. Josiah was aware that JD had plans to spend the day with Casey and that a storm would almost certainly put an end to that desire.
"I wouldn't advise it." Josiah remarked just in case the boy was considering throwing caution to the wind. If it had been mere summer drizzle, Josiah would have kept his peace but the clouds forming in the sky outside promised a thunderstorm that would be most unforgiving to those foolish enough to venture into its fury. "Weather's looking pretty bad. That storm is gonna be fierce."
"I know," JD said unhappily, not at all impressed at having to disappoint Casey. "I really wanted to spend some time with her you know?"
"I do," Josiah nodded understanding completely and reminded himself he had to call in on Audrey because they had plans for supper tonight and he thought they might go a restaurant for a change. She always seemed to be cooking meals for him and Josiah felt that it was high time she was relieved of the chore, no matter how wonderful a cook she might be. Still, he did not want to impose upon any plans that she might have made already so it was best to go check nonetheless.
He had observed his friends long enough now to know what not to do when it came to women.
"I am sure Casey will be pleased just spending some time in your company JD." Josiah said confidently. "Maybe you just spend an afternoon just talking with her." He suggested.
JD nodded, thinking that this too was a good idea. After all she had spent the last few days alone without Nettie, perhaps she might be a little lonely and JD hated the idea of picturing the young woman starved for human companionship. Maybe they could do something in town, which did not require good weather. In any case, he would go see her first and make sure a change of plans met with her approval.
He had observed his friends long enough now to know what not to do when it came to women.
Despite the promise of bad weather, it was a rather nice day in Four Corners. There was just enough hint of a breeze to take the edge of the summer heat and while people were staying close to home in case the storm came their way instead of moving on as they thought, they were nonetheless out in force going about their business. The same could be said about the children who were running around, playing and getting to mischief the way only the young could. With summer, came the inevitable break from school and so the younger citizens of Four Corners were also highly visible today. As he thought about children in general, Josiah found himself sniggering at the thought of Ezra and Billy's duel later today.
The gambler was itching to get disembowelled by Mary if she discovered that he was encouraging Billy in the boy's card playing activities. It was not as if Ezra had not suffered the wrath of Mrs Larabee once before after teaching the boy the art of craps, which Billy displayed to his full potential in Audrey's school house during lunchtime. Josiah remembered how amused Audrey had found the whole incident even thought she was meant to disapprove of such behaviour and was forced to take a punitive role because she was meant to be instilling her charges with good moral fibre.
Suddenly he saw Lilith emerge onto the boardwalk, making a beeline for home. There was something of the furtive in her manner and immediately sparked Josiah's interest as he hastened his pace to catch up with the young girl. She was carrying a little bag with her and seemed to be holding it with more care that normal which immediately aroused the suspicious nature of the lawman inside Josiah. Although he was aware that she still dabbled in her interest in conjuring, Josiah knew that she had not referred to the Book of Shadows, which was the real ignition for her latent abilities. He hoped the reason she was making her silent advance was not because she was moving into those uncharted waters again.
"Hello Lilith." Josiah greeted as he came up along side of her and looked down into a pair of blue eyes.
"Hello Josiah." She met his gaze sharply and Josiah could smell something of the shock she was displaying in that seemingly cherubic face. She was not scared but he had caught her by surprise.
"What are you up today?" He asked, trying not to sound accusatory since he had no idea whether or not she was doing anything wrong. Women were filled with secrets and little girls were no different, Josiah thought. It was beyond his ability to decipher whether or not those secrets had anything to do with magic and spells.
"Nothing." She said trying to hide the anxiety form her voice.
"What's in the bag?" He pushed, once again reminding herself that she was not under suspicion and that his question was merely mirroring his curiosity.
"Stuff." She looked ahead, keeping her eyes from him.
"What kind of stuff?" He inquired, perfectly content to play this game of questions and answers.
Lilith thought quickly, certain that Josiah was on to her and what she intended to do with the contents in her bag was too important for her to abandon it. However, she needed to give him an answer and quickly thought up an excuse that might allay his suspicions. "Stuff to make an Indian charm." She blurted out in a fit of inspiration.
"An Indian charm?" He looked at her.
"Yeah," she nodded with a smile, seeing that he had been unprepared for her answer and was just surprised enough to believe it. "I'm gonna make a good luck charm for Billy." She continued, building the little white lie into something more plausible.
