Lady Love

by Diana Palmer

  “Your son?” Merlyn blinked. “This is your son?” She stared at the man, who was easily twice his mother’s weight and the exact opposite of her fair coloring.

  “Who is she?” Cameron Thorpe asked coldly.

  “Now, dear…” his mother began.

  “Who?”

  “Merlyn Forrest,” Lila said, exasperated. “Don’t you remember that I was looking for someone to help me do some research on my new book?”

  He stared at Merlyn as if he couldn’t imagine that she had enough brains to be able to read.

  “How did you find her?” he asked curtly.

  “In the Yellow Pages,” Merlyn murmured, “under ‘brilliant research associates.”’

  He gave her a hard look. “Mother?” he persisted.

  Lila sighed. “A friend of yours, in fact, that Jack Thomas. He knew someone who knew someone.…”

  “Does she have credentials?” he asked with a suspicious glance at Merlyn.

  “I have a B.A. in history,” Merlyn said sweetly. “And pretending hostility toward me will not work, sir. You and I were obviously meant for each other—you just won’t admit it.” She batted her long eyelashes demurely. “It was like lightning striking, when our eyes met.…”

  He muttered something she was glad she didn’t really hear, and went back to pick up his umbrella and attaché case.

  Lila was trying not to smile. “Cameron, don’t you dare try to scare off my new assistant,” she said after a minute. “I can’t do this book alone, and I have to have Merlyn for the next month at least.”

  “A month?” He looked hunted.

  “She’ll be company for Amanda and me,” Lila said shortly. “Amanda likes her.”

  So this was the little girl’s father, Merlyn thought. Cameron the Cold Heart. He did fit the image of a businessman who was all business all the time. No wonder the little girl looked so repressed. She didn’t have a chance with a father like that. She studied Cameron Thorpe quietly and wondered how he’d look in red polka-dotted boxer shorts. She had to bite her lip hard to keep from bursting out laughing.

  “I thought children were supposed to be perceptive,” he muttered.

  Merlyn gave him the once-over and tugged her blue robe closer. “I’m so glad you like me, Mr. Thorpe,” she sighed theatrically. She grinned. “I like you, too. Dark, somber men really turn me on.”

  Once again, he looked as though he might explode. His mother, kind soul, moved quickly in front of Merlyn.

  “Now, dear,” she told Cameron gently, “it’s late and you must be tired. Why don’t you get some rest? Can you stay the entire weekend?”

  “Yes,” he said. “And if you could keep Jane Eyre here out of sight while my guests are in residence…?”

  “Guests?” Lila asked.

  “Charlotte and Delle Radner,” he said. “They’re coming up from Atlanta tomorrow.”

  Lila sighed. “Oh.” She didn’t look enthusiastic. “Of course, your friends are welcome.”

  “You’ll get used to them,” he promised her with a slight softening.

  “I suppose I’ll have to,” came the resigned reply.

  “I suppose one of them is your girlfriend,” Merlyn said, letting her full lips pout at him. “Well, I want you to know that my heart is broken, just broken. And I did love you at first sight…uh, what was your name again?”

  He started to speak, then sliced the air with that big hand, turned on his heel and stomped off down the hall with steps heavy enough to rattle the glass in the windows.

  Lila collapsed in muffled laughter. Tears welled in her eyes. “Oh, Merlyn, you’re so good for me. I’ve never seen him like that before.”

  “I don’t imagine many people have,” Merlyn mused, glancing down the deserted hall. “My goodness, he frightened 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 feature
s 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.”

  “Is there a reason?”

  Merlyn smiled. “Yes. A fiancé who turned out to be Dracula. I broke the engagement, and now I’m trying to get myself back together.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “So am I,” Merlyn said. “I was ready to settle down. I’m twenty-six, after all. I wouldn’t mind a husband and children. But it’s going to take some time to forget what happened.”

  “You’re still young, my dear,” Lila said with a smile.

  “So I am,” Merlyn agreed. Then she changed the subject. “Where are we going to work? Inside?” she asked, casting a wary eye toward the house.

  “That wouldn’t be intelligent, would it?” Lila laughed. “I can see you now, hurling things at Cameron!”

  “Only a few sticks of furniture,” Merlyn protested. She sighed. “Don’t worry, Mrs. Thorpe, I’ll get used to him. After all, I got used to asparagus and squash casserole.”

  Lila laughed merrily. “Call me Lila, not Mrs. Thorpe. And, yes, I think you’ll get used to my son, and he to you, in time. It will do him good to learn that not every woman thinks he’s the final authority.” She got to her feet. “Since it’s so warm, we’ll hash out some preliminaries here on the patio,” she added. “I’ll get my legal pad, and you can fetch those history books I watched you lug up the staircase yesterday.”

  “I’ll get them right now,” Merlyn said.

  Minutes later she came back downstairs with an armload of books, fortunately without running into the lord of the manor.

  “Amanda’s late this morning,” Merlyn remarked as she seated herself at the little white table.

