Legs Benedict Read Online Free

breath.” She shot Renie an annoyed glance.
    Pete and Marie Santori of Miami, Florida, looked as if they wouldn’t have cared if Judith had appeared stoned out of her mind and in the nude. Their deeply tanned arms were entwined and they only had eyes for each other. Honeymooners , Judith thought, and offered the couple a bright smile.
    â€œYou’re in Room Five,” Judith said after Pete and Marie had managed to let go long enough to bring in their two large pieces of luggage. “If you’d sign the register…”
    â€œYou do it, Pooky-wookums,” Marie urged with a poke in the ribs for her beloved.
    â€œNo, Diddlyumdoodles,” responded Pete, tickling his bride’s chin. “Ladies—lovely ladies—loving ladies—first.”
    After a few more exchanges of treacle, Pete finally signed in. He was tall, dark, and lean, with gold chains around his neck and a gold link bracelet on his right wrist. Judith was about to hand the Santoris their keys when Pam and Sandi came down the stairs. The two young women suddenly stopped just before the first landing.
    Sandi screamed and Pam collapsed.
    Pete and Marie charged past Judith and ran out through the front door.

TWO
    J UDITH’S FIRST CONCERN was for Pam, whose huddled figure lay on the landing. Sandi had stopped screaming, but stood frozen with her fists pressed against her mouth. Renie had rushed into the entry hall, looking stunned.
    â€œGet some brandy,” Judith called to Renie. “Pam? Pam?” She knelt next to the young woman, who was making whimpering sounds.
    Sandi lowered her hands. “Pam’s okay,” she asserted in a ragged voice. “She had a shock, that’s all. It was a mistake. A big mistake,” Sandi repeated more loudly.
    Pam opened glazed eyes. “A mistake,” she mumbled. “Stupid.”
    Judith gently pulled Pam to a sitting position on the landing. “Don’t exert yourself. Take some deep breaths.”
    Sandi gave herself a shake, then edged past Judith and Pam. “I must apologize to those people,” she said. “They must think we’re crazy.” She went outside, in search of the Santoris.
    Renie returned with a brandy snifter, which Pam waved away. “I’m okay, honest. It must have been the angle coming down the stairs. I thought that man was someone else. An ex-boyfriend. He was a real pain. I’d hate to run into him again.” She uttered a little laugh.
    â€œThat’s annoying,” Renie said. “I still run into some of my former boyfriends. In fact, I figure I run into more of them than I realize. I can only recognize the ones who still have most of their hair and some of their teeth.”
    Pam managed to look interested. “It must have been different when you were dating,” she said in a wistful voice. “After ten years, I’ve yet to find a guy who doesn’t have a good excuse not to get married. What’s wrong with men these days?”
    Renie, who was still crouching by the stairs, folded her hands in her lap. “My husband, Bill, says it’s not what’s wrong with men, but what’s wrong with women. By liberating themselves, they’ve not only confused men, but robbed them of…”
    â€œHere’s Sandi,” Judith interjected, warding off another of her cousin’s parrotings of Bill Jones, Ph.D.
    Sandi’s smile seemed forced. “Everything’s fine,” she assured the others. “Those nice folks just laughed it off. I coaxed them back inside.”
    â€œHi again,” the voice and the wave were subdued.
    Pete and Marie were no longer entwined, and despite Sandi’s reassuring words, Judith thought the Santoris looked shaken. Of course they had a right to be upset; the preschool teachers must have frightened them.
    â€œI’m always being told I have a double,” Pete said in an amused voice. “I must be a