Josiah knew that it could very well be that since it was he who had taken her out to the Indian village to visit Kojay on occasion. Audrey who was not averse to allowing her daughter learn about other cultures had allowed him to take Lilith for the experience of actually meeting Indians and forming her own opinion, instead of the biased view held by most white folk. Josiah knew that Lilith had enjoyed the day out and spent most of her time with the medicine man and watched how the women in the tribe went about their chores. She had remarked to him at the end of the day that their worlds were not so dissimilar from one another, just a little different.
Josiah remembered feeling immensely proud when Lilith had declared that she did not know whose way was better.
"A good luck charm huh?" He nodded slightly, showing his approval and on a deeper note, his relief.
"I figure he needs all the help he can get." Lilith added. "Him playing cards with Ezra is such a bad idea."
"Well not really," Josiah shrugged. A small smile crossed his face picturing the cool, collected gambler, ever the picture of calm deliberation, sitting across the table from an eight year old playing a game of go fish. Then the devil in him flashed another thought in his mind at the image, what if Ezra lost? "I reckon that it ain't so easy to cheat at go fish."
"Ezra wouldn't cheat." Lilith exclaimed, unable to imagine Ezra Standish doing anything of the sort. After all, Ezra was a professional as he was so often fond of saying to anyone who listened.
"Of course not." Josiah said with a perfectly straight face because he was not about to fill the young girl on the facts of life when it came to the card skills of one Mr Standish. While Ezra was a damn fine card player, Josiah and the rest of the seven knew that he was not averse to tipping the odds in his favor when he felt the need to salvage his pride or replenish his empty coffers.
"The medicine man at the village showed me how to make the charm," Lilith continued to say, pleased that Josiah had bought her story because she did not want to have to tell him that she was conjuring from the book, even if it was for the best reasons.
"Well," Josiah said as they took the turn towards the house. "Just as long as you promise me you ain't doing nothing dangerous." He gave her a stern look that was more paternal than it was warning and Lilith nodded obediently.
"I won't Josiah." She said feeling a twinge of guilt for her deception and moved quickly to change the subject. "Are you coming to see mama?"
"Yeah," Josiah replied. "Is she home?"
"I think she was going to visit with Mrs Potter this morning," Lilith answered, trying to remember what her mother had on her agenda today. Suddenly, she realised that Josiah intended to come home with her and decided that would not at all do. She needed privacy to cast her spell and knew that mama was not home anyway. "Said she'll be back this afternoon."
"This afternoon huh?" Josiah paused, seeing no reason to continue if Audrey was not going to be home. "Okay." He looked down at Lilith, "tell you ma I'll call in later or if she wants to say hello, I'll be doing some work at the church."
"Sure Josiah," Lilith beamed at being able to deter him from his course. "I'll tell her."
It was more than an hour after his encounter with Lilith that Josiah finally saw Audrey.
As usual, he spent most of his free time when he was not helping out at the Lucky 7 ranch either playing the part of lawman in Four Corners or putting the finishing touches to the church which had been his pet project since arriving in town. He knew that as far as he was concerned he would never really get it finished because part of his enjoyment at working on the place was the fact that there always a little something else he had to get done. Josiah did not mind, there were worst ways to spend ones time.
"Hello Josiah." Audrey announced herself as she came down the aisle as he was coating the pulpit with some varnish to turn its dull finish into something more presentable.
"Hello Audrey." Josiah poked his head from behind the stand and flashed her a smile.
Audrey looked as beautiful as always, with her dark hair worn up and delicate strands cascading around her neck while she regarded him with those incredibly blue eyes. Each time he looked at her, he knew that what he felt for her was no romantic image of what a woman should be but a feeling for her that was more genuine than any he had ever known.
"Lilith said you were going to come up to the house." She replied, brushing her skirt down as she placed herself on the steps of the raised floor, which lead to the pulpit.
"I did," Josiah agreed. "I was hoping to catch you before you made any plans for supper tonight." He remarked putting down the paintbrush full of varnish on to the newspaper he had strewn about to protect the floor and joined her a second later.
