Lady Love by Diana Palmer Read Free Book Online

fire, Miss Forrest,” he murmured. “Like a firecracker. I’d forgotten how exciting it could be.…” As if the observation angered him, his smile vanished and the glitter was back in his eyes. “Stop prodding me, for your own good. I make a bad enemy. And since you apparently don’t work for the fun of it, I’d hate to see you kicked out the door over an insignificant disagreement.”
    ***
    He inclined his head like a conquering general and went out, leaving her puzzled, excited, and on edge. She had underestimated him. But it was a mistake she wouldn’t make again.
    “They’re gone, Merlyn,” Amanda whispered as Merlyn came downstairs to find the little girl waiting for her. Amanda grinned. “Now we can get back to normal.”
    “Don’t you like Miss Radner?” Merlyn asked gently.
    Amanda glowered. “She doesn’t like me,” she muttered. “She looks at me as if she feels sorry for me. Just you wait, someday I’ll be just as elegant as she is, and I’ll feel sorry for her, on account of she’ll be old and ugly!”
    Merlyn laughed, tugging the young girl against her. “You’re pretty enough to suit me, Miss Thorpe. And all you need is a haircut, a big smile, and some confidence to make you into a raving beauty.”
    Amanda stopped and looked up at her, wide-eyed. “Do you really think so?”
    “Yes, I do.”
    “Could you cut my hair?”
    Merlyn pursed her lips. “When I get through working, I’ll ask your father if I can take you into town to a beauty shop. Okay?”
    “I’ll ask him, when he comes back next weekend. He said he was going to,” Amanda volunteered. She blushed. “He doesn’t like women, mostly, except for Miss Radner. But he likes me.”
    “Yes, darling, I’m sure he does. I like you, too.”
    Amanda smiled. “You’re not bad, for a grown-up. You’re sort of different.”
    Yes, I’m that, Merlyn thought mischievously. Very different from the sort of grown-up you’re used to. Like Cameron Thorpe. She wanted to have nothing to do with a man who could contemplate marriage to a woman just because she suited his life-style. She wondered if he really thought his Delle was such a prize. Despite her beauty, she struck Merlyn as a passionless woman, appealing to look at, but that was all. That was his business, though. Hers was going to be keeping out of his way. She wouldn’t heel on command for any overbearing stuffed shirt, but on the other hand she didn’t want to have to go home and admit defeat. Her father was already sure she couldn’t win this bet; she wasn’t going to prove him right. No, she’d just have to depend on her sense of humor to keep Cameron Thorpe at bay. Besides, there was always the possibility that he’d stay away from the lake house for the duration of her month’s employment.
    ***
    Cameron’s absence was a blessing. For the rest of the week, the lake was delightfully peaceful. Merlyn took Amanda into town, with her grandmother’s permission—Lila had said the child’s hair was none of Cameron’s business—and had her hair cut. As an afterthought, she bought her a new dress, too—a lovely, frilly thing in blue that suited the young girl.
    “You shouldn’t spend your money on me,” Amanda protested. “You don’t make a lot. I heard Grandmother arguing about it with my father. He said…” She stopped, flushing.
    “He said what?” Merlyn probed softly.
    “Well, it was something mean.” She glanced up apprehensively. “He said you weren’t worth what you were getting paid and that Grandmother ought to get someone else. But Grandmama stuck up for you,” she continued quickly. “She said if he fired you, he could go back to Charleston and stay there. She’s real mad about him bringing Delle and Mrs. Radner here. She says Daddy only wants to marry Delle on account of she’s rich.”
    In other words, Lila was blackmailing him. Merlyn felt miserable for the rest of the day about his opinion of her. It shouldn’t have been so hurtful,