Never Tell a Soul, Damon Priest

9. the favorable idea

Roxie, thirteen, and Freda, fourteen, were not exactly the best actresses. Not that they did not have to feign or imitate any type of character, because they had always been privileged. As the youngest Stratfords, they could get away with anything. And if they could not, they mostly did not mind the punishments. They had a peculiar gift of finding something interesting in any given situation, good or bad. Just like today, of instance.

Most of the Stratfords younger than Damon often found his punishments dreadful. They would prefer Harry's over his, simply because Harry would not bother to get creative. He would resort to the boring ones (confinement in their bedchamber, no extra meal in the day, banishment from the woods), while Damon would entertain himself with creative ideas such as confinement in the well up in Windsong, exchanging roles with a servant, and just like today, on the side of the road, a roleplaying game.

If Damon gave the punishment to any of the others, they would have begged for something else. But not Roxie and Freda. The pair admitted to playing tricks on Geneva Withers many times before—even proudly proclaimed they were rarely caught and punished by the others—and with no heavy heart accepted the punishment from Damon.

In fact, the resistance he received was from someone else: Geneva Withers.

Meeting him on the side of the road, and seeing he was with his two cousins, she took a moment of pause. And vehemently said no as he began to tell her of his plan.

"But why would you do that?" she asked in disbelief.

"Because it is our punishment," said Roxie, guiltily smiling at Geneva.

"This is our way of saying we're sorry for what we have done before," added Freda. "Except for the grasshopper. It was truly not us. It just hopped on your shoulder and we just happened to be nearby."

Roxie nodded. "But we did laugh when you jumped in alarm. We should not have."

Geneva blinked once, then twice. And once more. Turning to Damon, she frowned. "This is absurd."

"Oh, it's not. It's actually quite easy," said Roxie. "Freda and I can definitely do this. And this is for a very good cause."

"A good cause?"

"For Damon's friend, Matthew."

"You do not have to do anything," Freda added.

Geneva scoffed and glared at Damon. "Surely, you would not put them in danger. If you truly wish to punish them, you can do so by...by locking them inside their rooms."

"That would be utterly boring," he droned.

"Not if you make them kneel by their beds until they're done reading the book of Psalms."

It was time for Damon, Freda, and Roxie to blink at her.

"Or close the curtains and keep them in the dark for days," she mumbled.

Damon turned to his cousins, who, by some miracle, looked frightened. He shook his head at Geneva. "That is not punishment, Miss Withers. That would be torture."

She pursed her lips and stared at the girls. "Well, they tortured me many times, have they not?"

Both girls grimaced, and before Damon could say something, Freda piped in, cheerfully saying, "We would rather not be here, to be honest, but we're doing this because it's the punishment Damon wants."

Roxie turned to Damon. "But if Miss Geneva does not want our help, maybe we should not do this."

"I read fast," said Freda. "I'm certain I'll be able to finish Psalms in a day."