"I was going to cook," Audrey shrugged, having not placed that much thought upon it. Josiah sharing supper at their table was so common place that it was something she almost took for granted now. She liked seeing him at the head of the table and knew that Lilith adored seeing him there as well. While he was not her husband and never would be, Josiah in his own way had captured her heart just as intensely. His presence had made her new life in Four Corners so much more than she ever dreamed possible and even though this town seemed to attract trouble like bees to honey, she knew that he alone made all that discourse worth remaining.
"I thought we might go out tonight." He suggested instead. Usually, every penny he saved would go to keeping his sister in the convent at Vesta City but the truth was, he was so well ahead of his payments that he knew that there would be no harm indulging one night out on the town. Besides, Audrey was not his cook. She was a woman whom he cared about deeply and there came a time when a lady needed to know the prose she inspired inside a man's heart. "Supper at the hotel?"
"That sounds nice," she beamed, liking the idea that he would be taking her out when they did it so rarely. Audrey did not mind of course, aware that he was a man of moderate means and admired him for ensuring that his sister was well taken care off. She was one of two people in Four Corners who knew about Josiah's sister and felt privileged that he would trust her with that information. "Lily is going to be staying at Gloria's though."
"Oh?" Josiah glanced at her; unable to deny that he would not mind spending the time alone with her, not that he felt Lilith's presence was an intrusion. "How come?"
"I thought we might have some time alone to talk." Audrey replied and captured Josiah's undivided attention with that statement, as there was something in her voice that immediately put him on guard.
"About what?" Josiah asked after a moment, trying to hide the fact that he was burning with curiosity.
"About us." She said with an enigmatic smile that made him swallow the lump that had suddenly formed in his throat. Why was he so bothered about this? They talked all the time about things. Why did she suddenly need privacy?
"What about us?" He faced front, suddenly pre-occupied by a book sitting on one of the pews. Did she intend to end it between them? Is that why she needed to be alone with him? His heart sank at the thought of not having Audrey in his life. He was hardly a young man but even Josiah recognised that he was head over heels in love with the lovely schoolteacher.
Audrey caught the strained expression on his face and was suddenly struck with the realisation that he was mistaken about her intentions. Exceedingly mistaken, in fact about what she had intended to convey to him and wondered how a man so perceptive at times could get it so completely wrong and she did not need to be a school teacher to answer that enigma.
He was a man.
"Oh Josiah!" Audrey exclaimed. "Its not bad news." She declared and took his face in her hands so that he would look at her and understand. "I just thought we needed to talk about us."
"Us is fine." Josiah said inwardly relieved even though he did not show it as he met her gaze.
"I agree." She said softly and lowered her lips to his with a gentle kiss, which he returned quite readily before pulling back to meet his gaze. "We'll have the whole house to ourselves tonight Josiah. Gloria is keeping Lilith with her until tomorrow afternoon."
It took a few seconds for Josiah to understand what she was getting at and when he did comprehend that mysterious smile on her face, his eyes widened in nothing less than fear. Swallowing thickly, he drew away from her and stuttered a response. "Are you suggesting that I..." he could not even bring himself to complete that sentence.
"Stay the night." She answered and removed the last vestiges of doubt in his mind regarding his intention.
"Audrey..." Josiah started to answer and once again he was struck with that stammer. "Are you sure... I mean its a big step...a very big step."
"Josiah," she smiled with not a shred of doubt or fear in her eyes at what she was alluding. "We are hardly children any more and I want to be with you."
How did women manage to do that? How were they capable of dropping such startling news on a man and yet be capable of remaining so calm and aloof as if they had just made some inconsequential remark about weather?
"I want to be with you too but this is sudden." He answered; trying to keep the turmoil in his stomach from churning to such a state that he needed to throw up. It was not as if he did not want to be with her. Hell yeah, he wanted to spend the night with her and enjoy the bliss of her body just as completely as he enjoyed her soul but it was too soon.
"How is it sudden?" She countered. "We have been seeing quite a bit of each other these past months and it is time we moved on."
"But this ain't right..." he continued to protest. "You're a lady and a proper Christian woman. Our union should be sanctified in marriage."
"Now Josiah," she sighed. "I'm not that proper and I know that you're just trying to protect my honour. My honour is just fine and we're not having some sordid affair. I love you and I think you love me too. A relationship can't stay trapped in amber, it has to move on."
"But why now?" He asked, still refusing to believe that what she was offering was purely arbitrary without some deeper intention that he was not yet privy to. "We've been doing just fine the way we have been."
