Lady Love. Diana Palmer

me to death when he came storming in. I remembered that you had a son, but you hadn’t mentioned that he’d be coming tonight.”

      “I’d forgotten, in the excitement of your arrival,” Lila replied with a smile. “He did drop a hint that he might invite Delle and her mother up for the weekend while they were visiting relatives in Atlanta. It’s not far, you know.” She looked momentarily worried. “Charlotte Radner—here.” She sighed heavily. “I can hardly believe she’d actually brave the great outdoors long enough to blemish her white skin.”

      “Which one is the girlfriend?” Merlyn asked hesitantly.

      “Delle,” came the hard reply. “She’s mama’s little girl. Oh, my, the Radners—here. And I did so want to start work tomorrow.…No matter. We’d better get some sleep, dear. Maybe we can work around them.”

      “I’ve been doing some preliminary research tonight,” Merlyn said as they walked down the hall together. “I think I’ve found you a feisty period in the founding of the Tudor line. Would that suit?”

      Lila’s eyes brightened. “Perfect! I can save the Plantagenets for another book. By all means, let’s start there. In the morning we can start laying out the plot. This is going to be great fun,” she said with a smile.

      “I hope so,” Merlyn said dryly, glancing down the hall where Cameron Thorpe had disappeared.

      “Don’t worry, you and I will be a match for him,” Lila promised. “I just wish that once or twice he’d come alone and spend some time with Amanda. He’s only here on the weekends, and she’s been with me most of her life. Cameron divorced her mother years ago, and he got custody, but he lives in Charleston and he really doesn’t have anyone else to leave her with.…Her mother’s dead now, as you know.”

      “Why can’t Delle keep her?” Merlyn asked matter-of-factly.

      Lila looked horrified. “Delle? Look after a child?”

      “Sorry,” Merlyn murmured. She was beginning to get an interesting picture of Cameron’s so-called friends.

      “I’m sorry that Cameron upset you,” Lila said, letting the subject of Delle drop, as though it bothered her.

      “In all fairness to him,” Merlyn replied, “he couldn’t have expected to find me wandering the halls. I was going to make myself a cup of hot chocolate, but after all this excitement, I’m so exhausted I think I’ll be able to sleep without it.”

      “You’ll love it here when the rains stop,” Lila promised. “I’ve lived on the lake for four years now, and I can’t imagine living anywhere else. It’s so peaceful. And when the weather begins to get warm, as it will be soon, there will be sailboats dotting the lake.”

      “I’ve seen the lake from the road many times,” Merlyn murmured, not wanting to mention her friend Dick’s enormous house, which was right on the lake. “It provides drinking water for Atlanta and the metro area, as well as being a marvelous recreational facility. Isn’t that right?”

      Lila smiled. “My, you seem quite familiar with the area already. Sleep well, my dear.”

      “You, too.”

      Merlyn shot one last glance down the hall before she went into her room and quickly closed the door. Talk about flies in the ointment! Cameron Thorpe was going to be trouble, and she had a feeling that his lady friends were going to foul things up, too. All her confidence in being able to maintain her new identity was draining away. She’d have to be on her guard every minute, or she’d blow her cover. It looked as if this job wasn’t going to be the plum she’d first expected it to be.

      Well, she thought with a sigh, as she climbed into bed and pulled up the covers, perhaps things will improve tomorrow.

      ***

      They didn’t. The next morning, which dawned clear and warm, Cameron Thorpe was sitting at the breakfast table on the patio with his mother when Merlyn walked in. The look he gave her would have stopped traffic.

      His dark eyes—they were almost black at close range, deep-set under a jutting brow—ran up and down Merlyn’s slender figure. She was dressed in faded blue jeans and a flaming orange pullover T-shirt that read “Kiss me, I’m a frog!” Her long black hair fell over her shoulders, and her eyes were a pale, sparkling green. She wasn’t beautiful like her late mother, but she had delicate features and a perfect figure, and normally she dressed with a flair that set her apart. Today, however, she’d deliberately worn her most outlandish T-shirt, hoping to get a rise out of Mr. Conservative. And she did. Immediately.

      “Do you normally dress like that?” Cameron asked.

      “Why, yes, when I’m not going naked,” she replied with a careless smile. She stared at him. He was wearing a dark business suit with a dark tie and a white shirt. She’d have bet that he had a closet full of them, all alike.

      “More eggs, Cameron?” Lila asked quickly as Merlyn sat down and helped herself to toast and coffee.

      “No, thanks,” he said, and his eyes never left Merlyn. His face was broad and hard, his nose was formidable, and he had a jaw as square as the way he dressed.

      “Sizing me up?” Merlyn asked “I wear size ten slacks and a medium T-shirt. And there’s nothing underneath,” she whispered, leaning forward.

      He came as close to a flush as she’d ever seen a man come, and his black eyes glittered at her. “I don’t find your attitude amusing,” he said curtly. “And I won’t have my daughter subjected to remarks like that.”

      “Amanda isn’t downstairs yet,” Merlyn told him, “and you’re hardly a child.” She studied him. “Mrs. Thorpe said you were a banker.”

      “Yes,” he said, sounding as if he found speaking to her distasteful.

      “How exciting,” she murmured, stifling a yawn.

      “Where did you take your degree?” he asked out of the blue.

      “The University of Georgia.”

      “Did you specialize?” he persisted, as he sipped his coffee.

      “Not really,” she returned. “I enjoy ancient history as well as other periods.”

      “What qualifies you to be a research assistant?” he chided. “Do you have references?”

      “Are you the reincarnation of the Spanish Inquisition?” she shot back. “Really, Mr. Thorpe, my qualifications satisfied your mother.”

      “They certainly did,” Lila seconded. She frowned. “Cameron, I’ve never known you to be so rude to a guest!”

      “We’ve never had a guest like this,” he said, glancing up and down Merlyn’s figure.

      “How sad for you.” Merlyn smiled. “But, at long last, here I am!”

      “I’ve got to make a phone call,” he muttered, glaring at Merlyn as he got to his feet. “Five more minutes of Jane Eyre there, and I’ll be searching for a blunt instrument.”

      “How kinky,” Merlyn said, grinning. “Usually men are wildly excited when they get to that point. Are you by any chance trying to seduce me over the scrambled eggs?”

      His mother had already turned away with a napkin over her mouth.

      “If I were eighty with terminal acne, I wouldn’t be so desperate,” he replied.

      “You’ll be heartbroken when you realize what you’re passing up,” Merlyn called after him.

      The hall door slammed behind him, and Lila made strangled sounds in her napkin.

      “Poor Cameron,” Lila said finally. “He’s so domineering with women.”

      “Not this one,” Merlyn informed her smugly. “I’m a free spirit. Basically, I hate men.”