The Phyllis A. Whitney Collection Volume Three by Phyllis A. Whitney

Author:Phyllis A. Whitney
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Open Road Media
Published: 2017-07-27T00:00:00+00:00

FIFTEEN

In the morning the exultance was gone. Camilla awakened feeling as tired as though she had not slept, but her eyes were clear, her thoughts brittle and sharp with self-judgment.

How could she have been so trapped by gentle dreams last night? In the morning light she could look at herself and remember something she had told Booth. She had not known many men. It was true that she was easily vulnerable. Whether it was Ross or Booth, the warm longings that were part of her youth reached out toward a male counterpart in an instinctive answering. Love? How could she have been so foolish? What could she know of love? If she were honest with herself, she must admit that there were times when she had been equally attracted to Booth.

Today there were other things to think of. Regardless of Letty’s remark about misinterpretation, she must face the possibility that someone in this house had added a poisonous potion to Letty’s tea. Since it was hardly likely to be one of the servants, nor could it be Ross, who was an outsider, the tamperer must be one of the three within this house: Hortense, Letty, or Booth. This morning, with her mood so newly cool and hard, she could even regard Letty with serious doubt, though Hortense was to be more easily suspected.

At any rate, she must get to the bottom of what had happened and discover whether someone had tried deliberately to harm her. If one attempt had been made, there might well be others. By daylight she could be brave and strong. But she knew the shadow of fear that night could bring, and she did not want to live her life in such a shadow.

Yet when she met Letty that day, she could find no means of taking hold of the problem. The moment she moved toward it, Letty seemed to slip mistily away from her probing, and she could not bring herself to question her directly.

She dreaded her first meeting with Ross. If he showed amusement toward her, if he referred in any way to what had happened between them, she would not know how to meet him with her pride intact. Her fears were unfounded, however. He was courteous, though distant, and it was hard to remember that he had worked so cheerfully beside her in a kitchen yesterday. She could not help a certain anger, but she told herself that it came more from hurt pride than from any real emotion on her part.

In the days before Hortense and Booth came home, Ross was completely matter-of-fact toward her. He placed business matters before her as usual, and did not hesitate to show his disapproval when she seemed unenthusiastic about projects that absorbed his attention.

On the afternoon when Hortense and Booth were to return, Ross reminded her of the invitation to tea at Nora Redfern’s tomorrow. But she had a feeling that he regretted his original impulse in urging such a visit.

If it had not

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