"We are fine and this won't change things," she kissed him again. "This will only make it better. Now I know that you're protesting out of some desire to protect me and I love you even more for being so honourable but I promise you I want this. You don't have to worry that I'll regret it because I know I won't."
Oh hell.
Josiah did not know what to say and what was more he did not know how he felt about her offer. He did love her and that much he had realised with complete certainty in the last few minutes. However, it astonished him that she could just come out with something like this and knew that his Audrey did not make such choices lightly, if at all. Something was at work here. There was no way this could be coming from her so blithely unless something else had motivated her to behave this way. He racked his mind in the seconds after she had spoken, waiting for his answer, trying to understand what could have made her come to the conclusion she had when it came to him with a flash.
Lilith.
Lilith had done this. That was no charm she had been making. She had been conjuring again. It was the only thing that could explain Audrey's aberrant behaviour. He knew Lilith wanted them to get together but this was unforgivable! She had stared him in the face and uttered a bald face lie at making some charm for Billy when all this time she had been conjuring a spell to make her mother want him like this. How could she toy with people's emotions like that. All this time, Josiah thought he had made some impact on her with his presence but the anger bubbled inside of him at the realisation that he had failed. He could not really be angry at her he supposed, after all it was her desire to see him become a part of her life that had inspired this course of action.
Somehow, he had to talk to Lilith and get her to reverse the spell she had cast on Audrey without letting the lady know that she had been a pawn in a bout of magical conjuring.
"Josiah say something." Audrey spoke up, snapping him out of his ruminations.
Josiah faced her and decided upon his course of action at that instant. "Audrey, if you are sure about this then so am I." He replied placing his hands on her shoulders, hoping that would satisfy her until he was able to lift the spell that had been placed upon her before the time make good on his agreement.
"I am sure." She said firmly. "So why don't we go to supper at the hotel as planned and let whatever happen next come naturally."
"Okay," Josiah offered her a smile of agreement, determined that by the time supper came along. It would be a matter of making certain that things came about naturally and not because of any magic spell.
When Audrey finally left Josiah, she made mention of going to town to run some errands prior to heading home which gave the preacher the opening he needed to find the lady's daughter and question her about what mischief she had caused with that accursed book of magic. Josiah had no doubt that Audrey's desire to get to know him in the biblical way was no doubt inspired by some love potion that probably found its origins within the Book of Shadows Lilith was so fond of studying. Even though she had promised him never to conjure any of the enchantments contained within it, he had not stopped her from reading the book.
Going to Audrey's house, he pounded on her door for a few minutes and was greeted with silence, a state of affairs which only served to prove that Lilith was just as absent from her home as Audrey was. As Josiah departed from the schoolteacher's home before she made a return and had reason to question why he was seeking her daughter with such determination, he wondered where Lilith could be and made his next port of call at the Larabee household. He assumed that Lilith would be at Billy's side, no doubt offering morale support for the youth's duel with Ezra Standish.
However, upon arriving at the Larabee household and was greeted with the same quiet as he had at Audrey's house, Josiah decided that his best bet would probably be the Standish Tavern. After all, he realised after he had left the building that was home to Chris Larabee and the Clarion News and searched all the usual places that she might be that that his best bet would be to wait it out at the saloon for the duel. After all, when Billy arrived there, Lilith would sure to be with him.
The first thing Josiah noticed when he arrived at the establishment was the larger than normal crowds whom appeared as if they were waiting in anticipation for something to happen. He saw Inez behind the bar, offering directions to the bar maids she had recruited to deal with the extra patronage and went to the counter to seek if there was trouble a foot.
"What's going on?" He asked the sultry Mexican once she was done with the waitresses who scattered around the room to deal with the customers on the floor.
"I don't know," she said somewhat mystified herself as she started to pour him a drink without his needing to tell her what he wanted. Josiah tipped his hat at her as he picked up his mug of beer and took a sip, grateful for the libations after the morning he had just endured. "I could be wrong but I think they're here because of Ezra's card game with Billy."
Josiah raised his brow. "Surely you jest."