  “Yes, but not unusually so,” Lila said with a smile. She sat down across from Merlyn. “With school out for spring holidays, she doesn’t get up until eleven.” She sighed, and the smile faded. “Poor child, she’s so lonely. Cameron has very little time.…”

  “He could make time, if he wanted to,” Merlyn said quietly. “My own childhood was lonely. My mother died when I was about Amanda’s age, and my father missed her terribly. Instead of turning to me, he turned to his work. It wasn’t until I was well into my teens that he suddenly discovered he was a parent. We’ve grown closer, but there was quite a gulf between us during those first few years without Mama.”

  “I’m afraid that Cameron’s work is his whole life,” Lila said. She stared at her slender, elegant hand on the table. “His late wife was not the kind of person he needed. Marcia was wildly exciting, I suppose, but not at all domestic. She hated children. If Cameron hadn’t threatened to toss her to the press, she’d have had an abortion. She left him just after Amanda was born. She was killed several years later in an automobile accident. A tragic affair, all around.”

  “Did Amanda know her at all?” Merlyn asked.

  “No. Marcia considered Amanda a liability, not an asset. She’s not the most beautiful child in the world, despite her sweet nature and kind heart. Although I doubt Marcia would have wanted her anyway. She just didn’t have any maternal instinct at all.”

  “How sad,” Merlyn said quietly. “And it’s even sadder that her father gives her so little of himself. He’ll regret that one day.”

  “He probably will. But he doesn’t listen to advice, my dear.”

  “I noticed,” Merlyn replied dryly.

  “Keep right on ruffling him, Merlyn,” the older woman said. “Maybe it will help.”

  “Oh, that doesn’t take much effort—ruffling him,” she assured her colleague. “I have a feeling my very existence is enough to do the trick.”

  ***

  They were hard at work, discussing possibilities for fictional characters during the reign of Henry VII, the founder of the Tudor line, when Amanda came downstairs. Lila was right, Merlyn thought. The little girl favored her father, and she was nobody’s idea of beautiful. God bless her, she was gangly and thin and nervous, and those huge eyes swallowed her face. Probably when she grew up, she’d surprise everybody by being a beauty, though. Often it was the ugly ducklings who made the most beautiful swans—simply by taking advantage of what they had and making the most of it.

  “Good morning,” Merlyn said brightly, and smiled.

  Amanda smiled, too. It was hard not to, when their visitor had such a contagiously sunny disposition.

  “Good morning, Miss Merlyn,” she said. “Good morning, Grandmama.”

  “Have you had breakfast?” Lila asked the child.

  “No, ma’am,” Amanda murmured. She sat down on the glider, her hands folded on her skirt, her long hair in neat pigtails, her blouse spotless.

  “Why not?” Lila prodded.

  “I didn’t like to ask Mrs. Simms to fix it just for me,” Amanda said shyly.

  “Nonsense,” Lila said. “Tilly doesn’t mind. And, Amanda, it isn’t as if we don’t pay her. Now go and ask for what yo
u want.”

  “But I’m not hungry,” the child insisted.

  Lila sighed heavily. “Oh, Amanda, you’re just skin and bones.”

  “She certainly is,” Cameron boomed, joining them. His dark, unsmiling eyes studied his daughter’s thinness. “Get in the house and eat,” he said curtly.

  “Yes, Father,” Amanda said in a subdued tone. She got up without raising her eyes and went back into the house.

  “My, what a way you have with children, Mr. Thorpe,” Merlyn said sweetly. “All the diplomacy of a rocket launcher, in fact!”

  “Shut up,” he told her coldly, his dark eyes daring her to make another statement.

  She got to her feet “Look here,” she said, “you may order Amanda around, but I’m a big girl. I’m here to work, not to…”

  “Then why don’t you work, Miss Forrest, and leave my daughter’s upbringing to me?” he asked coolly.

  “Mr. Thorpe…!” she persisted.

  “Your duties include research, I believe, Miss Forrest, not child psychology?” Cameron went on, not giving his mother a chance to interfere.

  Merlyn’s green eyes glittered at him. “My father used to be just like you,” she said angrily. “All work, all ice. I grew up on the mercy of neighbors. I wonder how you’re going to feel when Amanda is old enough to leave home, and if she’ll say the same things to you that I said to my father?”

  He gave her one last glare before he turned and went back into the house, slamming the door behind him.

  “Oh, my,” Lila murmured.

  “Sorry,” Merlyn grumbled as she sat back down. “He makes me so mad! I did have a lot of terrible things to say to my father at one time. We’re good friends now, but we weren’t always. He and your son would get along just fine.”

  “Yes, well, I’m sorry about all this,” Lila said. “He isn’t the most relaxing person to work around, even if he is my son.”

  “I had no right to say those things to him,” Merlyn said after a minute, cooler now. “I’ll apologize, if you like.”

  “And make him even more smug than he already is?” Lila exclaimed. “You will not!”