Fortune's Lady Read Online Free Page B

perceive.” She laughed again, but there was a bitter sound to it. “I suppose it wouldn’t help to tell you that my reputation for decadence is a bit exaggerated? No, I thought not. It doesn’t matter to me what you think, but I feel bound to tell you that if you’re looking for a truly wicked woman for this role,—a femme fatale —you would really do better to look elsewhere.”
    â€œI thank you for the warning, but I’m satisfied with my choice.”
    â€œI wonder why I don’t feel complimented,” she said dryly, bringing the first smile to Quinn’s thin lips.
    He pulled a straight chair away from the wall, placed it near her, and sat down. “You’re wondering, naturally, what I’m offering in return for your cooperation,” he said in his oddly boyish tenor. “The possibility of physical danger to you is extremely remote, I assure you, but I won’t say it doesn’t exist; thus I wouldn’t ask you to begin such an undertaking on the strength of mere…patriotism.”
    The emphasis he gave the word struck her as almost sneering. “Actually, Mr. Quinn—”
    â€œIf I may be blunt again, I have information that your financial circumstances are unfortunate, your prospects for improving them not good. Plainly speaking, you’re incapable of making an advantageous marriage, and the combined circumstances of your father’s death, the reputation you inherited from him, and the one you’ve made for yourself make the possibility of any other course of action equally bleak.”
    Cass couldn’t speak. Mr. Quinn’s words were like an echo of Aunt Beth’s last night, only somehow much worse. How had this happened? When had it begun? A feeling of helplessness settled over her as she watched him rub his hands together almost with relish.
    â€œI can rescue you from this situation,” he was saying softly, leaning forward and fixing her with his unnerving stare. “I’m prepared to give you five hundred pounds right now, this moment. When you finish your work—that is, when the situation is resolved one way or another—you’ll receive an identical amount, as well as passage to America.”
    â€œAmerica!”
    â€œOr Italy, the Netherlands—wherever you like.” He waved a dismissive hand. “Someplace where you’ll have a chance to begin again, unencumbered by the past. There’s little for you here in England now; I daresay when this is over, there’ll be even less.”
    She rose from her chair slowly and went to the fireplace. She found she had to lean against the mantel to steady herself. “Let me be sure I understand you,” she said in a low, controlled voice, without turning around. “You’re asking me to prostitute myself to a traitor in return for a thousand pounds and exile from my own country forever. Do I have that right, Mr. Quinn?”
    She heard him clear his throat and get up from his chair. He started speaking again, but she stopped listening, stopped thinking about anything at all. She picked up her mother’s picture and stared into the clear gray eyes, so like her own. There was an ache deep in the center of her chest; pressing her hand against it brought no relief. Carefully she replaced the picture frame on the mantel and turned. Quinn stopped talking when he saw her face. “Please go away now.”
    He opened his mouth in astonishment. “You refuse?”
    She looked down. “No, though with all my heart I wish I could. But I must think about your offer.”
    â€œIf the money isn’t enough—”
    Her head snapped up. “It isn’t the money! I wish I could hurl your filthy money into the Thames!”
    â€œBut that would be impractical, wouldn’t it?” he said quietly, noting the clenched jaw and flashing eyes. “You’ll need clothes, jewelry, the things women