And then again after further thought, the notion did not sound so preposterous. How many people here had lost their money to the gambler at one point or another and would not mind seeing the gambler taken down a peg or two? More than Josiah could count. Even if Ezra won his little match with Billy, he was still going to look ridiculous doing it, to say nothing of the fact of what would actually happen if he lost. Josiah shook his head unable to believe that Ezra had let himself get into a situation like this and then wondered why he was in the least bit surprised, after all, for his sophisticated, polished exterior, the man could behave surprisingly juvenile.
"He's a brave man." Josiah had to admit.
"Brave is not the word," Inez shook her head in disapproval. "I do not wish to be around when Mary catches him."
"Oh yeah," Josiah remembered that particular minefield that Ezra had stumbled into and grimaced as he envisioned the carnage that would take place when the editor of the Clarion News found out that Ezra was gambling with her son again. "You'd think he'd learnt the first time."
"Not Ezra," Inez remarked, remembering just how furious Mary had been after the incident at the school house where Billy had been caught gambling, thanks to Ezra's tuition in one aspect of the craft. Mary had stormed into the saloon following her interview with Audrey King who informed her that Billy had won a wealth of lunches because of his skills and spent the next hour screaming at the gambler. Chris Larabee had witnessed the entire incident, unprepared to lift a finger to help one of his men. Not that anyone would expect him to since gambling was not the lesson of choice for an eight-year-old in any one's opinion.
"This time, it ain't just Billy that's going to get grounded for a month." Josiah smiled trying to imagine how Mary would enforce that particular punishment and then thought to himself that if anyone could put the gambler through his paces, it was definitely Mrs Larabee. After all, one did not get to be Mrs Chris Larabee without a certain amount of ingenuity, not to mention enough patience to sink Noah's Ark in the great flood.
"Well I can live with it." Inez said with a smile. "I would not mind being left to run the saloon on my own without Ezra telling me how to do things."
"He still lording it over you that he now owns the saloon again?" Josiah inquired and bit his lip when he saw the smouldering look in her eyes at being reminded about that particular point.
"Oh every single time he has a chance." She grumbled. "I swear, if she was not one of my dearest friends I could just kill Julia for buying the saloon from Maude for him."
"Some acts of kindness can have grave implications." Josiah said out loud not at all referring to Inez's situation with the Standish Tavern and Ezra but rather an issue closer to home. He glanced at the clock on the wall and noted that the time was fast approaching for the appointed hour of Ezra's duel. "Sometimes, one needs to consider whether the outcome is all that terrible." His gazed melted into a place where only he could see and Inez decided she had too much to do now that he afternoon crowd had arrived prematurely to interpret what was on Josiah's mind at this time.
Following Inez's departure from the bar, Josiah retired to the table normally occupied by the seven whenever they were present inside the saloon. After awhile, Buck emerged from the kitchen and they had a brief discussion where the big man actually offered some valuable insight into his situation with Josiah having to tell him about the finer points of his predicament. For instance the part about the whole thing with Audrey being brought about by Lilith's creating some kind of love potion which she used on her mother and him.
For a man who could be just as ridiculously juvenile about things as Ezra Standish, Buck was capable of displaying surprising depth whenever he wanted. He supposed that no one could pull Chris Larabee from the mire of grief following the death of the man's wife and child without having a lucid understanding about people. Buck had made some interesting insights into his relationship with Audrey and further convinced Josiah that his initial impulse that it was too soon for himself and Audrey to move their relationship to such an intimate level was right. Besides, he did not need the interference of a child to make that decision for him.
Unfortunately, the man who had led him to make this decision was soon running out of the saloon upon hearing the mention of the name 'Millie'.
Josiah was getting impatient and he wondered if he was wasting time here when he ought to be on the streets of Four Corners searching for Lilith. Even though the saloon was full and the time was drawing closer and closer for the duel to begin, there was still no sign of Billy and by that same extension, Lilith either. He needed to see her before his supper engagement with Audrey or else things could become exceedingly awkward when he had to explain to the lady that this was not really her will at all but the by product of magic. Further more, he had to explain that this desire for him was no doubt fed to her in the form of some kind of love potion concocted by her daughter.
It sounded so much more plausible when he was thinking it.
"Mr Sanchez is there some reason why you are fidgeting like a five year old?" Ezra asked, having observed the man's behaviour during the last hour to know that there was definitely something wrong with the normally at peace preacher. While Josiah had refused to discuss the present trials his relationship with the lovely Mrs King was enduring, Ezra could tell that it still preyed on his mind heavily because Josiah was one of the most laid back people he knew, next to Mr Tanner.
Unless of course you brought up the subject of a wedding, Ezra thought with wicked smile.
"I'm fine." He growled. "When is this thing gonna start?"
"You are referring to my little challenge with young Master Travis?" Ezra looked at him innocently.
"No," Josiah retorted. "I mean the pissing contest you two are playing at because of a woman." He replied with uncharacteristic venom.
"My goodness," Ezra stared at him with some measure of surprise at that kind language coming from the erudite preacher. "You must be singularly preoccupied with a conundrum." The gambler remarked facing front again. "However since the only civilised query I am able to extract from you refers to the game I am playing with young Billy, I am pleased to tell you that the games are about to begin." He tipped his hat in the direction of the bat wing doors.
Josiah sat up immediately and saw Billy entering the room but no sign of Lilith. He watched the young boy meander through the bodies of the room and realised that there would be no little blond girl with sun streaked hair in attendance. Letting out a groan of frustration at her absence and realising he was fast running out of time, Josiah let out a short growl and left the table without saying a word to Ezra. The gambler barely noticed his departure since the man was too busy ignoring the jibes and sneers rippling throughout the room regarding his match with an eight-year-old.
Josiah spent the rest of the afternoon searching for Lilith without much success and when he did get a lead on her, it was usually a few minutes after the child had departed. The preacher was starting to wonder if Lilith's love potion involved some vanishing spell as well. Finally, he came to the unhappy conclusion that he had no choice but to confront Audrey and tell her the truth. As much as he hated revealing Lilith's secret to her, he had no other alternative. Audrey was not acting on her own volition and he would not take advantage of her.
Their supper engagement was still a few hours away when Josiah turned up at Audrey's door, hoping he could just phrase this right so that he would not insult her. The last thing he wanted to do was to make Audrey think that he did not want to be with her because he surely did. However, he refused to take advantage of her because of a spell that had no right being. If he had been able to find Lilith it would have made things less complicated. However, he had to face up to the fact that even if he did find the young girl, she might not be able to undo what she had done in time to make Audrey change her mind.
"Josiah, what a surprise." Audrey said as she swung the door and found herself facing him.
"Audrey I need to speak to you." Josiah asked as he stood by her doorway, hat in hand feeling like a condemned man about to step up to the hangman's noose.
The expression on his face immediately brought worry lines to hers and she gestured him to enter, apprehensive about the reason for his sudden arrival when they were due to have supper in a few short hours. Josiah said nothing as he followed her into the house, aware that she was just as concerned about his statement as he had been earlier when she had made similar remarks about needing to talk.
"What's wrong Josiah?" She turned around and faced him once they were inside the confines of her parlour. "Is it because of what I said this morning?" She asked, wondering if her forwardness had frightened him off. Had she misjudged him that badly?
"No," he shook his head and placed his hands on her shoulders, not wanting her to get the idea that he was upset about that at all. It was not her fault how she was behaving. It was the love potion. "Audrey, it's got nothing to do with that." He paused a moment, knowing that was not exactly true and began again. "Well it is, but not in the way you think."
"You don't think I'm a wanton do you?" She asked, horrified that her intimate offering might be construed as the actions of an immoral. Audrey was afraid that this might happen, after all he was a preacher once.
"Of course not!" Josiah exclaimed, mortified that she could even think such a thing. "I would never think that!"
"Oh thank goodness," she let out a sigh of relief. "For a moment, I was really worried that you being a former man of the cloth and all..."
"No," he shook his head so that she would dispel the notion out of her mind for good. "I think what you have offered me is something special that I will look forward to accepting one day when you are making that choice of your own free will."
Audrey looked at him sharply. "My own free will?" She knotted her brow in confusion as she raised those pools of azure coloured eyes to his. "What do you mean Josiah?"
He took a deep breath and cleared his throat, preparing to launch himself into the explanation he had rehearsed in his mind over and over again during the walk here. "Audrey do you believe in things unseen?"
She considered the question even though she was still rather confused at its relevance at the moment. "Well yes," she nodded. "That's the basis of faith is not? To believe in things that aren't tangible in a real world sense."
"Okay," he exhaled once again. "Then you have to believe that there are forces that exist in the world that may not make sense but do exist even though we've been taught not to believe in them."
"Josiah," Audrey placed her hands on her hips and stared at him impatiently. "What are you talking about?"
"Magic." Josiah declared, deciding there was no proper way to word this except in the most direct manner. "Do you believe in magic?"
"The whole world is magic Josiah," Audrey retorted. "There is magic in the beauty of things, in the stars up in the sky, at the smile of a baby. Those things are magic."
"No you don't understand," he sighed with a hint of frustration. "I'm talking about real magic. The kind that makes witches fly on brooms and pulls rabbits out of hats. I'm talking about spells and enchantments."
Audrey's eyes widened. "Do you believe in these things?" She asked tentatively.
Obviously, she did not know Josiah Sanchez quite as well as she originally thought.
"Yes I do," he answered truthfully. "I never used to but now I do and you've got to believe me when I say to you that offering yourself to me is not something you wanted to do. It was because of some love spell or maybe even a potion that was given to you to make you think that you wanted to be with me." There, he said it and waited in anticipation for an answer as she stared at him with an expression on her face that he could not quite fathom.
"You're saying someone put a spell on me to induce me to invite you into my bed tonight?" Audrey asked slowly.
"Yes," he nodded sombrely, waiting for a more telling reaction other than this cool, deliberate question and this impenetrable mask on her face that was unreadable. "You're not doing this because you want to, you're doing this because you're under some kind of enchantment."
"Enchantment." She nodded, as if trying to absorb the information Josiah had just imparted to her.
He could not blame her of course. It was not everyday a person was told that everything they accepted about the worlds was false and even their own actions were suspect when magic could easily manipulate them into perpetrating an act that was completely alien to their normal behaviour.
"And who put this enchantment on me?" She probed further.
Now Josiah had reason to pause because he had not wanted to bring Lilith's name into it but could not see how he could avoid it now that he had mentioned the spell. Perhaps, telling her the truth might allow Audrey to provide some insight on how they could reverse the effects of the incantation. Or at the very least, Audrey might know where Lilith was.
"I'm afraid it was Lilith." Josiah answered after a momentary pause.
"Lilith put a love spell on me?" Audrey asked.
"She's been fooling around with that book for some time and she doesn't mean to cause harm," Josiah quickly spoke up in the young girl's defence. After all, what she had done was out of love for both of them, not in malice. "I think she just wanted to get us together."
"I see." The lady nodded, once again slipping into that enigmatic place where what she was thinking became a riddle he could not unravel.
"I guess she wanted us to be a family and got tired of waiting." Josiah tried to explain. "You have to believe me that more than anything I wanted to get closer to you but this is not you and I won't take advantage of the situation when you are not clearly in your right mind."
"Well," Audrey let out a deep breath and a humourless smile crossed her lips. "I guess that would not be right if I came to this decision because of some love potion that addled my brain."
It was at this point that it began to dawn on Josiah that perhaps, he was in trouble. "Audrey..."
"Don't Audrey me!" She roared. "If you did not want to sleep with me, all you had to do was say so Josiah Sanchez!"
"No!" Josiah exclaimed horrified realising that he had just aimed his oarless boat up a creek with a very, very big drop. "That's not true! I do want to sleep with you!"
"Oh course you do!" She shouted back in nothing less than fury. "You know of all the excuses you could have come up with, that has to be in my opinion, the worst one I have ever heard in my entire life! It just so happens Mr Sanchez that I am not under the influence of any love potion, enchantment, spell or whatever the hell you want to call it! Not at all! I wanted to sleep with you because I care for you deeply, not because I'm under the influence of some magic trick!"
"But... but... Lilith...!"
"What about my Lily?" She glared at him with eyes burning with blue fire, not at all lessened in intensity. "How dare you use my daughter for such a pathetic excuse! Lilith is a little strange and she has a penchant for books that are less than orthodox but how dare you accuse my child of being some kind of...of...witch!"
"But it's true!" Josiah cried frantically. "She created a love potion!"
"A love potion!" Audrey rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Will you listen to yourself! You're talking about a nine year old for God sakes!" She started to turn away from him.
"Audrey," he caught her arm, trying desperately to convince her that he was not stark, raving mad because she sure as hell was looking at him like he was a lunatic. "I swear to you, everything I said is true. Lilith is a very powerful magician. Its really quite amazing!"
"You just don't give up do you?" Audrey cried out disgusted. "I refuse to let you slander my child any further! If you cannot deal with commitment of progressing our relationship along then I am afraid I did not know you as well as I thought!"
"Audrey that's not true!" Josiah protested as she turned on her heels and stormed out of the parlour. "I do want to be with you!"
"Well you have a funny way of showing it!" She said finally before disappearing into her bedroom and ending their discussion with the hard slam of door mere inches away from his face.
Josiah was aghast and unable to believe that she had taken it so badly. He thought she might be upset but even he had not fathom just how upset she was going to be about this. This was all Lilith's fault and he had just made things worst by telling Audrey that. Worst of all, he had not the slightest clue as to how to make things right between them and wondered if things could deteriorate any further.
"Hello Josiah." A youthful voice immediately sliced through his thoughts as he stood outside Audrey's door. "What's going on?"
Josiah's gaze moved sharply at the hallway and found Lilith staring at him oddly, trying to discern what it was he was doing there.
"Lilith!" Josiah strode immediately towards her. "What did you do?"
Lilith looked at him blankly. "Do?"
"You cast some crazy love potion on your ma, didn't you?" He accused. His anger was up and he knew he should not be so cross with Lilith but the scene that just took place had justified his response.
"Love potion?" Lilith started to stammer, unable to comprehend what Josiah was taking about as the big man came to a stop before her and towered over the little girl like a glowering giant. "I didn't cast any love potion." She replied.
"Now Lilith," Josiah calmed himself down before he said something he would regret. "Now I saw you this morning with all that stuff you were supposed to make for a lucky charm. It was not, was it?"
Guilt crossed Lilith's features mostly because she hated lying to Josiah about it and it appeared the truth was needed to clear up this particular misunderstanding. "No it wasn't." She admitted reluctantly.
"Then what was it?" He asked satisfied that he was right and even more so when she told him the truth.
"It was a love spell but it didn't work." Lilith confessed. "I didn't have all the stuff I needed cause I didn't want to find a frog and put its eyes out."
"It must have worked Lilith," Josiah pointed out, glad she had not blinded some poor amphibian nonetheless. "Your ma has been acting..." he paused to rephrase his words carefully in order to make it suitable for a minor audience. "Differently."
"But the spell wasn't cast!" Lilith exclaimed and then added. "And it was not for you and ma. It was for me and Billy."
Josiah merely stared at her.
"What do you mean?" He demanded. Suddenly, an ominously sick feeling was starting to rise up his gullet like bile.
"I didn't give ma any love potion! I wouldn't do that to you or ma! I did it for me and Billy and it couldn't work because I didn't have all the stuff I needed to finish the spell off. I swear Josiah, I didn't do anything to you or ma! Not after the last time!"
During her last conjuring, Lilith's spell had caused Audrey to be killed and Josiah knew that she was telling the truth because the experience of being without her mother had been fearful enough without his having to hold her to that promise of dabbling in their lives again. Which mean that everything that took place today had no enchantment attached to it and Audrey's desire to be with him...
Oh hell!
Josiah swore under his breath and immediately hurried to Audrey's door once again "Audrey, I'm sorry. I didn't know what I was talking about! I made a mistake!"
"No I made the mistake!" Audrey's voice wailed through the door back at him. "You're just afraid of commitment Josiah!"
Josiah let his hang bang against the door and groaned. "No I'm not afraid of commitment! I want to be with you! I just thought..."
"You thought that the only way I could want to be with you is through a stupid love spell!" Audrey cried out. "I don't know what's worse, the reason that you came up with such an excuse or the fact that you think I'd actually believe such a ridiculous story!"
Lilith listened to the grovelling and pleading for another ten minutes, unable to keep from thinking that adults could be very strange as Josiah continued to beg her mother about 'being with her' though Lilith felt there was something about that sentence she was missing completely. Finally, the young girl decided that she had better things to do then witness Josiah and her mother engaged in their weird games and remembered that she had to spend the night at Gloria Potters and went to get ready for the sleep over.
She had no idea what Josiah and her ma had planned for the evening as she collected her things for the night away from home but had no doubt that it would involve a lot of apologising if her ma's screaming was anything to go by.
A hell of a lot of apologising.